

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie's Journal 2016 – Part One

By Steve Leggett

Published by Steve Leggett - Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016 – Steve Leggett

Cover Image by Kayla Leggett \- Copyright 2015 - Used by Permission

ISBN: 978-0-9940020-4-4
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 (Forthcoming)

The Catalyst Chronicles

 The Catalyst is Born

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Table of Contents

January 2016

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

Notes

January 2016

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year – again!

This has been another very busy day, so let's begin with where I left off yesterday; and try to keep everything in order as much as possible.

I really enjoyed my bit of early-morning quiet in the sunroom, and while I did miss the sleep time; a cup of hot chocolate, a warm throw blanket, and a great view was all I needed to finish getting ready for the day. Surprising Mom and Dad with a work-free start to their morning was great too – even though that was only an option until they needed to start getting ready for our party. They had help for that, including from Grandma, Grandpa, and me; but Violet and Dillon got ready to head out to Woodvale for the weekend and hit the road as soon as they could to be there in time for their own New Year's Day fun.

While I'm there, they weren't the only outbound travelers this weekend. Uncle Mark, Aunt Grace, and Caleb are in Granite Park for the holidays and a late Christmas with Grandma Mercy's side of the family – and visits with some of Aunt Grace's friends there.

While I rarely think about everything that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace gave up to move here and be together; I really do appreciate those sacrifices – even though they'd both agree that the good that came with the move is worth the things they had to give up. I'll guess that they're having a blast this weekend – especially when that includes getting to share the happy baby news with their favorite people there.

Back here at home, my morning wasn't exactly all fun and games, but we did manage to keep ourselves entertained while doing the work. For me, that was mostly the post-breakfast dishes; a total clean-up of the third floor; and stocking the lounge to be ready for that room to be teen and kid central. The big screen television was going to be exclusively available to the video gamers today; I set up a smaller television so the guys could keep an eye on the football games; and my room was ready for kids to play in too – though anywhere except Violet's room was open for playing games in. The sunroom was set up to be the hangout of choice for the girls, and while Mom and Grandma got that room ready; I did hook up a portable hard drive to the television so they'd have lots of chick flick options for a movie marathon. Dad and Grandpa were in charge of the living room and dining room; and Grandpa even had our living room looking like some kind of man-cave by the time our guests began arriving at eleven o'clock.

We had a lot of drop-in visitors today, but our main guests included the Stones; Nortons; Emersons; Bassetts; Ayres; Drapers; and a handful of adult singles or couples that were friends of the parents or grandparents. Not everyone in all of those families could stay all day either, since they had multiple commitments; but then Michael and I did a bit of visiting today too – though that was mostly just to offer some best New Year's Day wishes to the Johnson-McEwan clan – and my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Our lunch and dinner plans were for easy, pot-luck meals, so while I had to help out with that work; it really wasn't tough to keep up with everything – especially when Mom had gone with paper and plastic dinnerware for the day. The oven was on most of the day; but that was as much to keep the snacks coming as for the meals. Hot snacks for each group in the living room, lounge, and sunroom were staggered to make doing that possible; and Mom just grabbed any available person when it came time to run a pizza or two upstairs or to the football fans or chick flick enthusiasts.

From the time he arrived, Michael and I split our time between hanging out together – and with Rowen and Tim – and the time we needed to be apart so that he could hang out with the guys and I either played with the younger kids or spent a bit of time with the women in the sunroom. Rowen and Tim were with her family at our house for lunch; spent part of the afternoon with us; and then moved on to spend the rest of the day with his family at his aunt and uncle's house. Michael and I did our little round of visits when they left; and Lucas and Rebecca went out then for a few hours too – though they came back in time for dinner. Some snow play fun was an option today too; and Michael and I caught the tail-end of that backyard fun with the kids when we got back from Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

There was so much going on that I won't be able to write it all down here without having another sleepless night – or by using a time phase that I'm too tired to produce tonight anyway. What matters to me is that we've had a really amazing family and friends day; and I've loved being able to spend time with people that I don't get to hang out with nearly often-enough as we're all usually so busy. I also really enjoyed the diversity of our group today; and there were interesting conversations going on around me all the time – whether that was talking farming and business or law and politics.

Yes, we did have a politician or three stop in for visits, and I'm sure that you could come up with some jokes about that when you also have farmers, lawyers, and computer geeks in the house; but we generally like our local politicians just fine. I don't write about local government in my journal, but that's mostly because most of my favorite people are too busy to add that job to their schedules; and there are better sources in the archives if you are interested in reading up on the history of politics in our little town. That's also pretty much the last thing I want to think about as we start a perfectly good New Year; so let's move along.

When it was play time with the girls, I had all of the younger girls with me; and help for that from Rowen, Emma, Jessica, and some of the other drop-in teens. Rebecca spent some time with the girls too; but we didn't time that very well; and didn't spend much time together until after dinner when everyone was ready to wind down and take it easy. I caught part of one movie during my one major visit to the sunroom; had a fun chat with Mom and the rest of the women there; and had more fun with the guys during the visits I did with Michael to watch football in the living room and talk with the guys there.

Michael and I helped with dinner, and while taking your food with you to the living room, lounge, or sunroom was an option; Mom convinced the younger kids to eat in the dining room; so Rebecca, Lucas, Michael, and I stayed with them so that the parents could enjoy that meal without needing to worry about kid control too. That was a modestly messy and entertaining break that was followed by another easy clean-up that the teens and men were responsible; and then it was back to the lounge for Michael and me so that we could again keep an eye on the kids until it was time for most of them to get some sleep. We used the guest bedrooms as needed on the second and third floor when Hailey, Eli, and the other toddler visitors were ready to crash; but Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends stayed awake until most of the parents began heading home for the night.

For some guys, that meant bending their precious man-laws so that they could take their families home instead of stoically waiting for the end of the last bowl game of the day; but it's also a work day for a lot of my favorite people tomorrow; so staying up half the night doesn't work when your work day starts at three, four, or five in the morning.

Aiden's father was first to leave, and he took Hailey with him; but Hannah stayed a bit longer to watch the rest of the movie the girls had been watching when he'd decided to call it a night. Jacob and Miranda were next, so the Nortons decided to head out then too; since Rebecca and Lucas were splitting up then anyway – for the night. Michael stayed, but that's only because we were ready to sit down in the lounge and wrap up our day with a movie; and he didn't want to miss out on the cuddle opportunity. A sofa sleepover wasn't really an option tonight because he's working the breakfast buffet at the Inn and will be heading there with his Dad in the morning; but maybe we'll see about doing that tomorrow night!

Ethan and Ehlana are keeping Aiden, Naomi, and Sophia tonight, and they're all sleeping now as I write this; but they stayed in the lounge for the movie – and Michael and I got to have Sophia for our cuddle buddy because Ethan and Aiden supposedly aren't as brave as Michael when it comes to cuddling with more than one girl at a time. After the movie, I helped the girls get ready for bed; Michael did the same with the boys; and then we went down to the living room to hang out there for the bowl game wrap-up until Michael needed to get home and get started on the few hours of sleep he'd have time for ahead of his early-morning work wake-up call.

As the last of our guests headed out then, it was time to join the clean-up crew for me; and it was closing in on one o'clock by the time I was changed and in bed with Mandy. There was some family business work waiting for me to deal with, along with quite a few email to answer; so I've been working on my computer for an hour and a half or so while winding down. I am exhausted, and would have been sleeping right away if not for the work; but I won't need to do that work tomorrow – and I want to have as much of the day off as possible so that I can play with my family and friends. That's going to include spending time with Uncle Adam's family; and I'm really looking forward to that too.

I can't go two days with no sleep, though, and we have covered at least a few of the highlights for my day; so let's wrap this up and I'll get started on my nap now.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, January 2, 2016

I've had a fun, busy day, but Michael's coming over soon to spend the rest of the evening with me, and I'm planning on keeping him for a sofa sleepover; so let's keep this update short and sweet while I'm getting ready for what will hopefully be a really amazing end to our day!

Since Michael worked the breakfast buffet, he wasn't here for Tai Chi; but we had fun with that; and then even more fun when we got ready and went to the Inn to get in on that buffet instead of doing all of the work at home. We followed that up with some girl-time shopping around town with Aunt Leanne, Aunt Deborah, and most of the Johnson and McEwan family girls. I got to spend some quality time with Kara, Nicole, and Robyn while doing that; and they kept me entertained while I helped to play dress-up with them – and with most of the younger girls.

We split up to do our own thing for lunch; Michael was off from the Inn for the afternoon in time to have lunch with us; and then we had a major outdoors play afternoon for the kids and teens that included some sledding on the ridge and play time at the park. With the temperature hovering around forty by this afternoon, we might not keep what snow we still have here for much longer; so it was great to be able to do that today – and even have quite a few of the parents around for some of that play time.

Michael had to go back to the Inn to help out with the dinner rush, so he missed out on the family dinner that Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam hosted at their place. I had a great time with that too, but to be honest; the work at the Inn would have been easier than kid control was before and during dinner. I was definitely ready to go home by the time we were finished with the clean-up; but I ended up needing to do a bit of running around instead because Ethan and Ehlana had kept Naomi and Aiden with them while three out of four of their parents were busy working; and they were invited for sleepovers when Naomi and Aiden were being picked up. I helped them pack bags and walked all four kids over to the two houses; and just got back here about twenty minutes ago.

With Violet and Dillon in Woodvale for the weekend and my brother and sister out of the house for the night; I am not going to have a parental problem with that sofa sleepover. Michael's already finished at the Inn, but stopped in at home to grab a shower and get changed before coming over here. I'll invite Mom and Dad to watch a movie with us, but they might be interested in taking advantage of being nearly kid-free tonight too and do their own thing. I'll be okay with that either way, but even if they do watch a movie with us first; I will definitely not be letting Michael get any sleep before we take care of some seriously overdue make-out time.

Trust me when I also admit that by the time I'm ready for the rest of our night; he will not have a problem with that part of my plan! ;^)

I think that will do for this update despite not nearly covering all of the news of the day, and I really do want to be ready to wow Michael when he gets here; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, January 3, 2016

My day started out great with Michael's wake-up call; and that was both a great way to start the day and wrap up our sofa sleepover. Tai Chi with Mom and Dad was fun too; but the highlight of our collective morning was breakfast for all of us at Michael's house.

Mom and Dad had apparently been invited to that last night after messaging Miranda that they didn't expect Michael to make it home last night; so the surprise for that was only on Michael and me this morning. The parents had fun with us over the sleepover while we enjoyed Jacob's amazing breakfast; but then we were busy again either getting ready for church or helping out with the post-breakfast clean-up. I was on that work crew, so I was ready for a break when we went to church – mostly because I was booked to help out at the Inn for the rest of the day. The church service went long again – not unusual for a holiday weekend; so Michael and I went to the Inn before Sunday school was let out so that we could help with the work for the first buffet sitting.

From that point on, our only breaks were for food and one blast of fun that was a round of goodbye hugs and kisses for our outgoing Johnson and McEwan family members. Miranda again went with three buffets instead of four, and while that worked out better for breaks; we were still tired out by the time we closed the Inn and headed home at a bit before ten o'clock. Other than stopping for goodnight hugs and kisses with Michael and his family along the way; I came straight home so that I could get to work.

A bedtime visit with Mom and Dad in the office and stops for kisses with Ethan and Ehlana as they slept in their beds slowed me down a bit on my way up to my room slowed me down a bit; but then I sped things up as I multi-tasked some Jacuzzi time with my work and studying that included starting my new language studies. Romanian will be easy-enough for me to learn since I've already learned other languages in that group; but then that's true for all of the languages I'm working on during this school year. I had a fair bit of family business work to do too; which is why I needed the time phase if I wanted to have any chance of sleeping before morning.

That has exhausted me, though, and there isn't anything else to report that's more important than getting some sleep right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, January 4, 2016

We're back to school today, and that's the big story for the parents around here now that they're kid-free during the weekdays again; but my top news story is about the big March Break ski trip to Colorado that was announced today – and that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I signed up for as soon as we heard about it!

Coach and Mrs. Robinson are setting up the trip, and while it is an official school trip that's meant to expand our athletics experience; Michael and I were also told that the Robinsons have the added bonus of being able to make the trip a family vacation that'll be less-expensive thanks to the group and school rates they're getting for our trip. While signing up for the trip still left the hurdle of getting parental approval, Rowen and I ganged up on our fathers after school; helped Michael and Tim out with their parents once we'd gotten our own approvals; and that gave all of our parents a fun batch of stories for the future to make up for the drain on their collective bank accounts.

Yes, I'll be paying for my own trip, but that won't be public knowledge – just as my part time job isn't known by most of my friends.

We weren't the only early sign-ups for the trip; and Anna-Marie Palmer, Cal Jennings, and Erica Bassett will be going too. I've heard rumors that Anna-Marie's parents are going to be two of our chaperones, and that'll make Mom and Dad happy to know that I'll have at least two strong Magi there with me in case I need them. There were two definite no-go's for the trip, and I wish that Rebecca and Jenny would go along, but Rebecca knows that Lucas would never be allowed to be away from the farm for March Break when his father needed him there; and Jenny wasn't interested in going without Peter – which he couldn't do since it's only open to students at our school.

While we now have our March Break adventure in Colorado to look forward to, we did actually have more important things going on at school – like jumping right into our studies – and mid-term exam preparations. We have two weeks to get ready for them, but you'll be happy to hear that none of our classmates are starting out the New Year in panic mode over that news; mostly because they're all going to be doing the bonus studying with their favorite resident 'brainiacs' – though it's funny that we're only the class favorites around exam time when it comes to academics!

We had stacks of exam prep work dumped on us today, so in addition to the more-important after-school job of getting our parents to agree to the trip to Colorado; we had lots of homework to do tonight too. Michael and I did that at his house; but didn't get around to that until after we had dinner with his parents, Rebecca, and Jenny. Four of our dinner companions had fun teasing us about the methods that Rowen and I used to get those trip authorization forms signed, but that just added to the entertainment for the evening; and I definitely wouldn't have missed out on Jacob's gourmet dinner even if I wanted to avoid the teasing.

Michael and I did our homework in his room while Rebecca and Jenny did the same in the dining room; we followed that up with a music practice; and wrapped up my time at his house with a minor make-out session before I needed to be home for the night. All of that was fun, and so was my first Magi lesson of the year with Mom. She and Dad were working in the office when I got home; Ethan and Ehlana were getting organized to start their Master's degree curriculum; and Mom took a break in her work to do my lesson so that I could get that out of the way and then take care of getting the twins tucked in for the night.

My lesson took an hour; Ehlana and I ended up talking for another half hour or so after we finished saying goodnight to Ethan; and then I came up to my room and was soon in bed with Mandy and my computer. I've had a lot of work and studying to get finished since then, and did the work in real time instead of using the extra Magi power for a time phase; and that's why I'm still awake and writing this as it's closing in on three-thirty in the morning.

That's only going to leave me with enough time for a nap before it'll be time to get up and moving again; but there are a few notes I should add before calling it a day.

Violet and Dillon are still in Woodvale, but will be back tomorrow morning after deciding to spend one more day there so that Violet could have some bonus time with friends that are also home from college. They're going to do some more work here for the rest of the week; and then head back to school on the weekend to be there for the last week they'll have before starting their next semester. I'll need to try and spend a bit of time with them before they leave; but we'll see how that goes – as usual. I will at least have a bit of extra time tomorrow; since band and teen praise team practices won't start up again until after we're finished exams; but then we will have the extra studying to do; so there might not be any difference at all. Finally, while this will hopefully be a quiet week compared to the last month and a half or so; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are tentatively setting up a movie night in the lounge on Friday; mostly because we haven't spent much time together with just the four of us. I'm also going to take the weekend off from the Inn, since they'll be slow there for the next month or so anyway; so maybe I'll even manage to use some of that time to fully recharge and be ready for the extra study groups that'll be starting next week.

Don't laugh – it could happen!

Or not, but it is time to get started on my nap now, and I don't have anything else to add to this report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Congratulations Amy, Jared, Drew, and the entire White and Spencer families – it's a girl!

Amelia Spencer joined our little town today in the usual way for a Magi baby – with help from her Magi doctor and nurse; along with some bonus help for the shielding because she's quite a strong little Magi too. I haven't met Amelia yet, and only have the few details that Mom passed on to us tonight; so I'll only add that Amelia is perfect and healthy; Amy is doing well too; and Jared is frazzled but managing to keep up with Drew while Amy's busy with some help from grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

Before I move on to my personal news today, I want to comment on my lack of reporting on things like Amy's pregnancy. She's one of my favorite teachers, and the last nine months have been very exciting for her; yet I've barely mentioned her at all in my journal – just as I've rarely mentioned the important events going on for most people around here – no matter how important they are to me. That's normal, and it'd be impossible to write about everything going on for everyone anyway; but it does remind me that the world doesn't revolve around me and my family – even here in our little town.

Then again, since Amelia will be a future classmate for Brianna; it could just be that it'll be a few years before this little event will turn out to be fairly important to our family too! ;^)

My day wasn't new baby kind of exciting, but that wasn't all bad; since I also didn't have anything happen that even remotely resembled labor pains either. Some teens might disagree with that while we're getting ready for our exams, but even though that does drag out for three weeks including actually writing them; I'll respectfully disagree with them. Amy might be able to confirm that for us; but she'll be off from teaching until next September – and will be busy enough with a baby and toddler while she's off work.

Starting out the morning with Tai Chi and a hot breakfast out in the sunroom was great, and while our day at school was fairly quiet from a fun standpoint; I still enjoyed spending the day with Michael and our classmates and friends. He came home with me after school and spent the evening here, but while Rowen and Tim came over too; they only stayed to study with us until they needed to move on to his house for dinner. Our studying was all about exam review, and while we haven't started to put together the full study group with everyone in our class yet; we will do that all next week – and may add a bonus study session or two this weekend too.

We did our studying in the lounge; dinner was in the sunroom and an easy-meal night; and then Michael and I took care of the clean-up. Mom did a group Magi lesson with us – and with Ethan and Ehlana – after that; and then Michael and I had some play time with Ethan and Ehlana while Mom went to join Dad in the office and get some of her own work done. Our play time included a music practice, some video gaming, and one television show before Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night. That left us a bit of time to say goodnight to each other before Michael headed home at ten o'clock.

He left then mostly so that I could get started on my bedtime computing and not stay up half the night again; so I got right to that after seeing him out and checking in with Mom and Dad on my way back up to my room. I was getting tired by then, but decided to use a time phase to help with getting as much of my work done as I could while hopefully still getting to sleep before midnight. I had a light night for the family business work, so I did a bit more on the language studying and archive homework to get ahead of that – and hopefully help out next week when I'll need to put in extra time helping my friends out with getting ready for their exams.

That time phasing has tired me out even more, and while it was worth doing it tonight, I'm ready to crash now as I wind down fast while writing this little report. I don't have anything else to add, and getting to sleep now is an option; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Our Wednesday work nights have returned after the holiday break, and that worked out for me tonight because I could get my work and studying done early; and that's going to allow me to go to sleep early too – once I've finished with this update.

We're out of the extra-cold weather for a few days, but we'll trade it off for some rain; and it isn't warm enough for Tai Chi outdoors. Since Michael and I are continuing our Pushing Hands training for him, that works out for us; and he really likes the more intense work-outs – especially now that we're also spending part of the time practicing some of the moves at something close to what would be full-out fighting speed. Mom's pretending not to know why I'm taking our training there, but we still have time; and Michael will need all of it to complete his training – and I'm not just talking about Tai Chi for that.

The rest of my morning before classes started was uneventful; school was all about review for exams again; and I came home after school so that I could get all of my work and studying finished faster than I could have done if I'd gone to the Inn or elsewhere to do homework first. Mom did an easy-dinner night so that we could all work or study and get finished everything early; she took care of the after-dinner time phase; and we only did a short Magi lesson once I had the rest of my work finished for the night. Ethan and Ehlana had three of their favorite people available to tuck them in when we all came upstairs at nine-thirty; I grabbed a quick shower instead of going with a soak in the tub; and I really do plan on being asleep shortly after I wrap this up.

That's all I have for tonight unless you're really bored and want to check out the family business archive to read up on my work tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

It's been a wet, rainy day around here; so we spent as much of the day indoors as possible. I also don't really have any major news today either; so this is going to be a very short update.

Our morning routine was just that; school was another day of exam review work; and I went to the Inn with Michael after school to do our homework there before helping out with the dinner rush that wasn't much of a rush at all ahead of the first game night of the New Year. There was a pretty good turnout for that despite the rain, and we had a lot of fun; but then I needed to get home and started on my usual school night work and studying. Dad had a lot to do too, so I stayed in the office; used a time phase; and got everything from my Magi lesson with Mom to my language studying and family business work finished by a quarter after eleven. Mom worked on her computer while I was doing parts two and three of that, and Ethan and Ehlana worked on their college studies; so we all went up to bed once the work was done for the night.

None of us went straight to sleep, but while Ethan and Ehlana have only been playing on their iPads and probably chatting with each other since being tucked in; we don't need to write about what Mom and Dad have been doing with the extra time they didn't expect to have tonight once they were done their work for the day. I've only done one last computer and email check before getting to this update once I was changed and in bed with Mandy; so I'll be sleeping before midnight again thanks to the time phasing effort that has me seriously worn out now.

We only have one school day left ahead of the weekend, and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are going to end our Friday with a teen play and movie evening in the lounge; so I'm glad that I won't be awake until two or three o'clock tonight. I've skipped all of the fun little details that went into making this a pretty good day, but I'm choosing the nap time over writing a more extensive report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, January 8, 2016

I've had a really good evening here at home with my friends; and it was the kind of quiet hang out kind of time that we really needed a lot.

I'll skip any major report about my morning at home and day at school because that was about as standard as possible for a Friday – except maybe for the bonus exam preparation study homework that was dumped on us for the weekend. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I didn't worry about that tonight while we enjoyed getting to spend the time together without a major gang around – or with so much going on that we were too busy to actually talk and enjoy being together.

There wasn't a family dinner and a movie night this week because everyone was worn out after weeks of too much to do, and while Mom and Dad had three extra teens at home for dinner; Ethan and Ehlana were at Naomi's house for dinner and the evening until Liz got home from the salon for the night; so we only needed about twice as much food as normal – and that was for Michael and Tim. Mom opted for pizza, wings, and a bake-and-serve appetizer tray for our meal, so the work was easy for that; and the clean-up even easier thanks to using our best paper and plastic dinnerware.

Except for stops at home to drop off bags and pick up anything that Michael, Tim, or Rowen wanted to bring along; we pretty much came straight back to my house from school; we had a snack and played video games before dinner; and then sat down for a mini movie marathon after we had dinner in the sunroom with Mom and Dad. Since we'd seen the new Star Wars movie in Crystal Springs, the guys wanted to re-watch the rest of the movies in the series so far; so we started with episode four because that's apparently how it should be done – unless you're in the other Star Wars camp that believes it's perfectly okay to watch them in order from one to six if you want to do that instead of in order of production. We did watch the extended version instead of the theatrical release, but while that'd be blasphemy for some purists; I like those extra scenes.

We watched our first movie while also enjoying the couples' cuddle time; took an intermission that matched up with Ethan and Ehlana getting home; and then they joined us for Star Wars episode five. That also meant bonus cuddlers for Michael and me, but we were good with that; and Ethan and Ehlana were happy to have that extra couple of hours and change to hang out with us too. Thanks to my super-powered memory, it doesn't really matter how long it's been since I've seen a movie for me to remember every minute detail; but it's still fun to watch them in real time – and it is always entertaining to watch my friends' reactions to any show we watch. That's true for the twins too, since I get to be around them for lots of first-time movies, but in this case; they've already seen the Star Wars series. They still managed to add extra fun into the second half of our movie time, and while we were all game for watching a third; Mom and Dad nixed that for the twins; and Michael is working the breakfast shift at the Inn with his father in the morning, and didn't really want to stay out until two-thirty or three – or stay for a sofa sleepover when that would have also meant an extra-early wake-up call for me.

No offense to Mandy; but I'd have been okay with the trade-off of the sleepover and that early wake-up call. ;^)

Michael did stay to help me with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night while Rowen and Tim sort-of-didn't take care of the clean-up in the lounge. They obviously did have fun instead, though; so I didn't mind finishing up that cleaning after they left – and after I'd seen Michael on his way home too. Mom and Dad had gone to bed before the end of that movie after giving us our bedtime orders; so I came back up to my room; finished the clean-up in the lounge; and then got ready for bed. It's a bit funny that one of my latest nights this week has been because of a play night with my friends instead of work and studying; but I'm sure there will be enough of those nights too over the next couple of weeks. I am hoping that I can rest up a bit for the rest of this weekend, but there is work to do; so I'll keep you posted on how well that works out for me.

I may not need to be up early to go to work or anything, but morning isn't all that far off; so it's time for me to wrap this up and get some sleep while I can. While there hasn't been any earth-shaking news or major events in my life today, it has been one of those really good days; and I'm always feeling blessed to be part of my amazing family and town. Most of the people I love the most are sleeping now, though, and I'm ready to go there too; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, January 9, 2016

It's definitely back to being winter tonight, and while we aren't getting any snow; it is going to be very cold overnight – as in sub-zero wind chill whether you measure that in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

Mandy and I are snuggling in our bed and getting ready for a long winter's nap, so the cold isn't bothering us at all; but it'll still be out there in the morning waiting for us when it's time to go to church – or for Michael first thing in the morning when he comes over for Tai Chi.

My day started out a bit hectic; and that was mostly because Violet and Dillon headed back to school today and needed to pack and load Violet's car – while also dealing with the rest of our usual Saturday morning work. Thinking about Violet and Dillon reminds me that I've barely mentioned them in my updates while they've been home for the holidays; and their last few days here after getting home from Woodvale didn't exactly end up including spending much time with me. Ethan and Ehlana saw them at the lab a few times, and at least one lunch that I heard about; but Violet and Dillon were away from the house more than they were here – which is why I didn't even see them at bedtime or breakfast most of those days. They were out late every night, including last night; and slept in a bit most mornings – except for today.

Though we didn't get to do much together, Violet and Dillon have had a nice holiday here. They still have a week left before school starts again, but they'll be busy getting ready for their next semester next week – including getting the books and supplies they'll need; and hanging out with their friends to play and work ahead. That'll be more fun than my exam-prep week will be here; but then I do have quite a few fun things to look forward to this winter too – like that ski trip to Colorado on March Break.

While Violet and Dillon were with us for breakfast and until they were ready to go, they then said their goodbyes with us; and moved on to do a little stop and go trip around town to do the farewells with the rest of their family and a few friends. There was an Olde Bakery stop too; but that's normal for most outbound college students – even if they're flying back to school. For all I know, Olde Bakery treats make life easier getting through the airport line-ups and security, though if that's actually being done; nobody is admitting it.

Don't worry, TSA agents – we'll let you know if there are suddenly dozens or hundreds of suspicious-looking visitors coming to town to buy Olde Bakery treats to bribe you with for nefarious purposes! ;^)

Once we'd seen Violet and Dillon on their way to the next stop of their little farewell tour it was time to get serious about the house work. For me, that included cleaning the third floor, the sunroom, and dining room from top to bottom. A little Magi-powered assistance was an option; and we all had fun with that while I shielded the house for us. That bonus help allowed us to finish up by lunchtime; we went with soup and sandwiches; and then Dad went to work in the office for the afternoon so that he could get ahead on his weekend homework while Mom gave Ethan, Ehlana, and me a ride over to the lab so that we could play there for the afternoon.

That meant not hanging out with Michael during his afternoon break, but he was busy anyway; and put in extra time at the Inn early so that he didn't have to work until close tonight. Since Dillon was on his way back to school and Uncle Adam was busy at home or elsewhere; Ethan and I stayed with Ehlana and we played in her lab while Mom went back home and worked in the office with Dad. Ehlana's working on several projects at the lab right now, and since she had Ethan and me there; we played around with her study on how viruses are affected by our self-healing talent. While I'm often happy with knowing the how, she wants to know the why; and hopes to use that to develop cures for every serious disease that works for everyone as easily as our bodies heal from illness or injury. That's a fairly awesome goal, and it's fun to play with Ehlana now and then in the lab; but it's probably for the best that my future doesn't include a career cooped up in a lab. For me, it's a fun place to visit; but I wouldn't want to live there seventy or a hundred hours a week!

Dad came to collect us from the lab while Mom cooked dinner. We knew from their smiles that they hadn't exclusively worked all afternoon; but let's not go there on a weekend where there hasn't been very much Michael and me alone time. Okay, let's not go there any time when it comes to my parents – no matter how glad I am that they're happy together.

We had dinner in the sunroom; I cleaned up; and then Ethan, Ehlana, and I came up to the lounge to get ready to watch another movie once Michael was done at the Inn and could join us. Since we still had the Return of the Jedi movie to watch from the original trilogy, we cued that up and then had a bit of music play time until Michael arrived – and then for a couple of bonus songs that Michael and I sang and played together while we ended up with an audience of five – including Mandy. Mom and Dad decided to watch the movie and hang out with us too; so we got our drinks and snacks ready and then settled onto the sectional sofa to enjoy a couple of hours or so of cuddle and movie time. Michael and I got Ehlana for our cuddle buddy while Ethan was with Mom and Dad. Mandy switched sides several times; but that was mostly for the bonus scratches and back rubs that went along with the first few minutes with new cuddle buddies.

Mom and Dad took care of getting the twins off to bed tonight, so Michael and I did get to have a bit of alone time that included a very minor make-out session, but he was tired out after starting his day so early; and I sent him home to get some sleep – no matter how much we again would have preferred to spend the night together. There are limits to even our parents' collective leniency and understanding, though; so we're not going to push our luck.

Mandy, by the way, thinks that's silly, and while I appreciate a cat's perspective a lot; I seriously doubt that Mom and Miranda will agree to Mandy's recommendation that Michael just move in with me and live here; since that's what mates should do.

Sometimes I wish I was a cat too! ;^)

Mom hasn't taught me anything like that, but maybe I should search the archives and find out whether it's possible for me to do that! Then again, if I could end up stuck in cat form forever like in the Harry Potter stories, that wouldn't be good; so maybe I shouldn't seriously consider the idea anyway. I really don't want to head into dreamland with that thought in mind, since I'm already picturing Michael as the school janitor with me as his trusty mouser cat; so let's move along and wrap this up.

Michael only stayed until a bit after eleven o'clock; I saw him out; and then came back up here and got ready for bed. I've only done the basic computer and email check tonight; which is why I'm also going to be sleeping before midnight. I'm not going to work at the Inn tomorrow, but we are going to have an afternoon study session here to get our weekend homework done during Michael's break; and I'm planning on doing my family business work and studying early too so that I can get to bed in good time tomorrow night.

That thought might be an even worse starting point for my dreams tonight than being Janitor Mike's cat, but I don't have anything else to write about for today, and I really do want to get the extra sleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, January 10, 2016

The weather forecasters were just a tiny bit optimistic about the temperature this morning; and it was actually colder than forecast – a bit of a shock to the system after the more moderate weather we've been having for the past couple of days. It's a good thing that the rain stopped early-enough that most of the water drained off; or we'd have had flash freezing last night and skating rinks for roads and sidewalks today.

Weather was a top story around here today, but the only real effect it had on my day was that it encouraged me to stay indoors except for the trips to and from church that didn't include much outdoor time because Dad and Ethan dropped Mom, Ehlana, and me off at the entrance so that we didn't need to walk very far on a day when nearly everyone drove to church and the street side parking spots and parking lots were full for two blocks west and east of the church. The cold also kept me from meeting Amelia Spencer today as I'd expected; but I understand why Amy and Jared would want to keep their newborn out of the cold when she's only days old.

For the Moms in the future audience for my journals; I am not forgetting that Amy is recovering from having a baby. Helping Amy with a bit of Magi healing was an option for Uncle Adam, so while Amy still has to act as normal as possible for her 'recovery'; she doesn't have to deal with any of that discomfort while taking care of her newborn. I hope that we'll always have Magi healers here from now on, but if you don't whenever you're reading this in the future; please don't file protests with the doctors you do have. After all, our town did manage to muddle through without Magi healers for most of three centuries before Mom and I moved here – and she could train Uncle Adam to use his gift.

Moving along, it's been a quiet, stay-indoors day for me. Sunday school was fun; and it was also nice to actually get back to real lessons after taking more than a month and a half off to work on holiday services and other activities. The service was a bit on the short side, but the cold weather kept the after-church meet and greet very short because nobody wanted to stay outside any longer than needed. We had a soup and sandwiches lunch at home that Grandma and Grandpa joined us for, and while I'm thinking about them; let's talk winter travel for just a moment.

My grandparents didn't have any firm travel plans for the first couple of weeks of January, but this cold snap has convince Grandpa that they need to head south sooner than later – and they're going to hit the road tomorrow. Ethan, Ehlana, and I aren't the only people wishing we could go along, and while the twins might actually be able to get away with that; I can't go along – and they won't go without Mom and Dad no matter how much fun a winter in Florida would be for them.

Now I'm distracted with thoughts of Michael staying here with me while my family is in Florida for the winter, but let's not go there; or this update will not be family-rated anymore! ;^)

Michael went to work after church while I came home, but he came over for an extended afternoon break that Rowen and Tim joined us for so that we could study together and get our weekend exam prep assignments done. The boys watched some playoffs NFL football too, but I wasn't even mildly interested; and I'm pretty much ready for the football season to end so that there's a small chance that Tim will talk about anything else for a few months. Yes, that's optimistic; but a girl can dream.

When I wasn't studying for exams, and before and after that time with Michael, Tim, and Rowen; I worked on my family business and languages studying. That included some work after dinner too, but the important part of that news was that I had all of my work for the day finished before nine o'clock. I came up to my room after that to enjoy some Jacuzzi time while Mom, Dad, and the twins all stayed in the office to work or study; and then I rejoined them for a bedtime snack before helping out with getting the twins tucked in for the night.

That's pretty much it for my day, and I've only done the usual computer and email checks since climbing into bed with Mandy before starting this report. With exams now just a week away, I'm going to be busy for the next two weeks. Getting that started with a decent night of sleep works for me; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, January 11, 2016

Happy 15th Birthday, Gretchen!

She's had some birthday fun today, and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were there for the lunchtime mini party we had for her; but Gretchen's birthday dinner was with her family and boyfriend only; and she and Marc still came over to the study sessions before and after dinner at my house while only having the dinner break at the Inn with her family.

Exam studying has been the top activity of the day for me today, but if you ask most of the guys around here; they'd tell you that the highlight of the day has been the NCAA football championship game that's still going on as I take a break to write this after seeing most of our friends out for the night. Michael, Tim, and Rowen are staying here tonight instead of going home late after the game, and since I was busy with our study gang; Naomi and Aiden are here for the night too so that they could keep Ethan and Ehlana entertained while I was busy with the studying and Mom and Dad were busy with work in the office and then out at the game-watching party they're having fun at with their friends for the rest of the evening. The four kids have moved up to the lounge now after playing video games in the living room while Mom and Dad were still working; and Ethan and Aiden are working on their junior man-law badges or something by staying up late to watch the entire game with Michael and Tim.

I'm writing this update now in case Michael and I end up having a sofa sleepover later; though that might not work out tonight if the game goes late or Ehlana and Naomi talk me into letting them use the lounge for a sleepover instead.

The game is on, though, and I should get back in there; so let's wrap this up with a quick, short review of the rest of the day.

We did exam review in classes all day. All of my classmates came home with me for the study session; and the after-school until dinnertime work was done in the dining room. Including Naomi and Aiden, Mom and Dad had an extra eight kids and teens to feed tonight while everyone else either went home, to the Inn, or with other friends to have dinner before coming back for the extra studying that started up again at six-thirty. We used the lounge for that, and while it was a bit crowded; it allowed the guys to watch the pre-game sports news for the big championship match; and then catch the start of the game while we continued to study.

Game time did mean the end of the studying for most of the guys, though; and the exodus began at game time too – though the last group of departing teens didn't leave until the end of the first quarter. I'm not going to get any of my 'real' studying done tonight, and I only took care of one bit of family business that I didn't want to leave until tomorrow; so I probably won't be up for very long after the guys have had enough football for the night. That'll likely include watching most of the post-game festivities and analysis, so it'll still be fairly late by the time we do get to sleep; but Michael can make that up to me with a sofa sleepover! ;^)

I'll let you know how that goes, and maybe even whether Clemson or Alabama wins the game with my next report, but that's all I have for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Let's start with the football report from last night and get that over with; since it was also the top news story for the guys at school today. Alabama won the championship over Clemson, and with a total of forty points scored in the fourth quarter; the excitement level stayed high through to the end as Alabama first took the lead and then kept ahead of Clemson through to the end of the game. There were just as many fans around here that were disappointed for Clemson; but there was also general agreement that Alabama earned the National title this year after winning their games against both the number one and number three teams – even if they aren't the only team with just one loss this season. It would be nice if this was the end of football until August, but the NFL playoffs continue this weekend; so we still have about another month or so of fun for the football fans around here before the rest of us can have a break for a few months.

Yes, I am Michael's number one fan when it comes to his high school football, but that's to support him; and I'd be doing that for any sport he picked – and that would be more fun if he and Tim were into sports that I like more than football. Okay, we don't have a school swim or diving team, or one for snowboarding, mountain climbing, or any extreme sport; but it would be awesome if we did!

Thinking about things like that does make my day seem very boring by comparison; and I can include our post-game bedtime action that did not include a sofa sleepover for Michael and me. Mandy thinks that Rowen is a great sleepover cuddle buddy, and I'm sure that Tim would agree with my adorable cat, but while Rowen and I always have fun; I'll admit that I like my sleepovers with Michael more – and Rowen would say the same thing for herself and Tim. Ehlana and Naomi ended up doing a sofa sleepover in the lounge, and while Naomi had fallen asleep cuddled with Ethan while the game had still been on; Mom and Dad did not let them stay cuddled together after getting home from their own little game-watching party. Ethan and Aiden were moved downstairs to Ethan's room while Ehlana and Naomi were tucked in at opposite ends of the sectional sofa. I didn't mention and cuddling and nap time for Ehlana with Aiden because that didn't happen. They did sit next to each other, but when Ehlana fell asleep; she ended up snuggled with me instead of next to Aiden. Naomi, as usual, snuggled with Ethan as easily as I cuddle with Michael; and my brother is usually quite happy to follow her lead.

I'd better move this along; since I do have a lot to cover – even if my day wasn't extreme sport kind of fun.

When Mom and Dad got home last night, the post-game wrap-up was still going on; but they'd been ready to call it a night – as were most of their friends on a work night. We had a minor chat and evening recap time while getting Ethan and Aiden into bed and tucking Ehlana and Naomi into their spots of the sofa; but then Mom and Dad went straight to bed and left Michael and I – and Rowen and Tim – in charge of getting ourselves to bed – and dealing with the clean-up in the lounge. Michael and I dealt with the dishes and kitchen end of the clean-up while Rowen and Tim dealt with the lounge; and they actually did that work because they couldn't exactly have a make-out session instead with two sleeping girls in the room with them. They did spend some time saying goodnight to each other after that, though – just as Michael and I took care of that while we were in the kitchen. Rowen was ready to crash by then, so we kept our own bedtime routines short; I didn't even get my computer out again for one last check or a bit of work; and we went straight off to sleep with just a very minor bit of girl chat time before Rowen was out for the count and I was off to dreamland soon after she fell asleep.

With five extra teens and kids in the house this morning; we were all busy taking turns getting ready for the day – whether that was sharing bathroom time or dealing with breakfast and the clean-up. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I also had Naomi with us for the walk to school; and all of that two hours and change of near non-stop action helped to make for a great start to our day. Spending most of our school time getting ready for exams wasn't quite as exciting, and the guys spent way too much time talking about the football game; but there was one news highlight today that was really awesome – though we won't officially get any of the details about it until we have our music class tomorrow.

The postings to sign up for the new marching band went up today, and Mrs. Robinson began talking about it with her classes today too – which is why we won't have that talk with her until tomorrow. She's done that today because we won't be having our first band practice of the New Year until the week after exams; but we'll also need to get started on the next phase of the planning that week too – and need both volunteers and information to get working on that. The buzz about the marching band didn't really get going today because of the post-championship football stories; but it will be a bigger story by tomorrow – especially as word gets around that the invitation to join the new marching band has been extended to the Maple Valley school music students.

I do know those details already, since I've been in the loop for all of the early plans and the hoops that needed to be jumped through just to get all of the proper approvals to get us to this point; but let's cover all of that in upcoming journal reports as needed. All I want to add for today is that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I all signed up for the marching band. Tim isn't in the school band, and isn't one of the best trumpet players in the school, but he can play; and has no intention on missing out on the trip to Florida next year while Rowen went along without him. He's much less-sure about how any of the football guys will handle marching band practices and everything else we'll be doing during football season next fall; but they'll figure it out – just as Michael and the other guys on the team and in the band now have always managed to do both.

While that's really exciting for me, the rest of my day has been all about exam studying – and helping my friends to get ready for our exams. Our after-school and evening studying was again at my house, but Michael was the only teen staying for dinner – and his parents joined us for that meal while also contributing to the menu with a really delicious seafood casserole. Rebecca didn't join us for that because she was busy studying tonight with Lucas, Jenny, and some of their friends; but that was also a really short break for Michael and me between our own study sessions.

As with last night, all of our friends stayed in town for dinner, and while Rowen and Tim weren't with us; Tim's parents did host three extra teen couples for dinner at their house – including Sally, Joshua, Gretchen, and Marc. Since Rowen advised me that the guys talked football the entire time they were there; I'm glad that I missed out on that teen fun and got to talk about everything except football with Michael, the twins, and our parents.

The studying right now is still fairly general for all subjects; but the usual core subjects do get top billing while also being the scariest for about half of my classmates. That group isn't the same for every subject, and while I'm doing my best to help them out; the confidence level has a lot of upside to go between now and next week. It is easier this year now that everyone is on-board with our study program; and I'm sure that the results will be even better this time simply because Michael, Rowen, and I don't have any issues with doubters of our methods. We studied until ten-thirty tonight before the country kids' rides began arriving to pick them up for the night; and I was the last teen standing in the house by a bit after eleven. Mom did a short Magi lesson with me after I'd seen Michael on his way home; Dad had the twins in bed by then; and then I came up to my room to get ready for bed and started on my family business work and studying.

That was more than three and a half hours ago; it's way too late; and I should have been sleeping a couple of hours ago. I decided against a time phase tonight because I don't want to burn out when we still have a week and a half to go between now and the end of our exams; but I might change my mind about doing that if I start burning out from lack of sleep instead of over-use of my Magi power.

Getting started on that nap is now my top priority, though, and there isn't anything else to add to this update anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

We studied for exams at school all day; followed that up with more studying at my house after school and again after dinner; and then I got started on my 'real' work and studying after all of my friends went home for the night at around ten-thirty. Mom did my Magi lesson with me; I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and I've been working on my computer since climbing into bed with Mandy too many hours ago for comfort. I did get my work done for the day, though; and I can always do a bit of self-healing in the morning to make up for the lack of sleep.

I'm going to get started on that nap in a moment, but before I go there; I'll just add a quick mention of the marching band announcement from band class today. While the news had been buzzing around school by then, my fellow music class friends were thrilled to hear about the plans first hand; and the sign-up sheet is filling up rapidly thanks entirely to the main goal of starting the band – the trip to Florida next year. We already have enough teens signed up to help with the committee and work crews too; so I think we'll be good to go for all of the work that's going to be needed to make the band and the big trip a reality.

I'll need to fit all of that into my schedule somehow too, and that isn't going to be easy; but I'll work it out somehow.

That's a worry for another day, though, and I really do need to crash now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Happy 5th Birthday, Naomi!

Not only has Naomi been enjoying all of the birthday fun that goes along with a party and sleepover; Mother Nature also gave her a pretty nice weather day too. Temperatures climbed to hover around sixty, and while that isn't nice-enough to allow for a swim and play day at Quarry Lake like Ethan and Ehlana can do in June for their birthday; it did mean that playing outside was an option for them.

I'm glad that she's had great weather for her special day, but I'm going to go ahead anyway and file a minor complaint with Mother Nature for giving us this warm day during the school week – especially after the deep freeze last weekend and the return to winter that's forecast for this weekend too. Sure, we'll be spending the weekend studying for exams anyway; but it'd be nice to do that outside where we could at least get some fresh air instead of being cooped up in the house all of the time.

We did at least get to go outside at lunchtime today without needing to bundle up in our winter gear, and Michael and I had fun when we stopped in to wish Naomi a happy birthday and give her the gift we'd picked out for her; but the rest of my day has not been birthday party fun as we had our second-to-last round of classroom exam prep time; and then followed that up with studying at my house from the time I got home from Naomi's until Mom and Dad got home from game night at the Inn. That doesn't mean that we didn't have any fun, because we did; with the pizza dinner topping both the fun and work lists for me.

That was Mom's idea, and she was good with having all of my classmates stay for dinner because all she needed to do was buy a stack of frozen pizzas today; and then wish me luck when she and Dad left to go and have dinner at the Inn while I did the work with some help from Michael, Sally, and Joshua. I had that particular trio of helpers because Sally had suggested that Michael or Rowen should be left in the dining room to offer tutoring instead; and Tim apparently felt the need to be tutored by his girlfriend instead of cooking too. With quite a few football players in the house, we'd needed all of the pizza that Mom bought to feed them plus the Olde Bakery desserts and snacks by the time everyone headed home for the night. The good news is that all of the studying is starting to pay off; and I think that we're going to collectively have a very good round of exams next week.

Ethan and Ehlana are doing the birthday sleepover with Aiden at Naomi's house, and for the record; she isn't even slightly worried about her reputation taking a hit from having a co-ed sleepover. I think that's adorable, and while it might cause Ethan some problems in the future; he's counting on the twin thing with Ehlana to save him from trouble with his buddies. That isn't an issue yet, but we'll see how that goes once they're all at school full-time in a couple of years.

With the twins out of the house, I was very tempted to keep Michael for a sleepover here, but I just had too much work and studying to do tonight to skip out on – no matter how much fun the make-out time and sofa sleepover would have been to do instead. Mom and Dad might have liked a kid free night too if I'd gone home with Michael instead, but then they did get to have a bonus by keeping me – a major time phase work and study session in the office that had them heading for bed by twelve-thirty instead of two or three o'clock.

You're welcome, Mom and Dad! ;^)

No, we are not going to add anything about what they've been doing with the extra time – especially when I didn't get to have any play time with Michael tonight; so let's move on and wrap this up for the night.

After seeing Michael out, I met up with Mom and Dad in the office; and we all got to work. Mom skipped my Magi lesson tonight, but did give me some archive reading to do that I've been doing since coming up to bed. I had a lot of family business work to do, so I didn't get all of my language studying done when we wrapped up our time phased work session; and that's why I'm still up later than normal on a night when I've used up some serious Magi power to get everything done. That's going to make for a long day tomorrow, but we're taking tomorrow evening off from the studying before the big push we'll do through the weekend to finish getting ready to write them next week.

The language studying and archive reading that I've been doing since getting changed and into bed with Mandy hasn't been very exciting, but I am glad that I've gotten everything done and will be able to focus on helping my friends this weekend; so it's worth losing the sleep tonight to be able to do that. Michael and I will definitely need some catch-up alone time to make up for all of this, but that won't likely happen until after exams; so I'll have to keep you posted on how that goes for us whenever that happens for us.

For now, it's way past-time for me to be sleeping; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, January 15, 2016

This update is going to be short because I've run out of steam and need to crash for the night.

Our last exam review day at school kept us busy all day; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I took the night off from studying as planned; and we were at my house for our dinner and a movie night. Dinner was a potluck event; all of our hometown aunts, uncles, and cousins were here for the fun; and then the I was in charge of the kid and teen entertainment after dinner while the adults first took care of the clean-up and then watched an action-adventure film in the living room. We played video games and watched a movie in the lounge; Rowen and I did some running around as we played with my younger cousins; and Michael and I had Brianna for our movie time cuddle buddy.

The parents began heading home with their kids by a bit before eleven; Michael was the last guest out at eleven-thirty; and I came straight up to my room and got ready for bed after that. I've only done the basic email and computer checks tonight, and might be sleeping by midnight if I hurry; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

This is going to be a micro update because I'm also packing to head over to Michael's for the night; and don't plan on spending any of my time there on my computer. Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi are having a sleepover at Aiden's house tonight too; so I'm sure that Mom and Dad will be happy to get started on their kid-free night too.

My day included morning chores; a lot of studying with my friends; and a few meals packed into the day between Tai chi for five and now. Michael worked the breakfast shift at the Inn; spent most of the rest of the day with me and the rest of our study buddies; and he'll be done with the dinner shift soon too. That's why I need to hurry up and be ready to meet him at his house; since we're both ready to enjoy an evening that will hopefully include some alone time opportunities for us once his parents head off to bed. Rebecca's going to be hanging out with Lucas and some other friends tonight; and may spend the night at his house – if they don't end up spending the night at hers instead. Either way, they'll be out late; so Michael and I won't have to compete for sofa make-out time with them.

The studying is going well-enough for most of my classmates, but the details are fairly boring; so I won't put you to sleep by writing about that tonight.

Then again, everything else seems boring to me right now compared to having that potential play time with Michael, and I really do want to make sure I'm dressed appropriately for an overdue make-out session; so I'm going to go and do that now. Flip the digital page in your 'now' to find out whether that worked out for me. Hopefully it will, but I'll have to find out about that in real time; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, January 17, 2016

My evening with Michael last night was great; we did get to have some quality make-out time that we totally took advantage of; and Rebecca and Lucas opted for the sleepover there too once they got home from Jenny's house and the study and play night they were having there.

Tai Chi for two and a Jacob Stone breakfast kept the fun going, and while Michael and I didn't have a sofa sleepover; he did have fun tucking me in for the night before going to his room to get some sleep; so I'd rank this sleepover fairly high on my personal fun scale! ;^)

Our morning at church was busy; Michael worked the lunch shift at the Inn after that; and our afternoon was filled with exam study action with our friends until everyone either needed to get home for dinner or elsewhere. For Michael, that meant back to the Inn for the buffet shift, but I've taken the weekend off again and didn't go along. Mom did an easy dinner with us; we all worked or studied in the office using a time phase; and then we also all headed for bed by a bit after nine o'clock.

I've had a soak in the tub since then; did one more round of computer and email checks before starting this update; and I'll be crashing for the night once I have this done.

We're there; it's time for a long winter's nap; and I'm out of this digital world and off to dreamland; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, January 18, 2016

Happy 72nd Birthday, Grandpa!

I know that Martin Luther King Day is the big event for a lot of people today, and that I didn't even have much involvement in Grandpa's big day; but he still gets top billing for my report today. Grandma and Grandpa are both very happy to be in Florida right now, and while it's going to be cool there today compared to some of the warm they're used to when wintering in the south; it's a lot warmer there than here. We were once again below zero on more than one temperature scale this morning; which is why I didn't venture outdoors at all today.

That's one advantage of having my house as study central; though most of my friends got rides to the house too instead of walking when they came over for our morning study session after breakfast. Having a house full of teens might be the main reason for why Dad went to work at his office today instead of working from home; but Mom stayed home with us; and the twins had Naomi and Aiden over for at least part of the day – along with visits from Hannah and Liz.

The studying went fine today, and we're ready for our first exams tomorrow; so my work for helping my friends out with that is nearly done now. We managed to have some fun around all of the work too, and I'm glad that Michael and I have been able to spend so much time with our friends over the past week; but it's also exhausting – and explains why we don't hang out like this all of the time. One other thing that would be nice would be if our exams didn't coincide with football playoff season. To be blunt, I am tired of hearing about football, guys! Yes, we're only in grade ten, and our lives won't be over if we don't do well on our exams, but the stats from the Patriots' and Broncos' games on the weekend won't be on any of the exams; and there won't be requests for making predictions about the conference championships games for this coming weekend either.

Okay, knowing some of our teachers, it is possible that football could intrude on math or science exam questions, and I did use football to help some of the guys with learning both subjects; but part two of that was only because they wouldn't stop talking about the sport and it worked to get their attention back where it needed to be.

Moving along, we studied all day; Mom fed us a lunch that we could eat while still continuing to work; and the dining room and sunroom were teen central for the day while Ethan and Ehlana used the lounge for the day while I was busy. We wrapped up our work at four-thirty; Michael stayed for dinner because Dad will be in the city for the rest of the week after he heads out in the morning; and then we had a work and study evening in the office with Mom, Dad, and the twins. That included a Magi lesson; I did all of my family business work; and then Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and I came up to the lounge to watch television for a while and wind down before Michael headed home for the night so we can both get enough sleep to be ready for our exams tomorrow. Time phasing was needed for that work and study part of the night, and Michael and I might have used a bit of a time phase after we tucked the twins in for the night so that we could have a minor make-out session before he left; but there should be at least a few advantages to being a teen Magi Master, so don't begrudge me the occasional use of my abilities for a bit of play time now and then.

As I'm thinking about that, and for the record; Michael and I are generally pretty good about that sort of thing. Imagine what being able to time phase would be used for by your average teen – even here in Witch Falls; and be afraid! ;^)

Then again, it'd be nice to write each of our exams in minutes instead of hours over the next four days. Too bad Mom would veto letting me do that for our exams – though that'd be more fun with finals in June. It's too cold for that free time to work for us this week.

Okay, I'm just babbling along now, and could be sleeping instead. My exams obviously won't be a problem for me, but I do still want to be there for my friends; so I'll need extra down time to keep up with both the exams and ongoing studying we'll do after school for the next few nights. Writing those exams and the studying and work will be all I'll be doing between now and Friday when I'm not sleeping; but then we'll see about making up for that with a bit of fun this weekend. I'll keep you posted on that, but I'm done for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

We were up early this morning to see Dad off to the city; Mom had four cuddle buddies for the nap we had after Dad was on his way to Crystal Springs; and then it was on to our usual morning routine after that.

Snow was in the forecast, but it didn't arrive here until mid-afternoon; and we only ended up getting a couple of inches.

Sorry about your luck, kids and teens – exams were on for today; and they'll go ahead on time tomorrow too!

My exams today were Math, Graphic Design, and English. Yes, I aced them; but what's really great is that most of my classmates were happy with how they did today too. While it would have been nice to enjoy that success, we had three more exams to get ready for tomorrow; so the big study sessions before and after dinner were at my house. Science, History, and Music were the study subjects of the night for most of us – except for the handful of friends that aren't taking Music anymore this year and picked a different optional. That kept us busy, and while more than half of our friends had other plans for dinner; Mom ended up feeding the rest of us – and we traded that for doing a round of shoveling while waiting for the food to be ready.

With Science being one of the tough exams for so many of my classmates; we didn't wrap up our study session until eleven o'clock; and that was mostly because the parents didn't want to deal with driving their kids home later than that. Michael stayed a bit later than that to help with the clean-up and one more quick round of shoveling to deal with the last bit of snow that had fallen since the first round; and then we had a goodnight snowball fight before he went home and I came back inside and really got to work.

Mom skipped my Magi lesson, but I've had a lot of family business work to deal with – along with my language studying and the rest of my usual nightly computer and email checks. Getting all of that finished has taken me more than three and a half hours; I'm totally baked now; and it's time to crash for a couple of hours.

Tomorrow will be a rinse-and-repeat of today without the snow and with different subjects for the exams and study sessions. I will manage to deal with everything somehow, starting with that short winter's nap; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Today's exams – Science, History, and Music.

Our study subjects for the rest of the afternoon and evening – Computers, Geography, and Sociology.

We studied until eleven o'clock again; and then I studied and worked on my 'real' job and languages studies until three-thirty. The rest of the time until now has been all about winding down with a last round of computer and email checks. That's not exactly fun; but then I'm too tired to do anything – including writing a major daily recap for this journal.

At least we're now half-way through our exams; and I'll only have one more study night to complicate my bedtime study and work schedule. Another nap-sized night of rest isn't going to be enough to re-charge me, but that's all that I have time for; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Three exam days down; one left to go!

After two nights with almost no sleep at all; I'm going to bed early tonight – thanks to cutting back on the must-do work; skipping the language studies; and using a time phase for the work I had to get finished.

The exams today were Computers, Geography, and Sociology – all easy-enough when you have a photographic memory! This trio is also likely the best for my classmates too; though that's at least partially helped by the great marks that most of us earn in Computers.

Our final study session for this round of exams was in Spanish, PhysEd, and Accounting; though the third is an optional that only about half of our full class is taking. That might sound like an easier exam day for us tomorrow, but while that's true for PhysEd; I'm half-dragging my friends through Spanish and Accounting. I won't suggest that they're kicking and screaming too; but there were a few words spoken in Spanish tonight that wouldn't have been distinguishable from a scream. ;^)

We did finish up earlier tonight – by a bit before ten o'clock. That was mostly because rides home were available shortly after game night at the Inn ended. Speaking of that; Mom and Miranda won the senior game night championship tonight, and while the teens were all busy with studying for exams; the younger kids were happy to get a chance to win the junior title – though Ethan and Ehlana were not the winners. Yes, they could be if they did their best; but it'd be tough to explain to the non-Magi players how that was possible for a pair of four-year old kids.

I've already mentioned the time phased work session, so I guess the only detail I missed was the half hour or so that I spent saying goodnight to Michael after the rest of our friends went home. We did that in a non-verbal sort of way, so even though I was already exhausted before doing that time phase and work; I was smiling the entire time too. I'm likely even too tired to dream about having fun with Michael right now, but I'm willing to give it a try instead of playing on my computer any longer; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, January 22, 2016

Spanish, PhysEd, and Accounting exams were today. Enough said about that! ;^)

Now that we're done with them; I'm ready to take a break and catch my breath. That didn't really happen tonight because Miranda and Jacob were short-staffed; they had a lot of extra customers that included teens and their families celebrating the end of exams; and I volunteered to stay and work with Michael and the rest of the staff in the kitchen through until after the dinner rush was over with for the night.

That was tiring after everything else we've been busy with for the past couple of weeks, but instead of going to bed like I probably should; I'm getting ready to watch a movie with Michael once he catches up with me from the Inn. I worked until eight-thirty, and he shouldn't be much longer; but the main reason I'm doing my usual computer and email checks now is because I'm not at all sure that I'll manage to stay awake for an entire movie. If I don't, my favorite option for the rest of the night will be a sofa sleepover with Michael, but he might need to work the breakfast shift at the Inn in the morning too; so that might not be an option. Whether he can stay the night or not, though, I don't plan to play on my computer later at all; so you'll need to flip the digital page in your 'now' to find out how the rest of my evening goes.

That's all I have for now, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Happy 32nd Birthday, Liz!

I'll get to the birthday fun part of this update soon, but before I go there; let's back up and cover the rest of the news for the day first.

Michael and I both fell asleep last night long before the movie ended, and Mom and Dad left us sleeping in the lounge overnight; so the sofa sleepover that I knew would be my favorite option for how our night ended worked out great for us. Falling asleep early worked out for Michael in the morning too; and he was able to wake up and get home in time to get ready for the day and head over to the Inn with his father so that they could both work the breakfast shift. While he went to do that, I went back to sleep and had Mandy for my cuddle buddy until it was time to get up for Tai chi with my parents, Ethan, and Ehlana.

After having breakfast in the sunroom, it was time for chores; and that kept me busy for most of the morning – especially since I also needed to get guest bedrooms ready for the kids and teens that are spending the night here while our parents are out celebrating Liz's birthday. Mom and Dad did give me the afternoon off, though, and since Michael didn't have to work the lunch shift too; he joined us for lunch and then we spent the afternoon playing with Ethan and Ehlana – until he then needed to be back at the Inn for the dinner shift. It would have been nice if he'd been able to join us in the dining room for Liz's birthday dinner, but then I was assigned kid control duty anyway; so he'd have worked hard either way – even if it would have been more fun with me.

Kids were invited to Liz's birthday dinner because I'd have needed a lot more help to get all of them fed at our house – not to mention the extra clean-up time that would have been needed. That isn't to say that I didn't have some kids in need of being cleaned up once they'd finished having cake and ice cream for dessert, but in most cases; that was done by wiping them down and changing their messy clothes. It might have been easier to just dunk them in the river; but even without very much snow so far this winter; it's a bit chilly for doing that in January.

Rowen and Tim did not come to the Inn for dinner, but they did meet us at my house in time to help out with the kids. Michael had needed to stay at the Inn longer than he'd hoped, but we had some parental support while we got all of the younger kids settled into the lounge to watch a movie or play with toys and games in my bedroom. Some video gaming was an option too, but the kids did that on iPads or portables while the television in the lounge was tied up with Disney cartoons. Tim, Rowen, and I kept busy straight through until Michael joined us, and by then; we needed to start dealing with kids falling asleep.

For me, that included some quality time with Brianna as I gave her a bottle and sang her to sleep; though I'll admit that neither of us was thrilled with the diaper change part of that process. I also took care of Hailey and Leah when they were each ready to crash for the night; while Rowen kept the rest of the girls entertained and Michael and Tim did the same for the boys. The Video gaming moved to the big screen once the boys that were still awake out-numbered the girls, but then Rowen, Naomi, and I were eventually able to cuddle with our favorite boys as the younger kids dropped off – or were eventually just ordered to bed.

It's currently a bit past one o'clock, and I'm writing this while getting ready for bed. We just finished putting the last four kids to bed; and the four teens left standing are all getting changed before we meet up again in the lounge to watch a movie while we wait for Mom and Dad to get home from the pub and Liz's party. That cuddle time with Michael will be a nice way to end the day, but we won't be doing another sofa sleepover because Tim's already warned us that he and Rowen should get a turn for that if anyone gets to have a sofa sleepover at all.

I really hope that he's joking about wearing what he normally wears to bed at home for our cuddle and a movie time just to make sure that he can't leave the lounge when my parents get home, but since I also just heard him head into the lounge; I won't be surprised to find him under a blanket with his shirt off in an attempt to make Rowen and I think that's exactly what he's done.

If that does happen – or if he actually did what he said he'd to; it'll have to be a cliff-hanger for my next update because I need to wrap this up and finish getting ready so that I don't miss out on any of the cuddle time with Michael. We've had a really good day so far even with all of the work and babysitting, and I want to keep the fun going now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Happy 15th Birthday, Lisa!

As with a lot of my friends this past year, Lisa's birthday party dinner was at the Inn today; though the total extent of my involvement with her big day was when Michael and I gave her our gift while we were at church this morning and a visit to her table while we were on our break to again wish her a Happy Birthday.

The rest of my day can be summed up by one word – work.

Since I did leave you with that little cliff-hanger about Tim, I'll mention that he was wearing clothes when Rowen and I joined our boys in the lounge; but he also half-won the sofa sleepover non-battle. What I mean there is that he and Rowen got to have the sofa and lounge for their goodnight make-out session; and they dragged that out for quite a while before Rowen sent him off to bed so that she could actually get some sleep before we needed to be awake and working kid control for a few hours.

I didn't get to have an uninterrupted night of sleep because Brianna wanted to play for a while at around three-thirty. After changing her diaper and feeding her a bottle, she still wanted to snuggle; so Mandy and I ended up keeping her with us until morning – and we all loved that a lot.

My lack of sleep did make my morning a bit tougher, but Mom, Rowen, and I also had fun playing dress-up with the other girls; and the entire breakfast adventure was non-stop entertainment and action even though it was also exhausting to keep up with all of the kids. We did eventually get everyone ready and off to church; and then going to Sunday school with my friends almost felt like nap time by comparison – even with the bits of birthday fun for Lisa.

Church and Sunday school was followed by lunch at home for me with my family while Michael went to work at the Inn. Work was still the word of the day for me then because I helped out with cooking lunch and then cleaning up because Dad had a lot of work to get done today. Mom and I then took the twins over to the lab so that we'd be out of Dad's way; I helped out in the lab until I needed to go home again and get ready to work the buffet shift; and then I spent the next five hours or so helping out with the cooking and cleaning for the two dinner sittings that kept all of us busy through until the Inn closed for the night.

Dad was still working in the office when I got home again, but Mom was having some quality Jacuzzi time; and the twins had been sent to bed early after a very late night on Saturday. Since I had a lot of work and studying to do then, I went and got my computer; used a time phase; and Dad and I both finished all of our must-do work or studying by eleven-thirty.

We headed for bed then; I'm writing this while having a time-phased soak in my tub; and I still plan on being asleep as soon as possible so that I can catch up on my rest too. This hasn't exactly been the most-fun day ever by a long shot, but the fun moments have still helped to make it a good day; and I always feel grateful to be able to say that about even the not-so-fun days around here.

I do need to wrap this up and finish getting ready for bed if I want to get to the extended nap time, though, and I don't have anything else particularly interesting to write about; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

P.S. Judging by the smiles of the parents at Liz's party and particularly the parents that got to have kid-free nights on Saturday; you might want to check out those Magi journals in the archives for the hottest news from Witch Falls this weekend. I seriously don't want to hear those details; but then I'll likely have a different opinion about that once I'm a bit older. That change in attitude won't include those types of stories about my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles; but I'm sure that you know what I mean! ;^)

Monday, January 25, 2016

Congratulations to everyone on the Stone side of Michael's family – it's a girl!

Erica Bishop was born very early this morning; she and her mother, Sally, are both doing well; and proud Daddy, Eric, is apparently having a tougher day because Erica's big brother, Gerry, is not impressed with his new baby sister – or all of the attentions she's getting.

Speaking of attention for Michael's newest cousin, Jacob and Miranda hit the road early this morning to drive up to Garden City and see the new baby. They're staying there overnight instead of spending most of one day in the car and only having time for a short visit; and then they'll be back sometime tomorrow evening. Michael and Rebecca are staying at home this time, and while Jenny did apparently joke about Rebecca having a major party while the parents are away tonight; they're being good – and Michael spent most of the evening here, or at least with me, while their parents are away. That's getting ahead of this update, though; so let's back up and take it from the start of my day.

Tai Chi was more fun thanks to the baby report that Michael brought with him. He needed to hurry back home after we exercised so that he could help out there while his parents were busy packing for their impromptu trip. I went over to see them off with bonus hugs and kisses before breakfast because they were ready to get started on the long drive; and then the rest of my morning was a bit too busy as I got ready for school and was also in charge of the breakfast clean-up today.

While exams are over for this round of them, the work at school didn't stop; and we began new study modules in every class today. That was at least a change, but the big news story around school was for something that happened tonight – the first planning meeting for the marching band. Michael, Rowen, and I are three of the teen volunteers; Tim's at least temporarily been drafted by his girlfriend; and my Mom, Michael's, and Rowen's father are among the parent and adult volunteers. We have a lot to get done between now and the first marching band practice in April; and the meeting tonight was all about getting organized – and assigning jobs to everyone.

I won't bore you with every little detail from the meeting; but here's a short list for some of the work we need to do over the next two months or so. We need to plan all of the fundraiser activities and start working on the first of them so that at least the first of them will be ready to go for the first week of band practices. We need to design and then choose uniforms; organize and plan for parades; decide on whether our new band will play at football games – and how we'd do that when so many members will also be from the team or cheerleaders – not to mention the cost of travel to away games and other issues. The trip to Florida is going to be a huge undertaking; so we'll have a sub-committee for that, and while we already know that we have a lot of interest in going to Florida with the teens; we'll also need enough volunteer chaperones that the parents are going to deal with recruiting. The full list of work seems a bit daunting, but if needed, some of us can literally make the time to get everything done; so I'm not actually worried about that.

The fundraisers are going to be the biggest issue for the Florida trip, and while Mom and I could just pay for the entire thing, we obviously couldn't do that openly; and the teachers among us want that to be as much of a learning experience as everything else will be. We do live in a small town, though, and we're talking about a lot of money from a per person living here perspective. That won't work without a lot of fundraiser support from summer visitors and tourists, since we're talking about at least several hundred dollars per local person to raise enough money for the trip; so getting those dollars – especially on holiday weekends – will need to be a real priority for the fundraising team. Mom, Michael, and I will be helping with that too; but we'll really get started on that at our next meeting.

So much for not boring you with the details. Let's move on before I really start getting wound up about the whole thing.

I skipped over the after school studying at my house for Michael and me. Rebecca was at Jenny's for dinner; Michael stayed with me; and then Mom took us to the meeting at the school while Dad stayed home to work while the twins worked on their college classes. In case it wasn't obvious, Miranda wasn't at the first meeting because she and Jacob are away, but she is on the committee; and we'll be working with her at least as much as we'll work with Mom. Michael came home with me again after the meeting, we did a Magi lesson with Mom, and then had some music practice time that Ethan and Ehlana sat in on before we took care of getting them tucked in for the night. Michael and I had a short chat with Mom and Dad in the office after that; and then Michael went home and I came up to my room to get started on my studies and family business work. Using so many time phases is starting to wear on my, but I did that again tonight anyway so that I wouldn't be awake until three or four o'clock.

My archive assignment for tonight really would bore you unless you'd actually find a decades-long study in Magi agriculture from a few millennia ago fascinating. The family business work was a bit challenging because I was working on projects in Asia that require a lot of due diligence while jumping through the political hoops that always slow down progress. The language study time was more fun with an entertaining internet chat, but since I couldn't do that while in a time phase; I kept that part of my studying fairly short.

Band and teen praise team practices resume tomorrow, and we'll be starting new study modules in our classes on Tuesday too; so it's time to wrap this up so that I can get some sleep and hopefully begin to recharge my Magi batteries a bit. I know that's probably just wishful thinking, but it does work out for me now and then, so let's give it a try and I'll let you know how it works out for me with my next report.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Band practice was one of the highlights of the day for me, as was the post teen praise team practice visit with Miranda and Jacob after they got home from Garden City, but before I go there; let's talk football!

No, I am not excited about the upcoming Super Bowl; though apparently I should be simply because I'm dating a football player. What the guys that razzed me about my total lack of interest don't know, however, is that Michael mostly plays football because his best friend wants him to play on the team with him. He does like football, and is pretty good at it too, but unlike Tim; he'd be just as happy doing other sports or activities – like music. That's not really the point of this side trip, since I do think that some guys are living in a different era if they think that girls should just wander through life doing and thinking whatever the men in their lives thing that they should; though it is possible that they're just totally delusional. The only reason that I'd have to look forward to the Super Bowl is that it'll be the end of football season until Tim puts on what is sure to be a big push to get ready for the school football season.

Yes, I could see him wanting to start that the day after the Super Bowl; but I think that Michael will manage to get him to hold off on the daily practices until July – even if he is still stuck with the daily weight training.

I really don't want to go on and on about football, and truly don't care whether the horsies or big cats – the Broncos or Panthers – win the championship; but other than the sexism implied in the jokes directed my way today; I'd also like to remind those boys that there are way more important things going on in the world. While I don't write about that much in this journal, in part because the archives have much more thorough reports on global current events than I could possibly cover in my personal journal anyway; that doesn't mean that I'm unaware or unaffected. I also deal with many of those issues while working on the family business; and try to help where I can. The second point I want to make, I'm doing here in my journal because it isn't cool to go off on a public diatribe with a bunch of teen friends; and it's simply to point out that even professional sports are still just a game. Take a reality check people, and while I'd never dream of suggesting that there's a problem with sports as entertainment; that is also all that it is – entertainment.

Okay, that's already too much ranting; so let's get back to the report for the day.

Michael came over for Tai Chi this morning; he stayed for breakfast; and then went home to get ready for the school day and head there early-enough for his weight training with Tim, Lucas, and the few other guys that are dedicated enough to do that with them all winter. I haven't mentioned it in a while, but Michael's Pushing Hands training is going really well, and while he still has a lot to learn about Tai Chi; he's already to a point where he'd be able to handle himself well-enough if we needed to defend ourselves. Since you're reading this in the future, you'll know that we've needed to do that by then, but while I do have some hints about that future; let's not spoil that news for future journal updates! ;^)

Our classes today all included starting new lesson modules; and we also started getting exam results. I'm not going to brag about how I did, since that would just be silly considering what my unofficial academic achievements are; but I am willing to accept a bit of the blame for helping our Grade Ten class to earn some of the highest group average marks on those exams in school history. The best part of that is having my friends so happy; and they're even happier because the results make for happy parents too.

The new study modules make our classes more entertaining, but band practice after school really was one of the highlights because we spent some of that time talking about the new marching band; and the rest was because we worked on music for the senior's Valentine's Day party that we'll be doing the music for – including the duet that Michael and I have again been drafted for; and still need to pick out and learn. We didn't have any new band members for our little concert band, but we are expected to be leaders for the new band; and that means getting involved in all of the work. For today, our group assignment is to brainstorm fundraising ideas that teens can get into doing; and to get those ideas back to the marching band committee by next Monday.

Actually getting to this stage of making a marching band a reality is awesome; and I especially like seeing the excitement with all of the teens. The trip to Florida is a big deal for quite a few of my band mates; and I am going to do everything I possibly can to make that happen for them. Okay, I won't do everything, since buying and eating thousands of chocolate bars or whatever else we try to sell for those fundraisers would be a bit too much for even my metabolism; but I do have resources that I will use if needed.

Michael came home with me for dinner because his parents weren't back from Garden City yet; and that was a blast of busy as we tried to eat and get our homework finished before heading over to the church for our praise team practice. While we're still weeks away from Valentine's Day, and the teen praise team is doing music for that Sunday service too, Easter is early this year; so we started on that music tonight too. Yes, that might sound crazy, but we have nearly as much music to learn for the Easter services and Palm Sunday as we have at Christmas. Memorizing all of that isn't an issue for me; but Michael and I aren't the only members of the team.

We had fun at that practice too, but the highlight of my evening was the bedtime chat that we had with Miranda and Jacob. They'd gotten home shortly before we got there from the church, so we helped with the unpacking; and then we sat down to trade travel and home stories. Miranda wasn't really terribly disappointed in us for not doing anything wrong while they were away, but she still had fun teasing us about that, and while I'm not really wishing that we had done anything that would have 'made her proud' of us; I have had a bit of fun daydreaming about that while doing my work and studying tonight.

That visit didn't last very long because Michael's parents were exhausted after two long travel days; so I came home about five minutes after Rebecca got back to their house from spending the evening with Lucas and his family. Since then, I've done my Magi lesson with Mom; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night; and followed that up with a major work and study session that was again in time phase so that I wouldn't be up all night getting everything on my to-do list finished. The extra sleep will be nice, but I'm going to need to cut back on the time phasing and extreme power drain for a while. I should be able to do that tomorrow because Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I will all be getting back to our mid-week after school work day; and I plan on doing my work and studying early and then going to bed so that I can actually get eight or nine hours of uninterrupted sleep for a change.

Quit laughing. It could happen!

Or not, but either way, I am done with this update, and you can always flip the digital page to find out whether that did or didn't work out for me; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

I went to school; had a busy, fun day there; and then came home and worked and studied non-stop except for a quick dinner break until nine o'clock. The studying included a Magi lesson with Mom; my daily language studies; and a fairly boring archive assignment. The family business work would've taken all night without a time phase, but Mom was nice enough to do that for the rest of us tonight; and I'm sure that Dad's already thanking her for that help with his own work.

Right now, I'm soaking in my Jacuzzi while writing this and wrapping up my nightly computer and email checks; and I plan on being asleep before ten o'clock. That'll be nice, but then so will finishing my tub time without any additional multi-tasking; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Take yesterday; switch out the afternoon and evening work and studying for work and game night at the Inn; and add in about four and a half hours of studying and work that I couldn't get to until we got back from game night at the Inn. Stir it all together; and you've got one seriously baked serving of teen Magi Master who is toast.

Sometimes, the what going on in my life just isn't as important as the real story of the day – which is that I've overdone it and need to go into nap mode now. You're welcome to flip the digital page whenever you're reading this in my future to find out what happens tomorrow, but I'm done-in for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, January 29, 2016

It's been another long day, and though it isn't near-dawn or anything as I write this, I am tired; and this is going to be a short update.

Top news was probably the weather. The temperature soared to around sixty this afternoon, and while that was really nice; Michael and I didn't really get to enjoy the warm. Instead of doing that, we worked at the Inn after school and through the dinner rush because his parents needed the help; and then we eventually came back to my house to watch a movie before calling it a night after just one show because Michael's working the breakfast shift at the Inn with his father again.

We had a good day at school, and I had as much fun as possible while we worked at the Inn, but a bit of outdoor play time would have been nice; and I did miss the family dinner and a movie night that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace hosted this week. There was the minor bonus of having the house to ourselves for our movie when Michael and I got there; but the bad news is that we were both getting too tired by then to take advantage of the alone time. The cuddling and just a little bit of lazy play time while we watched that movie was still a really great way to end the night; but I really do need to find a way to keep up with everything without running out of steam so often – especially when that's obviously affecting the Michael and me time way too often! ;^)

Moving along, our movie ended about ten minutes before Mom and Dad got home with the twins, so Michael and I had a bedtime chat and snack break with them; he went home; and I helped with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night on my way up to my own room. While I had planned on a micro version of my usual bedtime computer and email checks; there was some family business work to do that I didn't want to leave for another day when it was something that could start helping people right away; so I took care of that too before getting to this report.

Since that has kept me awake longer than I wanted to be, I'm going to just leave this update without any added details and get to the sleeping part of my night; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, January 30, 2016

It's Sunday morning, and I'm late with this update because of an unplanned sofa sleepover with Michael. I need to get ready for church now, though, so flip the digital page in your 'now' for the double update that I'll need to wait until tonight to write – after I've finished living the moments that I'll be writing about then.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Happy 35th Birthday, Patricia!

Yes, she'll never read this, but Rowen will some day; and I'm sure that this has been a memorable day for both of them. I'll get to that news soon, but before I go there; let's back up and cover the news from Saturday.

We had temperatures reach into the fifties again on Saturday; and that worked out great both for some chores that Dad and I did outside as well as for some play time that I had in the afternoon with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden – and with Michael during his afternoon break. The chores weren't all that fun, but spending the time with Mom and Dad was; and the play time at the park was really great because we also did some biking and exploring in the woods to go along with the playground action that included hanging out with the gang of kids and teens that were at the park with us. We sent Michael back to the Inn with hugs and kisses after wrapping up his afternoon break with treats and drinks from the Emporium; and then the twins and I took Naomi and Aiden back to their parents before going home to have dinner with Mom and Dad.

Because he had started his day early and worked the breakfast shift, Michael didn't have to work until close; so that also worked out great for having a quiet movie night in the lounge. Mom and Dad decided to take the night off and watch a movie with us – and with Ethan and Ehlana; so that was fun too. There are likely quite a few members of our family and our friends that don't believe that Michael and I did not plan our sofa sleepover last night; but we really didn't this time. I know this for sure because we did have impromptu plans for a make-out session after Mom, Dad, and the twins went to bed after that first movie that didn't work out because Michael fell asleep while we were waiting for the post-bedtime routine quiet to arrive once my brother and sister were in bed for the night. I can't say anything about that, since I've fallen asleep on Michael way more often than he's dozed off from being too tired on me; but then I didn't really even stay awake all that long to enjoy the cuddle time while he slept before crashing for the night too.

The wake-up call this morning for Tai Chi was fun; so was breakfast in the sunroom; and then the rest of our morning was fairly busy as we fit in the bits of birthday fun we got to have with Patricia before and after the church service and Sunday school. We needed to do that then because Owen took his wife and kids – including Tim – to Crystal Springs for the rest of the day for Patricia's birthday celebration. They went shopping; caught a movie; and then went out for dinner at a nice restaurant. I haven't yet heard the details from Rowen; but I am sure that they had more fun doing all of that than I did for the rest of my day.

Michael and I spent the rest of our day after church helping out at the Inn. That included what was really a non-break in the afternoon that we used for getting our weekend homework finished; so we pretty much worked from around eleven o'clock until the Inn closed for the night. That's why Mom skipped my Magi lesson tonight; we used time phasing in the office so that we could all get our work done as soon as possible after I got home; and I'm skipping my language studying for the night. I'm still using a time phase now as I write this; but I'm also multi-tasking the rest of my usual bedtime computer and email checks while enjoying a soak in my Jacuzzi. The time phasing for that is strictly so that I can get everything done and still be sleeping before we start a new month – even if we aren't talking about missing out on being awake to welcome the first day of February by very much time.

Even with all of the work, we've had a good weekend, but I'm also just as ready to crash for the night as Michael was last night – and is again tonight if he was as tired as he looked when we split up outside of his house tonight. After all of the time phasing tonight, the extra two or three hours of sleep won't make much of a difference when it comes to recharging my Magi batteries, but I'll deal with that as always; and that won't keep me from looking forward to the coming month.

I'm not just saying that because it's a leap year; and February gets the extra day this year that still doesn't quite make it as big as the other months of the year. My birthday and Valentine's Day are good reasons to love February – at least for me; but we do have more than that going on over the next four weeks that will keep the fun – and work – level high. I won't include football in that for me; though I will be glad to see the season end next Sunday regardless of whether the Broncos or Panthers win that game. I do plan on having fun with the marching band committee as we work toward getting everything organized and ready to go by the time we start practices in April. Our March Break ski trip is a bit farther away still; but we'll be getting ready for that too over the next month; and that'll also mean a bit of extra work for those of us who want to have spending money for that trip. Finally, though I'm not as crazy about it as Tim and some of our other friends are; I do expect to do some driving once I have my license a week from Monday. Being one of the last in my class to join that club hasn't been an issue for me, and most of my friends – including Michael – don't even drive all that often, but it is one of those big steps toward growing up and being independent; so I won't pretend that it doesn't mean anything to me at all.

Okay, that's enough for tonight; and I'm nearly ready to get out of the tub and finish getting ready for bed. We've managed to get through January without any major winter storms – in our area; and I'll be okay with it if Mother Nature leaves us in relative peace for the rest of the winter – as long as we have lots of snow in Colorado when we're there for March Break! ;^)

I'll keep you posted on that, and everything else that happens next month, but I really do need to wrap this up to have any chance of being asleep before midnight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

February 2016

Monday, February 1, 2016

The first day of February didn't feel much like winter here; but then I didn't exactly have much time to enjoy the cooler, but still above-average weather.

Instead of doing that, I was busy with school, homework, dinner at Michael's, our second band committee meeting, and my usual bedtime work and studies. There was a bit of play time with Michael after the meeting and before the work and studying; but that was mostly a music practice to get ready for our practices on Tuesday and the extra music we'll be doing for the seniors' Valentine's Day party.

On the grapevine front, football still rules for the guys. They had fun talking about the Pro Bowl; and the predictions for the Super Bowl this coming Sunday are getting stranger every day. One of two teams will win that game; and while the outcome doesn't seem at all relevant in the grand scheme of things to me in the first place; going on about which player will do what is even more pointless. I'm not going to drag out the football report; but I will again mention that I will be glad to have a break from it for a while starting next week.

The girls are more interested in talking about Valentine's Day, and while there is enough teen drama going on about that; none of those problems are with any of my classmates or other closest friends. Let's hope that continues, but with that many boys involved; it's likely too much to hope for that they'll all do well-enough with Valentine's Day to have a drama-free day for everyone in our class.

My school day was pretty good, but uneventful. The after-school studying was more fun because Rebecca did her own work with us; and Jacob and Miranda offered some bonus entertainment. Dinner was amazing; and then the band meeting was really busy. Miranda made that more fun too; but it really was the work and planning that we focused on for nearly two hours. Since that took a while, and Michael and I still needed to music practice time; I didn't get home again until a bit after eleven o'clock. Mom still did my lesson with me; and then I eventually got started on my studying and family business work by a bit after midnight.

That's why I'm so late getting around to this report – though that's also partly because I didn't feel energetic-enough to use a time phase tonight. I am going to have a near-repeat of today starting in a few hours – except that I'll have two music practices instead of the band committee meeting; which might just mean an even later night for me.

I haven't really covered enough of the details from today, and especially from that meeting, but crashing into nap mode is a higher priority for me right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Happy 72nd Birthday, Grandma!

She's had a wonderful day in Florida with Grandpa, and we had fun with our morning phone chat with them while having breakfast; but that was the full extent of my involvement with her big day. For any young Magi reading this in the future that might not have been blessed to know my grandmother and are thinking that seventy-two is really, really old; I'll point out a couple of things for you. First, my grandmother looks more like she's somewhere in her fifties. Yes, that's totally a blessing inherited from her family and through taking care of herself; but then my adopted family is also well-known for being long-lived. Now that we have some Magi Healers in town; I'm hoping that both of my grandparents will be around for a very long time to come!

And now – on with the news from home!

Some of my recent updates have been way too short to keep up with everything going on in my life, but the other side of that is having too much going on to keep up with everything the way I'd like – including writing my journals. With that in mind; forgive me for yet another micro report because I'm up late again; and running out of steam fast.

School was good, the overnight rain moved on and left us with a fairly nice day with temperatures in the fifties again; and I didn't get to go out much to enjoy any of the warm. Speaking of warm, it's Groundhog Day, and my only comment is that I hope that nobody actually takes any of that seriously-enough to plan their lives around whether a groundhog sees it's shadow or not. We'll either have six more weeks of winter or we won't, and in fact; the odds are fairly high that we'll have fewer or more weeks; but not exactly six weeks to the day.

I must be tired to be badgering future readers about weather-prognosticating groundhogs! ;^)

Moving along, school was good; we had fun at band and our teen praise team practices; and dinner between the practices was at my house for Michael and me. We didn't do our studying until after our practice at the church; Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and then Michael went home at eleven-thirty. I didn't get started on my work and studying until a bit after midnight; and that was more than three and a half hours ago. After two really late nights, I'm not only going to need to crash now; but I'm going to be in bed early tomorrow even if I have to skip some studying and my Magi lesson to do that. I've never missed a day of classes except for when Mom and I were on the run before we moved here, and while I don't plan on doing that at all, if I don't get recharged soon; I might need to take the break to get rested up again. It just is not fun feeling worn down – especially when you're used to being as hyper as I usually am.

I won't be feeling very fired up when it's time to get my morning started in a couple of hours, but I will self heal and then fake it; so Mom will hopefully not notice and decide to take steps to help me out. Maybe I should be less worried about that than I am, but when your Mom is a Magi Master; you really don't want to mess with her – no matter how wonderful and amazing she is.

My mind is definitely not firing on all neurons right now as I'm actually imagining Mom flinging her power around while being mad at me for something without just laughing at the absurdity of it; so I'd better just end this update now and get started on my nap.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

My plan A for today that I mentioned in my last report worked out because I've skipped all of the studying and lessons; and only dealt with the family business work. I'm heading off to sleep now, and don't really want to use up any of that downtime doing this either; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, February 4, 2016

The early night helped to have me feeling a bit more like my usual self this morning, but I guess that I am going to need to cut back a bit on the workload for a little while because I'm really right back to being exhausted again as I'm writing this hours after I should have been sleeping.

We've had a good day; though still cooler than those warmer days we got to have that were just a taste of spring that we'd like to see more of around here. I haven't mentioned our Tai Chi workouts in a little while, so I'll mention that Michael and I are having a lot of fun as he learned Pushing Hands; and he really does have a natural talent for martial arts. Michael stayed for a quick breakfast today before going home and then on to school for his morning weight training; and I took the extra time getting ready for the day before meeting up with Rowen for the walk to school that we ended up doing with Naomi when she was ready to go at the same time we were.

Despite the better weather, I'm wondering if winter is dragging on me too; because I'm having to force the enthusiasm while we're in classes right now. Today, other than having fun while on our lunch break; those hours were just a way to get from morning to afternoon. I went on to the Inn with Michael once we were set free; we did our homework together; and then helped out with a fairly slow dinner rush that was fairly easy even while still managing to keep us busy until game night started. We stayed for that and had fun playing with our families and friends; I helped with the post-gaming clean-up; and then walked home with Michael and his family once we were done at the Inn. I stayed with them for a bedtime snack and chat; so I wasn't home again until ten-thirty.

The twins were still up because they'd wanted to see me before going to bed, so I had another chat with them – and with Mom and Dad; and then I took care of getting them tucked in for the night before doing my Magi lesson with Mom. All of that added up to a late start to my bedtime computing, work, and studies. Mom and Dad were just heading to bed then too; so I began my work by multi-tasking that with some Jacuzzi time. I needed to soak in the tub by then, but it also slowed me down a bit as I relaxed a bit too much and nearly fell asleep while working on my language studies. I got out of the tub after the third time I started to drift off so that I wouldn't have that distraction; rushed getting my hair done; and then got serious about my work and studies for the next few hours.

The good news is that I managed to get everything done. The better is that I'll be able to take the weekend off except for any must-do family business work that comes up between now and Monday. Make that Tuesday; since I'll try not to work all night on my birthday. While we don't have any major plans this weekend, there are Super Bowl parties going on around here on Sunday; and I expect to be helping out at the Inn for the buffet and game-watching party they're doing there. I'll keep you posted on that; but can add that Dad's still hosting a party at our house this year – mostly so that other families can get a chance to go to that party at the Inn or at Sheldon's Pub. Rebecca, Michael, and I talked a bit about being overdue for a teen night too, but other than promising to talk about it tomorrow; we haven't made any plans there either.

It must be time for me to crash now, since it's taken all of that just to basically say that I studied, worked, studied, and then worked some more with just a bit of play time mixed in; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, February 5, 2016

I haven't worked tonight, except for helping Mom with the dinner and clean-up parts of our dinner and a movie night – and four or five hours of kid control that was fun and exhausting. Maybe that's why I'm more interested in going to sleep than I am in doing any computing or writing this update.

My Friday was fairly standard right up to getting home from school. Mom and Dad hosted our dinner and a movie night; which is why Mom needed the help pretty much from when I got home. Dinner wasn't until about a half hour after the med center closed for the day; so once Mom had extra help in the kitchen; I started taking care of the kids – and we mostly played in my room and the lounge. I kept doing that during dinner; took a break to help with the clean-up; and then I had all of the cousins and friends on the third floor with me while the adults in the house watched a movie that didn't have any animation or toddler-level humor. Michael joined in to help me out for the tail-end of our movie and gaming fun in the lounge once he was finished at the Inn for the night, but he's working the breakfast shift again tomorrow; so he went home at the same time that the last group of aunts, uncles, and cousins went home.

That's probably for the best, since I'd have likely just fallen asleep on him anyway; but we are overdue for some alone time that we really need to work on soon! ;^)

We won't likely get a chance for that tomorrow, but we have set up a teen night that Michael and Rebecca are hosting tomorrow night at their place; so we will at least get to have some play time with our friends. I can't say that there won't be any animation or toddler-rated action there, since there's a good chance that the boys will play some video games; and Michael was joking about needing to watch the first three-quarters of 'Inside Out' after missing it tonight; but I'll let you know how that goes with my next update – or the one after that if we end up having any 'accidental' sofa sleepovers while I'm at Michael's house."

For now, though, I just want to have a nice long nap; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, February 6, 2016

I'm writing this update early because I'll be at Michael's house overnight; and don't plan on doing any computing while I'm there. Lucas and I were invited to spend the night, and while Rowen, Tim, Jenny, and Peter will be there for the evening too; they're on their own for making other sleepover plans if they want to spend the night in pairs too – not that Michael and I will be in his room or mine tonight! ;^)

My day has been busy so far with chores around the house and yard all morning; and a visit to the lab this afternoon. For part two of that, I was with Ethan in the archives this time while Ehlana played in the lab with Uncle Adam and Mom; and Dad stayed home and worked in the office to get his weekend homework done ahead of the Super Bowl party that we're hosting tomorrow. We wrapped up the play time at the lab and archives in time for Mom and I to make dinner at home; and while that meal was a fun break; I've been busy since then helping with the clean-up and then getting ready for my night at Michael's house.

He's being set free from the Inn early so that we can get everything ready for our teen play night, and I need to be there on time for that; so let's wrap this up. I'll let you know how our night goes with the next update, and with that report and everything else we have going on tomorrow for Super Bowl Sunday; I'd better reserve extra time for that update. That's all for now, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Super Bowl Sunday has come to an end; and those of us who are ready for a break from football can hope that we'll get that time off – once the championship game post-mortem wraps up in a day or two. Congratulations to the Denver Broncos and their fans; and my condolences to the Carolina Panthers and their loyal supporters. While I didn't have a favorite, or really care about the game at all; the majority of spectators at the Inn were very happy to see Peyton Manning win another Super Bowl championship.

Since this update should begin with my news from last night; let's back up and start with the teen night and sleepover news.

Michael and I had everything ready to go by the time Rowen and Tim came over; followed shortly after by Rebecca, Lucas, Jenny, and Peter. We played video games; watched a movie; and basically just goofed off until a bit after midnight. Rowen took Tim home with her for a while when they left; but they weren't doing a sleepover. Jenny was definitely planning on keeping Peter with her for the night; and I'll guess that she didn't worry about pretending to fall asleep together on the sofa. I didn't pretend to do that – I simply ran out of steam and crashed not long after Rebecca and Lucas went up to bed. Michael was nice enough to stay and cuddle with me; so that was both a great way to end the night and then start our Sunday.

A Jacob Stone gourmet breakfast was fairly awesome too, and we had a fun video chat with Jake and Stephanie; but the best part of my day came after church – when Mom surprised me with the news that we were having a girls-only shopping day in the city. I wish that all of my favorite girls could have gone along, but Miranda and Rebecca couldn't because of the lunch and Super Bowl buffets they were having at the Inn; and they weren't the only girls we had to leave behind today. Rowen and her mother could come, though, and so could Aunt Leanne, Aunt Grace, Aunt Deborah, and their daughters; so we had a good turnout from our family. Naomi came with Ehlana while Ethan stayed home with Dad; but Hannah stayed to work at the Olde Bakery.

We left for the city straight from church; so we were at our favorite mall by one o'clock. Shopping until we dropped wasn't really an option, because the stores at the mall aren't open late anyway; but we did shop for several hours; made a supply stop at Wal-Mart on the way out of town; and grabbed a fast food fix to go for dinner when we were ready to drive home again. There may have been some birthday gifts picked out for me while we were shopping, but I'll pretend that I didn't try those clothes on so that I can be surprised tomorrow. ;^)

I am glad that I also got to pick up some gifts for upcoming birthdays and for Valentine's Day; and that was one of the reasons that the Moms wanted to go shopping today too – so that they could get ready for Valentine's Day too – whether that was picking up Valentines for Ethan and Ehlana to give out at the KidZone party or picking out gifts for their own Valentines.

While we were away, Dad was hosting his Super Bowl party; and had most of the guys there that were temporarily girl-free while we were away. The game didn't even start until dinnertime, but local man laws require that the Super Bowl fun must begin hours before the actual start of the game. That can include watching the hours of pre-game shows on television; football video gaming; or even doing something really radical like going outside and playing football. Since they did have decent weather, going to the park for some football was an option this year; and we were told that Ethan and Aiden were the only guys out on the field today that were willing to attempt to tackle Lee Landry.

For the record, they didn't succeed; but it was apparently funny to watch Lee continue playing with one little boy attached to each leg. ;^)

The big game was on by the time we got home, but I only stayed there long enough to drop off my things before heading over to the Inn. I wasn't able to help with the buffet dinner; but I did get there in time to help with the post-buffet clean-up and the set-up for the snacks and drinks tables that were self-serve for the rest of the evening. I mostly wanted to be there the hang out with Michael, and once there was a lull in the work action; we sat with Rebecca and Lucas while watching both the game and some football video gaming that was going on in the opposite corner to where the game was on a big screen television.

While the game had been on the television in the kitchen too, I really only watched parts of the second-half; and only listened to the halftime show. The Super Bowl commercials are a big deal every year too, and some of them were entertaining, but to be perfectly honest; all I was really thinking about for the showmanship and advertising of the event was that all of that money could have done a lot more good had it just been used for nearly anything else. Let's not go into a rant about that, or how hypocritical the token charity efforts are compared to the money spent on everything else to do with the game – including the money spent by everyone watching the game – including everyone here at home.

Maybe that sounds hypocritical too; but it really isn't. If we spend fifty or a hundred dollars each on dinner and a party for the game, that's a fraction of what most people around here spend every year on charity. It's by far the opposite for a lot of the big players involved in the Super Bowl. I wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with sporting events like this if twenty or fifty billion dollars were donated to charity for every billion spent on the game, advertising, and the rest.

So much for skipping the rant! ;^)

Moving along, after watching the game for a while and hanging out with some of our friends; Michael and I helped with a small buffet that went out onto the tables at the start of the fourth quarter; and then we split the rest of our time between watching the game and helping out with the work in the kitchen. The party began to wrap up about twenty minutes after the game ended; but it took more than an hour before all of the party guests had left for home – and then we still needed to finish cleaning up and getting the kitchen and dining room set up for breakfast.

That meant that it was already my birthday by the time we headed home, and while the good night and happy birthday hugs and kisses with Michael were fun; we were also both ready to head for bed by then. Unfortunately for me, I had family business work that needed to get done once I was changed and in bed; and that took another hour and a half even with some time phasing – mostly because some of that work had to be done in 'real' time over the internet. I've also done my usual email and computer checks before getting to this update; so it'll be three o'clock or later by the time I get to sleep tonight.

We have had an awesome day, though; so I'm okay with doing all of the work that still needed to get done even if that does mean not getting much sleep again tonight.

My birthday wake-up call will be coming too soon, though, and that is pretty much all of the news for today; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, February 8, 2016

Happy 15th Birthday to me! ;^)

It's been a fun day, but I also don't want to make a big deal of it; since this birthday is hardly a big ideal in the grand scheme of things – not even for my own life. Getting my driver's license is a first step toward more travel independence, but to be honest; the most fun I had with that was when I got back to school and managed to temporarily convince a few friends that I'd actually failed the test and would need to take a re-write.

Maybe I should consider a career in acting after all!

It is getting late; so let's move this update along. Mom, Dad, Michael, and the twins did a birthday breakfast with me after Tai Chi; and I opened my gifts from them then. School was fairly entertaining, and included a birthday lunch because I didn't want to have a big friends' party when our Mondays are already busy enough with school, work, and now the weekly band committee meetings. Mom and Dad did have a birthday dinner for me, but Michael, Rebecca, Lucas, Rowen, and Tim were the only friends invited – along with Miranda, Jacob, and my hometown aunts, uncles, and cousins. That was a blast of fun too, but we needed to have the dinner wrapped up by the time that some of us needed to be at that marching band meeting. The start of the meeting was delayed an hour so that I could still have enough time to open gifts and have cake and ice cream; but then that also meant getting done the meeting later too. That put the rest of my evening work and study schedule behind; which is why I really am going to need to wrap this up soon and get some rest.

Michael came home with me from the meeting; we did our homework; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with us before he went home for the night. I got to work shortly after that – and after getting ready for bed; and I've been working on my computer since then. There was a lot of family business work to deal with; I did my archive reading assignment too; and skipped the language studies. Michael and I also missed out on having a music practice to get ready for our band and praise team practices tomorrow; so we'll need to find some time for that later this week – especially so that we can get ready for the Valentine's Day party we'll be playing at with the band for the seniors on Friday afternoon.

I don't really even want to think about everything we have going on this weekend right now, so I won't; and just call it a night now.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

We've had a seriously crazy-busy day around here; which is why I'm going to keep this report short – because I'm totally wiped out!

It's Shrove Tuesday; so my day started out with Tai Chi and a pancake breakfast. The Olde Bakery sold Paczkis, and we were able to buy them for lunch at the school; so that was awesome too. I totally skipped writing about football yesterday, and I'm only mentioning it today because the guys started moving on from football today; and I'm very glad for the break – even if that just means that they'll move on to other sports like basketball as March Madness approaches. The busy in my life kicked up a few notches after school with band practice; and then Michael and I went from there to the Inn to help out with the dinner rush that included a lot of customers coming in to enjoy the extra dinner options that included a partial breakfast buffet for everyone interested in having more pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and the rest for their dinner meal.

We could only stay to help with that until we needed to be at the church for our teen praise team practice, and we spent extra time with that while getting ready for a Valentine's Day Sunday service and continuing to work on our Easter music. Michael and I still needed to do our homework after that; we did that at his house; and practiced the duet we're doing for the seniors' Valentine's Day party on Friday afternoon. All of that work and play was fun, but it also meant that I didn't even get home until after eleven o'clock; and then it was past-midnight by the time I finished my Magi lesson with Mom and a bedtime Paczkis snack that I split with Dad because the last thing I needed by then was to eat another one of those triple-sized pastries.

Ethan and Ehlana had been in bed already by the time I got home after having a busy day playing at the lab, so I stopped in on my way up to bed for some goodnight kisses with them that they didn't wake up for; I got changed and into bed with Mandy and my computer; and got to work. That was three and a half hours or so ago; most of my time was spent on the family business; and now it's time to get started on my nap. It's a good thing that tomorrow is a work day because I seriously need to have an early night to catch up on my rest and re-charge.

I'll let you know how that goes for me – or if it doesn't. Finding out the answer for that is as easy as flipping a digital page for you reading this in my future, but I'll need to live those experiences first; so let's get started on that with what sleep I can get before morning.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

I went to school; used a couple of time phases to get all of my work done early; and now I'm going to crash and nap from now until morning – starting in ten, nine, eight...

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, February 11, 2016

It's time for me to adjust my daily schedule – though I couldn't start doing that tonight because I had too much to get done before taking the weekend off from my studies and most of the family business work.

All of my day through to the end of school this afternoon was fairly standard for a Thursday. After school, I went to the Inn with Michael; we did our homework; and then we worked the dinner shift through until the Valentine's Day version of game night started. We won the junior title this week – apparently because we're such a perfect match and did very well in the 'know your partner' games compared to most of the teens and kids. The play time tonight took longer than normal; which is why it was going on eleven o'clock by the time I got home and could do my Magi lesson with Mom. That was an hour of extreme fun as we played with the elements; but then it was time for me to come up to my room and get to work on my studies and family business work.

I didn't want to do another major night of time phasing after an already long day and a power-intensive lesson; so it's taken a lot longer to get everything done. Some self-healing will be needed in the morning, and I'll manage to get through our classes and the afternoon Valentine's Day party for the seniors; but I won't promise that I won't need a nap during the dance at the school Friday night. I'll let you know how all of that goes with the next update; and probably have an adjusted work and play plan ready to go by next Monday.

For now, though, I'm exhausted again and need to sleep while I can; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, February 12, 2016

We've had quite a day around here!

Love was in the air everywhere; and Valentine's Day fun was part of the program for kids, teens, and seniors – even if the adults with jobs had to settle for a fairly normal day – unless they were volunteering for any of the fun at school, KidZone, or the church.

The one, minor downside of being in the band today was that we missed out on some of the themed fun in our afternoon classes; but then our play time with our friends and quite a few of our favorite seniors was really great too. There wasn't anything major going on at home this morning – except that Mom, Ehlana, and I spent a bit more time getting ready for the day and looking appropriately festive in reds and pinks. There was some themed fun in our morning classes too, but we didn't get to have the same kind of Valentine's Day fun as the younger kids did today. I did have Valentine's Day treats to hand out to my classmates and friends at lunchtime; but I had to leave them with Jenny to hand out for me because Michael, Rowen, and I had already been busy by then helping out with the set-up for the senior's party in the church fellowship hall.

Playing oldies music for a bunch of old folks wouldn't likely be on the fun list for a lot of teens these days, but I really love it; and my highlight of the afternoon was the duet that Michael and I did as one of the 'spotlight' songs. While we've always picked oldies for that so far too; we went with 'What are Words' because we watched a version of it on YouTube last year that we'd loved a lot and added to our own repertoire. Our audience loved our version of it; and we thought the song was especially appropriate for couples that proved every day that promises do mean something; and can be kept for life. Here's that song we heard on YouTube that we based ours on; and my wish for all of the Valentines out there in the near or distant future reading this is that they get to find and experience that kind of love – just as I know that I'll have with Michael!

What are Words

By the Piano Guys with Peter and Evynne Hollens

I'm listening to that song again as I'm writing this; and having the same thoughts that I always do from the first time I heard it. First, I really am so blessed to be a part of this family and community; and doubly-so for finding someone as special as Michael to love and love me back. That might sound ridiculous to some Magi reading this in the future coming from a fifteen-year old kid, but don't forget that Mom and I thought that we were the last Magi of the Light until I was nine; so I never dreamed that there'd ever be a chance for me to find another Magi to have any kind of relationship with. I will never take everything we have here for granted; and I will be thankful every day for everything that led us here – even the not-so-much-fun things that kept us on the run for those first nine years of my life.

Okay, that definitely took this update off the rails; so let's get back to the story. The seniors' Valentine's Day party wrapped up at three-thirty, so we were late getting done at school for the day by the time we helped out with getting all of the band gear back to the music room. Michael and I then needed to hurry to the Inn because we were working – and helping out with a busy dinner rush that included a lot of teen couples doing a dinner date ahead of the school dance – including Rowen and Tim. That kept us a bit too busy, but I should have mentioned yesterday that I'm officially a part-timer at the Inn now that I'm fifteen. I'll still get to pick my own hours, but I will need to do that sooner than before because I'm actually on the schedules now.

We worked at the Inn for three hours; split up to head home and get ready for the dance; and then Michael and I got a ride to the school with Rebecca and Lucas so that I didn't have to walk there in my dress shoes or wear boots there and change. Since we were busy with the band this afternoon, we weren't around to see the transformation of the gym into Valentine's Day dance central; so seeing it for the first time when we walked in was awesome; and the teens doing all of that work did a great job of setting the mood for the night. Rowen and Tim were already there by the time we arrived; so we went and sat with them and talked for a while – even though the dance had already started; and there was a pretty good crowd out on the dance floor.

Try not to laugh too much about this, but my favorite moment of the dance was the same as it was at the seniors' party in the afternoon. That was because unspecified fellow band mates thought that Michael and I should do an encore performance that was sprung on us by the VJ at around eleven o'clock. We didn't have a choice at that point but to go along with the request – especially since a keyboard and two microphones seemed to have materialized out of nowhere for us to use. I don't know if it's scary or great that our friends seemed to love our little performance as much as our afternoon audience did; but that didn't really matter either way to Michael and me. For three and a half minutes or so, we were lost in the moment; and I was glad that we were drafted into doing it – even if I'm not interested in starting a teen band or making a habit of playing at school dances.

After singing our hearts out, Michael and I spent a lot of time dancing through until the end of the night at one o'clock. Rebecca and Lucas were on the clean-up crew, so Michael and I drafted ourselves for that job too; and we didn't get out of the school until a quarter-to-two. We got a lift home with Lucas again, but Michael walked me home so that we could have a bit of alone time to say goodnight – and so that Rebecca and Lucas could do the same at her house. It was late by then, though, so Michael and I had a minor make-out session on the sofa in the living room that wasn't much more than some enthusiastic cuddling with bonus kisses – especially after Mandy joined us and wanted to cuddle too. We gave Rebecca and Lucas a half-hour; sent a text message ahead of Michael before he walked home; and then I came up to bed once I'd watched him walk home while shivering because it's gotten very cold out tonight.

Since getting changed and in bed with Mandy and my computer, I've done my usual bedtime computer and email checks; and had some family business work to deal with before getting to this report. I'm going to have a very busy day tomorrow too because the parents are doing the Valentine's Day dinner and pub night party at the Inn and Sheldon's; and I'm going to be one of the babysitters taking care of my sister, brother, cousins, and some other little friends. I will have Michael here with me for some of that babysitting once he's finished helping out with the dinner rush; we'll have Rowen and Tim too; and they'll all be spending the night here – along with some of the kids; but not all of the m this time. That'll keep us busy, but I'll also need to help Mom and Dad with all of the house work to get ready for those kids and teens; and do even more of that because Dad also needs to get ready for his week in the city.

I'm getting tired out just thinking about all of that – not that I wasn't tired already about two hours ago. It is definitely past-time to wrap this up and head into nap mode, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, February 13, 2016

I'm writing this before starting my afternoon nap. Not getting enough rest is really catching up with me, and since I am going to be babysitting until two o'clock or so; a nap is probably a good idea.

No, that doesn't mean that I can't do my daily report after that, but I've also decided to end my day with a sofa sleepover with Michael. Rowen can sneak into Tim's room or something if she wants, or stay in my room if she doesn't want to do that; but I'm going to cuddle with my Valentine tonight after the kids are in bed!

That'll make my next update a report and a half; but then that's just a digital page flip for you in my future anyway; so it won't be an inconvenience for you! :^)

My day up to now has been pretty simple. Tai Chi; breakfast in the sunroom; chores around the house all morning; and the late lunch that we just finished having that was also light and easy because Mom and Dad will be having a big meal at the Inn tonight. That's pretty much all of my news so far; but I do have some family news updates from yesterday to add before getting to my nap.

Ethan and Ehlana had fun at KidZone with their Valentine's Day party. They followed that up with some play time at home with Naomi and Aiden while their parents were busy at work or doing other things; and then they had a quiet evening at home with Mom and Dad where they spent most of the time in the office studying their college courses while Dad was busy doing homework and Mom worked on the family business. There was no dinner and a movie night this week because of the Valentine's Day dinner and pub plans for tonight; and I don't have anything to report from my aunts, uncles, and cousins because we've all been too busy for any visits so far today.

Okay, that's it for now. I have about an hour and a half left for napping before I'll need to be up and going again; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day!

Congratulations to Nadine and Malcolm – they're engaged!

I'll back up to the news from last night in a moment; but let's begin this update with that fun bit of family news. Malcolm proposed to Nadine last night sometime after midnight so that it was Valentine's Day when he asked her to be his Valentine forever. While nobody in the Johnson family is surprised that they're going to get married; Malcolm did apparently do a good job pulling off the Valentine's Day surprise for his new fiancée; and she is very happy today. No wedding details are yet available; so I'll keep you posted when we hear that news.

My Saturday night wasn't engagement celebration kind of fun, but we did have a good night while babysitting; and Michael and I did have our sofa sleepover too. After my nap yesterday afternoon, I got right to work ahead of the first arrivals of incoming kids. Rowen and Tim joined me shortly after Naomi and Aiden were dropped off; and we were on the go from that point on through until Mom and Dad got home from the pub and some of the kids were picked up by their parents. I'm not going to cover every detail tonight, since while we had a good night; it wasn't a lot different than most of our babysitting adventures.

Once we had all of the kids; Rowen and I cooked up dinner. We made hotdogs, chicken nuggets, and a couple of pans full of fries that the kids – and Tim – demolished; followed by Olde Bakery desserts that were just as enthusiastically devoured. It was play time after that – or after the clean-up was done for some of us; and Michael caught up with us to help with that once he was finished for the night at the Inn. Our mission was to run the kids until they dropped, and while we succeeded; it was at the expense of running ourselves until we were ready to drop. That's why the good news that was my sofa sleepover with Michael was also not as much fun as I'd hoped when we ended up cuddling with Brianna after having all of the other kids in beds and sleeping; and then she and I fell asleep while Michael, Rowen, and Tim stayed awake until Mom and Dad got home.

I didn't wake up, but pictures were taken before Brianna was taken away and put to bed after a diaper change and cuddle time with Mom; which is why Michael was left with me in the lounge and everyone else eventually went to bed too. Mom and Dad were nice enough to pretend that they didn't know that Rowen snuck into Tim's room for the night once they were both ready for bed and we were down to just the kids and teens that were staying for the sleepover; and I only know that happened because Rowen told me all about it while we were getting ready for church after breakfast. That's because they were awake before Michael and I were thanks to an early-riser kid that they heard before Michael and I did; but our wake-up call came soon after they'd split up and Rowen had gone to take care of Brianna. Mom had beaten her there, but that first wake-up call spread quickly; and then the parents and teens in the house were all busy as we worked together to get everyone fed; we took turns getting ready for church; and added in some Valentine's Day fun to the mix – including some gift exchanges and themed breakfast food and drinks.

Michael and I exchanged gifts this morning too, and that was fun; but not as entertaining as Ethan and Naomi and Aiden and Ehlana were when the boys had gifts for their Valentines. Brianna had quite a few gifts from her favorite people too; though her parents didn't do that with her – and with Zack – until they came over shortly before we all left for church. It was still cold this morning, so we drove to church and needed some parental support for that to get all of us there; and the Valentine's Day service was really great too – especially the duet that Michael and I sang as part of the musical entertainment before going to our Sunday school class. Today, most of the teens were drafted to help out with the younger kids and we had a blast making Valentines with them. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were put with the pre-school class; so we got to do that with Ethan, Ehlana, and Aiden; but Naomi was in with the Kindergarten class so we didn't have her with us too.

My day was not all partying and fun after that because Michael and I were on-duty for the three special Valentine's Day buffets that Miranda and Jacob put on at the Inn. The first was at noon, so we'd needed to hurry there as soon as we were set free from Sunday school to help out with getting that ready to go on time. The second buffet was at three-thirty, and the third at six-thirty; the timing for the last two a small, experimental change to see if it would work out better or not for both the work and the flow of crowds in and out of the dining room. I didn't really see any of that action from the kitchen, but it did seem to help as far as having an easier time covering breaks for the staff during the lulls at each work station – whether that was earlier for the prep line workers or later for the dishwashers and busboys.

Michael and I had as much as was possible while helping to feed six or seven hundred people and then cleaning up the mess that came with doing that. Rebecca and Jenny helped with providing some of that entertainment as they told us about their Saturday night fun. For Rebecca, that was spending the night at Lucas' house while they stayed with his brother and sister for the evening; and Jenny had a hot date with Peter that didn't end until he went home again after going to church with her. We took breaks between each of the buffets; but did our weekend homework during the first one and just wanted to do nothing but rest up during the second one.

I missed out on the buffet dinner with my family when they all came to the Inn for the last buffet, but Dad worked most of the afternoon; so I didn't; miss much at home while I was working at the Inn. We stayed until all of the work was done and Miranda and Jacob were ready to head home for the night; and then Michael and I had a bit of wind down cuddle time at his house before I went home – getting there at a bit before ten-thirty. Dad was wrapping up his work and packing for his trip in the morning; so I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in after they'd studied for a while after they got home from the buffet. That was fun, and it was great to hear all about their play afternoon with their Valentines that was way more fun than I had with my work. Mom skipped my Magi lesson, so after saying goodnight to them; I came up to my room and got to work.

Using a time phase for my work was not a good idea because of how tired I am; but I pushed the limits anyway so that I could get my work and studying done without staying up half the night. The bad news is that I've worn myself out; so getting everything done doesn't feel that great. I'll talk things over with Mom tomorrow sometime; but I really am going to need to cut back for a while – even if that means getting some help for a month or two. I can't burn out at fifteen – there's a lot I'm supposed to do over the next five or ten decades; so I'd better learn to pace myself sooner instead of later.

For right now, I'll settle for going to sleep now, and that's all the news I have for today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, February 15, 2016

My best laid plans aren't working out so far; which is why it's so late as I'm writing this.

My day started out early too when we all got up to see Dad on his way to the city. Mom and I did get to have another micro nap after that before we got the rest of our day going; but I still felt tired even before we got to Tai Chi and breakfast. School was a standard Monday; Michael and I did our homework at his house; had dinner there; and then went to the marching band planning meeting with Miranda and Mom while Ethan and Ehlana went to hang out with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and their kids while we were busy.

The main new news for the band is that we've picked out final designs for the uniforms. That's an extravagant term to use when we're going with t-shirts and black pants or shorts; but we'll also have sweat shirts, spring jackets, and winter coats – though they're all based on our school clothing line with minimal changes for the band. The sample order will get placed this week; and we'll have them here in time for our first marching band practice in April. We dealt with a lot of other issues too, but they were mostly boring by comparison; so let's just not go there and move this along.

Michael came home with me after the meeting so that we could do our music practice ahead of our band and teen praise team practices tomorrow night; and then Mom did a Magi lesson with us before he went home for the night. I helped out with getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed after that, and then Mom and I had a chat in the office while she got started on the work she wanted to get done before going up to bed. The new, short-term plan for me is that I'm going to do some self-teaching Magi lessons over the next month or two when I can fit them in; I'll keep up with my language studies; and some of my current family business projects are going to be reassigned to others so that I can get my work done earlier without using so many time phases to do that. My new work cut-off time is no later than one o'clock; and Mom wants me to shoot for eleven or twelve whenever I can at least for the next month or so.

I'm okay with all of that; but couldn't just drop what needed to get done tonight, and with everything else I've been doing today; I didn't even get started on my work and studies until a bit after midnight.

A lot of that work and studying was fairly boring too, and I really would like to go to sleep now for the few hours I have left to do that before morning; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

I stink at this time management thing.

Okay, I'm not really terrible at it; but I do suck at saying no to myself when there are things that need to be done; and I know that I can do them.

The only way I'm meeting my time target tonight is because I used a time phase; which I'm not supposed to do. In this case the good and bad news is that I got everything done – even though I wasn't supposed to do half of the work I did do; and shouldn't have worn myself out getting it all done.

Except for that and being exhausted again; my day was pretty good. Tai Chi and breakfast in the sunroom was fun. School was good; band practice was a blast; and dinner and studying between band and praise team practice at my house with Michael was entertaining thanks to Ethan and Ehlana. They had a fun day at the lab and archive; so they had lots of stories for us that were more interesting than anything we'd done for the day to that point. Michael and I were busy to get everything done before going on to the church for our practice there, and with Valentine's Day out of the way; we concentrated on the music for the Easter season.

We were at the church for an hour and a half; I went home with Michael for a while so that we could have a visit with his parents before they'd be back to work at the Inn for the rest of the week; and then we had a bit of a music practice in his room that included a very minor make-out session before I came home for the night at ten-thirty. Ethan and Ehlana were still up and studying in the office with Mom while she worked on the family business; so she sent all three of us up to bed. I took care of getting the twins tucked in; got ready for bed; and then got to work by a bit after eleven o'clock. I've already mentioned the basics for what happened after that, so there isn't anything to add, and since I'm now down to just minutes before my one o'clock deadline; I'd better just wrap this up.

Yes, it's very inconsistent to break some of the other 'rules' that I'm supposed to be following and care about that one more, but I am really tired; and don't have to make sense. I will at least get a bit more sleep tonight, though, if I don't keep rambling on while saying nothing important at all; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The good news is that it's a work night for me!

Yes, that sounds strange, but in this case, not only has it been a work night; but Mom made sure that I did the bare minimum that needed to get done; and she'll be sending me off to bed as soon as I get this update finished.

It's funny that I'm being sent to bed before Ethan and Ehlana, but then they haven't been burning themselves out for months the way I have been. Mom's also gone over some of my family business work with me; and has now taken over some of it temporarily – or will be reassigning it to others for a while instead. I don't want to give her or anyone else more work to do; but it's the way it has to be for now until I get back to full power again – and I'm not talking about feeling a bit better for a day or two.

I'm sure to feel that way by morning, since it's pretty early right now; but I'm okay with the plan for tonight; and don't expect to be awake for very long once I'm in bed and ready to sleep. The early bedtime really is the only major news in my life for today. There wasn't much going on at school; we had a quiet morning at home; and you already know that Mom made sure I haven't worked too hard tonight.

Okay, in fairness, she did use a time phase so that we could get through everything faster, but that wasn't me powering up for that; so it doesn't count.

I do need to follow orders, though, or her efforts won't count for much, and since that is pretty much it for today; until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

The only news story around town today was the weather. Sure, it's been getting warmer around here for the past few days; but the temperature climbed into the seventies today; so everyone wanted to be outdoors whenever possible to enjoy the early, if only temporary, spring weather.

I was one of those warm-weather fans; so being outside for lunch was a big deal; and I went home after school too instead of working the dinner shift at the Inn tonight. Okay, the second part of that was because Mom's drafted Miranda to help her out with my little problem with over-working myself; and I had orders to do my family business work and language studies when I got home; but Mom did throw me a carrot or two.

The first was that Michael was sent over to our house after he was done with the dinner rush at the Inn so that we could do our homework and a music practice while Mom was at the Inn for game night with Ethan and Ehlana; and the second was getting to do my work and studying outside while keeping an eye on the twins while they played in the back yard and by the river until dinnertime.

We also had that meal in the sunroom with the windows open to let the warm breeze in; so we all had a really good afternoon and evening.

Okay, I had an awesome evening, and the studying and music time with Michael was part of that; but it was a fairly brilliant make-out session in the lounge that was the best part of my day – and Michael's too. No, that was not part of Mom's plan for me tonight, but I am happy and tired in a good way as I'm writing this and getting ready to go to sleep now! ;^)

Going into nap mode is also going to start by ten o'clock-ish too; so the rest of Mom's plan has worked out perfectly; and she can't seriously expect that Michael and I wouldn't take advantage of the alone time that hasn't happened for us very often lately.

Getting the extra rest is a big part of what I need most right now, though, and I don't have any other major news to report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Happy 15th Birthday, Kris!

If you're stuck having a February birthday in a wintry location; then getting to celebrate your big day when temperatures are in the seventies is a really awesome bonus!

The weather didn't change up his birthday party plans very much; but it did allow us to spend time outdoors – and do that without any winter gear. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were invited to his party; and it started about an hour after school ended for the day. That allowed most of us to head home and get ready for a teen play night; and then we converged on Kris' house and farm. Mom couldn't help us with a ride out there; but Tim's Mom was happy to take a break to do that for us; and we ended up being part of a three-vehicle convoy that went out to the farm together. We were in the middle of the pack for arrivals; so the meet and greet was already on y then; and we were kept busy and entertained all the way through until Dad picked us up at eleven o'clock.

While I'm tempted to write up a big party report, and we did have a lot of fun tonight; I don't actually have anything all that significant to report – other than the fact that we could go outside and hang out instead of being in the house or one of the barns the entire time. The party was standard teen fun for us; there isn't very much gossip going around right now; and our Grade Ten couples are pretty much fixed now with just one single still to be matched. I guess that having a bigger party was news too, since quite a few of us didn't do the big parties with our friends this year, but with the sweet sixteen year coming up for us; that's bound to change for the next year. To keep the party update short though; let's just list the highlights. We started with a social hour that was mostly outdoors thanks to the weather. Dinner was indoors, but included grilled meats and food options that made the meal feel more like a barbeque than a mid-winter dinner. We did all of the usual birthday fun after dinner including the song, cake, and ice cream; Kris opened his gifts; and then we – the teens – were shipped off to play video games, listen to music, and hang out together for the rest of the evening.

As I mentioned, Dad came and got us at eleven, and while lots of teens would groan at the time; that was already late for farm kids that are going to have a very early morning on Saturday – especially when a good-weather weekend means the chance to get extra work done around the farms in our area. I won't have to get up extra early for chores in the morning, but Dad will want to do some outdoor chores too when we have a chance to do that; so I'm okay with not having a late night. We came back here; Rowen took Tim home with her for some alone time before he'd need to be home; and Michael came in with me for a while; but just to have a little visit with Mom and Dad before heading home because he's working the breakfast shift with his father in the morning and will be up early.

I was in bed by midnight; have done my usual computer checks and a bit of family business work; and will still manage to be sleeping by around one o'clock. Before I go into nap mode, though; let's cover the non-birthday-party parts of my day.

Tai Chi this morning was by the river because it was too nice out not to do that even if the ground was too soft to exercise anywhere except on the paths. That was a perfect way to start the day; and then Michael stayed for breakfast before running home and getting ready for school – and his morning weight training with the guys. We had a good day at school, and while our outdoor lunch break was a highlight; the warm weather also meant that we ended up having two classes outside too because our teachers could get away with doing that for fairly flimsy excuses.

I didn't miss a dinner and movie night because my family was ready to take a break this weekend after the fun overload last weekend. Mom had a good day with the twins – and without them while they were at KidZone so that she could have some kid-free time to do her shopping and running around for a few hours. While I didn't get to spend any time with Ethan and Ehlana today; I should be able to do that tomorrow – even if that's while we do some chores together. Other than the work around the house and yard; we don't have any plans for Saturday; and I'm hoping that Michael and I will get to have a bit of alone time tomorrow night to go along with our quiet evening non-plans.

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!

Saturday, February 20, 2016

It's been another beautiful day around here; with temperatures again into the seventies. That was perfect for doing some early outdoor chores that we wouldn't normally start on before March or even later. Tai Chi outdoors was even better today with Dad there to share the fun with us; but I had to take that trade-off with not having Michael there while he was busy at the Inn with the breakfast rush.

The work didn't take all day as I'd expected because Mom and Dad decided that it was too nice a day to not have at least some play time too; and Ethan, Ehlana, and I were set free after lunch to enjoy the afternoon and warm weather. We went biking; played at the park; had our afternoon break at the falls; and did a bit of all of those things while Michael was with us and on his afternoon break. We came home again when it was time for Michael to be back at the Inn; and I helped Mom with making dinner while Dad was busy doing some of his work in the office to get ready for his always-busy first work day back from the city on Monday.

We had that meal in the sunroom; I took care of the clean-up; and then Mom and I went out for a walk with Ethan and Ehlana that included a visit with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and their kids on the way past their house. That bit of fun reminded me that I am not spending enough time with my aunt and uncle – even if I do get some play time with my cousins when we do the group babysitting. This time, I'm not even going to try and suggest that I can add more to my schedule when I'm supposed to be doing less; but I do still wish that I did have time for everything I'd like to be able to do.

Giving myself less to do is part of the reason for why I'm doing this update now instead of before I go to sleep. I'm taking a little break before watching a movie with Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge while waiting for Michael to come over too; so I'm doing my bedtime computing now so that I won't have to do it later. While another sofa sleepover with Michael would be nice; we're not doing that tonight for sure; and I don't expect that Michael will stay very late tonight either after starting his day an hour or so before dawn.

I'll let you know how the movie and time with Michael goes for us, but I don't have any news from the bit of family business work I just finished; and there wasn't anything interesting in my email or with the rest of my usual round of internet checks. That, by the way, isn't saying that there wasn't any news around the world; but that there wasn't anything I'll be writing about in my journal. As always, there are better sources in the archives for current events that you can read in my future, and since I can't yet do very much about most of the bad things going on in the world; I'm not going to spend time writing about things that I can't change anyway.

Going to spend a couple of hours hanging out with Ethan and Ehlana is something I can handle, though, and it's time to go and do that now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, February 21, 2016

The warm weather faded a bit today, and it was too cool this morning for Tai Chi by the river; but then this hasn't exactly been a play day for me anyway.

Watching the movie with Ethan and Ehlana last night – and with Michael once he joined us – was fun, and so was the cuddle time with Michael after we tucked the twins in for the night; but I don't have anything beyond that to report for that. There wasn't a major make-out session; Michael was tired by the time he came over; and he went home by around eleven o'clock as planned – even if I wasn't very enthusiastic about giving up my cuddle buddy and going to bed after he was gone.

He was back in the morning for Tai Chi; I went to his house for breakfast so that I could get in on the video chat with Jake and Stephanie that I haven't done with them in a while; and then we headed for church and a fairly uneventful morning compared to the Valentine's Day weekend. I came home after church, and while that was because Mom didn't want me to work all day at the Inn; it didn't mean I wasn't working. The trade-off was that I could still work the buffet shift, but had to get the rest of my work and studying done in the afternoon; so that's what I did during the hours between lunch and when I went to the Inn with Michael after his afternoon break. That included doing our school homework when he came over; so his break wasn't exactly much of a rest time either.

The Inn wasn't packed for the buffets, but we had less staff on duty too; so we still needed to work hard to keep up with everything in the kitchen. I stayed until close; walked home with Michael and his family; and then did the goodnight hugs and kisses outside of their house before continuing on to mine. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were still up then, but wrapping things up in the office by then; so we all headed up for bed not long after I got back. I'm now writing this while cuddling with Mandy, and didn't have any other work to do beyond my usual computer and email checks; but I did have a quick soak in my Jacuzzi after helping to tuck the twins in for the night. Trust me, Mandy appreciates my efforts with that; and I feel better after that long handful of hours working in the kitchen.

Before I wrap this up, and though I don't really have anything extra on the schedule for the week ahead; I want to mention that there are some things going on around here that I'm not directly involved with right now; but that will be top stories soon. First up, the church addition is on-schedule to be done in time for the Easter weekend. If all goes well, the new sanctuary will be ready for dedication on Palm Sunday. There will be some ongoing finishing work after that in the rest of the addition; but the big push that'll be happening over the next few weeks is going to be meshing the old sanctuary with the new section. That's going to be fun to watch as it comes together; and I can hardly wait to see how amazing the finished sanctuary will be. Having room for another five hundred people is going to be awesome too – especially on holiday weekends!

The new kitchen and dining rooms for the Inn are nearly ready to go too. Miranda and Jacob will make the decision on when to move into the new kitchen and start using the dining rooms soon; but that'll be no sooner than the week after Easter; since that move will also mean that we won't be able to use the old dining room for maybe as much as a week while some work is done to get it ready to be used with the new kitchen. That's going to seem strange at first, since we'll be working in the old Ayres' store every day; but it'll be exciting too. I also expect that there's going to be a lot of extra work at the Inn too; so we'll see how my fledgling less-work plan will handle that between now and Easter.

I'll keep you posted on that, and I'm overdue for a family business and future plans update in my journal too, but I've had enough for tonight and need to get some sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, February 22, 2016

It's been a long day, so I'll keep this short.

Tai Chi; breakfast; school; study and dinner at Michael's house; marching band planning meeting; music practice back at Michael's again; and only the must-do work and studying once I got home again.

I'll barely make my one o'clock cut-off time if I wrap this up right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

I should manage to be sleeping by midnight if I hurry this up and get right to that; so this is going to be another short update.

Having Mother Nature tease us with those nice mornings where we could exercise by the river has made moving those workouts indoors tough to take. Breakfast in the sunroom was still as great as always; and then I was off and running to another amazing day at school!

Okay, amazing is an over-statement, and it was actually a bit dull during our classes; but we had fun on our lunch break; and band practice was pretty good too. It was back to the whirlwind that seems to be my life too often again once we were set free from band practice. Michael came home with me; we had dinner and a nice chat with my parents, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then we were off and running again to get to the church on time after helping with the dinner clean-up.

Getting to the church on time for teen praise team practice isn't as critical as being on time for a wedding, but we are down to just over a month to go to Easter this year; Michael and I will be gone for the March Break practice if they even have one; and we still have a lot to do before we'll be ready for the Easter services. That's why our practice tonight included the first practice for the actors doing the skits that are mostly for the Easter Sunday sunrise service. We worked for a bit more than two hours too; which meant that Michael and I were late getting back to my house – and started on our homework. We got that done by ten-ish; Michael went home shortly after that; and I got to work on my computer once I was ready for bed and tucked in with Mandy.

There hasn't been enough time to do everything, so I skipped the language study and only took care of the must-do family business work. Yes, I technically could stay up until one and do more; but I'm tired-enough that it would just be a waste of effort. Tomorrow is our mid-week work night, so I should be able to get caught up and still be in bed early. I'll let you know how that goes with the next report, but that's all I have for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Tai Chi; breakfast; school; family business work; dinner; more family business work, homework, and language studying; a hot soak in my Jacuzzi; and an early bedtime.

That's my day in a nutshell; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Another busy day, and while I'm getting a bit more rest; it doesn't feel as though I'm cutting back much on the work.

Today, that work included helping out at the Inn with the dinner rush after school; the studying I did with Michael when I brought him home with me instead of staying for game night; and the work and studying I've done since he went home not long after Mom, Dad, and the twins got back from game night.

Michael and I did take a little time for a minor make-out session too, but that really was just a cameo moment or three of fun to go along with the work.

That's really pretty much all I have for tonight. The weekend will be a bit more exciting because the Maple Valley Winter Festival is on; and we'll be going to it on Saturday, and while it won't be as exciting; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are going to have a movie night in the lounge tomorrow night. That will all help to make for a really good weekend and wrap-up for February, but you'll need to keep flipping digital pages to find out how good; while I'll need to live those moments in real time – and then write those journal updates that you're reading in your now and my future!

For now, though, it's time for me to go into nap mode; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, February 26, 2016

I'm writing this update early because there's a very good chance that I'll end up falling asleep on Michael tonight sometime while we're watching movies with Rowen and Tim – if not while we're doing that with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden too. That's not exactly exciting news for me, since I do want to have a fun night with my friends, but I'm already wearing down fast; and don't think that I'll have a choice once I'm done with the busy and start relaxing and winding down.

We've had a good day, if uneventful. Our teachers dumped a bit of extra homework on us today too, and while that isn't a problem for me; it is still work that I'll need to get done this weekend – along with everything else I've already got on the go. Sure, there's fun stuff planned too – like our trip to Maple Valley for the festival; but sometimes is seems as though the world is conspiring to keep me too busy no matter how hard I try to cut back and rest up for a while so that I don't have to worry about falling asleep during a teen movie night or at other, equally important moments with my boyfriend! ;^)

Moving along, we've had a decent weather day, and the weekend is looking awesome for the festival too. It wasn't t-shirt temperatures at lunch time, but it was nice-enough to spend most of that break outdoors. I spent some time outdoors after school too, though that was with the twins and their friends while Michael, Tim, and Rowen were all busy with work or other things. Michael helped out at the Inn for the dinner rush, but isn't staying until close; and should be here soon. Naomi and Aiden stayed and had dinner with us; they'll be here overnight; and will be going to the festival with us tomorrow – though Naomi's Dad and brother will likely be going to the festival too while her Mom's stuck working at the salon all day. Michael, by the way, won't be able to come with us tomorrow, but we'll bring back some Maple Syrup and treats for him; and maybe I'll get the chance to make that up to him tomorrow night with a bit of cuddle time for two in the lounge – if I'm not too tired for that by then again after our play day in Maple Valley.

Wow, I'm beginning to wonder if I really am only fifteen. I'm way too young to be this tired out! ;^)

While that's too true, it doesn't change the fact that I am tired out way too often right now, and even though it's still really early; I am thinking about naps even as I'm getting things ready in the lounge for our movie night. There's been a nasty strain of cold going around, and if I wasn't self-healing; I'd think that I might have caught that bug too. Speaking of that, I wish that I could help my friends out with that cold, since it really is tough on everyone that's caught it, and I'd help Michael or Rowen if they catch it; but the Magi Healers in our family can't exactly run around and heal everyone for something like that without it being very obvious and conspicuous. I can tell you that this cold season has gotten Ehlana's attention, though; and she's added curing the common cold to her to-do list at the lab.

Sure, no problem for the four-year old resident genius – though she thinks it might take her a few more years to get that done.

Okay, I'm just letting my thoughts run off with this update; so it's time to wrap it up so that I can finish getting ready for our movie night. You'll be able to flip a digital page and find out whether or not I do end up falling asleep during the movies tonight, but I'll hopefully stay awake long-enough to enjoy at least some of that teen time with my friends. I'm really looking forward to spending the day with Mom, Dad, and the twins tomorrow too when we'll be doing something that isn't chores around the house or hanging out together in the office while we do our own work and studying. Yes, that's one more thing I'd like to have more time for and don't; but let's not go there when I'm trying to finish this report and get on with the rest of my night.

That sounds like I'm in a hurry to blow off this bit of Magi Master duty, and I guess maybe I am doing that just a bit; but hopefully you'll cut me a bit of slack on that when I really am having a tough time getting through every day right now – even if I'm not physically sick. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I'll be feeling more like my normal, fired-up self again, but I'm not there right now and don't have anything else to add to this report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Surprisingly, I managed to mostly stay awake last night for our movies in the lounge!

I know, that's shocking; but then I also didn't do much of anything beyond cuddling with Michael while we watched our shows and talked with Rowen, Tim, and our four junior movie-watching buddies. Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden ended up watching both movies with us – or most of them; since Naomi did fall asleep while cuddling with Ethan and Ehlana and Aiden both fell asleep not long after the second movie started. Mom and Dad timed their bedtime with the end of that second show, and had help with getting the kids down to the second floor; but I wasn't one of those helpers. Tim and Rowen did that; headed on out after doing that; and left Michael and me alone so that we could say goodnight to each other before he went home too. We did that in a mostly non-verbal sort of way, but he didn't stay much longer, and when he wouldn't let me walk him out; I snuggled under the blanket we'd been sharing and went to sleep on the sofa instead of taking the time to move next door to my bed.

Michael wasn't back for Tai Chi in the morning because he was working the breakfast shift at the Inn again; and our workout was indoors because it was too cold out first thing this morning to exercise by the river. We then had a quick breakfast; got together with the gang we were going to the Maple Valley Winter Festival with; and hit the road for our adventure. I'm not going to write a lot about the festival, since it really doesn't change much from year-to-year; but I will say that it was a lot more fun to go there today when the temperature climbed into the seventies by this afternoon! Okay, that's not very wintry for a winter festival, but we were there for the maple syrup, the other maple treats, and the shows and games. Getting to do that while wearing t-shirts and leaving the coats in the car made our time in Maple Valley one of the best for me so far! Keep up the good work, Mother Nature – though let's not have it quite this warm when we go to Colorado for our March Break ski trip. Having all of the snow there melt before we get there would defeat the purpose of the trip – which contrary to some opinions around our school is not a party week getaway from the parents.

That's just an added bonus to go along with the snowboarding! ;^)

Just kidding, Mom!

Moving along, we watched all of the shows; enjoyed a pancakes and syrup lunch; picked up lots of treats to bring home with us; and generally had an awesome day. I got to spend a lot of time with Mom, Dad, the twins, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and quite a few of our friends; and getting to do that play time together was what really made our day trip so great. We didn't get home again until dinnertime; Mom and I put together an easy meal; we ate in the sunroom; and then I had another free evening to take it easy – though I did a bit of studying and family business work while waiting for Michael to come over once he was set free from the Inn for the night.

We got to mostly be on our own in the lounge after that; had a moderately hot make-out session while Mom, Dad, and the twins were doing their own thing in the living room; and then Michael went home at eleven o'clock because we were both tired out by then. I pretty much went straight to bed after seeing him out; took care of one more bit of family business work; and will be sleeping before midnight – and probably within minutes of wrapping up this report.

Since I really am ready to nap now, consider that done; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, February 28, 2016

My day wasn't an exactly repeat of last Sunday; but it certainly rhymed.

Tai Chi was by the river; Michael and I had breakfast at his house; we had another video chat with Jake and Stephanie; and then we went on to church for the service and Sunday school time with our families and friends.

Lunch, my afternoon of work and studying, and then my buffet shift at the Inn were so much like last week that each part of that happened on practically the same schedule to within minutes – including Michael's break and when we finished up for the night and went home. Some Jacuzzi time was in order once I'd finished spending a bit of time with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana after I got home; and I'm writing this update while still in the tub. I've done one last round of email and computer checks too; so I'll be going straight off to sleep once Mandy and I are tucked in for the night.

I'll wrap this up with a quick look ahead, and with one day left in February; it's going to be March Break and our trip to Colorado that'll be moving up to number one on the best upcoming events list for those of us going on that trip. It's less than two weeks away now, and while we still have a lot going on between now and then; I really do expect to be in countdown mode. Michael, Rowen, and Tim will likely put in some extra time with work too; and we have a few other things going on – like a couple of birthday parties; but I'm ready for the break and wish we could go tomorrow – and spend a month there instead of a week. That isn't going to happen, and I wouldn't want to be away from my family for that long anyway; but it is still nice to dream about even if it isn't an option.

Going to sleep soon is possible, though, and I'm pretty much ready to wrap this up – and my bath time too; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, February 29, 2016

I generally have a lot of love for Mother Nature, and we've had another beautiful day around here; but I have to file one minor complaint. Do you really need to send us these temperature extremes? Yes, we love it when it's in the seventies in February; but it was also freezing here this morning; and will be again overnight. A forty-plus degree drop and rise and drop is a bit much – not to mention that we went from needing wither jackets and gloves this morning to t-shirt weather by the time we were done school for the day!

Having said that, I don't want anyone blaming me for the cooler day that's in the forecast for tomorrow; since that was already in place before I started writing this update. It is still winter, folks; and it's these warm days that are the anomaly – not the cold days.

Tai Chi was indoors today; Michael went home for breakfast; and I helped out with the work on both sides of our morning meal in addition to getting ready for school. The last school day of February wasn't anything particularly memorable despite it being a leap year; though some of our teachers did try to have some fun with it. I'd have preferred that the school declare a holiday when the twenty-ninth falls on a week day, since it really is an extra day for the school calendar, but that didn't happen; and we managed to have a pretty good day – for a Monday.

The rest of my day felt a lot like Monday did last week. I went home with Michael; we did our homework at his house; had dinner with his parents and sister; and then went to our marching band meeting with our Moms after dinner. With our first marching band practice scheduled for the first week of April, we're really humming along with the prep work, and while the parents and volunteers are doing most of that work; I'm going to be busier over the next month with that too. We will be ready on-time, though; and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that all of our fundraisers meet or beat our goals so that this trip gets paid for – and that includes meeting financial goals that we'll need to hit every month or risk having the trip cancelled. The school is not going to let us get behind when we need to raise so much money – and as I've mentioned before; it is a lot of money for a small town school.

While the meeting was one of the most important parts of my day, it was the music time with Michael after we went back to his place that was the most fun for me. Okay, I'm saying that because we had a minor make-out session to go along with the music; but singing and playing together is really awesome too. I only stayed at Michael's for an hour before heading home again; and the only reason that I haven't messed up my bedtime schedule tonight is because I used a time phase to get my work and studying done. For the studying, while I'm not quite as satisfied with my language mastery as usual this time; I'm still going to move on to my next language tomorrow as planned. I'm being a bit too picky about that, since I have become fluent in Romanian; and it's really just learning more of the nuances that I haven't done – and is really a matter of getting more real-time practice and experience through reading or listening to the language in use. I can always pick that up later – and I'm sure that I will.

As I mentioned, time phasing allowed me to get everything done, but that is still cheating; since it isn't allowing me to rest up when I'm burning the extra power to do that. It's also why I'm more tired than I should be; and I'm going to wrap this up now and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another busy day with band and praise team practices, so I don't expect to do any better with getting everything done without a bit more Magi-powered cheating; but I will try to make up for that on Wednesday if I can manage that.

For now, though, that's all I have, and I really am ready to crash now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

March 2016

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Well, it was a lot colder out today, but I don't think we can call this first day of March an 'in like a lion' event. Does that mean we won't go 'out like a lamb' at the end of the month? Stayed tuned – or in your case reading this in the future; flip about thirty digital pages into my future to find out! ;^)

I can tell you that my first day of the month has been a long, busy one; which is why this is going to be a short report.

It's Tuesday; include all of my usual activities before, during, and after school; and Michael was at my house for dinner tonight between band and praise team practices. He was back here after that so that we could do our homework; and then he went home and I used a time phase to do my family business work and studying. The language I'm learning for the next two months is Dutch; I read two books; and had a first chat with some Cutch-speaking teens online. Yes, I know it's my first day, but this isn't my first language; and they didn't mind my inexperience – not that they knew that it was my first day learning their language.

That's it in a nutshell without any details; but then this wouldn't be a micro update if I did write about everything. I'm rambling now, though, and that's a sure sign that I'm way too tired to still be doing anything except sleeping; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

It's a work day; and that means that going to sleep early is an option – and one that I'm going to take starting very soon.

The weather was nicer again today; though that means in the fifties; not the seventies. Other than a chilly morning walk to school, the weather didn't matter much for me; since I was indoors pretty much all day except for a short walk outside at lunchtime with Michael and some of our friends that was mostly just to get some fresh air for a few minutes – and was short because we didn't bother going for our jackets first. I don't have anything newsworthy to report from school; and I can straight home – after walking Michael to the Inn and saying goodnight to him there before we split up for the rest of the day.

I've been working and studying at home since then; did most of that in the office; and used a time phase for a lot of it so that I could be done even earlier than planned. That worked out for Mom, Dad, and the twins too, but while they're doing other things with the extra time; I came straight up to my room and got ready for bed. Other than this update, I only did one last email check, so if I can actually stay sleeping that long; I actually have a shot at getting nine-plus hours of continuous down time!

Let's go ahead and give that a try. I'll let you know if it works out in my next update, but I'm heading off to dreamland now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, March 3, 2016

I felt really good this morning after getting a solid night of rest. That's apparently not a good thing for me; since it meant that I was ready to party all day; decided to do more than I should have; and ended up staying up late because I didn't follow the plan.

Most of my day was fairly normal for a Thursday through until we were done classes for the day. After that, I went to the Inn with Michael; we did our homework; and then helped out with the dinner shift. We stayed for game night even though I was supposed to go home and get started on my work and studying. Mom didn't say anything to me about that and left the choice up to me; which I should learn from; but probably won't. I did have fun playing games with Michael, our families, and friends; so the only problem was time. By the time we finished playing and getting the dining room cleaned up and ready for the breakfast rush, it was ten-thirty; and then I stopped in at Michael's on the way home to have a bit of quiet time with Michael before continuing on to my house at a bit after eleven o'clock. The fun kind of delays continued while I had chats with Mom and Dad and then helped Ethan and Ehlana to get tucked in for the night. Add in a short soak in my Jacuzzi, and it was past-midnight by the time I got started on my work and studying. It's Thursday, so not doing the work wasn't an option, but I didn't want to use a time phase; so I worked in real time instead.

I have gotten everything done, and won't have to deal with extra work this weekend; but the trade-off is that I've only traded that off against not getting much sleep tonight – and defeating the extra effort I put in to get more sleep last night. That sucks for me, but it's the way it is; and I'll deal with it – and the lack of sleep tonight. Crashing for the few hours I can do that for is an option now, though, and I'm past-ready to do that; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, March 4, 2016

I'm writing this micro report after school because I'm going to be busy for the rest of the night and won't have my computer with me.

Miranda's giving some of her teens the weekend off because she'll need the extra help on March Break while Michael's away on our ski trip. I'm helping her with that by putting in extra time too; so I'm working the dinner-to-close shift tonight. I'm also doing a sleepover at Michael's house because I'll be going with him to work the breakfast shift tomorrow too, and while that is a good excuse for a sleepover; we're really doing that because it'll be fun – not because I couldn't go home and still wake up in time to get to the Inn on my own.

The wake-up hugs and kisses with Michael should be fun too; but I'll let you know how that works out for us! ;^)

Up to this point, we've had a fairly standard Friday around here. Tai Chi was indoors; Michael stayed for breakfast before hurrying off again to get ready for school and to his weight training with the guys. We have a bit more homework for the weekend than usual; but that's partly because we'll be doing some testing next week ahead of the March Break; and there are some projects due in next week too. That isn't a problem for Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I; but I will need to put a bit of extra time in on that work too – as if I don't have enough on the go already.

Then again, at least I won't be writing mid-term exams like some of our favorite collegians will be doing next week ahead of their Spring Break. That's the main reason I'm not hearing much from them this week as they put in the extra time to get ready for those exams. I'm not going to think about not seeing Violet and Dillon very much when they're home for their break and I'm in Colorado; but then they'll likely be in Woodvale half the time they're home anyway and I wouldn't trade the ski trip with Michael for a bit of extra time with them – especially when they'll have so many other things on the go while they're here with their families and friends.

Okay, I need to finish packing my overnight bag and then get to the Inn to help with the pre-dinner prep work. It's been fun so far today, but we're likely in for a busy night and weekend. You can keep flipping digital pages, but I'll be on my way now to continue living my life; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, March 5, 2016

There might have been a sofa sleepover going on at Michael's house last night, but since we were awake very early and ready to head over to the Inn before there were any witnesses; only two of us know whether that happened or not.

Well, that theory lasted until we heard that a picture was taken sometime after we fell asleep; and then Miranda had fun teasing us about it when she got to the Inn just as the breakfast rush was about to hit.

There were quite a few fun cameo moments in my day to go along with the work; but it was almost entirely a work day. Helping out with the breakfast rush at the Inn meant missing Tai Chi and breakfast at home – as well as the start of the weekend chores. I made up for that by working around the house and yard from the time I got home from the Inn at around ten o'clock until about three o'clock. I only took a quick break for lunch, but my work wasn't done at three either. Michael came over then; we did an hour or so of our homework – or more than double that thanks to a bit of Magi-powered studying; and then we split up to grab quick showers before heading to the Inn again for the dinner rush. After getting there, we worked to close; Michael came home with me so that we could spend a bit of time with my family that included a bedtime snack and tucking the twins in for the night; and then we had a minor make-out session in the lounge before he went home for the night by eleven-thirty.

I've only done the basic email and computer checks before getting to this, and there's still a small chance that I'll be sleeping by midnight if I wrap this up now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, March 6, 2016

We're officially counting down the days to March Break and our trip to Colorado now; so all of the extra work this weekend was worth being this tired.

Tai Chi was chilly, but outdoors by the river. Michael and I were with our own families for breakfast; but we were together for pretty much the rest of the day. That included church; working the lunch shift at the Inn; doing our homework during our afternoon break; and then working the buffet shift until we closed the Inn for the night. Other than a short stop for a goodnight hug and kiss outside of Michael's house; I came straight home after that. I had a visit in the office with Mom and Dad; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then used a time phase to get my work and studying done so that I'll still be sleeping by midnight.

That's cheating, but I didn't want to skip anything – and didn't want to stay up past my time limit either to get the work done. I also need to get ahead of things to be ready for my week away. I can keep up with some of my work; but not everything – and I wouldn't want that work and studying to get in the way of the fun while we're in Colorado either. We do have a school week to get through between now and when we leave for Colorado on Saturday morning; and a few things going on that I'll need to fit in around my usual schedule.

Uncle Adam's birthday is tomorrow; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I have a birthday party to go to on Tuesday for one of Michael's and Tim's football team mates; and we'll need to work in packing for our trip somewhere too. Add in the holiday assignments we'll have that I'd like to get done before we leave; and I think there's a good chance that I'll need to forget about the time limits I'm supposed to follow for the next five nights.

Okay, I'll likely be ignoring them next week too, but I'll be doing that because we'll be having too much fun; and you can't seriously expect me not to do that when we'll have a parent-free week. Sure, we'll have chaperones, but I am a Magi Master; so that won't really be an issue if I don't want it to be one!

Did I write that last part out loud? ;^)

Just kidding, Mom and Dad – though by the time you read this; it wouldn't matter if I was being serious.

That is something I don't need to take more time with tonight, and I don't really have anything else to report tonight; so I should wrap this up and get off to sleep soon. This hasn't exactly been the most exciting weekend I've ever had, but Michael wasn't the only friend wanting to put in extra work this weekend to have extra spending money on our trip; so I did at least keep busy while everyone else was busy too. Missing out on enjoying another day with the temperatures in the seventies like it was this afternoon was tougher; but I'll survive.

I am ready for some down time now, and will need all of the rest I can get with everything we'll have on the go this week; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, March 7, 2016

Happy 32nd Birthday, Uncle Adam!

It's funny that as I write that; the first thing that I'm thinking is that I'll officially be half his age for a month or so when I turn sixteen next February. No, that isn't a huge deal for an uncle-niece age difference, and he's not even my youngest uncle if you include the unofficial members of that little club; but I still think it's funny that I was about a third his age when we met during my first Thanksgiving here in Witch Falls.

I'll guess that he wasn't thinking about that at all tonight; though he likely is very happy that the age difference between him and Aunt Leanne means nothing now compared to when they were kids and teens. That's taking my thoughts in a direction I don't want to go, though; so let's get to the news of the day.

The temperature was still in the sixties this morning, and while we had a dash or three of rain overnight; that didn't get in the way of a really great Tai Chi workout by the river. That got our day off to a great start; breakfast and the rest of my pre-school morning routine was fairly standard; and then we had a pretty good day at school. There were some tests to write and projects to hand in, but that was easy for me; and not really anything major for anyone else in our class either. The weather was perfect for having our lunch break outdoors; so that was a highlight of the day; and the afternoon classes sped by thanks to that bonus play time and fresh air.

Michael came home with me after school so that we could do our homework ahead of Uncle Adam's birthday dinner; we got that done fairly quickly; and then we were put on kid control while Mom helped Aunt Leanne with making dinner. We took a small gang of kids to the park; went for a walk on the main path; and played at the playground for nearly an hour before heading back to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house. A kid clean-up followed that adventure; we had fun in the play room after that until everyone had arrived and dinner was ready; and then the birthday fun began in earnest – for the hour or so that Michael and I had left to do that before it was time to get to our marching band committee meeting.

While we had fun at dinner, Michael and I were also on kid control while we ate; so we missed a lot of the birthday roasting going on with the parents. Mom didn't go with us to the meeting; and instead stayed to help out with the post-dinner work – and to hang out with Dad and everyone else that stayed for an evening of fun and entertainment. Miranda was at the meeting, though, and we had fun taking the next steps toward being ready for our first marching band practice that is now just four weeks away! Our trip to Colorado is a much bigger deal for me right now, and we have Easter coming up between now and then too; but I'm really looking forward to actually being part of the inception of a new marching band. That's a bit scary too, but in a fun way; so I'm not at all worried that the band will be a disaster.

That meeting went pretty well for the work side of it, so we weren't just having fun without getting anything done; and then Michael came home with me so that we could do a music practice to get ready for our band and teen praise team practices tomorrow. Mom, Dad, and the twins were home by then, and since Mom and Dad were working in the office; Ethan and Ehlana came upstairs with us to listen in – or join in – while Michael and I first practiced for band and then worked through all of our Easter music. We took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed for the night after that; had a minor make-out session in the lounge before Michael went home; and then I had a chat with Mom and Dad in the office while they wrapped up their work before we all came up to bed.

I had a lot of work and studying to get to after that, so they were having a lot more fun than I was; but let's not take that train of thought any further. The family business work came first, and since I'm doubling up on pretty much everything this week; that took a few hours to get done because I didn't use a time phase tonight. My language studying came next; I spent an hour and a half doing that; and then moved on to one last email and computer check that also added a bit more family business work to my night before I could get to this update.

All of that means that I won't have time for much more than a nap now before needing to get up and going again; but that's exactly how I expected this week to go for me. Since Michael and I have those two practices and a birthday dinner to deal with tomorrow; I'll expect more of the same for Tuesday night – especially since we won't even be able to get to our homework until after our teen praise team practice.

I'll let you know how that goes with my next update, but that's all I have for tonight; and it's way past-time for me to get started on that nap.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Happy 17th Birthday, Luke!

It's a bit weird to be starting the next-level of friends' birthdays, since I'm one of the last to make the grade cut for my own year. Luke's only a grade ahead of me, but almost two years older; and we don't have a lot in common either. My invitation had nothing to do with me anyway, since Rowen and I were invited along with Tim and Michael; so it wasn't a big deal that we were on the fringe of the dinner party too. We also barely made it out to Luke's farm in time for dinner after band practice; and had to leave the party before dessert was served; so that worked out for the best anyway since our interruptions didn't get in the way of the birthday fun.

We did have fun despite being rushed; but then rushed pretty much describes my entire day. Tai Chi by the river was an exception to that general rule; but then we were busy the rest of the time before and after breakfast. While writing tests and doing everything else we had on the go at school wasn't difficult for me; we were busy all day too. Even our lunch break was busy because there was some birthday fun for Luke with his girlfriend Denise and some of the friends that weren't at his party after school.

After school, we were busy with band; and part of that practice was a preview of the music we'll be doing with the marching band starting next month. I haven't really thought about that much, but our little concert band isn't going to have as much to do over the next year as our marching band starts doing the parades instead. We'll still have the seniors' parties and concerts at school; but we'll also likely cut way back on the practices next fall. For today, though, we used up our entire practice time, and then Tim met up with us at the school and Rowen's mother gave the four of us a ride out to the Taylor farm for Luke's birthday dinner.

We weren't the only teens doing that after band, or the only group heading back to town in time for our praise team practice; but we didn't have any extra passengers with us. Dad came to pick us up for that trip back to town; and then he stayed at the church to help out as one of the volunteers working in the sanctuary this week. The sanctuary is closed while that work is being done; so our praise team practice was in the fellowship hall instead. We could still hear the noise from the work in the sanctuary, and they could hear our practice; but that's a small price to pay for having the expanded sanctuary ready to go in time for Easter.

That practice was a blast of work and fun because we still have a lot to do before we'll be ready for our contributions to the Easter season music and services; and that's especially true when we have March Break between now and then. My work and busy for the day was far from done after that, though; and Michael came home with me from the church so that we could get started on our homework. We spent an hour doing that; Michael stayed long-enough to help me with tucking Ethan and Ehlana in for the night; and then he went home so that I could get started on the rest of my work and studying – about four hours ago.

I've doubled up the work and studying again tonight, and while that's kept me up late again; I need to keep at it if I want to head to Colorado on Saturday morning and not need to take a lot of work with me. Speaking of that, I've started to keep an eye on the forecast for Winter Park, and while going snowboarding with temperatures above freezing can be awesome; I hope it doesn't get too warm out there! This isn't part of my 'cover' story, but I have been to a ski resort before when there haven't been many runs left open due to snow melt; and it won't be as much fun for us if that happens while we're there next week – and way sooner than is normal for Colorado.

It's going to be another short nap night for me again, though; so I shouldn't waste that down time writing about something that I can't do anything about.

Okay, I could; but Mom would get really mad if I tried to whip up a cold front in the Rockies ahead of our trip – not to mention that things like that can really mess with the weather in much bigger ways than can realistically be controlled. It's really for the best to leave things like that to Mother Nature – even when she doesn't always give us what we want.

That's definitely wandered off somewhere I didn't need to go, and that means I'm too tired to be doing this anymore; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

It's late, but not ridiculously so; and that's entirely thanks to two things. The first is that my Wednesday work night allowed me to get started on everything as soon as I got home from school. I also cheated all night by using a time phase for everything except our dinner break.

That's been exhausting, and Mom wasn't thrilled with my plan; but It worked because I got everything done that I wanted to do not only tonight; but for tomorrow night too. Now I only have to deal with daily family business issues; and Mom's going to watch quite a few of those for me while I'm in Colorado.

The downside is that I've way overdone it tonight; and might need a week to recover. Doing that while having extreme fun with my friends next week isn't going to happen; but I'll deal with it as I always do – and won't let a little thing like being tired get in the way of the snow fun.

As for the rest of my day; we started out with Tai Chi by the river; I have absolutely nothing interesting to report from school; and I did my homework on my own tonight – also while in a time phase so that I didn't waste much time on that when I had so many other things to get finished tonight. While the work and studying was my top priority, I was also babysitting the twins tonight while Mom and Dad were at the church helping out in the sanctuary. This is the last day they'll be doing that this week because Dad will need to get ready for his week in the city next week; but they will do what they can to help out between now and Easter – even though Dad can't do that at all next week.

Ethan and Ehlana worked on their college studies while I did my work tonight; they got a lot done thanks to the time phasing; and can take next week off too if they want to do that. They also stayed up until Mom and Dad got home; Mom took care of getting them tucked in for the night; and Dad worked with me in the time phase to get his own must-do work finished by the time I was done and ready to come up to my room for the night.

I did one last computer and email check after getting changed and in bed with Mandy, and once I have this report finished; it's going to be lights out for me in a need to be unconscious way for the rest of the night.

Consider that done; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, March 10, 2016

We've had a nice weather day here, but I didn't get outside to enjoy it much. Tai Chi was by the river, and we spent most of our lunch break outside too; but that was pretty much it for me – except for the walks to and from school and the Inn.

Today was really our last day of 'real' classes before the March Break. Tomorrow will just be a wrap-up day for either finishing projects that are due or working ahead on our holiday homework. I won't have anything to do because Michael and I did all of the March Break homework we could do ahead of time; and only have one English assignment left to go that we can't do until we've actually experienced what we're tasked with writing about.

We did that while skipping game night at the Inn, but we did help out with the dinner rush there first before moving on to my house to get that work done. Yes, we had a very minor make-out session too, but we really did do all of our studying first, and had a last music practice too; since we won't be able to do that for the next week or so and we still need to be ready for Easter. We had all of that done by the time that Mom and Dad got home from the Inn with Ethan and Ehlana, and then Michael went home after just a quick visit with them because we were both going to work on packing for our trip after that.

I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night first while Mom and Dad got to work in the office; but then I came up to my room and used a bit of Magi power to do most of my packing. I've multi-tasked my bedtime computer and email checks too, so once I have this update finished; I can call it a night and get some sleep.

Before I do that; let's talk snow. The weather forecast for Colorado is a bit too warm for the next few days; and snowboarding might be tougher if they get some rain too. I'm sure that you're amused reading this in the future that I'm wishing it would be colder for our trip when I've hoped for warmer weather all winter. What's even stranger is that the forecast for here at home is really great for next week – at least for the temperatures; and we're going to miss out on that while we're away too. Getting the chance to go snowboarding for a week at a really great spot will be worth it – even if we can't do that and enjoy temperatures in the sixties and seventies too.

I'll be writing all about my trip while we're there, though, and the start of that is just a couple of digital page flips away for you whenever you're reading this in my future; so I guess there's no point in speculating about any of that tonight. There is one bit of news I should add before calling it a night. Michael, Tim, and Rowen are all going to stay here with me tomorrow night so that we'll be together in one place when it's time to head to the airport on Saturday morning. We'll be doing that very, very early, since our flight leaves early too; but napping along the way will be an option and I expect we'll likely be up late too. Ethan and Ehlana are going to have sleepover buddies too, so we'll likely do a movie night in the lounge with them. I'll be glad to do that with them, since I won't see them again until we get back from Colorado; but the twins are having Naomi and Aiden over because they're excited about getting to spend extra time together over the next week while Naomi's off from school too.

Finally, in case I don't remember to mention it tomorrow; my favorite collegians have just one day left for mid-term exams; and then they'll be heading home for the holidays too. Violet and Dillon will be going up to Woodvale first; so I won't see them before I leave; but then I might not have seen them anyway depending on how late they'd have been driving home after their exams tomorrow.

Wow – that reminds me that I did almost forget a couple of birthday best wishes!

Happy 17th Birthday, Martin; and Happy 1st Birthday, Marcus Malloy!

I shouldn't be so distracted that I forgot to start this update with that news; but then I really had no involvement with either birthday today at all. I even missed out on the phone calls to Woodvale and Crystal Springs because I wasn't home for dinner when Mom and Dad made those calls. Marcus was having a party, and Martin was doing something with some friends tonight; but that's pretty much all I know about what they were doing today.

Maybe I should've had a longer chat with Mom and Dad before coming up here tonight!

Oh well, I can't do that now, and they definitely wouldn't want me interrupting them either; so I'll just leave it there – and let's not discuss why my parents wouldn't want me going down to their room for a visit either.

Gee, look at the time! I'm suddenly very, very tired, and should get the extra sleep tonight while I can; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, March 11, 2016

Rowen and I are about ready to get started on our nap now. Mandy's with us; and Ehlana and Naomi are camping in the lounge. We've had a fun night; but we'll be getting up in a couple of hours so that we can get ready for our trip to the airport and then on to Colorado.

That's why I'm going to keep this short – though I don't actually have much news to report anyway.

The weather's been nice again; and we were able to get outside and actually enjoy some of it today. That began with Tai Chi by the river; we were outdoors for our lunch break; and then Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had some park play time with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden after school. I was doing that to help Mom out while she was busy doing other things; but I was also glad to spend that time with Ethan and Ehlana too. Mom and Dad had the extra teens and kids for dinner too, but they went with an easy-dinner night that included grilling burgers and hot dogs; cold salads; and some oven-baked finger foods. I was still on kid control for the cooking part of that; but Michael and I were on the clean-up crew after dinner.

When the work was finished, Michael, Tim, and Rowen all went home to finish packing for our trip. I stayed to get a last few things packed too, and we all needed to get that done because Tim's parents loaded up the minivan they're using to take us to the airport tomorrow after they were finished work for the day so that we don't need to take time to do that in the morning. Michael, Tim, and Rowen also needed overnight bags for here too, but that wasn't much extra work for them; and it really will be easy for us when Tim's parents pick us up to just hop in the minivan and go.

We had that done by eight-thirty, so we followed that up with a little visit with the parents – all four sets of them. Tim's parents didn't stay long because they were going to get to see us for the trip the airport, but Rowen's and Michael's parents stopped in to see us after closing the computer store and the Inn; and we did those visits in the living room with Mom and Dad – and with the twins and their friends too. Since four out of six of our parents are working in the morning; that bit of fun didn't last long; and then it was time for the kids and teens to end our night with a movie in the lounge.

That was fun; Mom and Dad joined us for the last half of the movie; and then they took Ethan and Aiden down to Ethan's room on their way to bed while Ehlana and Naomi took over the lounge for their sleepover; and Rowen and I split up long-enough to say goodnight to our boyfriends before meeting up here in my room again. Once we were ready for bed; we had a quick little girl chat with Ehlana and Naomi; I've done a micro computer and email check; and the only news I have to report from that is that my favorite collegians are either finished traveling for the night and home safely; or they will be home soon and are fine.

With four teens needing to get ready to go in what really is just a couple of hours from right now, Rowen and I need to get napping; so that's it for tonight. Our travel day tomorrow won't be all fun and games, but we will be together; so that will be great – even if we won't get there in time to do any snowboarding before the ski lifts shut down for the day. We will have time to do some exploring, though, and maybe even get caught up on our sleep ahead of our first full day of snowboarding at the Winter Park resort.

I can hardly wait to get the adventure started, but I'll wish that I'd gone with getting a bit more sleep soon too; so that's it for tonight. My next update will be coming to you live from Colorado; so, until then...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

We're here in Colorado; and it's been a very long travel day that was exciting, tedious, busy, and far too slow; depending on what part of our day we're discussing.

Getting up early wasn't hard despite the lack of sleep; and giving Michael his wake-up call was fun for me – and gave us something to do while Rowen was using my bathroom to grab a shower. We were all ready for the day within a half hour; though Rowen and I couldn't have our hair totally dried by then. We managed to get ready without waking Ethan, Ehlana, or their friends; but Mom and Dad got up to see us off. Tim's parents both looked as though they wished they were still sleeping; but declined Tim's offer to drive us to the airport. He was a bit disappointed about that; but we managed to keep him entertained during the drive to the airport. We did the drive as part of a mini caravan; and part of the reason for that was because there were then extra drivers available to help out with getting everyone going on the trip to the airport while also getting some of the vehicles into parking lots either before or after the travelers were dropped off at the departures terminal entrance.

Once at the airport, we had a blast of hurry up and wait that wasn't too terrible because our flight was one of the first heading out in the morning, but we were still there early; and had extra time once we'd finished jumping through all of the hoops that make air travel such a royal pain now. We had breakfast while we waited for our boarding time; and then pretty much just sat around watching the action going on around us.

This might be a good point to mention that my assigned chaperones for the week are Brent and Sharon Palmer. They're in charge of Michael, Tim, Rowen, and four more teens including Anna-Marie; but I'm definitely in their group for a reason. I don't expect to have any problems with Dark Magi this week; but I'm sure that Brent and Sharon don't mind getting to go with us for the extreme snow adventure while being here for me should I need the help.

Moving along, we eventually were on our plane and had a one-stop, two-jet flight out to Denver. The stop and plane change was fairly short; but we still spent hours on the jets; and then had another long delay in Denver as we retrieved our luggage; rented the ten-passenger vans we needed to haul everyone around for the week; and then drove to Winter Park. It wasn't really fun to me, but it was raining when we left home; and we had a bit of rain while on the drive to our hotel too. It was also warmer than expected; so there was definitely some snow melt going on today – just as it was melting yesterday; judging by the snow report I've been checking every day for the past week.

The drive out to Winter Park has a lot of amazing scenery to enjoy – if you're not one of the drivers of those over-sized vans. We were with Brent and Sharon in their van – and with their entire group; and we brought up the rear of our caravan while the Robinsons led the way to the hotel. It was late-afternoon by the time we got there – even with the time change; so we went straight to the hotel and checked in. Getting that done took a while; though the adults in our group split up to get that done while we – the teens and kids – either watched the luggage or took turns doing a bit of exploring. From there, we split up onto two different floors for our rooms, and while I know that we didn't all get to have mountain-view rooms; Rowen and I did get to have one of them – and the view is spectacular!

We'll be out there snowboarding on that mountain tomorrow, but to be honest; I was glad that we didn't have time to go to the resort today. I was tired by then; and we still hadn't even gone out to dinner yet. Our chaperones allowed us forty-five minutes to freshen up and settle into our rooms; and then we gathered in the lobby before going out to eat. There is a decent selection of restaurants of varying types available around here, but our small town showed up with the kids and teens because we all wanted to go to Pizza Hut for our first dinner in Winter Park. Try not to let that scare you, but when you rarely have anything other than frozen pizza or those pizza kits in a box; Pizza Hut is teen food heaven! ;^)

Yes, I'm saying that even when my boyfriend's father is a gourmet chef; and I'm also saying that I loved the pizza; spending that time with my friends; and even the play time we had with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson's kids when they wanted to hang out with Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me instead of with their parents. After a long travel day, that was the least we could do for the parents in our group; but we didn't continue with kid control after we got back to the hotel – mostly because the youngest kids were ordered off to bed for the night.

Turning in early was an option, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I went on a full tour of the hotel first; and then headed back to our room – Rowen's and mine. We talked about trying out the hot tub, but decided against that; mostly because there were other guests there using it; and I didn't want to be in a comparatively small room with a group of strangers while wearing a swimsuit.

So my small town was showing for that too; but it's the way I am; and Rowen was with me on that one – even though Tim voted for the girlfriends in swimsuits time. I do want to try out that hot tub sometime while we're here; but maybe we can do that with the other teens in our own group sometime when we can do that without a bunch of spectators. I'll keep you posted on how that goes for us.

As for tonight, it wasn't all that late when we got back to our room; so we watched some television and cuddled in pairs on the two beds. A roommate swap was discussed, but we decided to be good tonight – if only because we're all tired – and we didn't want to risk messing things up with our chaperones on our first night here.

I'm not actually worried about that, since I fully expect that there will be other teen roommate swaps with the rest of our friends too, but I really am tired; so it isn't as if Michael and I would have been doing anything other than sleeping tonight if he had stayed and Rowen had gone to their room with Tim for the night.

Rowen's already asleep as I write this, and the boys went to their room about forty-five minutes ago. I suppose that none of what I've written about for today sounds very exciting, but travel days really aren't the best part of any holiday. If they were, then people would just fly around on planes and drive to and from airports all day, every day; and skip the destination play time. We're going to get started on that first thing in the morning, though, and we have a time change to deal with too; so it's time for me to wrap this up and get some sleep.

After the boys left, Rowen and I got ready for bed; I've done my usual bedtime computing that is only slightly different than normal because I'm working through Mom's encrypted network tunnel while on the hotel wireless network. That adds a bit of a delay for everything; but allows me to still have access to our normal systems too – and keeps my computing private. I didn't have any family business work to take care of, but did have a handful of email to read and respond to – including from Mom and Ehlana; and some more from my cousins and favorite collegians looking for travel updates. That was all fun, but I'm glad that I don't have extra work to do tonight. That also means that I'm done with this update and can go off to sleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Our first day on the slopes at Winter Park was brilliant!

Before I get to that, though, I'll start by mentioning that I'm not a big fan of hotel continental breakfasts. Yes, I've been spoiled by gourmet breakfasts at Michael's house, but I seriously doubt that very many hotel guests are going to claim that the make-your-own food is the best they've ever had. We might still have other breakfasts at the hotel during the rest of our stay; but I think we'll go out once or twice too – and that's partly because most of us were hungry again long before we stopped for our lunch break on the slopes.

Okay, let's get to the snowboarding report. We went up to the resort early-enough so that we could get our snowboards and the rest of our equipment rented for the week and set up by the time the lifts began running. After that, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were on our own for the day; and only needed to check in with the Palmers at lunchtime – and then meet up with everyone when the resort closed at four o'clock. That, by the way, seems so early, but after our first day on the slopes; the extreme snowboarding had us tired out by then – and was way better than any snowboarding we've done back at home.

We were able to get lift tickets that allowed us on all runs except for the expert level, and while we could handle those runs too; there wasn't any way for us to do that without having any way to explain that to the non-Magi in our group. The runs we could go on were challenging-enough, though; and we won't be bored while we're here because it'll take us days just to try every run even once – and we've already had several runs that we've needed to go on again while trying to master them.

There were some strong winds to deal with today, but the weather was otherwise fairly amazing – and a few degrees above freezing at the resort base. I'm not sure what to think about the changing forecast around here, since it's good that we're supposed to have colder weather move in; but we're also supposed to get a lot of snow now too. If that comes every night; that could be great; but maybe not so hot if we get four or five inches while we're on the slopes. I'll keep you posted on that; but it's funny to just think about the possibility that we'll see more snowfall here in a few days than we've had all winter at home.

Moving along, we had a blast snowboarding all morning; had lunch at eleven-thirty; and then played all afternoon with just one break for drinks and a snack. We caught a final ride up the slopes shortly before the lifts shut down for the day; so we were also one of the last groups to meet up with our chaperones when it was time to head back to the hotel. We dealt with our gear first; and then we had time to grab showers and get ready to go out for dinner once we were back at the hotel. This time, we had to take a little drive to the local steakhouse; and the guys in our group were particularly happy to have 'real' food options, though I have no idea why they'd say that; since I did see quite a few of the different pizzas that were ordered last night and some of them likely had a full steak or two worth of meat on them.

I didn't go with a steak, but did have a big meal compared to my usual standards. Since Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I could all measure the exercise weight loss for today in pounds, though; that shouldn't be surprising. The food was pretty good, and we had desserts too; but I'll admit that those desserts didn't come close to anything out of the Olde Bakery. We didn't quite close the restaurant, but we were among the last customers when we left and came back to the hotel. By then, the kids in our group were pretty much all falling asleep; so they were taken up to bed. There was some talk about going out and doing something like catching a movie or going bowling; but none of us decided that we had enough energy for that; so we stayed at the hotel. Once group decided to give the hot tub a try, but I didn't want to do that either; so Rowen and I brought Michael and Tim back to our room again for the rest of the evening. We watched a movie; and then we just decided to do a roommate swap. That's why Michael's currently in his room grabbing a change of clothes and his bathroom kit bag; and Rowen's doing the same here while I'm doing this update and my usual computer and email checks.

I don't have anything to report from those checks; though that's partly because Dad has spent most of the weekend getting ready for his trip to Crystal Springs. Ethan and Ehlana spent time playing with Naomi and Aiden; but also had some time at the lab this weekend too while Dad was busy anyway. That's really boring compared to a day of extreme snowboarding; but they do have some fun planned for this week while I'm away too. I'll keep you posted on that as it happens; though their journals will have more details if you want to try reading them alongside mine whenever you're doing this in our future.

Since I have a roommate swap and sleepover with Michael to get to now, though, I don't really have time to write about things like that, and don't have anything else to add for tonight either; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, March 14, 2016

We're getting some snow tonight, so we didn't try to go out and do anything after dinner; but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did get around to spending a bit of time in the hot tub along with most of the teens and one set of parents in our group before coming up to our rooms for the rest of the night.

That's practically starting this update with the end of the report; so let's back up a bit – like to the roommate swap part of the fun that's happened since my last update!

Michael made it back to my room by the time that Rowen was ready to go over to Tim's room. I'm sure there are some Magi parents reading this in the future that might freak out about something like this – just as there are parents I know that would do the same thing at home; but I can only be amused by that. Since I haven't mentioned it in a while, Michael and I have our own rules for what we will and won't do when it comes to physical intimacy, and while that's a personal decision that's different for every teen; we're not going to break those rules at three o'clock in the morning in a hotel room in Colorado any more than we'd do that at three o'clock in the afternoon in the lounge at home.

That's really the flip-side of the point I want to make here – which is to state that parents can obsess all they want about teen sexual relations, but the bottom line is that they can't really stop their kids from doing whatever they want; short of locking them up and keeping them supervised all of the time. Since there are only Magi parents reading this, if you're one of those delusionally-obsessed; get over it! You have to trust your Magi kids with way more serious responsibilities to control and hide their Magi abilities. Trust them to decide what's right for them, and if they make mistakes; that's part of life – and Magi aren't exempt or perfect!

I don't want to write a big rant on anything tonight, but as I'm thinking about that in relation to having Michael for my cuddle buddy last night; I'm also hearing voices. No, I'm not losing my mind – the voices are imaginings of the reactions to that news from some of my favorite people. Dad might pretend to be scared because his daughter was reminding him a bit too much of his sister's teen years; Aunt Leanne might have a "that's my girl!" for me while also telling me that I wasted a perfectly good opportunity by just cuddling with Michael all night; and Miranda would likely be proud of me too while also secretly glad that she won't have to worry about being a grandmother quite yet. ;^)

Okay, that's taken this update way off-track; so let's move along.

Michael had I did have some make-out time before getting to the cuddling and sleeping; we were awake early-enough to do a Tai Chi workout before giving Rowen and Tim their wake-up call so that all four of us could get ready for another day of extreme snowboarding; and then we met up with our group and went out for breakfast on our way to the slopes. I know that I didn't give the continental breakfast at the hotel a good review, but in hindsight; I was being kind. Yes, I can say that today because the kids in our group insisted that we have breakfast at McDonalds today; and that's why I can now assure you that the hotel breakfast offerings didn't even come all that close to meeting the fast food standard for morning meals.

That, by the way, did not keep Michael, Tim, and most of the guys from devouring a fair bit of food – including some extra to go for some of them; but I took it easy this morning – at least partly because I wanted to be able to soar when I was doing jumps today; not drop like a rock and crash.

I didn't talk specifically about our snowboarding yesterday, so let's do that now. We already knew that Rowen is a mild-mannered adrenaline junkie in disguise, and we're all thrill seekers; so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone reading this to discover that we are having a brilliant time with snowboarding at a 'real' mountain resort instead of a local ski center that doesn't have half as many runs as this resort has ski lifts! Michael and Tim are really good too; but they'll happily admit to anyone that Rowen and I are better – and possibly a bit nuts to try some of the jumps we do – especially when we try them side-by-side.

There is one other difference here; and that's being around other seriously talented skiers and snowboarders. We've been able to watch and learn; meet and talk with other teens; and have a lot of extreme fun trying to duplicate the aerial tricks that the best snowboarders were doing. I also loved watching the skiers, but while their tricks are just as cool – and some of them are the same; I like snowboarding better. I won't write a page or two about all of the tricks we've played with over the past two days; but I can report that they involved numbers like three-sixty and seven-twenty; flips, twists, inversions, and just about anything else you can imagine for airborne acrobatics.

I would have loved to try some Magi-powered snowboarding, but there were far too many people around for that to be an option – not to mention the fact that Michael, Tim, and Rowen don't know about each other – even though Michael and Rowen each know about me. The Magi council probably wouldn't believe me if there was another accident where Michael and Tim found out about Rowen and me – not to mention that there are other Magi with us on this trip that don't know about us either – and would if I started playing around with my talents while snowboarding.

It would be cool if I could, though! I can totally imagine an aerial that starts at the top of the mountain and ends near the bottom! The play-by-play would be fun too. "There goes Cassie Proctor; she nails the jump; opens with an inverted seventy-two-hundred twist; flips upright for a thirty-six-hundred twist in the opposite direction; moves into a sidewinder spin that's too fast to count; and then wraps up her flight with a laid-out, backwards eighteen-hundred with a half-twist into a forward thirty-six-hundred – and then she nails the landing!"

Okay, maybe I've spent too much time in the thin air; but that'd still be awesome! ;^)

Speaking of thin air, I won't make a big deal of it; but should mention that my body adjusts for that automatically. That isn't true for everyone else in our group; but it hasn't been a serious issue for any of them. The kids take a few more breaks; but then we all get to have a break after every run while waiting and then taking the lifts back up the mountain. I knew that already from when Mom and I did our mountain hideout thing; but it might be interesting to test out the limits for my self-healing when it comes to adjustments for extremes. We know from the archives that there are limits; since there are lots of stories about Magi Masters needing to use their powers to deal with extreme situations – particularly with temperature extremes.

I don't plan on a trip to climb Everest next March Break to test my limits – though I might really love trying to do that some day!

Getting back to the story, our day on the slopes was fairly similar to yesterday; though we hit as many new-to-us runs as we could while still going on some of our favorites from yesterday too. We had lunch at the same time, but at a different place; and then we were back on the slopes until about a quarter-past four thanks to good timing for our last lift ride that was only a couple of minutes before they were closed for the day. That put us near the back of the pack with our group when we met up with them and took care of our gear before heading back to the hotel; but we still had more than enough time to get ready to go out for dinner once we were back in our rooms – even for those of us needing extra time to dry our hair after our showers.

Oh wait, Rowen and I were on our own for that, so putting up wards and cheating to get that done was an option! ;^)

Our third restaurant pick was not all that great; so I'm not going to write anything about it. That's inconsistent of me, since I didn't have a problem with picking on the hotel breakfast, but that's something that can reasonably be expected; while restaurants are hit and miss when you randomly pick them – and they're not a chain restaurant with known standards. This one was definitely a miss; but I'll only offer warnings to friends back home if they happen to be coming here – and not offer the insult of naming the place to live on forever in our archives.

I've already mentioned that we decided not to do anything else tonight; and that we checked out the hot tub for a while; so all I have to add to that is that while I like hot tubs; I've decided that I don't particularly like large, public hot tubs. Okay, this was is technically private for hotel guests; so I'll amend that to say large hot tubs meant for large groups of people. A hot tub or Jacuzzi for two works for me, though; so I'll keep that in mind for future hotel stays – especially when Michael's with me for those future trips!

That pretty much brings us to now. Another roommate swap is going to be happening soon, but I'm doing this while Rowen and I are both dealing with our wet hair from the hot tub visit; and she's again getting the things she needs for spending the rest of the night with Tim while Michael's here with me. We're not watching a movie together first tonight because we're getting tired – or at least that's the excuse we're going with for starting the swap early. I've already finished my computer and email checks; dealt with a bit of family business with the help of a time-phase to get it done fast; and I need to wrap this up because Michael will be here any minute now.

I don't need to do that because I don't want to write my journal while he's around. That's simply because I'd rather be holding him instead of this computer. Then again, I'm not actually holding it right now; since I'm typing telekinetically while taking my turn with the hairdryer; but I still don't want to be doing this while I could be focusing my attention on the Michael and me time instead.

Speaking of Michael; make that an out of time because that's him knocking on our door. It's been fun, but I have to go now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

It was colder today, and the amount of overnight snow – particularly when it came to how that piled up on the slopes, was both wonderful and a challenge for us mid-westerners.

Needing the extra time for getting around between the hotel and the slopes meant that we stayed at the hotel for another forgettable continental breakfast, but it was food; so maybe the food-snob in me should just shut up about it and not complain! ;^)

Everyone that lives and works around here is used to dealing with these snowfalls, so it's no big deal to them, and I mostly found it amusing to know that the forecasts for this much snow – plus what's still expected this week – would have the news media freaking out about another storm of the century; while here, it's just another Tuesday.

Perspective is a wonderful thing!

I can also tell you that snowboarding in lots of fresh powder is amazing! That was particularly true this morning when we were able to blaze new trails down the slopes for a while; and I can't really describe very well how great it felt to be blasting down the mountain, kicking up waves of snow higher than our heads; and there's something magical about the mountain air that comes with a lot of new snow that you just have to experience to understand.

If you've never done that; put it on your to-do list! ;^)

Since this has been our third day on the slopes, I'm not going to do another big report for the snowboarding, but we had just as much fun again today, and I guess if there's any news to add; it's that we're getting better every day with using the lifts and moving around to different parts of the mountain more easily than we did on Sunday. That means that we were able to get in a few extra runs; we burned off more energy; and we're more tired now.

Well, there are other reasons that we're tired; but I'll get to that in a moment. Before I do that, though, I will talk food again – and this time; it's about the food options at the Winter Park Resort.

I can't comment on the adult beverages that are served around here; though I will suggest that drinking and snowboarding is even dumber than drinking and driving – at least from a personal safety standpoint. We also stayed away from Starbucks; though that's strictly a personal choice – and not meant to be a hit on the company. There are a handful of restaurant choices here, but because we've wanted to eat fast and run; we've gone with the comparatively fast food – pizza; and soup and sandwiches. That didn't stop us from polishing off a fair bit of food – especially Tim and Michael; but we didn't do much sitting around and waiting to get our food. Some of the members of our group have been at more of the restaurants, and have mostly been happy with the food and service too, but the four of us apparently have a need for speed – whether that's while snowboarding or having our lunch break!

You could say that we had a need for speed at dinnertime too, but that was because we didn't have much time for that meal before we all headed for the local movie theater and bowling center. With limited fast food options that worked with our evening entertainment plans; that meant another visit to McDonalds. The kids loved that; and the orders for most of the teen boys were frightening – especially for some of the parents with group bills! Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are paying for all of our own meals while we're here, so we aren't adding to the scary bills thing for our chaperones, but it is a good thing that Michael and Tim put in the extra time working ahead of this trip. It's also really great that we're doing a lot of exercising this week – or the guys might be using Tim and Michael for weights when we go back to school next week instead of doing weight training with them. I didn't want to spoil anything for them, though; and didn't mention how many thousands of bad calories they took in during dinner.

There are only two movie choices here, so it's funny that some of us had a tough choice over which movie to see. The kids didn't have that problem; and went to see Zootopia. Some of the teens and parents wanted to go and see that too – and did; but the rest of us opted for London Has Fallen instead – and that was entirely because the guys wanted to go with the movie where stuff gets blown up and bad things happen to politicians. Then again, from what we heard later about Zootopia, the contrast between the action flick and the sloth scenes would have been too much of a shock for the adrenaline junkies among us! ;^)

Ha...

...Ha...

...Ha...

You'll need to watch Zootopia – or at least the sloth scenes – to get that; but we got to hear all about it after the show. I won't pick on anyone's sense of humor either; though I will suggest that you can only do that slow act for so long before it just isn't entertaining anymore – and I'm already there for hearing the jokes and sloth imitations.

The end of the movies was also the end of the entertainment night for about two-thirds of our group, but the Palmers stayed with a group of us so we could try out the bowling; and we played two matches. That was a bit too much for one day, which is also why I'll be ready to crash and nap as soon as I'm finished with this update; so Michael is only going to be here for a cuddle buddy tonight.

Yes, I know, Aunt Leanne – that's such a waste of a perfectly good opportunity to spend some quality play time together; but it's the way it is – and Michel and I are good with that.

We came straight back to the hotel after the bowling, and while that was fun too; the only comment I'm going to make about my game play is that I had to cheat so that I didn't bowl perfect games. I don't play many games like bowling, so I don't actually have a lot of experience with that the way Mom does with billiards, bowling, and likely a half-dozen or more other similar sports and games; but it isn't the same as it is for playing baseball or other sports that you don't have full control over. I know that normal people would say that you don't have that much control over a game like bowling even if they might concede that's possible on a pool table; but I expect that most Magi Masters do have total control.

That's a combination of using our passive senses along with the capacity to work out all of the math with certainty; which is why luck had nothing to do with it – whether I was bowling a strike; making spares; or missing splits. I drew the line at throwing gutter balls; but then we did have a handful of Magi with us; so that didn't happen much anyway. I did win both games for our foursome, and Rowen and I had fun with that; but Tim just insisted that he and Michael had been too busy enjoying the scenery to play their best. He was definitely only half-joking about that, since Rowen and I did look pretty good for our night out; so he's likely right about that affecting their play too.

I'd better not go there; or I might start thinking that I'm not as tired as I am – and we have a busy day planned for tomorrow!

When we got back to the hotel, we all came straight up to our rooms; I've been doing my bedtime computing that's included some family business work; and Rowen and Michael will be doing the roommate swap thing soon. I don't have any news from the work side of my computing, but have had some emails from home and elsewhere. The weather has been a lot warmer back home, and while they've had a bit of rain today; Ethan and Ehlana have been enjoying a lot of outdoor time with Naomi, Aiden, and some other friends. Doing some biking and playing at the park with them would have been great, but then if we'd been home this week; Michael, Tim, and Rowen would have all be doing extra work with their part-time jobs; so that wouldn't have been as much fun.

Michael and I wouldn't have been able to get away with nightly sofa sleepovers either; so that works out better for us too.

That sleepover with Michael is now at the top of my to-do list, and I don't have any other news from today; but I should mention that we won't be on the slopes tomorrow. Instead of doing that; we'll be having a hot sulfur springs and shopping play day. The sulfur springs experience will be a first for most of the members of our group; but it'll definitely be more fun for me to do that with Michael, so even though we won't be having an extreme fun kind of day; it is going to be great – and I'm glad that we're getting to experience more than just the snowboarding while we're here.

I can write all about that tomorrow night, though, and you can flip the digital page to read all about it right away; so let's wrap this up and I'll get started on my cuddly winter's nap with Michael!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

This is going to be a short update; and I'll start with a bit of news from home.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana headed for Crystal Springs this morning; and will be staying there until sometime on Friday. Mom's birthday is tomorrow; so they're going to celebrate it in the city with Dad – and with some members of our family too. I'll write more on that tomorrow instead of doing that twice. Some shopping, going out to dinner; and work or movie time back at the hotel were the top entertainment events for them; though I doubt that Dad found the work all that entertaining. With two kids in the room; I'll guess that Mom and Dad didn't have a very romantic night either; but let's not go there – they didn't! ;^)

Our day here in Colorado was great. The visit to Hot Sulfur Springs was fun for all of us; if maybe not quite as exciting for the younger kids as it was for the teens and parents. The guys particularly liked the girls in swimsuits part of that part of our adventure today, and while I liked trying out the hot springs pools; I'll also admit that it isn't something I'd rush back to do again. That's definitely a personal thing; since most of the girls in our group are now huge fans – Rowen included.

While visiting the sulfur springs was the top entertainment event of our day, and shopping was second on that list; the teachers in our group also had us visit a museum. They're teachers, and that's their job, but to be blunt; that was the most-boring part of our day for, well, all of us. I was going to write that as true for the kids and teens; but most of the parents felt the same way – even if they tried not to admit it. I'm not making a hit on the museum, which is also why I'm not saying which one we went to, but if parents expect to impress their teens with something like that; don't do it for any kids in our town after Grade Eight. Most museums are going to pale in comparison to the Smithsonian!

I do want to wrap this up soon, since Michael's going to be here anytime now; but I should have mentioned that we went out for a sit-down breakfast this morning on our way to the hot sulfur springs; we had a soup and sandwiches kind of lunch stop; and then visited another steakhouse for dinner after our shopping fun. We did that a bit later, so by the time we were done dinner and drove back to the hotel; it was past-nine. Rowen and I have been in our room since then while the boys are in their home for the week; and I've already finished my bedtime computing and some time-phased family business work that also allowed Rowen to get her hair done after her shower in record time.

Michael and I are going to watch a movie after Rowen's over with Tim; there will definitely be some quality make-out time; and then we'll get some sleep so we'll be ready to get out on the slopes again tomorrow. All of that is going to be fun, and while that's been true of nearly everything we've done today too; I am ready to take the fun level back up to extreme again – with the snowboarding tomorrow!

You were thinking the same thing I was before I added the snowboarding part of that, but Michael and I won't be bending or breaking our self-imposed rules – no matter how much we sometimes want to do just that.

We do still manage to have fun, though, and I have a movie and make-out session to get to now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Happy 38th Birthday, Mom!

It feels really strange not being there to help celebrate, but now that we have such an amazing family that can help me out with things like this when Mom and I can't be together; I don't have to worry about being away from her anymore. That is going to happen more often as I get older and can't be home – like while I'm at college starting in about two and a half years; so here's yet another wonderful advantage that's come along with moving to Witch Falls! Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I did have a phone chat with Mom, Dad, and the twins this morning before we hit the slopes and while they were between Tai Chi and breakfast; but then I had to leave it up to my family to make Mom's special day a great one – which they did and are still doing.

Having four kids in their hotel room tonight isn't very exciting for Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne; but I'm sure that Mom and Dad are enjoying the kid-free time – even though I still do not want to take this report or even my thoughts in that direction!

I'm going to leave most of the birthday news reporting to the Magi that were there; so you'll need to read those journals to get those reports and perspectives. In addition to having Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and the kids in the city; Violet and Dillon came for part of the day too; and joined in for the birthday dinner, movie adventure, and some of the pre-bedtime kid control once Mom and Dad were sent off on their own. There was also daytime shopping and a couple of hours of playtime at SportsFusion in the afternoon that was more for the kids than Mom; but I'm sure that she had fun with that too.

All of that sounded great, but I'll have to vote for our day here on the slopes for winning the non-contest for most exciting and fun day. Before I go there, though; let's take a moment and discuss snow.

First, I have decided that I could seriously get used to visiting winter; but wouldn't want to live in like this for six or eight months a year. I probably wouldn't be able to convince everyone to pick up our town and the entire Ridge River area and move it farther south so we can miss winters completely, but then our winter this year has been so mild; I've got nothing to complain about! What I really wanted to mention for my snow report is that the amount of snow that falls around here piles up deceptively fast. The people here are used to that, I'm sure; but the numbers are really remarkable. For example, the snow base at the resort has gone up by about twenty inches after dropping late last week and through the weekend – so that's twenty inches in basically three days. For those of you reading this in my future that haven't seen this kind of snow; imagine solid packed snow on the ground that is seven or eight feet deep all around your house; then imagine having to clear twenty inches of snow off of the roads and sidewalks over just three days – basically the amount of snow we got during the worst storm at home in the years that I've lived there so far – and about double what we've had all winter this year.

Amazing to us – another average week around here! ;^)

Okay, let's get to the rest of my report.

Today has been our last day of snowboarding. We'll be heading for Denver tomorrow; have some sightseeing and shopping planned; and then we'll spend the night at a hotel near the airport so that we don't have the drive on Saturday morning ahead of our flight home. We went to McDonald's for breakfast; I've already mentioned the call with Mom; and then we hit the slopes for the day. With another day where we had a lot of fresh powder; the fun was just as extreme, and now that we could really get around on the lifts and runs; we did our very best to make sure that we'd gone on every run we were allowed to snowboard by the end of the day. Doing that meant skipping repeat runs for some of our favorites; but even the less-extreme runs were still fun and the scenery here is always wonderful.

After playing at full-speed all day, we didn't have any plans for tonight – other than dinner at another of the local restaurants that was pretty good; and a quiet evening at the hotel that included packing up so we'll be ready to hit the road in the morning. We won't have to rush that, which is another reason we want to be in Denver for the night on Friday; but Rowen and I have just finished all of our packing except for what we need in the morning. She's getting ready for what will likely be our last roommate swap of this trip; and I've been doing my bedtime computing and a bit of family business work while she's been doing that. It's still fairly early, so Michael and I will have time to watch a movie – or not – before we get to the cuddling and sleeping part of our night; but I'll also mention that I'm tired-enough that I might just end up falling asleep sooner instead of later.

This extreme fun kind of tired feels a lot better than the kind of exhaustion I've been fighting at home for the past month or two, but I have still managed to get more rest this week than normal; so I hope it will help at least for a while once we're back home and I need to keep up with my too-busy schedule. I'll keep you posted on that, but since I don't really have anything to add to this report; I'm going to wrap it up and get ready for that sleepover with Michael.

My next update will be live from a Denver airport-area hotel; so this is the last one from Winter Park. It's been a blast here, but I miss my family and friends back home a lot; so I'm ready to move on now. Ditto that for writing this; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, March 18, 2016

We had even more snow to deal with overnight again; so it took a lot of extra time to get out of Winter Park and then on to Denver. That put a kink into our plans for the day; so we ended up doing some shopping; skipping all of the sightseeing except for a partial driving tour; and then we checked into our hotel; got settled in; and wrapped up our day with a late dinner out at a nearby pizza joint. We've been back at the hotel for a couple of hours now, and the boys just headed over to their room for the night; but we didn't do much other than half-watch a couple of shows on the television while we cuddled in pairs and talked about our day – and about getting home tomorrow night.

Deciding to stay in Denver tonight is looking brilliant right now, since if we'd had the drive we had today on Saturday morning; we'd have never made our flight on-time. It's too bad that we didn't get to do more than check out the inside of a mall here plus the bit of driving around; but since everything else about this trip has been amazing; one little blip in the plans just isn't a big deal.

Even without the morning drive tomorrow, we're still going to be in for a long travel day; which is why Rowen and I are not doing a roommate swap tonight. Sure, we'll have a lot of boring tomorrow too, but it'll be easier to deal with all of it if we're rested up to start the day instead of tired out.

I don't really have anything else to add tonight from here; and the news from home will be better reading in the journals of those involved in the trip to Crystal Springs so I won't bother with a second-hand blurb tonight either. This is my last report from Colorado; and I'll be glad to be writing the next one from the comfort of my own bed and room. We've really had a blast, but I've had enough winter this week to last me for quite a while; and I'll hope that we don't bring winter back home with us. I'll let you know how that goes, but that's all for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, March 19, 2016

I'm home; warm in my bed; and Mandy is purring happily while cuddling with me. All is well in the world!

It's also been an exhausting travel day; so I'm going to keep this short and do a longer report tomorrow.

What bit of time we spent outdoors for our last little bit of time in Colorado was really, really cold; so staying indoors while waiting for our flight was okay with us – even though it was fairly boring too. There were some delays that were partially from catching up with the problems during the week, but we weren't too late; and had extra time for our flight layover anyway. That flight was uneventful; the layover ended up being even longer thanks to other delays that made our connecting flight late getting into that airport; and the total time loss was a bit more than an hour once we were finally at our 'home' airport. Once there, we had to deal with getting our luggage from baggage claim; getting vehicles out of parking lots took more time; and we had to meet up with our extra drivers. They'd all gotten to the city early thanks to our delays; but still had to deal with the traffic issues at the airport.

By the time we were ready to hit the road, it was too late to get home in time for dinner, so we went to a restaurant to sit down and eat because some of us needed to have real food after a day of snacking and fast food. Tim's parents picked a place with fairly fast service, so we were able to do that in a bit more than an hour and then we finally hit the road for home. It was past-eight by the time that Michael and I were dropped off outside of my house with our luggage; we did a quick round of hugs and kisses with Rowen, Tim, and his parents; and then they went over to Rowen's house to drop off her things and go in for a parents and kids visit.

Ethan helped Michael to get his stuff home; I had lots of help with mine; and then Michael and I distributed some souvenirs while having a visit with my family. Jacob, Miranda, and Rebecca came over after they closed the Inn for the night and joined in on the fun; but didn't stay too much longer before heading home and taking Michael with them. By then, I was already running out of steam, but came up to my room to deal with getting unpacked and starting a load of laundry. Mom, Ehlana, and Ethan were with me for most of that; and then we hung out together with Dad in the office until I started dozing off and was sent up to bed.

I've only done an email check since getting into bed with Mandy before starting this report, and there wasn't any work that couldn't wait until tomorrow; so I didn't do any family business work at all. The only bit of news that I'll add for tonight is that Violet and Dillon are still at his house and hanging out with his family and some friends; so I guess that I won't see them until breakfast. Since they'll be leaving after church tomorrow; I guess that'll have to do for us until they're home again in May.

I'm half-dozing again as I ramble through this update, though, so the rest of the news from home will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

There has been so much going on today that I could write about it for an hour even at Magi Master speed, but I'm also exhausted; so here's the condensed version.

Tai Chi was indoors; breakfast in the sunroom was pretty much the only time I got to spend with Violet and Dillon; and then I needed to rush around to get ready for church and over there early-enough for teen praise team warm-ups. While it was Palm Sunday today too, the big news at church was that the new, expanded sanctuary is done; so it was dedicated today too. Getting to see it finished for the first time was awesome; and everyone did an amazing job to get it done in time for the Easter holiday weekend!

With everything going on at church, the service was extra-long; so Michael and I missed the end of it while hurrying over to the Inn with his parents. Rebecca had the day off after working extra while Michael and I were away; and I worked all day except for our afternoon break – when Michael and I did the homework that had to wait until we'd lived our March Break. We had worked on that assignment while we were away, so that didn't take too long; but it did mean that we didn't get much of a break between the time we left the church and when I got home after we closed the Inn for the night.

I've had some work and studying to do since then, and I did all of that while in a time phase; so that's just worn me out to some point beyond exhaustion. We're back to school tomorrow, and I need to be ready for that; so I guess we push the rest of the hometown news to the next report so that I can get some sleep and be ready for that – and everything else that's going to be happening over the next few weeks.

More on that tomorrow too, but I'm done for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, March 21, 2016

It's late, and I'm again running on empty, but there's a lot of news for today; so let's get at it.

First and tops on the list is the Inn. While Michael and I were gone, the work on the new section of the Inn was finished! That's the good news for all of us; but the bad is that Michael and I helped out at the Inn pretty much from the time we finished school until we were ordered home at midnight – except for eating and doing our homework. Miranda and Jacob decided to do the move this week into the new kitchen and dining rooms, and while that was a tentative option if everything was finished; the week after Easter was one of the options too. Today, they ran the Inn as normal while also moving everything they could over to the new section. While all of the big kitchen equipment is all brand new; they did not replace all of the dishes, cutlery, cooking utensils, and the rest. There is all-new tablecloths and other things for the dining rooms; but then we needed to get all of that set up tonight too because they'll be serving their first meals out of the new kitchen and into the two smaller dining rooms beginning with breakfast in the morning.

Michael and I are going to be there for that; but only to get to be part of it – not because we're actually needed. To do the work tonight, we had to miss our marching band meting; but Michael's parents needed us more; and Mom went to the meeting so she'll tell us what we need to help out with this week – if anything.

Getting back to the Inn, it's going to be a very busy next few days there. Getting settled into the new kitchen and used to working the two smaller dining rooms will take time; but there's still a lot of work that needs to get done too because the old kitchen and entrance to the Inn is going to be closed off; and the archway openings between the old and new sections are going to be completed in time for Jacob and Miranda to be able to use the old dining room for the breakfast, lunch, and dinners buffets they're having on Saturday. Some of those archways between the second and third floors are already done; but the archway between the old dining room and the new entrance area will need to be completed after the Inn is closed over the next few nights since the last section they need to finish will be noisy and probably dirty too. There will be seating for nearly three hundred and fifty by Saturday, though, so that's going to be amazing – and crazy-busy to keep up with if we fill the place for every buffet!

While we missed out on all of that action at the Inn and the church last week; a lot of people were involved both places – including a lot of teens from around town and the country kids too. I'm not exactly worried about losing out on the work, but I am glad that so many of our friends did actually enjoy making some pretty decent money while on our break. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had the best vacation stories thanks to our trip to Colorado; but our friends did more good by a long shot – especially when it came to helping to get the sanctuary and some other projects finished at the church. I don't want to spend much time on that tonight, but I should mention that there is still a fair bit of work left to do on the rest of the church expansion for the new kitchen, expanded fellowship hall, and other new classrooms and offices; but most of that work will be finished by the end of May or June – in time for a busy summer of family and friends visits; and the camping season.

On the family front, I've been home for more than two days now; and haven't spent very much time with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana except in the mornings before church and school. They're all busy too; but I don't like that trade-off – especially tonight when I only saw Ethan and Ehlana for a few seconds each while they slept on my way up to my room. They haven't even finished telling me all about their adventures last week; and we might not get around to finishing that before they'll be telling me about the parts of their Easter weekend that I'll miss out on while helping out at the Inn on Thursday night and Saturday.

I've spent even less time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins; and don't expect that to change for the rest of the week either. Maybe I'll be able to make up for that a bit on Friday and Sunday, but then Michael and I have to share families and juggle time with everyone; so I have no idea if that'll work out anyway when I don't even know what all of the plans are for those days. There won't be time for me to worry about it one way or the other anyway; so I'll just go with whatever happens when we get there.

That's basically what I've done tonight too, and not getting home until a bit after midnight really put me behind on my 'real' job and studies. I spent two hours on the family business; an hour and a half on the language studies after taking a week off; and wrapped up with my usual computer and email checks. All of that was fairly interesting; and I did some good work with the family business to make up for the work I didn't help out with around here last week; but I'm also only going to have time for a nap now; and it's going to be tough keeping up with everything on a couple of hours of sleep a day – even with some Magi-powered self-healing.

While crashing right now would be nice; I did mention that there's been a lot going on around here; and I need to catch up on that in my journal – and stop leaving it until a later that won't happen if I get too far behind.

First up for that, let's talk farming. The warm weather isn't really all that good for the farms around here while also being great for getting farm work done early compared to normal springs. The problem is that it's too soon for crops to go in; and the short cold snaps are messing with everything from the trees and flowers to seedlings that the Greens are getting ready for the spring planting season with both farmers and all of the amateur botanists around here – including most of my favorite adults. The one bright spot is the crops being grown with help from Ehlana and the lab; but the quantities aren't yet there to help all of the farmers around here – and that doesn't help with crops that they haven't worked with yet but are very sensitive to wild weather swings.

I hear more about that now because Rebecca hears about it a lot from Lucas and his parents; but the weather has an impact for a lot of other things around here. On the good news side, the new bridge is ahead of schedule; and so is the work on the park expansion and more new paths that will add some great exercise and entertainment options for kids of all ages here. The second bridge is really going to be great for better traffic control across the river – not to mention that it'll save everyone in the new section of town a fair bit of driving to get over to the med center, lab, and park instead of needing to drive down to Witch Falls Road and back up Quarry Road to get to anywhere across the river.

Outdoor construction in the new section of town is starting early this year too; though I haven't had time to go over there and check that out. The building is just going to be more houses and townhomes this year; but then we need a year to grow into the housing that's already available in town – whether that's new homes and apartments or the old ones that have come available because of upgrades to new homes for others. There is more going on around here to get ready for the coming summer tourist season, but I think that's enough for tonight; and most of those stories won't be news until shortly before the Memorial Day weekend.

While I'm thinking about that, and the action at the Inn is still on my mind too; Jake and Stephanie are starting their last big stretch of studying in Europe now; and they'll be home in time for the Memorial Day weekend too. They still have a year of school to go after this, but the old Inn still needs to be remodeled too; so we're not ready for them to join the permanent full-time owners yet anyway. It'll still be fun having them here this summer – and working with them in the shiny new kitchen – at least for Michael and me. By next summer; we'll have two chefs in the house; and enough room to hold all the customers that will want to come to the Inn and appreciate their efforts.

That's definitely getting a bit too far ahead of things on a night when I'm too tired to go there; but I can't help imagining how great it's going to be at the Inn once all of the remodel work is done!

I can also imagine falling asleep mid-sentence, but while it might be funny; I won't just leave you hanging like that. It is time to wrap this up, though; so that'll have to be enough info for one night.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

I wanted to play catch up on some news from around here last night; but this is going to be a micro update because it's another late night thanks to another twenty-two hour day for me.

We had a normal morning; school was good; ditto that for band and teen praise team practices; and Michael and I worked at the in between those two practices and then afterward until midnight. I didn't have time earlier to do my homework, so I started with that; went on to the family business to-do list; and continued my work with the language studies after that. Add in the wrap-up computer and email checks; and that's all I've been doing today.

Before I head off to nap time, I want to mention that I am very tempted tonight to write an expose about what happened in Brussels today, but I haven't done that for other attacks that were just as serious or worse, and while I have a huge problem with what's going on from both sides of the conflicts going on around the globe; I've decided to stay away from going there. I'm still not in a position to do anything about these problems, but I will be some day. When that happens; the bad guys better watch out because I am so way past ready to do everything I can to fix all of the nastiness going on in the world.

That's fairly ambitious-sounding! Let's hope I'll have what it takes by then to get the job done!

I'm not there tonight, though, and getting what bits of sleep I can get tonight is about all I have energy for; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

It's past-five in the morning; my work day was mostly spent at the Inn until about one-thirty; and I'll write a double update tomorrow night – if I'm not busy straight through until the Good Friday service starts with everything that still needs to get done before the holiday weekend.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The good news is that we have the Inn ready for the holiday weekend business – which is only all day on Saturday. The bad is that we worked until after one again; I did my bedtime work, studying, and computing after that; and now I really barely have time for a nap before getting up again for Tai Chi.

That's why this is not going to be a double update. I'll either have a very long update tomorrow night; or I'll have to concede defeat and my journal will have to be one of the time-crunch casualties for this week – along with the spending no time with my family and most of my friends while Michael and I have been busy helping his parents.

I'm losing nap time with every word right now, and really need to crash before pushing my limits with some self-healing; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, March 25, 2016

There is no proper way to recognize Good Friday the way that we do for other holidays. That's true for Memorial Day too; but this holiday weekend is still different with the contrast from solemn on Friday to joyous on Sunday.

Before I get to the report for today; I'd better back up and try to add some of the news I've missed while working too hard. I'm only going to do that for yesterday; since some of that news relates to what's been going on today and for the rest of the weekend.

First up, our Thursday at school was mostly fun and games. The primary grades had Easter parties; did a little parade; and had an entertainment assembly in the gym. Our concert band was at the church again – this time for the Easter social for the seniors. We provided the background music; there was a magician and an a capella quartet; and we got to spend the afternoon playing instead of hanging out in our classes – where our classmates were mostly playing too.

While I worked at the Inn last night, I missed out on the incoming family we have here for the weekend – though none of them are staying with us – except for a kid exchange that we're doing tonight because all of the kids want to be with their families for Easter morning on Sunday. We have Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden here tonight; which is why this report is coming to you so late despite the fact that I need to be up early to help out with the breakfast buffet at the Inn. Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and the kids are here – and staying at Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house along with Grandpa Duncan and Aunt Mercy. The Rice clan is away this weekend; and while Aunt Deborah's family is here; the rest of the Johnson and McEwan clans are away. The Stone family isn't here for this weekend, and I have to wonder why not when this is the only holiday weekend of the year when the Inn is closed for two of the three days. I think it's the best weekend for Jacob's parents, sister, and her family to visit; but they apparently don't agree.

Though I didn't get to do any visiting with our extended family last night, I did get to do that a bit today – when Michael and I weren't busy with the church service or his family. There was lots of work to do too; but some of that included spending time with our families.

I'm not going to write much about the Good Friday service at church. Anyone reading this will know what's involved unless the services change radically between now and whenever you're reading this. Michael and I sang a duet, but the service is always solemn – as it should be; and always leaves me feeling sad and uncomfortable. Even the family time for the rest of the day is affected; so it isn't exactly a party atmosphere around here for the rest of the day. That doesn't mean we didn't have any fun; because we did. I'm just saying that the whole mood is much more subdued than normal.

Michael and I had lunch at his house; and his parents hosted the Bassett clan for that meal. We worked before and after it; had a bit of play time too; and then moved on to my house. Mom and Dad were hosting the family dinner – mostly because they thought that was fair since everyone else has weekend guests. Once again, Michael and I helped out both before and after dinner with the work; we had a bit of play time; and then Michael stayed for some cuddle time with me while we watched a movie with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and all six of the younger kids staying here tonight. That includes Naomi, Sophia, and Aiden, and while Sophia was not invited just to make three couples; that did work out nicely for Jayden! ;^)

Michael's working the breakfast buffet too, so he went home about an hour after the movie ended – after we had the kids tucked in for the night. After he left, Jaimie and Kaitlyn sat up and talked with me for another hour, and once they were in bed; I got started on some must-do family business work along with my usual bedtime computer and email checks. The work took longer than I'd hoped, but I did get it done; and now I'm way past ready to crash.

I'm going to miss out on the Easter Egg Hunt in the park tomorrow; and pretty much all of the family fun including the shopping and the buffet they'll be going to at the Inn too, but Michael and I owe his parents for letting us have March Break off for our trip; so we'll keep putting in the time – especially when they expect to be a bit overwhelmed with customers tomorrow.

I'll let you know how that goes; but it's time for me to get started on my nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Sometimes it is not that much fun when you're a teen and on the incremental path to adulthood.

Translation – Michael and I missed out on all of the Easter holiday fun while we worked at the Inn all day.

For me, that meant no Tai Chi with bonus exercise buddies Naomi and Aiden; I missed the big breakfast with the kids and my cousins; and then I couldn't be there for the Easter Egg Hunt in the park. That wasn't all bad, since we've had rain off and on all day and the participants and volunteers got a bit wet doing that; but kids are willing to put up with nearly anything for candy and prizes! After that, I missed the family lunch; a play afternoon; and the buffet at the Inn that I was here for too; but worked through instead of enjoying the food and fun with my family.

I'd love to report that we had our own kind of fun today, but while there were cameo moments of entertainment; this was a tough work day where we all had to push ourselves to keep up with too much business for every buffet sitting – including at breakfast. Jacob and Miranda now know for sure how much they need to gear up their staff to handle future busy days with room for three-fifty or so at each meal; and they'll need to do that to avoid burning all of us out this summer.

It's been too long a day to write about stuff like that. Michael and I worked until close; and we didn't get out of the Inn until closer to eleven than ten-thirty. We have the sunrise service to get up early for, so I came up to bed after just the very shortest of visits with Mom and Dad. I'm not helping them to play Easter bunny; I've only done the family business work that needed to be dealt with; and my bedtime computer and email checks didn't take long because I did all three of those things in a time phase – while having a speedy soak in my Jacuzzi.

Mandy and I are ready to crash now; that's all of the news for my busy work day; and I really need all of the sleep I can get ahead of our Easter Sunday adventures; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Happy Easter!

Happy 5th Birthday, Jayden!

Okay, having your birthday land on Easter is a bit strange; but Jayden seemed happy enough with sharing his special day with the Easter Bunny. Getting all of the bonus gifts that go with a double celebration was pretty good for him too.

I wasn't around for the morning fun for Easter or Jayden's birthday because I was up way too early and had to hurry to get dressed up an over to the church so that I could help with getting everything ready for the sunrise service and pancake breakfast. The church was not packed for that first service today, but that was expected; since the new sanctuary is supposed to be big-enough for our congregation to grow over the next ten or twenty years. Celebrating our first Easter in the bigger sanctuary was really special; and that was partly because Michael and I had yet another really wonderful musical moment or three together as part of the service.

As a Magi Master, maybe I should have started this update with the real reason for the holiday instead of writing about birthdays and bunnies, but knowing that only other Magi will ever read this; that would really just be preaching to the choir. If, by some chance, you haven't read the Magi archives that documented Jesus' life and were written by the Magi that watched those events unfold; you really should do that.

While we – the teens – change up the music and skits every year, we still always tell the most well-known parts of the resurrection story; and it's always a joyous celebration. I love all of that, but then it's a bit of a challenge for me to get into cooking and cleaning mode for the pancake breakfast that we immediately needed to get busy with after that first service. Two sittings later; and it was back to the sanctuary for our regular, one-hour-delayed service, and while that was a bit of a break for Michael and me; we did still have one duet to sing – an encore from the sunrise service. With the Inn closed, we didn't have to rush off to work; except that we had to rush off to work anyway – at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house.

We were drafted for the Easter dinner work crew instead of kid control; so we worked in the kitchen and dining room for more than an hour; had the early family dinner; and then helped with the clean-up while our visiting guests all headed in different directions to pack up; load their vehicles; and hit the road for home. Yes, that was a lot of work, but compared to helping out with four buffets at the Inn on Saturday; it wasn't so bad – and we did at least get to spend some time with my family! Michael and I did a round of goodbyes with my aunts, uncles, and cousins as they were heading out of town – or staying home while we moved on to his aunt and uncle's house for Easter dinner number two for the day.

That was a really great change – of location for where we were working! ;^)

We helped with the pre-dinner work; enjoyed another great meal that we were too full from the last meal to really appreciate as much as we'd have liked; and then we were on the clean-up crew after dinner along with the other drafted teens, kids, and a few fathers. It might sound as if I'm complaining about all of the work, but I'm not trying to do that – only report that a lot of my day was spent cooking and cleaning. Michael and I were not alone in doing that; so don't feel bad for us. This is just one of those things about growing up that aren't always fun – even when we still manage to keep entertained while doing all of the work!

Michael and I did get to have some time to ourselves after that, and he came home with me so that we could have some fun together – doing our weekend homework! Yes, that's right, folks; we've been so busy this weekend that we left our homework until the last minute! We did that work in the lounge; had Ethan and Ehlana with us to supervise and make sure that we got everything done; and then we had a bit of music practice time before we took care of getting them tucked in for the night. Mom and Dad joined us for that; Michael and I had a chat with them in the office before he went home while Dad was finishing up his weekend work; and then I came back up to my room after seeing Michael out and on the way home.

I've been working on my computer since then; cheated with a time phase to speed up my family business work and language studies; and now I'm wiped out again and ready to crash. I'm going to need the sleep and likely some self-healing in the morning too, but it's been a really good day work and all; and I am up-to-date for all of my work and studies. I'd take a look at the week ahead before wrapping this up, but I'd rather get started on the napping now instead of after that, and you can just keep flipping digital pages to read ahead on the life I still have to live anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, March 28, 2016

Okay, it's been a long, busy day; and I have a lot to cover; but this is going to be short too because I'm going to be awake and back at it before I get to sleep if I don't get started on my nap soon.

The weather was pretty nice around here by this afternoon, but too cool for Tai Chi this morning. School was fun, but uneventful; and the busy part of my day started once we were set free. Uncle Terry is here for a work visit about the bridge, but while Aunt Angela couldn't come this time; he did bring Valerie and Marcus – and Mom took care of the kids while he was busy with his meetings this afternoon. Michael and I spent some time with them too – and with Ethan and Ehlana; but we also needed to do our homework; help with cooking dinner; eat; and then help with the clean-up before going with our Moms to the marching band committee meeting.

The big news there is that the main fundraiser we'll be doing between now and the trip to Florida was finalized – for everything from the contents of the fruit and vegetable boxes to the price and order forms. Those order forms are already printed and ready to go for our first practice next week. We'll have the first couple of weeks of every month to get orders and renew orders; and the boxes will be delivered at the end of the month. We'll also be switching to monthly meetings instead of weekly starting with next Monday's meeting; but that won't free up much time of my schedule because we'll be replacing that with our new marching band practices beginning next Tuesday – which for some of us will be between concert band practice and teen praise team practice.

Michael came home with me after the meeting so that we could work on our music for those practices tomorrow, and while we have more time than normal to get ready for Memorial Day weekend services and the parade; we aren't taking a break at all. We had four spectators for our music play time; we took care of getting them into bed after that; and then Michael went home so that I could come up to my room again and get started on my work and studying. I had a major project proposal to deal with for the family business; so it's ended up being way too many hours of computer time to get everything done tonight. I did get there, though; so now I just have to figure out how to get through another day without much sleep.

I'll let you know how that goes with the next update – if I don't end up sleeping through Tuesday instead, but that's it for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

I got to spend a bit of time with Terry, Valerie, and Marcus at breakfast, but that was it for me; and they were on the way home before I was done school for the day.

Not that I'd have seen them then; since I went straight to band practice after that; Michael and I had dinner at his house; we went to our teen praise team practice; and then were back at his house to do our homework. That's why I didn't get home until a bit after ten o'clock; and why I'm up late again tonight trying to keep up with everything for my family business work and language studies.

My plans for resting up and getting back to full power have pretty much blown up on me now, but while I'll need to give them a try again sometime in the not too distant future; that just isn't going to happen right now – especially when I'll be adding marching band and fundraising to my to-do list starting next week. I'd suggest that I could rest up this summer, but with more room at the Inn for customers this year; I expect to be helping out there a lot more this year – unless Miranda can find new summer help from some source she hasn't discovered yet.

I don't want to go there tonight, since sleep is once again at the top of my to-do list, and while this isn't much of a report; there also wasn't really much going on in my life today either.

Okay, that sounds wrong when I've been on the go for more than twenty-one hours now and I've been busy almost all of that time; but I mean that from a news perspective. I didn't have anything extraordinary happen at school; with our practices; or with anything else.

I know it's shocking, but even Magi Masters can have uneventful days! ;^)

Maybe that won't be the case tomorrow, but while you can flip a digital page to find out right away as you read this in my future, I still have to wait and live it – which will start for me in a few hours; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Happy 21st Birthday, Jake!

Happy 15th Birthday, Shannon!

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were invited to Shannon's birthday dinner and party, but since our only involvement with Jake's birthday was the video chat we did with Jake and Stephanie this morning; let's cover that part of the report first.

Michael came over for Tai Chi; we split up to get ready for school right after that; and then we went to the Inn so that we could do that video chat while having breakfast with Rebecca there. Jacob and Miranda couldn't stop working to eat with us too, but the video chat worked out okay because we could keep things going with Jake and Stephanie whenever Miranda was in the dining room or Jacob was busy keeping up with the breakfast orders. Jake's birthday didn't get them out of classes, but they were between classes while chatting with us. We had fun with that, and Jake and Stephanie are doing great and having fun too. It was a bit strange to think of Jake hitting the 'twenty-one' next level of growing up when I've just reached the learner's permit for driving level; but I'm sure that'll seem even stranger this summer when they're able to join the other adults for nights out at the pub and other party fun.

Okay, Jake, Stephanie, Violet, Dillon, and the rest of their friends will all be twenty-one, and probably won't' go out partying with their parents; but you get what I mean.

Moving along, the video chat was too short, but they had other things to do and we had work or school. There isn't much to report from our classes today, but we did have a minor birthday party for Shannon during our lunch break that was mostly to share the fun with the teens that weren't going to her dinner party. That included the older cheerleaders and football players that don't generally go to parties for any Grade Nine students even if they are on the squad or team; but are still happy to get in on free bonus Olde Bakery treats when offered to them at school.

While Shannon was on the cheerleading squad with Rowen and me, we were invited to her party more because she hangs out with our Grade Ten gang – and she does that because her best friend, Diana, dates our classmate, Kris. That isn't all that strange, but I'm mentioning it because she is the only friend in our larger circle that isn't part of the group through being paired up with a boyfriend or girlfriend in our class. If there will be Magi reading this in the future that grew up in cities instead of our little town – like Violet; that might just sound like a useless observation. Maybe that's true, and when you consider that Michael and I don't have much time for our extended groups of friends outside of school or through the other team or group activities we're involved with; it isn't a big deal at all. I can say that the birthday dinner tonight felt different for me than it has with others we've been to this school year; though that could also be that all of her friends' guests were couples while she was the only single teen there that wasn't also a member of her family.

Maybe Rowen and I should get Diana and some of the other girls together to help her out with some matchmaking! ;^)

Sure, I'll just add that to my to-do list with the dozens of other things that I don't have time for right now!

Moving along – again – let's get to the party part of the report. I came home after school; had a visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then got ready for the party. Michael picked me up; we collected Rowen and Tim along the way; and headed over to Shannon's house. The party started out with a social hour; dinner was fast and teen friendly; and Shannon had fun with all of the usual birthday fun – including opening gifts, the cake, and the rest.

By the way – I've always been okay with having a late birthday in school standards because I got to start school early; but there are advantages to being on the other side of that line and being one of the oldest students in your year. Shannon gets to be one of the first in her class with a learner's permit; and I'm sure she'll be very popular next year when she'll be able to drive on her own while still in Grade Ten – while I'll be more than halfway through Grade Eleven before I'm able to do that!

Yes, she did get that permit today too; so she's a happy camper to have joined that club.

Okay, so dinner was casual and fun; and it's especially nice to have those meals now that the guys have pretty much outgrown their phase where food and drink contests came along with being as gross as possible. Some of us helped with the clean-up once the gifts had been opened and the Olde Bakery cake demolished; and then it was time for some video gaming; music; and teen chat time for a couple of hours. That was all fun, and I liked getting to spend the time with Michael, Rowen, Tim, and the rest of our friends on our normal mid-week work night; but the fun also came at the expense of not being able to do my work early today. I also still had my homework to do after getting home; so that added a bit of time to my schedule too.

I just wasn't up to another really late night, so I used a time phase to do all of my work and studying – even though that tires me out just as much as putting in the work in normal time. There isn't anything newsworthy to report from any of that, but I did also fit in spending some time with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana too, and since that was all done without a time phase; it's still a lot later than it normally would be for my Wednesday night bedtime. We needed to have those visits because we really haven't gotten to do much of anything together so far this week, and I'm glad that I finished all of my work and studying; but I'm also feeling like a broken record by reporting that I'm having trouble keeping up with everything – especially when I'm feeling run down most of the time.

There doesn't seem to be anything I can do about that right now beyond what I already am doing with self-healing every day, and I'm better off getting the extra sleep instead of going on about it; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Happy 4th Birthday to Brandon Green!

I had no involvement in his big day; and I'm only mentioning it for future reference. I won't spoil that surprise – though if you're able to read my journals far enough in the future; you'd be able to skip ahead and find out why I've left this cryptic little note! ;^)

My day was not birthday party fun, but I am going to be sleeping before midnight instead of starting April with an all-night work session. I am ending March with a busy work evening, though; which is why I'm tired – and why Michael and I didn't have any make-out time while we were here after dinner instead of going to game night in the new section of the Inn.

We've had a rainy day off and on around here, so we were indoors except for walking to and from home, school, and the Inn. The wet, cloudy day might have been at least partly responsible for the less-than-sunny day at school; though it could also be that I'm just tired too. Michael and I went to the Inn after school and helped with the dinner rush after he missed the dinner shift yesterday because of the party. I really needed to get to my homework, studies, and work after that, so Michael came home with me; we used a time phase to get all of my work and studying done; our homework; and a lot of music, gaming, and surfing the internet for Michael before he went home once Mom and Dad got home with Ethan and Ehlana and we helped to get the twins tucked into bed for the night.

We had a short chat with Mom and Dad too; I came up here to my room after seeing Michael out; and as soon as I'm done this update; I'm going to crash until morning. The extra sleep will help a bit; but won't really off-set the time phase power drain. Maybe I should just try sleeping from after school tomorrow until Sunday morning and see if that helps!

That won't happen, but it's a bit scary that it seems like such a great idea to me right now. So does going into nap mode; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

April 2016

Friday, April 1, 2016

Look for a double update tomorrow – or with the digital page flip in your 'now' because I don't feel like working on my computer tonight.

This is not an April Fool's Day joke – I'm just ready for a break; and plan on hanging out with Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, and our four best friends tonight instead of working or studying.

We're about to get to that play time now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

As promised, it's time for a double update; so let's get right to that!

My April Fool's Day included a bit of themed fun here and there, but none of the jokes or pranks were directed at me personally; so that wasn't really a big deal. We had fun at school, and while we had some rain off and on, and it was a bit colder out; the weather didn't really get in the way of our fun either.

Michael needed to help out at the Inn during the dinner rush, but he didn't have to work until close; which was why he was able to hang out with me last night – and we could have a movie and play night in the lounge with Rowen, Tim, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. My boyfriend and friends didn't stay for a sleepover too, but Naomi and Aiden stayed the night; and getting them tucked in when it was their bedtime was part of the evening entertainment for Michael and me. So was some video gaming and two movies, and while that might not sound exciting; I liked the comparative quiet time – and getting to share those hours with some of the people I love the most. Mom and Dad didn't take the entire night off, but they did hang out with us for a while too; worked in the office for a couple of hours; and spent the rest of the evening on their own.

Yes, I know it's shocking for most kids and teens; but parents occasionally like to spend some time together without their kids when they also aren't busy with work or everything else that goes along with raising a family!

Michael, Tim, and Rowen stayed until twelve-thirty or so; Rowen and Tim left a few minutes before Michael did so that we weren't doing our goodbyes as a group; and I was in bed and out for the count very quickly after seeing Michael on his way home and then coming back up to my room to get ready for bed.

The temperature dropped to around freezing overnight, so it was cool out this morning – too cool again for Tai Chi by the river – even though it did warm up and we had sunshine most of the day too. Since it was so cold out first-thing; we did the indoor chores around here in the morning; saved the outdoor chores for when it was warmer; and worked until mid-afternoon except for a quick lunch break at noon. That wasn't very exciting, but I did have fun with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana while Michael was on his afternoon break. We went biking; played at the park; and had a snack break at the Inn before he needed to get back to work and I went home with Ethan and Ehlana. We had another quiet night at home after that; dinner for five was an easy-meal in the sunroom; and we all watched a movie in the living room while I've been waiting for Michael to come over after the Inn closes for the night.

He'll be here soon, and we're planning on watching a movie in the lounge after getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night, but I'm writing this report now because there's a very good chance that I won't stay awake to see the end of that show if how tired I am right now is any indication. Maybe we'll even end up having a sofa sleepover, and that would be nice; but it's the sleeping that I'm most interested in as I write this – even if I should want to take advantage of the Michael and me alone time instead.

I have so got to get my priorities straight! ;^)

That isn't going to happen tonight, though, and Michael will be here soon; so it's time to wrap this up. I've got a busy day tomorrow with the usual Sunday church and work schedule – though I'll only be working the buffet shift tomorrow instead of doing the lunch-to-close shift. I'll have a bit more time with that for some family and friends fun, and the weather is supposed to be great for the day too; so that will help to make up for the work that'll keep me from joining in on some of the entertainment that I won't be able to do too while I'm busy.

That's life, and I'll deal with it; but it is sometimes very tempting to just say the heck with it all; forget about all of the responsibilities; and spend the rest of my life having fun with the people I love the most.

I should've used that for an April Fool's Day joke report yesterday! ;^)

Oh well, that wouldn't really happen anyway, since it would be so tough to have the next Ascension of the Light if the Magi of the Light all opted not to show up to help make that happen.

That's way too serious a subject to start writing about when I'm this tired, and expecting Michael to get here anytime now; so I won't go there. I will end this update now, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Happy 36th Birthday, Owen!

Before I get to the birthday part of the update; I need to write a short note about the weather.

I am not going to complain about having amazing weather for most of the day, and I know that everyone around here loved the warm and sunshine this afternoon; but the temperature started out right around freezing this morning; and any temperature change of more than forty degrees is a bit shocking to the system! Maybe we should just switch to metric – a twenty-five or so degree change in Celsius sounds so much more moderate! ;^)

If only all of the problems in the world were so simple to fix; we wouldn't be in dire need of an Ascension of the Light.

That thought is way too deep for me tonight; so let's get back to the update.

It was too cold for Tai Chi by the river, so we were indoors for that; and then I was at Michael's for breakfast. Oh, I should mention that I did fall asleep on Michael last night; he didn't stay for a sofa sleepover; and the extra sleep only helped a bit with having me feel more rested for the start of today. That temporary, tiny improvement didn't survive my busy day; and I am back to being exhausted tonight.

That's why the rest of this report is going to be very, very short.

Breakfast at Michael's and a phone call with Jake and Stephanie was great; our church service and Sunday school was quiet compared to the Easter weekend; and lunch was at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house – a barbeque that was a last-minute decision thanks to the nice weather. I played with Ethan, Ehlana, our cousins, and some friends until I needed to be at the Inn to help with the buffet shift. Most of that play time was at the park, and Michael got to spend his break playing with us too; but I got to spend a bit of time with Rowen, Tim, and her family too because they were having a barbeque lunch for her father's birthday – and a play afternoon outdoors too. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were among the birthday dinner guests for Owen's birthday dinner at the Inn; but I don't have anything to report from that because I haven't gotten the report yet. Michael and I worked until close at the Inn; went back to his house to do the homework we didn't do this afternoon while enjoying the nice weather and park play time; and I didn't get home until after everyone else was in bed for the night.

No, they weren't all sleeping, but we don't need to go there either! ;^)

My work and studying kicked up into high gear after I was changed and in bed with Mandy and my computer; but I didn't do that in a time phase because I'm a bit too worn down for that tonight. The trade-off sucks, since it's now past-four o'clock; but the work and studying on my to-do list did all get done; so I at least won't be trying to do any extra work tomorrow night. I will be adding marching band practice to the mix for my schedule starting on Tuesday, though; so there's one more thing for me to fit into my already too-busy schedule. I'll let you know how that goes in a couple of days, but that's it for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, April 4, 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hailey!

She had a party today that some of my cousins went to, and Ethan was there too; though that was to give Aiden some best friend support while he was dealing with a house full of two and three-year old kids. Hannah had some help for that too, but Mom wasn't one of the volunteers this time. Maybe that had something to do with Ehlana going to hang out with Naomi while Ethan was busy and me going to Michael's for the after school studying and dinner before our marching band committee meeting; but let's not write about what my parents might have been doing with a couple of hours of kid-free time after Dad got home from work. ;^)

My day started out with Tai Chi by the river; though it was a bit chilly out for that thanks to another thirty-plus degree swing in temperature overnight. It was still nice-enough out, though; and we really want to be outside for our workouts. Michael and I split up for breakfast and so that he could get to his morning weight training with Tim and the handful of guys still doing that most days with them. Breakfast with Mom, Dad, and the twins in the sunroom was nice; and then my school day was fairly uneventful – except for talk of the marching band making the top news story for the day as a lot of us are getting very excited about starting that tomorrow.

I went home with Michael after school, though we did a quick side-trip to drop off a gift for Hailey and wish her a Happy Birthday along the way. We did our homework; had a music practice; and then had dinner with his parents and sister before cleaning up and going on to our meeting with Mom and Miranda. That last meeting before we actually start the practices was actually fairly short. We're ready to go with everything right now; so it's up to the students now to get the band together and hopefully sounding great by the time we have our first parade on Memorial Day; and get going on our fundraising – including hitting the targets we need to reach each month – though this first month goal is fairly modest. It will get tougher as we try to really bring in the money during the summer – and especially on holiday weekends; but I'm just going to take that a month at a time and hope that my fellow band members will be as serious about making this work as I am.

Since we had our homework and music practice done already, Michael and I didn't have more to do after the shortest meeting we've had so far; so we went for a walk; enjoyed the evening weather; and then he walked me home and left me there so that I could get to my work and studying a bit earlier than planned. That didn't happen until after I had a visit with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana; and we traded the daily updates; but then I came up to my room, got ready for bed, and got to work on my computer.

I also felt decent-enough to time phase while doing most of that work; so I'm going to be done everything and sleeping before midnight. Yes, that still doesn't really make any difference from working in normal time and getting less sleep, but it's the way I decided to work tonight; and the actual down time might help a bit tomorrow night when I'll be trying to do this again after a busy school day; three practices; and the homework that'll still need to be done after that. That thought alone is making me sleepy, and I don't have anything else to report today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

The Ridge River Raiders Marching band is born today!

We had a great turnout for our first practice, with sixty-three musicians and fourteen teens – mostly girls – for the color guard. That also included a few van loads of teens from Maple Valley; and they're just as fired up as we are – since they've never had a marching band at their school either.

Our practice started out with a meeting that included handing out the forms for the fruit and vegetable boxes promotion that starts today too; along with a chat about everything else that we need to deal with right away – whether that's ordering uniforms or getting volunteers signed up for some of the other fundraisers that'll be coming up over the next two months. Since Michael and I were in on all of the planning for that, it wasn't news for us; but we were drafted to help out – including modeling or showing the different uniform options. We had all of that out of the way within a half hour; and then moved on to the real practice – which for tonight was all about learning to march. If you've never done that as part of a large group, that probably sounds very simple, but while basic marching is easy-enough; getting seventy or eighty teens to do that in unison is another matter. Since we also plan on moving well-beyond basic marching; we have our work cut out for us.

For a first practice, the marching went well-enough; though that wasn't exactly exciting for me. Michael and I did have fun together, and while we were with the rest of the saxophone players while doing that; it was great getting to hang out with our friends too. That included Tim, since there was no way he was going to miss out on a trip to Florida while Rowen would be going there. He'll likely end up as a third or fourth-part trumpet player, since there are some really good players from both schools; but that'll just make it easier for him to keep up with the marching band in addition to his football priority starting this summer and into the fall.

Tim is far from the only teen interested in the marching band for the trip – and that includes Rebecca, Lucas, and Jenny. Lucas will be playing percussion; while Rebecca and Jenny will lead the color guard. Most of the Maple Valley students are more serious musicians, since they've needed to get teacher approval to join, but I'm glad of that; since we need the extra good musicians to make sure we're good-enough for a Disney parade. We'll start working on the music next week along with ongoing marching practices; but all we did today was hand out the music so that everyone can start learning it where that's an option. We'll still need to work out quite a few of the placements – particularly with percussion players; but we'll start in on that next week too when we split up for first section practices. I'll write more about that next week, but most of those small group practices will be student-led; and most of those student-leaders have already been chosen.

There isn't much else to report from marching band practice, so let's do a quick review of the rest of my day and then I'm going to crash and get started on my nap.

Tai Chi was by the river today; and I was glad to be out there again. We've had a dash or two of rain; but most of the wet didn't get here until I was home and in bed for the night – even if that hasn't included any sleeping yet. The rest of my morning was fairly normal; we were able to be outdoors for lunch; and the weather was just about perfect for our marching band practice. Michael, Rowen, and I had our concert band practice first; moved straight into the marching band practice after that with only enough time to eat a quick sandwich and have a drink on our way outside. Our teen praise team practice is being pushed back an hour to allow for our marching band practice – at least for now; but Michael and I – and most of the other members of the praise team – needed to go straight from the school to the church. That's going to be a lot of music every Tuesday night for us, but it'll be worth all of the work!

On the not so great side of things, Michael and I still had our homework to do once we were finished that last practice; so he came back to my house to do that – and so we could get some more food too. Add in a bedtime chat with my parents, Ethan, and Ehlana while we ate and studied; and a Magi lesson with Mom because she could do that while we were together; and my 'real' work and studying didn't even get started until a bit after eleven-thirty.

That was also after I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night once I'd seen Michael out and on his way home; and I multi-tasked the first part of the work with some Jacuzzi time because I was seriously in need of a soak in the tub by then. I could have fallen asleep in the tub, but resisted the urge; kept working; and then got out of the tub and ready for bed when I started to get too tempted to forget about the work and go to sleep anyway. Maybe I should have done that, but it just makes things harder when I have to play catch-up; so I'm glad that I didn't – even if the extra sleep would have been really nice.

I'll have to settle for some self-healing in the morning, but it is our mid-week work night up next; so I might be able to get ahead of the game and even head off to bed early for the next night – or even two if I skip game night again and work at home instead on Thursday night.

That sounds like a great plan. I'll let you know how that works out for me, but that's all for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

We started the day with Tai Chi and breakfast; school was fun with the top news story being the marching band; and then I came home after school and got right to work on my homework, family business work, and 'real' studies. Except for our dinner break, I did all of that work and studying in a time phase; which is why I'm finished everything now; and will be the first person in the house to get to sleep tonight.

It also took everything I had in me to get that done; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Take yesterday, add in a dinner work shift at the Inn and an evening at home with Michael instead of my family while they were at game night; and you've pretty much got everything you need to know about my Thursday.

Okay, that isn't quite the entire picture; but I'm still going to keep this update fairly short and get to sleep as soon as I can now that I have the work done for the day.

Tai Chi by the river was chilly, but it was a nice sunrise and we were glad to be out there. Michael stayed for a quick breakfast with me before running off to get ready and over to the school in time for his weight training. It was a fairly quiet day at school; so the real action started when we got to the Inn and got to work helping with the dinner rush that was a bit busier than expected for a Thursday night. Miranda was a bit short-handed for handling the extra customers, but we dealt with it; and managed to muddle through. Michael and I didn't have time for our homework, though; which had a lot to do with why we skipped game night and I brought him home with me for the evening while Mom, Dad, and the twins were at the Inn playing with our families and friends.

A time phase allowed us to get our homework finished quickly-enough; we took advantage of the alone time and the time phase for a fairly hot make-out session; and then Michael mostly played on his computer while I did my 'real' studying and family business work. I'm sure that was a bit boring for him; but I had a lot of my work done by the time Mom and Dad got home with Ethan and Ehlana from the Inn. Michael stayed for a visit with them; we took care of getting my brother and sister into bed for the night after our snack break in the office; and then Michael went home while I went back to my time-phased work in the office so that Mom and Dad could take advantage of that too – at least until I was finished everything on my to-do list.

I came up to my room after that; got ready for bed; and then snuggled in with Mandy and my computer to do one last email and computer check before wrapping up my day with this journal report. The time phasing is still wearing me out, but at least I'll be sleeping before midnight for two days in a row – and I'm done my work and studying until Sunday night except for any must-do work that comes up between now and then. Sure, I'll still be helping out at the Inn on Sunday and have the usual chores around here on Saturday; but I will at least have a bit of free time for fun too.

We'll see whether that actually works out for me or not over the next few days, but that really is all of the news for today now, and dreamland is definitely calling me; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, April 8, 2016

It's Friday night, and I'm going to be sleeping a lot earlier than I expected; mostly because we wrapped up our dinner and a movie night early – and Michael was ready to go home and get some sleep instead of coming home with me after we left Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace's house. He's working the breakfast shift at the Inn, so he needs the rest too; but we do still seem to have our priorities a bit messed up compared to a lot of our friends. I don't need to check in with Rowen to know that she'll likely be staying up late with Tim tonight – though they don't start their Saturday work quite as early as Michael does.

We had another chilly start to the day, and this time; it was definitely too cool for Tai Chi by the river. Staying indoors for that wasn't as much fun; though Michael and I did work on our Pushing Hands forms that we won't likely do very often outdoors – and definitely not at the faster speeds we can do them at already. Michael didn't stay for breakfast, so it was just the five of us in the sunroom for that – and we didn't do anything special for that meal today. Ehlana and I had some hair and dress-up play time after breakfast because I wasn't on the clean-up crew and had the time to do that with her; and then I was off to school again. We didn't have anything particularly exciting happen at school today; though we did go outside for part of our lunch break and the guys tossed a football around for a while because Tim needs to do that whenever he gets the chance. Rowen and I did a bit of skipping with some of the younger girls while our boys were playing; but that was just a cameo few minutes of fun in a day that really wasn't all that exciting.

Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace were hosting the family and friends dinner and a movie night, but Mom and Aunt Leanne were helping out with the dinner contributions; so Michael and I helped them out too after we got home from school. We did some kid control duty for a while too that lasted through until after dinner when we were drafted for the clean-up crew, so while we didn't get to spend a lot of time with the adults in the house; we did get to have fun with my brother, sister, cousins, and a handful of other kids – including Pastor John and Stacey's kids.

Since I'm thinking about them, let's take a tiny little side trip thanks to something that was mentioned during the clean-up. Apparently, there are some people even in our little town that get a bit weird about having our Pastors and their family over for meals or play evenings with the top reasons for being uncomfortable being concerns over things like serving adult beverages; use of 'colorful' language, or other social niceties. If you're reading this and might be like that with the current or future Pastors in our church – get over yourself! ;^)

Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine for a party. Our Pastors do not have a problem with responsibly consuming adult beverages, and try not to be shocked; but they even enjoy having a glass of wine or similar drink now and then. I'd also like to remind you that Pastor John and Stacey did mission work in some pretty tough places, so while I'm not suggesting that anything goes when you're hanging out with them; they also are strong-enough to handle it if they hear a bad word or two slip out. Rumor even has it that Pastor John might have even said a bad word once or twice over the years – or maybe even while helping out with the work in the new sanctuary before Easter when hammer met thumb instead of nail.

I'm just saying that our Pastors are human, and if you like them as much as we do; it's okay to treat them the same way you treat the rest of your friends – and to be yourselves!

Getting back to the update, the play time and dinner with the kids was fun for Michael and I; and I was really glad to have that few hours to spend with my family when I really don't get to do that nearly enough – and that isn't likely going to change anytime soon. The clean-up took a while, so we missed out on the after dinner walk or outdoor play time; but then we gathered in the living room for the movie part of our night. There's some irony in watching Minions with the Pastor and his family, but the kids loved the show; and Pastor John and Stacey were just as entertained as the rest of the parents in the room.

We also had a bunch of sleepy kids by the end of the movie; which is why it was time for most of us to head home after that. Michael walked home with me, and we sat out on the front porch for a little while before saying goodnight in a non-verbal way; but he didn't come inside so that we wouldn't be too tempted to stay up late and watch another movie – or try for a sofa sleepover when we both need to get the extra sleep when we can. That isn't very exciting, but it's the way we are; and I'd like to think that we're doing pretty well – even if we're boring compared to most teens our age.

After coming inside, I had a long bedtime chat with Ethan and Ehlana while getting them tucked in for the night; came up to my room; and got ready for bed too. Mandy and I have been cuddling while I've been doing my computer and email checks; there was one bit of family business work that I finished up in just a few minutes; and that brings us up to date for my day.

It's been fun, but I really do want to get off to sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Happy 13th Birthday, Patrick!

I have to start this update by mentioning that it feels strange to think of Rowen's little brother as a teen now. Patrick wouldn't appreciate that at all, and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne will find this amusing; but it's still going to be a while longer before I start thinking of Patrick the same way I do about other teens. Since admitting that to Patrick would have been a lousy birthday gift; Michael and I got together with Rowen and Tim and got him a quadcopter instead. I haven't talked to him much today, but have heard the quadcopter flying around today; so I'm fairly sure he likes the gift.

Patrick has been having a fairly large birthday party today too; which is why Rowen is spending the night here with me instead of at home with a gang of mostly seventh-grade guys. There are girls at the party too this year; but they won't be spending the night – and to be blunt; Rowen didn't want to be there with a gang of twelve and thirteen-year old boys drooling all over her. Rowen and Tim helped out with the start of Patrick's party and stayed until after the dinner clean-up was finished; but then they both came over here to hang out with Michael and me for a couple of hours – or with both of us once Michael got here from the Inn after the dinner rush was over. The boys have gone home now and Rowen's already fallen asleep while cuddling with Mandy; so it feels a bit weird to be writing this before midnight when we've had a teen evening in the lounge on a Saturday night. I'd add scary too when you consider that the teen party going on at Rowen's house won't likely wrap up until one o'clock or so; and I have no idea how late the guys will stay up after that playing video games or doing whatever.

Michael had been up since before dawn, though, and Rowen and Tim had both had long, busy days too; so wrapping up our day early was simply because we were all tired – and they boys weren't booked for a sleepover here tonight too. I suppose we could have done that, but we're saving up so that we'll be able to do that kind of thing – and a lot of camping – this summer. Too many sofa sleepovers might mess with that; so we're not going to risk it – especially when this should be another best-ever-so-far summer for us! ;^)

I don't really have much else to report today. Tia Chi was indoors this morning, and while it did warm up a bit eventually; it was still a bit on the cool side for our yard work this morning too. It is that time of year, though, and in addition to the regular work around the year; we're also starting to get everything ready for the new patio that will be the new outdoor entertainment area for our home to replace the back porch that is now our sunroom. Professionals will do the heavy lifting for most of that job; but there are things that Dad's doing to get ready – including moving a couple of gardens that are currently where parts of the new patio will be. That isn't very exciting for me right now; but I'm sure we'll all love the new landscaping this summer – and for a lot of years to come after that!

We worked until stopping for a late lunch; I spent a couple of hours with Michael during his afternoon break; and then I was at home for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Dinner for five was quiet and an easy meal and clean-up because none of us wanted to do any extra work. I had some play time with Ethan and Ehlana in the lounge while waiting for Michael, Rowen, and Tim to come over; and then they went to hang out with Mom and Dad so that we'd have the teen time without them this week. The couple of hours with my friends was fun, and though Rowen did fall asleep on me; we had a nice little girl chat before she crashed – and it's been too long since we've done that too. I'll add that to my list of things that I won't have time for; and then bring it up again the next time we get around to spending a bit of time together without the boys around.

Rowen needs to go home in the morning to help her mother with breakfast for Patrick and his buddies, and I'll be at Michael's for breakfast after Tai Chi; so I'd better wrap this up and get to sleep too. This hasn't been one of those best-ever kind of days, but it has been pretty good; and I'd say the past couple of days have been good for me since I only feel really tired instead of exhausted.

That isn't saying much, but it's a bit of progress; so maybe there's hope that I'll work through all of the too-busy and be okay after all without a major intervention from my family and friends. ;^)

I'll keep you posted on how that works out for me, but that's it for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, April 10, 2016

I'm going to keep this short and head off to sleep because it has already been too long of a day to stay up writing more than I already have with my family business work.

Rowen and I got up early; she took her turn getting ready for the day while I was busy with Tai Chi; and then she was off and running to help her parents with Patrick's post-sleepover breakfast with his friends. I got ready for church after that; and then hurried over to Michael's house to have breakfast there. I am not only going there for Sunday breakfasts a lot for the food, since I love the time with Michael, Rebecca, and their parents – and the chats with Jake and Stephanie too; but the food is a really awesome bonus! Breakfast was definitely one of the highlights of my day too, and while we had fun at church and Sunday school; it was time to get to work after that.

Michael and I went straight to the Inn once we were set free from Sunday school; and then we worked pretty much non-stop until the lunch rush was finished before taking our extended afternoon break. I'd love to report that we had fun with that, but all we did was grab food to go; picked up our computers and book bags; and sat out on the back porch of Michael's house while doing our weekend homework. We didn't even see Mom, Dad, or the twins because they were busy playing and we didn't cross paths before it was time for us to be back at the Inn to get going on the buffet prep work. That was another blast of busy; and we still don't quite have enough staff to handle the extra business we have seating for right now – and we are getting more than two hundred for each buffet sitting – even if we're not getting to current capacity.

The good news for me is that I'll be sixteen and able to work the dining room by the time the remodel is finished next spring and we'll have even more seating available!

That's news for another day – or year; so let's get back to the news from today.

I didn't work until close today, but I did stay until the clean-up from the second buffet was about half-done and more than half of the customers had left before I kissed Michael goodnight and headed home. Staying later was an option, but so was coming home and getting started on my 'real' job and studying. Most of that work was done in a time phase – and in the office so that Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana could take advantage of the extra time for their own work and studies. We all came up to bed once I was finished with everything on my to-do list; I didn't stay on the second floor to help with the bedtime routine for my brother and sister; and it only took me about ten minutes to get ready for bed and tucked in for the night with Mandy and my computer.

The computer time was only one last round of checks including email and the latest news and weather updates; so once I'm done with this report; I'm all set to crash for the night.

You can now consider that last task accomplished, since I don't have any other news for today and you can flip the digital pages to see what happens next in my now and your past; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, April 11, 2016

I'm going to skip most of the news for today, since there isn't much of it to be had; and write about our family business and future plans meeting that I was actually able to attend this time.

Let's start with the more imminent news for here at home. I've mentioned before that the new bridge will be ready ahead of the Memorial Day weekend; and that's still on-track as of today. We'll also have a walk and bike path along the river from the new bridge to the park ready by then; and a cut-through path from the end of our street to the new section of town along the edge of the Emerson and Seager properties so that we'll be able to bike and walk on it instead of going around the block – or walking across back yards as some of us have been doing until now. That's going to give us a bike path over to the lab, medical center, and park that's going to be great – especially once all of the paths are finished by next summer.

Since I'm writing about that already; the new section of the park will be open in time for Memorial Day too; with most or all of the in-park biking and hiking trails finished and open to use by then. I haven't had time to check up on the progress for those trails in a while; but we do hear about it from the younger kids; and I'm sure that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I will have a lot of fun exploring those new trails once they're ready to go. I guess the new biking and hiking entertainment at the park leads nicely into the news for one of the new businesses starting up in time for Memorial Day too – a bike and canoe rental shop that's going to be located next to the old section of the Inn now that that area isn't needed for deliveries to the kitchen. We won't need canoe or bike rentals; but I'm sure they'll get lots of business from other locals and visitors for both.

Let's stay on that track; and move on to the news from Quarry Lake. Their additions to the campground this year include a second major playground and more new water slides; but biking is the big news for them too; and they're going to have a new section of the park that they've apparently purchased that will have biking trails too – along with bike rentals for their campers and day visitors. They've also apparently put together a longer-term expansion plan that we're hearing a bit about; but I'll save that news for another time when it'll be more relevant. What I can say for this year, though, is that my friends and I are going to want to make more visits to Quarry Lake; and if those biking trails are really great; maybe we'll even do some camping adventures so that we can do that for a couple of days at a time – along with the rock wall, zip line, swimming, and everything else that goes on out there.

Finally, for the local business side of this report, we'll have one more new business starting up in time for the summer holiday season. The Art Gallery will compliment the museum and antique stores; and will carry a selection of local arts as well as unique art from around the country and even internationally. The last part of that is apparently thanks to some of our volunteer charity travelers scouting for pieces of local art that they're already buying and shipping home for the gallery owners; so it should be a pretty cool store – even if I don't expect to be buying paintings or sculptures anytime soon – unless for a gift for one of my favorite adults.

Going just a bit further out now, construction on the third and final apartment building will begin in September; and it will be the only apartment building along the river – and a bit upscale compared to the first two buildings. We're going to need that type of apartments for the young professional singles and couples that will be graduating and working here over the next decade or three – including some of my favorite, current crop of collegians. The work in the new section of town between now and then will just be on more homes and townhomes; but that work is slowing a bit now too as we're still working to absorb the new housing along with selling or renting out older houses or apartments in the 'old' parts of town.

Graduation is coming up fast for our high school seniors, and we talked about that tonight too. I won't go into the details, but I can report that all of our Grade Twelve students are pretty much set up with their plans either to go to college or take jobs after school. I won't write about all of them tonight, but two of the teens that will be very important to our family businesses will be Anna-Marie Palmer, because she's planning on being a lawyer and working with Dad once she's earned her degrees and passed the bar exam; and Erica Bassett, because she's going into physiotherapy and will have a future at the med center with a health care option that we don't currently have in the local area at all. As I've mentioned before; I'm really glad that our teens have more options than ever before that allows us to stay at home instead of moving away; though that is putting a bit of pressure on the businesses with lower-paying jobs. We're working on that too; but that's a longer-term project that is as much about making it possible for those wages to climb higher to make those jobs more attractive.

Another highlight of the meeting was our review of the charity, business, and archives trips that are ongoing and always expanding. We have more volunteers getting involved all of the time; and the seniors in particular really love the free world travel that goes along with the charity work. Grandma and Grandpa have taken the winter off from that this year, but they will be doing trips this summer, fall, and winter again – though they'll also spend a bit more time here as well once they're home from their winter getaway in the south. I am so amazed at how much more we can do in a hands-on way with our new friends and neighbors; and we really are making a difference in the world – even if it those changes are small when measured up against all of the problems in the world.

By the way, unless you're reading this journal during some very distant, Utopian eon, I'll mention that an Ascension of the Light does not mean that bad things stop happening in the world. Evil is just as eternal as good, and while things are always much better for us when the Light has the upper hand over darkness; that doesn't mean that there are still troubles and clashes with bad people.

That definitely wasn't on the agenda for the meeting tonight, though; so let's move along.

We wrapped up our evening discussions with a review of the overall family business and charities; and we're doing spectacularly-well with everything. Making more money every year helps us to both grow the family business and increase our contributions to our charities, and while it is sometimes fun to think about being part of a family business worth hundreds of billions of dollars; I manage to keep that as part of my secret identity – and don't really think of that at all as personal wealth – just a tool we'll continue to develop and use as we work toward that Ascension of the Light.

That covers most of the highlights from that meeting, so let's do a micro-review of the rest of my day; and then wrap this up so I can get off to sleep.

Tai Chi, breakfast, and my school day were all fairly normal with nothing exciting to report. Michael and I went home with Rowen to Tim's house to do our homework together after school; and then he came home to my house for dinner before heading home after that to hang out with his father while I was busy with my meeting – and so was Miranda. The studying was more fun than usual, and it's been a while since the four of us have done that together when not in school; so it was nice to do that for a change. Dinner was easy and quick because of the meeting; and I walked home with Michael after we did the clean-up – and then came back here with Miranda once she was ready to go. The meeting lasted until ten o'clock or so; I came straight up to bed after seeing everyone out and getting Ethan and Ehlana into their beds for the night too; and then I time phased my work and studying to still get done before midnight.

While the work and studying went well, there isn't anything newsworthy to report that isn't already covered in the archives for our family business – if you have access to that information; so I guess that's all for tonight – and quick-enough that I'll be sleeping before midnight if I hurry up, put my computer to bed, and get to that right now.

Consider that done; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Gil!

I'm sure that this has turned out to be a good day for Gil anyway, since he did get his driver's license today and is now free to drive on his own; but the new marching band practice got in the way of his birthday party for a lot of his friends – Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me included.

Tuesdays are going to be a tough day for birthday parties whenever we have those practices, since we can't do them right after school because the Maple Valley teens can't get here soon-enough to do that; and there were other conflicts for nearly every other day of the work week too. I haven't thought about it before now, but we'll have issues with baseball too unless the usual teen practices on Tuesdays are moved to a later time or different day when baseball starts up in May. Let's not take that line of thought any further; since baseball will be yet one more practice to fit into my week that will just make keeping up with everything tougher for me.

Getting back to the news of the day, since so many of us couldn't go to Gil's party or could only stop in before or after whatever practices we had after school today; we did a birthday party for him at lunch too. That was the highlight of my school day, and maybe you find it funny that I write that about our lunch break a lot, but keep in mind that our studies aren't exactly challenging for me; so it really is the time with my friends that keeps me from being bored out of my mind all day while playing the part of a normal Grade Ten student.

Okay, make that 'normal' for a brainiac geek-musician-cheerleader or however else my friends and the other teens around here see me; but you get what I mean.

I must be tired, since I keep wandering off-track here. The real fun of the day started with our regular band practice, and while we don't have the Memorial Day parade to do as a concert band, we have worked on the music for that so we'll be able to do that with the marching band; and we do still need to keep the concert band going – especially since I don't expect the marching band to continue very long after the Florida trip – though we might keep most of it together through the rest of the coming school year. Beyond that, I don't really see that happening simply because of how expensive marching bands are; and that kind of expense just doesn't fit into a small town school budget. Fundraising would be tough year-after-year too; since there are a lot of other charities and clubs vying for those dollars.

Speaking of that, though, I can report that the Fruit and Vegetable boxes fundraiser is off to as good a start as we'd hoped, and while we still have time before placing our first batch of orders; we are having everyone check in before the marching band practice with an update on how their 'sales' are going. I haven't mentioned it in my journal yet, but I am doing my sales for the boxes in two parts – the first is for my personal fundraising; and the second is for the general fundraising fund so that I'll be able to help out other band members that will need to pay for their trip to Florida entirely through fundraising. I'm already unofficially finished with part one of that through my family; and I have lots of help with part two – including through Dad at the office, Aunt Grace at the lab, and my aunts and uncles at the med center – though they're only doing that for non-local, but regular visitors – like sales reps and regular patients from other towns that now come here for the better medical care.

That's another side-trip, but since it came up; our new medical center has attracted quite a few new patients from the other towns; and they are willing to make the drive for those better services – and occasionally because our doctors and nurse are a lot younger and hotter than pretty much every other doctor and nurse in any town – anywhere. Yes, that is my aunt and uncles, but if you think that's weird; remember that I'm a teen too – and those hot, young doctors do occasionally come up in girl chats at school and elsewhere. Now that is seriously scary! ;^)

Getting back to the update again, our band practice was fun; Michael, Rowen, and I had to eat a quick snack dinner between that and the start of our marching band practice – and while Michael and I were busy collecting that fundraising information from our band mates; and then it was time to get started on our second marching lesson. This week, we worked on that for half the time; and then had our first music practice. Michael and I share the lead tenor sax duties with one Grade Eleven teen from Maple Valley; and we have four other tenor sax players working in pairs for the second and third parts of the music. We only have two baritone sax players right now, but we'll see how much that changes over the next few months; since we're sure to have more students wanting to join in September – when the trip to Florida is closer. For now, though, we're in good shape; and our saxophone section is one of the best in the band.

I can't say that every section is sounding great, because they aren't. Let's not pick on any of those groups or specific teens, and I know this was just our first practice with playing music; but today reminded me a bit too much of our first music class practices back in Grade Seven when we were all just beginning to learn to play band instruments. It's also one of those times when I wish that my perfect memory wasn't quite so good. Remembering every bad note and even simply the overall cacophony of sound is a bit painful – and only partially off-set by the much nicer feelings and sounds that Michael and I were sharing tonight in all three of our practices. We will get all of the start-up problems worked out in time for the Memorial Day parade, though; and I'm not at all worried about that first parade being a disaster for us.

If I'm wrong about that; maybe Mom will let me use a bit of Magi power to either auto-tune the bad notes for the entire band – or just alter the memories of everyone hearing us to think that we're great! ;^)

Moving along again, Michael and I had a blast with the marching band practice; and then we needed to hurry on to the church for our teen praise team practice. Stacey kept that practice fairly short for us – just a bit under an hour; and then it was time to head home and get started on our homework. We did that at Michael's house this time so that we could spend a bit of time with his parents; and they sat with us at the kitchen table while we worked. The downside for that was not being able to work at Magi speed around his father, but then Rebecca was home too; so we wouldn't have been able to do that unless we'd gone up to Michael's room. Even then we don't normally do that, since it's easier to work using our Magi talents at my house, but I'm wandering again; and the point was simply that it took a bit longer to get that homework finished.

That's why it was time for me to head home right after we finished that work so that I could get started on all of my bedtime computing, work, and studies. It was a quarter-past ten by then, and since Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were all working in the office; I joined them there; we went into a time phase; and I blasted through about eight 'normal' hours worth of work and studying by the time we wrapped things up by eleven-thirty and headed up to bed. I haven't had myself tucked in with Mandy for very long, but that's only because I'm writing this while in another time phase so that I can still be sleeping by midnight. Doing that is a bit pointless, since it doesn't really matter whether I'm sleeping a few minutes before midnight or an hour later, but it's what I want to do right now, and since I'm a girl; I can get away with changing my mind about things like that on a daily basis. If you're a guy reading this and don't yet know that about girls, now you do; and I'm sure that information will help you out a lot with the women in your life.

We are up-to-date now, since there isn't anything exciting to report from my work or language studies. I should really just wrap this up before wandering off on any other side-trips too; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday, Gerry Bishop!

Michael, Rebecca, and I sent a gift for their young cousin; but that was the total extent of my involvement in his birthday fun. I'm sure he had a good day; though I haven't heard any news to confirm that.

My day wasn't birthday party exciting, but I am glad that it was a part-time job work day so that I could get my work and studying done in decent time – and can now go off to sleep early.

In fact, I don't really even have anything else that's newsworthy to report from the rest of my day, and after hours of time phasing to get everything finished, crashing for the night sounds pretty good right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Time for another short update.

The weather was wonderful today – too bad I spent most of the day indoors! Tai Chi was by the river and we were outside for our lunch break; but I was inside for most of my classes; Michael and I worked the dinner shift at the Inn; and then we skipped game night again so that we could do our homework; play some music; and have a minor make-out session while my family was at the Inn for those games and fun with our families and friends.

Michael went home after my parents, brother, and sister got back to the house; we all worked in the office – and in a time phase – until eleven-thirty; and then I came straight up to bed with Mom and Dad took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night. I've been using a time phase again while getting ready for bed, doing a last round of computer and email checks, and writing this journal update; and that's the only reason why I'll be done by midnight – barely. It's still been a very long day, and I'm worn out; so that's all I have for tonight.

The good news is that I am ready for the weekend and won't have extra work to catch up on; so that'll hopefully allow me to have a bit of extra play time around the usual chores and helping out at the Inn. I'll let you know how that goes, but it's time to crash and nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, April 15, 2016

I guess that the top news for today is that the first deadline for our fruit and vegetable boxes fundraiser orders was today; and we beat our target for that. Helping out with that is one of my jobs with the committee, and I spent some time working on that while at school. The full order has been placed now; and the boxes will be delivered to the school two weeks from today so that we can then deliver them to our customers. That's all being done through the grocery store, and the Bassetts are making a huge commitment to the band by doing this – especially when they're not only pretty much selling the boxes to us at cost; but they're also losing out on the sales they'd normally have had for those fruits and vegetables if we weren't doing this fundraiser.

While that was the big story at school today, it's tax day that is most important elsewhere in town – and everywhere else in the country too. The deadline for that this year is on Monday, but that still means that pretty much everyone that is involved in tax returns in a big way has been busy today – and will be all weekend. That's definitely why Rowen was working at the store tonight, and will be on Saturday and Sunday too; and I don't expect to see her a lot between now and Monday. Michael helped out with the dinner shift at the Inn today too; and that was partially related to tax day because they were busier than usual with more people in town dealing with taxes – as well as other jobs while they were in town anyway.

I don't have anything to deal with for that right now; though taxes are always part of my work on the family business. Instead of working tonight, though, I was home and having fun playing with my family and some of our friends. We hosted a barbeque dinner, but I was on kid control before and during dinner; and only had to help out with the clean-up. Ethan and Ehlana have Aiden and Naomi here for the night, and they were at the house by the time I got home from school; so I played with them – and then with all of my home-town cousins once they joined the party with their parents. That was a blast, and so was having dinner with them in the back yard – though that got a bit messy too. It was too cold to just dunk them in the river to clean them up; so we had to deal with that in the kitchen – and that included some outfit changes where washing up wasn't enough.

The clean-up didn't take long, and then we went to the park for some play time. That was a blast too, and even more fun for me when Michael met up with us there and caught the tail-end of the playground action. It was time to split up after that, so Mom and Dad only had six kids and teens with them when they went to do some work in the office. Dad's going to be in the city next week, so he has a lot to get done this weekend. Michael and I took my brother, sister, and their friends up to the lounge; and we watched a kids-choice movie to wrap up our day. Michael was past-ready to wind down by then, so we mostly just cuddled on the sofa and let the movie and the kids keep us entertained for a couple of hours.

Michael needed to go home after that because he's working the breakfast shift at the Inn. We took care of getting Ethan, Ehlana, Aiden, and Naomi tucked in for the night – though they didn't go straight off to sleep. I saw Michael out after that; had a very short bedtime chat with Mom and Dad in the office; and then came up to my room and got ready for bed. Mandy's currently hanging out with Naomi or Ehlana, so I'm on my own in my bed; but she'll likely come back up here later. I won't be awake by then, and since I didn't have anything extra to do tonight for the family business; my computer and email checks didn't take very long – and there isn't anything newsworthy to write about from any of that. I am going to have a busy Saturday with chores and a dinner shift at the Inn, though, and now that I don't have hours of work to still get done tonight; heading into nap mode is an option that I plan on taking advantage of as soon as this update is finished.

It's been a fun day, but that is all I have for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Happy 21st Birthday, Dillon!

We sent gifts that I'm sure he's gotten today, but we haven't talked with him – or with Violet – as of right now. I'll let you know if I hear any good news about whatever they're doing to celebrate his big day; though there's a chance that I'm too young for most of the details! ;^)

My day has not been birthday party fun; but it has been a pretty good day so far even with all of the work. Tai Chi was by the river this morning; breakfast in the sunroom for seven was fun; and then it was time for me to get to work on my chores to-do list. Most of my chores were outdoors, which was nice except for when we had a dash or three of rain; but that didn't really get in the way of the work. It did take until mid-afternoon to get everything done, though; so I didn't have a lot of time to play with Michael while he was on his afternoon break. He's actually outside playing with Ethan and Ehlana while I'm writing this; but only because I'm multi-tasking and getting cleaned up and ready for the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn.

I'm writing this update now while doing that because I'm going over to Michael's house after work tonight; and there is a very good chance that we are going to have an 'accidental' sofa sleepover tonight. That's why I've also done my bedtime computer and email check early, and with this half-report finished now; I can get on with the rest of my day without the need to do any additional work on my computer.

Michael and I need to be at the Inn soon. Feel free to flip the digital page to find out how things go for me during the rest of the day, but I need to get out there and live it first; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Michael and I managed to have fun while working at the Inn last night until close. We followed that up with an entertaining visit with his parents after we all got home from the Inn – and it was just the four of us because Rebecca spent the night out at the farm with Lucas and his family after she was set free from the Inn early. After his parents went to bed for the night, Michael and I didn't watch a movie; had a fairly brilliant make-out session; and then followed that up with the sofa sleepover that our parents did not believe was accidental at all.

Tai Chi was by the river again this morning, and that was more fun to do with Michael. I got ready for church after that, but then went back over to Michael's house for breakfast – and for our video chat with Jake and Stephanie. That was all really great; we then had fun at church and Sunday school; and I wrapped up my morning by going to the Inn with Michael and helping out for a half-hour or so because the service had gone long and they'd needed a bit of extra help getting ready for the lunch rush.

I didn't work the lunch shift, but instead went home to have lunch with my family. We had another barbeque – this time at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house; and then I had time to play with my sister, brother, and cousins for a couple of hours. We did most of that at the park, and had some parental supervision; but Dad was back in the office working all afternoon and evening. It would have been nice to spend some extra time with him, but it seems as though working on chores together is the closest we get to quality father-daughter time lately. Playing all day would have been nice, but Michael and I still had some homework to get done during his afternoon break; so that's what we did when he caught up with us at the park – we went back to my house and studied.

Fortunately, Dad was the only other person in the house, so doing our work using a time phase was an option; and then that allowed us to have a bit of extra play time once the work was done – though we couldn't go outside to do that without having everyone wonder how we could have done all of our homework in minutes instead of an hour or two. I'd say that's about as great a reason as any to stay in on a beautiful afternoon and enjoy a bonus make-out session; and that's exactly what we did!

It also explained why Michael and I were so happy by the time we got to the Inn to get started on the buffet shift. With the extra seating, we weren't sold out for both buffets, but Jacob and Miranda are still getting more customers that they're used to handling; so it's almost the same as doing three buffets now in just two sittings – and it's a lot of hard work to keep up with the extra business. That's why Michael and I only took two short breaks for the rest of the day; and we were at the Inn until ten-thirty by the time everything was clean and the dining room was set up for the morning breakfast shift.

I only stopped at Michael's house long enough for a front porch goodnight visit, hugs, and kisses; so I was home before eleven o'clock. The twins were in bed by then, but Mom and Dad were still up. I have a micro chat with them on my way up to bed; got cleaned up, changed, and in bed as quickly as possible; and then time-phased my work and studying to get all of that done as quickly as I could. Dad's going to be up early to head to the city, and I want to be up then to see him off; so I'm just going to wrap this up and get started on my first nap of the night. We'll likely have a second nap after Dad's on the road, but that still isn't going to make for a full night of rest; and I'm going to wish that I didn't push quite so hard today by morning.

That's something to deal with then, though, and I really am worn out now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, April 18, 2016

Happy 49th Birthday, Jacob!

Happy Tax Day, everyone else! (Now that it's over!)

Mother Nature decided to have a good cry today – possibly in support of anyone around here that had to send checks to the IRS along with their tax returns. The rain kept us indoors for most of the day when we didn't need to be out to get to and from school; and it kept Jacob's birthday fun indoors for the day too.

Miranda didn't have a problem with that, but then some of us don't need to know why she felt that way; and I definitely don't want to write about what Michael's parents might have been doing instead of yard work while we were at school. ;^)

Jacob didn't want to have a big party when a lot of their friends were busy working because of tax day; so we only had a family dinner – and Lucas and I were the only guests. That wasn't a gourmet meal, since Jacob had the day off from cooking and cleaning; but Miranda, Rebecca, and I managed to cook the meal without his help, and the birthday cake was from the Olde Bakery; so even though the food wasn't up to Jacob's normal amazing fare; the dessert was great! That couple of hours of fun included a video chat with Jake and Stephanie, and it was the highlight of the day for me; but then Michael, Rebecca, Lucas, and I needed to sit down in the dining room and get our homework done. Since we couldn't speed that up tonight, it took a while to get that work finished; Michael and I followed that up with a music practice that his parents sat in on with us; and then we had a bedtime visit with them before I came home for the night.

With Dad in the city, Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana had spent their rainy evening working and studying in the office; and they were ready to head for bed by the time I got back. We had a bedtime snack and chat; I helped out with getting the twins tucked in for the night; and then I came up to my room to get started on my own work and studying. I used a time phase for that; which is the only reason I'm not writing this update at four or five in the morning. I am wearing down now from the effort, though; and that's why I'm not going to drag this out much longer. I should back up and cover a few other details from the day, though; so let's do that before I call it a night and crash.

We were up early to see Dad on his way to the city; Ethan, Ehlana, and I joined Mom in her bed for a nap once he was on the road; and then Tai Chi was indoors thanks to the rain that was already falling by then. Michael went home after our workout to have a birthday breakfast with his parents and sister; so it was just the four of us for breakfast here. I had lots of time to get ready for school; Rowen and I got rained on for the walk there; and then our school day was about as dull as the weather – especially where tax day was worked into our lessons. That was to be expected for Accounting, and maybe for History too; but it's a bit of a stretch to expect us to pretend that we're being chased by IRS agents as a motivation to run faster in Phys-Ed class.

Rowen had to go and help out at the computer store after school again today, but she'll be able to take a break starting tomorrow, and since we had Jacob's birthday dinner tonight; Michael and I wouldn't have been able to do anything with Rowen and Tim anyway. I've already covered the highlights from after school until now, though I have skipped a lot of the fun little details – like Jacob's birthday roasting that Jake in particular had fun with even though he had to do that from Europe and by video conference.

Speaking of him – and Stephanie; we're now down to weeks until they'll be home instead of months; and it was obvious tonight that Jacob and Miranda are really looking forward to having them home again – though they'll still have one more school year away in New York before they'll be home to stay. I'm glad that they'll be home soon too, but my excitement level is a bit muted because I don't expect to spend a lot of time with them outside of working at the Inn; since we'll all be busy with other, different things. I'm getting used to that with my favorite collegians; and it's just one more of those life changes that we all get to deal with while we're at different stages. That won't change for Michael and me with his older brother and sister-in-law for quite a few more years; so let's not get bogged down with that – or with having a minor pity party over something that we can't really do anything about anyway.

I'm seriously rambling on now, though, and don't really have anything to add to this report; so let's just wrap this up and I'll get started on some quality nap time.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The surprise of the day was on me when Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana decided to go to Crystal Springs for a hotel sleepover with Dad today; and I was set up for a sleepover at Michael's house while they're away.

I loved the idea, since I was busy all day anyway with school and three practices; and I'm sure that they're having a blast in the city – though I haven't tried to check in with them; and haven't been sent any messages or email to let me know how they're doing. There's a very good chance that they're having a lot more fun than I am with shopping; possibly a meal out with the Malloys; and whatever else they end up doing while in the city; but then my day has been pretty good too even with being a bit too busy.

My morning, as I'm sure you've already guessed; turned out to be a lot of fun. The rain moved out overnight, so while the grass was still wet; Tai Chi by the river was an option; and then it was a bit of a nuthouse around home once the decision was made for three out of four of us to do the trip to Crystal Springs. Mom didn't need to rush around to get ready and head out right away, but Ehlana wanted to pack her things; get some help from me with picking out clothes for a restaurant dinner; and we made a shopping list for a few things that I wanted picked up while they're in the city anyway. Getting all of that done too kept me busy; and Rowen came over to get me today because I was running late compared to normal for our walk to school.

That was the end of my involvement with the adventure to the city that the rest of my family has been enjoying today, but I've had a good day at school; and a return to some sunny, warm weather has helped with that – especially for our marching band practice and lunch break. Our class time was uneventful, but we had a lot of fun while playing outside at lunch; and then the entertainment level kicked up a few notches beginning with our first band practice of the afternoon.

We worked on our marching band music for part of that practice; though that was only the music for Memorial Day that we would have worked on anyway if we didn't now have the marching band for that parade. Doing that helped out with our marching band practice because our section leaders for that band are all members of the concert band; so they were ready to go to help everyone else during that practice. Our marching band doesn't look like one yet, and we haven't even tried marching and playing at the same time yet, but then we didn't plan on getting there for another couple of weeks anyway. Right now, it's the learning how to march as a group and then play as a team in our section groups that is most important. We'll start to have part of our practice as a full band next week; add in the first marching and music the week after that; and hopefully have it all together in time for the Memorial Day parade.

Between now and then, the work on the fundraising and getting our uniforms is as important; and I was busy with that between practices – with uniform orders the bigger part of that today. The first order has already gone out, but we need to have everyone with uniforms in time for that first parade; and that means that we need to have those orders in before the end of this month. I expect that we'll need to order some extras, but that'll work out eventually anyway; since we will have new members joining over the next few months – and particularly in September when we'll have another batch of eligible younger kids starting in Grade Seven.

I haven't mentioned that before now, but while I'm thinking about it; the marching band news has been a big deal for the kids in Grade Six and Seven. The younger kids are looking to start learning to play instruments early to have a chance of being allowed to join the band; and the Grade Seven kids are working a lot harder than normal to be good-enough to join the few of their classmates that have already been given permission to join – something they need to get both from their parents and our music teacher. That's fairly awesome for our music program, and is even adding a few teen jobs here and there with older teens being hired as music teachers for the Grade Six kids. Michael and I have both had some offers; but we're both too busy to take on a bunch of saxophone player-students along with everything else we're doing right now.

Before I move on, I should also add that Patrick and Scott are two of the Grade Seven students that have been approved already for the marching band; and that Jessica Bassett and her best friends are among the Grade Six students looking to jump-start their band careers with learning to play band instruments early. I'll keep you posted on how that goes for them, but I can tell you that Michael thinks that it'll be awesome to go on that trip with Jessica if she can get that done – especially when it's getting tougher all of the time to hang out with his cousins very much when we always seem to be on the go right now.

Okay, next up is our teen praise team practice. We were working on the songs we'll be doing for Mother's Day and the Memorial Day weekend Sunday services. The Pastors will handle the sermons and other parts of both services, but the teens will be doing the music and reading the scriptures; with some help for both on Mother's Day from the younger kids in our congregation. Since we are closing in fast on Mother's Day, we put in a bit of extra time tonight; which is why we were late getting home to Michael's house – and why everything I've been doing since then has been later than usual.

Michael's parents were still up when we got home, and had a long chat with us while we got started on our homework in the dining room; but then they went up to bed while we finished our work. Rebecca had a visit with us too after she got home from hanging out with Jenny; but then she went up to bed when we moved into the living room to have a bit of wind-down cuddle time. That didn't include a major make-out session, but we did have a tiny bit of play time. Since I'm writing this tonight instead of tomorrow sometime, you must know that we didn't try for a sofa sleepover; though that was entirely because I still had my family business work and studying to get to when we did come up to our rooms for the night.

This isn't 'my' room, but it is the same guest room I've been using every time for the last half-dozen or so sleepovers here. It was a bit after midnight by the time I was ready for bed and to get to work, and since I couldn't use a time phase tonight; it's taken a long time to get everything done. There weren't any problems – just a lot of work and studying to do. I wouldn't trade any of the fun for more sleep, but I might have to think about staying home instead of doing sleepovers here when Mom and Dad are both away so that I can still work at full-power.

No, I'm not suggesting that so that Michael and I can have unsupervised sleepovers at my house; though that would be fun! I could invite Rowen to stay with me for appearances if needed; though we're not really talking about something that's a big deal since Mom and Dad don't exactly take off and leave me home alone very often anyway.

I have covered all of my news for today, though, and should be sleeping instead of rambling on; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Brock! Happy 2nd Birthday, Julian Green!

I had absolutely no involvement in Julian's birthday at all, but his big day is being noted here because he will be a classmate and friend for one or more of my cousins; so we will have that future connection. Brock's birthday was a bigger deal for me – and our classmates and friends; though Michael and I didn't go to his birthday party this year. We did have a gift for him; and we had a party for him at lunch so that those of us that weren't going to his party could have a mini-celebration with him; but then both the lunch and after-school parties were just bonuses for Brock because getting his license was a bigger deal for him. That'll be true for most of the guys in our class this year and quite a few of the girls too, but while I get that for the country kids that aren't stuck on the farm anymore once they have that all-important piece of paper; it really isn't that big of a deal for most town kids. Okay, maybe if they have part time or summer jobs on one of the farms it comes in handy, but when it's my turn; I don't expect to be doing a lot of driving until I'm ready to start college.

Getting back to the update, though, I don't have a lot of news for my day other than those bits of birthday fun; but Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana had quite the adventure – and I can even write about some of it here without the need for content warnings! ;^)

They got to the city by eleven o'clock; went shopping for a while; had lunch in the food court; and then did some more shopping before going on to the hotel. By then, Mom and Angela had made dinner plans; and Ethan and Ehlana were also booked for a sleepover at the Malloys with Valerie and Marcus. Marcus is a bit young to appreciate having kids staying for sleepovers, but Valerie was apparently thrilled to have Ehlana stay with her, and while I won't write about what Mom and Dad did with their kid-free night at the hotel; but they were very happy campers too. I missed out on a great meal out and the play time with the Malloys; but I'm glad that they all had fun. Mom met up with Terry this morning to get Ethan and Ehlana back; they did some more shopping; and then picked up fast food for Aunt Leanne and came home in time to have lunch with her – and with Claire, Zack, and Brianna. After that, Mom had work to do around home, so she did that while the twins spent the afternoon at KidZone; and then the four of us were home for the rest of the day together so that we could all either work or study in the office – or both in my case.

We did a lot of that work and studying while in a time phase; and that's why I'm able to write this so early tonight – while I'm multi-tasking my bedtime computing with a nice hot soak in the Jacuzzi. Mom's having some tub time right now too; but Ethan and Ehlana actually ran out of steam and are sleeping already. Since I've been the one running on empty most of the time lately, that's a bit surprising; though they're already better for that than I was even a few years ago. That's at least partly a twin thing, but Mom has also fine-tuned her Magi training; and that makes a difference on days when they do lessons too.

Speaking of lessons, I'm still not doing any with Mom right now, but I should mention that I do fit in time for my self-directed studies and archive reading – even if that isn't nearly enough right now. Maybe I'll work on making up for that this summer; but we'll see how that goes. Mom will want to start doing lessons with me again too; so I'll need to work that back into my schedule – as if I don't have enough on the go already. If only I could just stay in a time phase all day every day; I'd have no trouble keeping up with everything! ;^)

There are so many reasons for why that isn't possible, but the first mental picture I got with that thought was one of me returning to real time a year from now a decade or three older than everyone else my age; and then trying to explain that to our friends and neighbors – or even funnier; if the entire town had been in the time phase with me and we're all a lot older compared to our friends outside of town.

Okay, non-stop time phasing won't help; so I'll just have to find another way!

I'm not going to do that tonight, though; I don't have any other news to write about; and it's time for me to get out of the tub and ready for bed now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

It's been a dull, damp day – though the rain has just been sprinkles here and there that have only been enough to keep things damp without messing things up for working or playing outdoors.

Tai Chi was by the river; Michael stayed for a quick breakfast; and then our school day was fairly unexciting. We worked the dinner shift after school; and skipped game night so that we could study and have a music practice at my house. We did most of that in a time phase; added in a bit of make-out time; and then I got started on my usual bedtime work and studies while Michael cuddled with me and played some video games until Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana got home from game night. Michael only stayed for a quick chat with them before heading home for the night; and I finished up my work in a time phase in the office while Mom did some of her own family business work and the twins did some studying for their college courses. Mom put an end to that work session at eleven-thirty; and we all came straight up to bed after that. I didn't stay for the full bedtime routine with Ethan and Ehlana; which is why I'm already in bed and will be sleeping by midnight if I wrap this up and get to the napping part of my day.

That is all of the news I have for today, and while I finished my work and studying heading into the weekend; there isn't anything booked so far for me to write a heads-up for either. Sure, we'll have the usual chores and I'll work at the Inn; but this is one of those rare open weekends where we don't have any major events or other activities set up ahead of time. That's probably a good thing for us, since life is really going to start getting busy in May and through to the end of the summer; so it would be nice to have a rest-up weekend!

I'll let you know how that goes, but I'm done for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Michael had the night off from the Inn, which was a bit of a surprise for us; but we didn't complain about the bonus time together.

We started the day with Tai Chi by the river; split up for breakfast and while Michael was busy with his weight training with Tim and the other guys; and then had a fairly entertaining day at school – though not due to anything particularly newsworthy. The fun was just boring everyday teen stuff – and sometimes that's all we need to have a good day. Having the rest of the day to play was good too; and we did that with Ethan, Ehlana, and some of our friends some of the time. After school, that was some biking and play time at the park that Tim, Rowen, Naomi, and Aiden joined us for; Mom only had four of us for the easy-meal barbeque dinner and sides that we ate in the sunroom; and then Michael and I played with the twins after dinner until nearly dark – and with some of the other kids and teens that were either at the park while we were there; or they stopped in for visits while we were in the back yard at home.

After coming inside for the night, we watched a movie in the lounge that Mom and Dad joined us for, and after my parents, brother, and sister left to go to bed early; Michael and I had some alone time that we used for a minor make-out session before he needed to head home and get some sleep ahead of his breakfast shift at the Inn. After biking and playing at the park, I decided to end my night with a soak in the Jacuzzi; and I'm writing this while still doing that. While the alone time with Michael tonight was a pretty great part of my day, the play time with the twins was really good too; and I'm glad that Dad's home again – and that we got to spend some time with him and Mom that wasn't while doing chores or just having regular meals together.

I guess that is about all I have for today, though, and I should get out of the tub and head off to bed soon so I'll be ready for another Saturday yard work and chores day; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

We've had a beautiful spring day that was perfect both for working outdoors and playing. I did a lot of both – working with Dad until we stopped for a late lunch; and then in the afternoon and evening with Ethan, Ehlana, and some friends and cousins. Michael joined us when he could during his breaks from the Inn and after he was finished for the day; and we wrapped up our night with a minor make-out session in the lounge after Ethan and Ehlana went to bed.

The work was mostly garden-related; though we did some work on the storage barn and by the river too. Once I was set free after lunch, I went to the park with Ethan and Ehlana; and we eventually met up with Naomi, Aiden, Zack, Brianna, and some other friends and relatives. Michael met up with us there and we played on until we decided to go to the Emporium for our afternoon snack break. We picked up ice cream treats and drinks; went to the falls; and had our snack there. When Michael needed to be back at the Inn, I took Ethan and Ehlana home; where we stayed outside to play; and eventually had dinner out there too when Mom and Dad opted for an easy-meal that included cold salads and barbeque chicken.

Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and the kids ended up coming over when they stopped in for a visit on the way home from their own afternoon play time; and decided to donate some food to the cause and have dinner with us. That was fun, and so was the post-dinner play time that I had with my sister, brother, and cousins that got me out of the clean-up work. The Carringtons headed home by around eight o'clock to get started on bath and bedtime routines; I brought the twins up to the lounge with me to watch a movie while waiting for Michael to come over; and then he caught the tail-end of that movie before Mom rounded up Ethan and Ehlana to get them into tubs for their own baths while Michael and I started a second movie that we didn't really bother watching.

He stayed until a bit after eleven o'clock, but was falling asleep by then after starting his day so early with the breakfast shift at the Inn; so I sent him home – despite the fact that we both really wanted to just stay together and have another sofa sleepover. I got ready for bed after seeing him out; and have been doing a bit of work in a time phase after seeing that some family business work needed to be taken care of while checking my email. It wasn't a lot to do, but the time phasing was so that I can still be sleeping before midnight.

I'll need to wrap this up without any literary side-trips to do that, and there isn't anything else to report from today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

It's been a very long day, and I've been wrapping it up with a time phase work session to get everything done by midnight; so this is going to be a micro update.

Tai Chi by the river was good; breakfast at Michael's was great; and we had a really good morning at church and Sunday school after that.

The service went a bit long, so we needed to hurry over to the Inn to get ready for the lunch rush; and it was all work and cameo moments of fun for the rest of the day through until I came home after the Inn was closed for the night. Yes, Michael and I did get breaks as usual, but we spent most of that time doing our weekend homework or eating our snacks or meals. We missed out on a beautiful weather day here, but Dad had to work in the office anyway; and Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana had a play day with about half the members of our family in between the group meals at lunch and dinner.

I missed out on that, but Jacob and Miranda needed my help today more than I needed to play.

Once I was home, I only did a short visit with Mom, Dad, and the twins; and then came straight up to my room to get to work – once I was cleaned up, changed, and in bed with Mandy and my computer. The work and studying went fine, and that covers the basics of my day; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, April 25, 2016

Happy 12th Birthday, Jessica!

Jessica's top gift today was a saxophone, and while music lessons weren't an actual gift from Michael and I; we are going to be doing lessons with her between now and at least next September because she wants to be able to join the marching band and go to Florida with us once she's in Grade Seven.

So much for my plan not to help out with the kids doing that, but Jessica is Michael's cousin; and we wouldn't have dreamed of turning her down.

Let's cover the parts of Jessica's birthday that Michael and I were involved in as we go along; but let's rewind and start the rest of this update from this morning.

Tai Chi was by the river, but it has been a cloudy and occasionally damp day. Michael exercised with us, but then he went home for breakfast and to get ready for school and his morning weight training. I had more time to get ready and eat; so I was early and met up with Rowen at her house before we walked to school. A usual, I don't have much to report from school. We had a project that was due and wrote a test; but we also spent the day indoors – except for a short walk for Michael and me at lunch that was rain-free; but a bit humid and we really only went out for the fresh air and a break from the noise level in the school.

Things were still weren't looking good for Jessica to have an outdoor party tonight when we were set free from school, but things started clearing up not long after that; and the decision was made to quickly set up in the back yard. Michael and I helped with that while Jessica hung out with her friends; we helped out with serving the dinner; and then with the clean-up. Jacob and Miranda took care of a lot of the food as part of their gift for their niece, but while we were all there with most of Jessica's family for dinner; her party was with her friends – and we vacated the premises once the clean-up was done.

Michael and I did our studying at my house after that; Mom did a short Magi lesson with both of us while we could actually do that early-enough to not get in the way of my family business work and studies; and then we had a music practice to get ready for all three of our band and praise team practices tomorrow. We took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night after that; and then Michael went home so that I could get to work – once I'd seen him out and gotten ready for bed too.

The studying and work has kept me busy for a while, but that's relative; since I've been in a time phase since getting started on that with my family business work.

I have everything done on my to-do list for tonight, though, and none of that work or studying will be interesting to you unless you have a thing for seriously boring project reports and endless accounting figures. I may be good at dealing with my part of the family business, but I don't usually get a lot of entertainment value out of it. I'd also rather be sleeping right now, and that is an option; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

It's been a wild day – and that's true just for the weather!

We've had rain, warm, sunshine, and storms roll through here today; and the timing was amazing. Tai Chi by the river was an option, but we got rained on while going to school. There was a break in the wet at lunchtime; and the sunny part of the day came during our marching band practice – allowing us to have that practice outdoors instead of in the gym. The thunderstorm started after we were at the church for our praise team practice; but we got wet on the walk home to Michael's house.

We did our homework there; had a chat with his parents; and then I did not successfully dodge the raindrops on the way home. By then, a hot soak in my Jacuzzi was in order, so I only had a micro visit with Mom, Dad, and the twins before coming up here to do that. I've also been time phasing the tub time and multi-tasking my work and studies. I'm a fairly wrinkled up prune now, but the work is done; and I'll be able to go to sleep as soon as I'm in bed and snuggling with Mandy for the night.

It's been fun, but I'm also exhausted; and ready to call it a night. I will mention that Grandma and Grandpa are ahead of their non-schedule travels and will be home tomorrow instead of later in the week or on the weekend. They either miss home a lot right now or are dodging bad weather anyway; but I'll be glad to have them home again – even if I have no idea how much time I'll get to spend with them. That's news that can wait for tomorrow, though, and it's past-time to get out of the tub; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Welcome home, Grandma and Grandpa!

That's the top story for our family today; so I guess that's it and I can call it a night! ;^)

Okay, not quite, but I do need to get to sleep soon thanks to a very long, busy day; and will try and keep this short.

It's been wet off and on today, but unlike the luck we had with band practice last night; that didn't work out for Tai Chi today. We were indoors for that; and it was still raining when we walked to school this morning. Our school day was fairly standard for a Wednesday; and then I went home with Jessica to do our first saxophone lesson while Michael was busy at the Inn with the dinner rush. First lessons on wind instruments can be scary, and this one was no exception, but Jessica did inherit the music talent from her family; she can read music; and did a great job tonight. There's no doubt that Michael and I can help her to be ready for a spot on the marching band by September; so the addition of some lessons to my schedule will be worth it.

After doing Jessica's lesson, I went home to find a family dinner cook-fest in progress. Mom had Grandma and Aunt Leanne helping with that, and Aunt Leanne left work early to lend a hand while Grandpa was put on kid-control and entertainment duty. That can be a full-time job with Zack these days; and today was one of those days. He was definitely fired up to see his grandparents again and was bouncing off the walls. I was drafted for the work crew so that Grandma could be traded to the kid-control crew; and that kept me busy through until we sat down for dinner after Dad and Uncle Adam got home from work. Grandpa provided most of the dinnertime entertainment with some travel stories, and while I was on kid control while we ate; I did get to spend a bit of time talking with Grandma and Aunt Leanne while doing that – and we all had fun with the stories. The post-dinner clean-up crew included fathers and teens, so I was busy with that for a while; and then it was time to get to work – even though I'd have rather spent the evening with my grandparents and the rest of our family.

Dad had work to do too, so we grabbed drinks and went into the office. I put up a time phase around the house so that even the play time could be extended; and then Dad and I both got to work. I did my homework first; moved on to the family business work; followed that up with language studies; and wrapped up with a final round of computer and email checks. Thanks to the time phase, my cousins and grandparents were worn out by then, so I was in on the goodbye hugs and kisses as they – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne – headed home. I was ready to call it a night by then too, so I came up to my room; got ready for bed; and have been snuggling with Mandy for as long as it's taken me to write this report.

I'm nearly ready to head into nap mode, but let's cover a few details from today that I wasn't involved with at all. First up – Mom did some work around Grandma and Grandpa's house this morning before they got home. She had Ethan and Ehlana spend the morning at KidZone with their friends so she could do that; and then did some shopping for the food she needed for our dinner tonight. She took Zack and Brianna home with her too when she picked up the twins; so she had all of them with her for the grandparent welcoming committee when they got back early this afternoon. Unloading the van apparently took a while after more than three months away from home; though they didn't try to unpack very much before heading over to our house to get started on the dinner prep work. That all added up to a very busy day for Mom, which is why she's happily soaking in her Jacuzzi while I'm writing this. Since she also has her wards up around the room, I'll guess she's getting help with that; but let's not take that train of thought any further.

I'm sure my thoughts of skipping game night tomorrow and bringing Michael home with me for some studying and make-out time just now is only a coincidence! ;^)

That is a nice thought to head off into dreamland with, though, and that's all of the news for today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Happy 14th Birthday, Emma!

Michael and I were there for part of her lunchtime party, but we did not go to her dinner and party at the farm because we helped out at the Inn with the dinner rush instead while Rebecca was doing that with Lucas. I'm sure she's had a fun day; though I won't hear the details until tomorrow morning – when her party is sure to be one of the top stories on the school grapevine.

Since I wasn't having a lot of birthday party kind of fun, my day has been a bit boring by comparison. My pre-school morning was uneventful; the bit of birthday fun we did have during our lunch break was about as entertaining as our day got thanks to some fairly dull thanks to the subject matter – not the teachers. Michael and I went straight to the Inn and worked through until the kitchen clean-up was finished; and then we went to my house for the best part of our day – some alone time while my parents, brother, and sister were at the Inn with most of my family and our usual gang of game night enthusiasts.

Yes, there was definitely some make-out time while we had the chance, but we did our homework; had a music practice; and I did about half of my work and studying too before my family got home again. A time phase was required to make that possible, but it was worth it; so I'll just be quiet and deal with the exhaustion without complaining. Michael stayed long enough for the update exchange, but then he went home; I helped with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then I came up to my room to finish my work while Mom and Dad went to do some work in the office. I used a time phase again for that – and this update, but while I'm out of steam now; I did get everything done ahead of the weekend. That included finishing up my studying for Dutch; so I'll be able to move on to the next language in the list on Sunday or Monday night.

My talent for languages, by the way, is fairly special even for Magi Masters; though we all can and usually do learn multiple languages. I can just learn them quite a bit faster; and can mimic the accents and dialects perfectly. I'm not writing that to brag – it's just a fact; like Mom's talent for computers, Ehlana's mind for science, or Ethan's extraordinary ability to read and process information.

I don't want to spend a lot of time on this update, since I am going to need to recover from too much time phasing today; so let's just wrap this up.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day because it's our first delivery day for the fruit and vegetable boxes. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I will be part of the work crew dealing with unloading the truck when it drops the boxes off; and then the distribution to follow. We also have a truck, driver, and helper to get the boxes for the Maple Valley students to their school so they can deliver their orders too, and while we're in charge of that this month; they'll take a turn every other month for doing that run. I'll need to do my personal deliveries after school tomorrow, and I'll likely do Michael's too, since he'll be at the Inn helping out there; but I'll let you know how that goes. I'm going to have a busy weekend after that with a major yard work day on Saturday because the new patio and driveway are now confirmed to be worked on next week; so we need to have everything ready for the crews to come in and get right to work. Sunday will include at least the dinner buffet shift for me at the Inn, and I'll have homework to get done too; but I'll also try to have some open time available to spend with Grandma and Grandpa between church and my shift at the Inn – unless they're too busy too.

That sounds like a bit too much work and not enough fun, but the fundraiser leads to an amazing trip to Florida; the yard work will be worth it for the new patio and driveway; and the work at the Inn is with four of the people I love most in the world so we'll have fun even with the hard work.

Those are some good reasons for getting rested up to be ready for the weekend, though, and I don't have anything else to add; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, April 29, 2016

My day has been as busy as I expected; which is why I'm exhausted – and why this is going to be a very short update.

The morning routine was fun with Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom that Michael stayed for before heading home to get ready and over to the school for his weight training. Our school day was short for some of us because we had a truckload of fruit and vegetable boxes to unload – and then start re-loading as orders were picked up by teens and parents. That work went well-enough, but the rain rolling into the area made the outdoors part of the job uncomfortable. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were all on the work crew from the time the truck arrived until the last boxes went out – or most of us were; since Michael needed to be at the Inn in time to help with the dinner rush.

That's why I didn't get started on delivering my own orders – and most of Michael's – until we were done at the school. Dad helped me with that; and it was closing in on seven o'clock by the time we were finished. Mom had delayed dinner so we could do that first; so we ate once we were home; I went to grab a shower after that because I really needed one; and then I've spent the last couple of hours watching a movie with Ethan and Ehlana. Michael worked to close, and is working the breakfast shift too; so he went home after work instead of stopping in for a visit. Ethan and Ehlana went to bed after our movie and cuddle time; and I was already pretty much ready for bed after my shower; so I've only had my bedtime computer and email checks to do before writing this update.

Going to sleep now is my top priority so I'll be ready for what might be a very wet yard work day, and that's all the news that really needs to be reported today; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, April 30, 2016

I'll be ending the month with a short update because I'm exhausted.

Let's hope that all of these April showers will bring a bit more sunshine in May – and the flowers too, of course! ;^)

The chores today were not fun to do in the rain, but the work had to be done; and we are ready for the work crews to come in on Monday and start installing the new patio and driveway. I won't bore you with the details. We worked our tails off; Dad and I were soaked most of the time from the rain; and we were covered in grime and mud more often than not. How messy were we? Mom had us eat our lunch in the storage barn so that we wouldn't mess up her clean house more than once – which we did at the end of the day when we finished our work and came inside to hit the showers and get cleaned up.

Note to me – do a better job protecting your hair for future work days like this one. It took forever to get my hair clean again – or would have if I hadn't cheated and used a bit of Magi power to get that done.

We had a late dinner, so by the time we had that clean-up finished; Michael had come over from the Inn. He worked the dinner rush, but didn't have to stay until close. By then, I didn't have much energy, so we opted to come up to the lounge and watch a couple of movies. Ethan and Ehlana joined us for the first one; went to bed after that; and then Michael and I didn't really watch the second movie while we had a moderately-hot make-out session. He went home at a bit after midnight, so we ended April the same way we started May – happy, smiling, and semi-clothed. ;^)

Michael was fully-dressed when he went home, but it wasn't long after that before I was getting changed and ready for bed. I've been doing my usual bedtime computing, but had a bit of family business work to deal with; so I wasn't able to just write this update and crash as planned. I did get all of that work done, though, and don't have anything else newsworthy to report; so going into nap mode now is an option.

It's funny that my latest night of the week has been due as much to my play time with Michael as the work, but that was worth losing a bit of sleep over; and we really do need to make more time for that sort of thing!

Maybe I should have skipped this and kept Michael here instead, but we didn't do that tonight, and it really is time to head into nap mode now; so, until next time...

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

Sunday, May 1, 2016

It's the first day of May, and I should do it justice with a nice, long journal update, but I don't have that in me tonight; so look for the double update tomorrow.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, May 2, 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday, Leah! Happy 15th Birthday, Diana!

I did promise a double update, so for those of you who immediately flipped the digital page in my archive journal; here it goes!

Sunday morning Tai Chi was by the river; breakfast was at Michael's and included what will be one of our last few video chats with Jake and Stephanie before they'll be home from Europe in a few weeks. Church and Sunday school were fun; lunch with the family at our house as a bigger welcome home event for Grandma and Grandpa was great; and so was the bit of afternoon play time with my sister, brother, and cousins. Michael and I needed to do our weekend homework on his afternoon break; and then I went back to the Inn with him to work the buffet shift to close. I missed out on the family buffet dinner that Grandpa needed to attend after months without being able to go to the buffets; but we were too busy for me to take the time off to join them. We were a bit late getting home; so I was late getting to my bedtime studies and family business work. I did get my new language started; and I will be learning Cantonese/Yue between now and when we start our summer holidays. I didn't use a time phase last night, which is why it was going on three o'clock by the time I got around to that statement of journal update deferral; and that, my Magi friends of the future, is why I was too tired to take the time to do anything else except close my eyes and go to sleep.

Yes, that's the condensed version of my Sunday; but I'm fairly tired tonight too; and need to keep this update short too.

First up for Monday is the ground-breaking in our back yard for the patio and sidewalks; and tearing up our old driveway to make way for the new one that started this morning. It wasn't a great day for that, since we had a bit of rain off and on for most of the workday; but it is supposed to be nicer out during the rest of the week; and a lot of the work today could be done from inside the bobcats, backhoes, and trucks that were used to handle all of the heavy lifting. All of that work was also very noisy, which is why I was glad to be at school; and why Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana decided to have a work and play day at the lab – at least until it was time for the twins to get ready for Leah's birthday dinner and party.

While there were some adult guests and volunteers too, Leah's party was for her cousins and friends this year, and while I could have gone to it too – and did stop in for a visit and so that Michael and I could drop off Leah's gift; we had Diana's party to attend too. Leah had fun, according to the post-party report I got from Ethan and Ehlana, so I'm glad that her special day has been a good one; and Michael and I had fun at Diana's party too.

This was her first birthday with Kris as her boyfriend, and since she's happy tonight too; I'd say that he managed to do well-enough with making sure that she had a happy birthday. I don't actually have any particularly interesting news from the party. It was fairly standard teen fun for around here; dinner was pizza and wings with some sides; and then we listened to music, the girls talked, and the guys played video games until around nine o'clock because it's a school night and we all had homework to still get done by morning.

I went home with Michael; we did that work; had a music practice to get ready for our hours of band and praise team fun after school tomorrow; and then we had a very, very minor make-out session before wrapping up my time there with a bedtime chat with Jacob, Miranda, and Rebecca. That was all fun, but it meant that I wasn't home until eleven-thirty. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were all still working or studying in the office, so I had a bedtime chat with them too; and then took care of getting my brother and sister tucked in for the night on my way up to bed while Mom and Dad finished their work.

It was past-midnight by the time I was ready for bed and to get started on my work and studying. That was four hours ago, but I had a lot to get done; and didn't have the energy to time phase to help out with that. The new language studying means doing some real-time chats anyway, and I can't do that in a time phase; but I am going to be tired when it's time to wake up again in a couple of hours. I did get everything on my to-do list finished, though; and I do not want to fall behind on my work or studying this week – or over the next couple of months now that we'll be adding in baseball practices and games to the mix too!

My first ball practice, by the way, is on Wednesday night. Michael and Tim will be having theirs' on Wednesday night too; so that will be baseball night in our house this season – and I actually like that a lot. Maybe we'll get lucky and have the game schedules match up again this year too; but we won't know about that for a few more weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Well, you now know what I'll be doing over the next couple of days – school, music practices, and baseball practice – along with everything else I have on the go. I also see a self-healing session or three in my future over the next three mornings – especially if I need twenty-two or twenty-three hours a day of awake time to keep up with everything.

Let's not make it twenty-three today just because I'm wandering off with my writing for this journal. I've had enough fun, and it's time to go into nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

We had a much nicer weather day – not too hot; but no rain and more sunshine than clouds.

Tai Chi was by the river; breakfast in the sunroom included some entertainment when the first guys arrived early to get started on the patio and driveway.

It's a good thing that Mom and I weren't walking around in our nighties! ;^)

The nice weather helped to make our school day more fun; and that included some outdoor time at lunch and for one of our classes. We kicked the fun up a few notches with band practice; that got even more entertaining as we moved on to our marching band practice; and some of our friends and fellow band members are discovering that marching and playing music at the same time is not so simple that you don't need to practice. We are coming along, and will be ready for the Memorial Day parade; but I'm also glad that we'll only have two corners to turn for that parade – and will have more time to work on that for the Fourth of July parade.

It's not that late, but I've needed to use a time phase to play catch-up tonight; so I'm going to skip over the band details and move this along.

That practice went well-enough despite the glitches that were mostly just funny and entertaining. We're starting to look and sound like a marching band; and I think that we're going to impress our families, friends, and neighbors four weeks from now. Impressing people won't be our goal for our Memorial Day weekend music with the teen praise team; but the messages usually go over better if the congregation isn't covering their ears; so we had a long practice at the church too once we were finished with the marching band practice. I was getting tired by then, but still needed to do my homework with Michael before even getting around to my family business and language studies work.

We did that at in the sunroom at my house so that we could talk with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana – and they told us all about the work that had been done in the yard and on the driveway – though we could see the progress when we got home too. The patio base is ready to go; and the interlocking bricks will start going in tomorrow. The driveway is going to be concrete slabs; and the wooden forms are finished; so the first truckloads of cement will be delivered tomorrow. There's still more prep work to be done for the interlocking brick sidewalk that will line the back wall and driveway side of the sunroom; but that's on the schedule for tomorrow; and there are different crews working on the concrete and bricklaying anyway. The job is on-target to be done by the end of the week; and there will likely be a family barbeque on Friday night if it is done by then.

Michael and I got our homework finished by eleven o'clock; we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; and then he went home while I came up to my room to get to work. I've already mentioned that I used a time phase to do that; and now I'm totally baked. There isn't anything exciting to write about from the bedtime work session. I will remind you that our baseball practices start tomorrow night; and that's going to make for a third busy day in a row for me – especially when I'll still be doing another saxophone lesson with Jessica after school and will need to get my homework finished after that. Add in the loss of my one chance to do my 'real' work and studying early; and it's going to be tough not to wear out before the weekend.

Getting some sleep right now is an option, though, and one that I'm ready to take; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

I am so tired!

Tai Chi by the river; breakfast in the sunroom; and the rest of my morning before going to school was completely normal and uneventful. Our mid-week school day was pretty good; and some outdoor time helped to make for a fun day; but I won't pretend in my journal that the Grade Ten work was at all exciting – even if I have to do that every day in those classes.

I went home with Jessica after school to do her next saxophone lesson, and while that was fun; the extra activity is compressing what I have time for between the end of my school day and the start of my after-dinner baseball practice. The two added activities on my schedule replace my part-time job work night too; which has a lot to do with why I'm running on empty as I write this – hours later than has been normal on Wednesday nights. After the music lesson; I came home and did my homework; helped with making dinner; had that meal with my family; and then we all headed for the park or school once the clean-up was finished.

My practice is at the school; Mom and Dad have theirs at the park; and Michael and Tim have their team practice at the park too. Rowen's on my team too, and that's awesome for us; but it's great to be back on the same team with some of our favorite older teens too – like Rebecca and Carolyn Landry. We have Coach Sarah again this season; and we'll see whether she'll take a break next year once Carolyn is at college. She might need to do that if she has to travel to see Carolyn play college sports – which Carolyn wants to do more than she wants to get a degree in anything while away at school. Our first practice went really well, and one thing that's different this season is that the youngest and oldest players are much more closely matched than in the twelve-to-fourteen division. Sure, there is still some height and body type differences; bet we are all at or near what our adult sizes will be; and reaching our peak teen athletic levels. For our players; that means that we're going to have a very good team and season.

I'm not looking into the future for that; it's just obvious that we've got a very talented group of girls on our team.

Since we didn't have to give up the diamond for another practice after our practice; we worked until near-dark. Michael and Tim were done earlier than we were, so they met up with us at the school diamond; and Michael walked me home while Rowen went home with Tim for a while. Michael and I had a chat with Mom and Dad; wandered around the back yard to check out the patio and driveway progress so far; and then went and sat on a bench by the river for a while as we wound down from baseball. I shouldn't have done that too, since it put my work and studying even further behind than it already was; but the quiet cuddle time was nice – and I did need the break.

I also really needed a bath by then too, so after Michael left; it was time for some multi-tasking that involved my Jacuzzi and computer. The tub time was mostly because Mandy and I don't like being around me if I'm dirty and smelly; but the soak in the tub felt pretty good doo after our first ball practice. I worked on my family business job while in the tub and for another two hours after that. The language studies followed that; and then I wrapped up with the bedtime computing and a final email check before getting to this update. I didn't have another long time phase in me tonight; so the work and studying took longer than I'd have liked; but it is all done and I'm keeping caught up.

Michael and I have another busy day ahead of us on Thursday, and that's going to be starting for me in just a couple of hours and change; so it's time to wrap this up and go into nap mode.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Happy 21st Birthday, Stephanie!

Happy 5th Birthday, Sophia!

This is going to be a micro update because I'm only home long-enough to pack a bag for camping. That's right; I'm camping tonight – with a small gang of mostly four and five-year old kids! I won't get my work and studying done, but couldn't say no to Sophia when she asked to camp instead of having her sleepover indoors thanks to the nice weather. I need to get back to the Bassett's temporary campground, though; so let's get this done!

Tai Chi by the river was great; and breakfast at the Inn was even better. That was our only involvement in Stephanie's birthday; and we did that with a video chat while having breakfast with both her family and Jake's. Jacob and Miranda had to juggle work while joining in for that; but they're pretty happy today as the countdown to when Jake and Stephanie will be home is being done in days for the parents – and possibly hours for one or two of them.

I have nothing major to report from school, so while we had a pretty good day; it was the after-school action that had the fun level kicking up a few notches again. Michael and I were assigned to help with Sophia's party instead of working the dinner shift at the Inn; so we headed there after school with Jessica and Ryan. Michael's aunt and grandmother put us right to work while others took care of the kid control for a while – and part of that work was setting up tents. That really was a last-minute decision – and it caused some issues with the kids because the guys hadn't originally been staying for the sleepover part of Sophia's party; but didn't want to miss out on the camping. That's why Michael and Ryan are taking care of the boys that are staying for the camping – including Ethan and Aiden. Jessica and I will take care of Sophia, Ehlana, Naomi, and the other girls; so we'll all be busy for the rest of the night.

Okay, I'm running out of time, so let's rush the rest of this.

Michael and I worked to set up the campground; get a campfire prepped; and helped with making dinner and getting it ready to serve in the back yard too. After that, we were on kid control to help get all of the kids fed and keep the dinner part of the party going. The gifts, cake and ice cream, and the rest of the usual birthday party action around dinner was a fairly wild event for the adults and teens trying to keep up with all of the kids, so while we had fun; it was really tiring too. I won't be getting any rest for a while yet, though, since we are about to get a campfire started and Michael and I are in charge of the entertainment; but I'll let you know how that – and the camping – goes with the next update.

We should be in for a very interesting night, and while camping will be fun, there will not be any teen tent swaps going on tonight; so the fun and excitement will definitely be kid-friendly! ;^)

Okay, that's it for now. Wish me belated luck, since this camp-out is happening long before you'll read this journal! It really is time for me to get back to the birthday and camping fun; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, May 6, 2016

Top news of the day at our house is that the patio, sidewalks, and driveway are finished. The driveway isn't quite ready for traffic yet; but that was part of the project plan; and it will be ready to use soon.

Backing up to last night and going from there; the campfire was lit and the kids were pretty much ready to party by the time I got back to the Bassett's back yard. Michael and I played and sang campfire songs and other requests; we told campfire stories; and we had Sophia and her friends ready to sleep by around eleven o'clock. The camping comedy highlight around the tents came when I temporarily 'lost' Naomi; and eventually 'found' her again – with Ethan in his sleeping bag. The girls thought that was hilarious and the guys razzed Ethan about it; but they all had fun. That did have me wishing I could have been in Michael's sleeping bag with him all night instead of with a small gang of giggling girls; though we had fun anyway – even if I didn't get a lot of sleep.

That's going to be the same again tonight because Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden talked me into another camping adventure at our house tonight; and that's why this update is early again too – because I have another campfire to get to once I'm done with this – and after I checked my email to make sure there wasn't any must-do family business work to get done first.

We did get to sleep eventually, and the play time wasn't as exhausting as working half the night or long bouts of time phasing; but our morning wake-up call was still early. Michael and I had four junior Tai Chi buddies for our workout; while Mom and Dad did their own thing at home. That was fun; but getting through breakfast with a gang of kids was tougher – especially when we had to get some of us ready for school too. Rebecca came over to help out with that – and join us for breakfast; but she hadn't been interested in the camping. Michael, Rebecca, Jessica, and I also made sure that all of the younger kids that needed to be at school got to their classes on time. The warm weather meant more outdoor play time at school today; including some football at lunch that Rowen and I joined in for because a couple of the guys needed to be reminded that girls can play sports too. That doesn't happen all that often anymore, and it isn't as if Rowen and I can run faster than Michael and Tim without showing off abilities normal girls don't have; but we are still as good or better than most of the guys.

The weather and outdoor fun pretty much covers the news from school; and my after-school fun included walking Michael to the Inn and then going home to help Mom with the barbeque dinner we hosted tonight for most of our family, some friends, and any of the guys and girls on the work crews that wanted to come to the dinner after a long week of work putting in the patio and driveway. Their families were all invited too; so Mom pretty much just set up a buffet and a bunch of tables so that people could grab food and eat whenever they wanted to do that from around five until Dad closed the grills at around seven o'clock. That was a long, drawn-out blast of fun and work for me because I was on the work crew the entire time instead of kid control. I did stop and have dinner with Rowen and Tim; and one of my jobs ended up being the tent set-ups for our camping adventure; but I mostly worked in the kitchen; hauled food out to the buffet tables; and washed dishes as the empty bowls and platters came back inside. My work was finished at eight o'clock; and then I was on kid control with Rowen, Tim, and Michael once he was set free from the Inn early instead of staying to close. Dad set up the campfire that's being lit as I write this; and we'll have some adult company for that – at least until some of the toddlers and babies need to be taken home and put to bed.

Michael and I will be doing some music, but Grandpa and some of the other men will take care of the stories tonight; and we'll only need to take a turn or two with the music; since Dad, Jacob, and Bill Bassett can take turns on the guitars too. Jacob, Miranda, and Bill aren't here yet, but I'm sure they'll stop in – especially since Sylvia's here with Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia; and both sets of parents will be having kid-free nights when they do go home. Okay, I'm not positive about that for Michael's parents, but since Lucas is here with his family; there's a very good chance that Rebecca will go home with him. They'd be welcome to stay and camp with us; but he already told me that he'd rather be at home so that he won't need to get up even earlier for working on the farm in the morning.

I need to wrap this up and get outside again. We didn't want to have a major camping event tonight, but Michael, Rowen, and Tim are all staying tonight too. Jessica invited Lindsay Faulkner to stay, and Sophia has Susan Connor camping with us too; mostly because that works better for her when she's hanging out with both Ehlana and Naomi. We didn't invite any of the younger cousins, brothers, or sisters this time; but we did need to promise to do that soon to avoid a major meltdown with some of those kids tonight.

The only other thing I want to add is a quick note about the weekend. We're going to be busy with an anniversary party on Saturday and Mother's Day on Sunday. I'm not working at the Inn tomorrow, but I will be helping out with all three buffets on Sunday. Add in the yard work and helping with the dinner, party, and babysitting tomorrow; and it's going to be non-stop busy from now until Monday morning – except for when I'm sleeping.

Most of our favorite collegians are cramming for exams this weekend instead, though, so compared to that; my weekend should be a blast!

It's all in how you look at it, and since I'm currently looking at a campfire that's starting without me; it's time to wrap this up and get back to the fun for the rest of the night. I'll let you know how the rest of my night goes with the next update, but that's it for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Happy 5th Anniversary, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne!

I'd love to do the full report today, but doubt I'll have time for that later; so I'll do a double update tomorrow.

The news that I can report so far is that we have another amazing weather day; and that's perfect for the anniversary party that Mom and Dad are hosting here – and having the finished patio is very convenient for that. I've pretty much been working around here all day since finishing breakfast, but I'm writing this while getting ready for the party – and my job as one of the babysitters for the night. Michael's working the dinner shift, so he'll miss the dinner – and the party until he gets here; but Rowen and Tim will be here to help with the kid control; and they're all staying for another night of camping.

That's going to make the younger cousins happy, since we hadn't originally planned to do that, but the weather is so great; the camping is better than having the gang of kids in the house – and the party will tire them out. Giving Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne a kid-free night is part of the reason for our overnight babysitting services, and the other parents that will be kid-free too appreciate our efforts; but it's also going to make things interesting in the morning when all of those Moms are going to be brought back here so that they can have a Mother's Day breakfast with their kids.

I can write about that tomorrow too, though, and need to finish up with getting ready and get back out there and switch from work mode to kid control duty. It's going to be a fun night, and all of the work today to get ready for the party and our third camping adventure in a row will be worth it; but I expect to be exhausted by the time Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I finally get to sleep tonight. That's something else I'll have to write about tomorrow night too, and while you can flip a digital page in my future to read all about that, I need to get out there and live it now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Happy Mother's Day to all of my favorite mothers – including those reading this in my future! ;^)

The weather was perfect this morning for our camping adventure, the Mother's Day breakfast, the rest of our morning at church, and any outdoor lunchtime adventures; but not so much from about mid-afternoon through to a few hours ago. I'll get to the Mother's Day part of my update soon, but before I go there; let's back up to the news from Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's anniversary dinner and go from there.

The social hour before the big dinner was already in full swing by the time I got back downstairs after getting cleaned up and ready for a play night with a small gang of kids. There were a lot of kids too; so Rowen, Tim, and I had our hands full as we played with them using the back half of the yard while the adults mostly stayed closer to the house where the roasting of the happy couple was already warming up. Dinner didn't start until after most of the stores closed in town for the day or rest of the weekend; so we had time for our games – and the kids had a blast. They were also hungry by the time they were queued up at the buffet table ahead of the adults so that we could get food and drinks for them with as little mess and fuss as possible.

I especially loved hanging out with the kids for dinner because I had custody of Brianna. She is, by the way, ten months old today; and it's hard to believe that her first birthday is now just two months away. My cousins don't get individual mention in my journal often-enough; but then I don't feel as though I get to spend enough time with them either. Since I do have the chance to do that right now, though; I'll mention that Brianna is extraordinary! Sure, there's no doubt that I'm biased – just as I am with Ethan and Ehlana; but that doesn't mean that I'm not wrong. All of the younger Magi kids in Witch Falls are now being trained to some extent with the programs that Mom is continuing to design based on what she did with me and through her archive research. That's going to help all of them; but that doesn't change the level of talent each Magi possesses. In Brianna's case; her potential really is incredible. She also has to play the part of a 'normal' baby in public, so we couldn't exactly sit and chat while we ate, but she has learned the same signals that Ethan and Ehlana, and most of our younger cousins, used as babies too; so we had fun with that – and she has a great little sense of humor!

Brianna also has the ability to make everyone she meets fall in love with her, and while we're fairly sure that isn't a previously-undiscovered Magi talent; it is entertaining to watch. She's a magnet for hugs and kisses; and if anyone walks away without a smile on their face after spending any time with her; I never see that happen. Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam have a very thorough archive for each of us kids, so that's a better place to go to study each of our abilities; but I'll wrap this little side trip up by mentioning that Brianna's one of the Magi pushing the high-end of the charts in nearly every Magi talent. Sure, there's a big leap from there to Magi Master, just as there is from latent potential to active use of Magi power; but it's also a huge difference between Brianna and the weakest Magi. It is going to be so much fun watching her grow up – and not just because there's a very good chance that she'll be a lot like Aunt Leanne while doing that! ;^)

Okay, moving along, I was out of the loop for the anniversary roasting, but I did spend a lot of time strolling down memory lane. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's wedding wasn't the actual end of the first year in Witch Falls for Mom and me, but it was a sort of ending and beginning for all of us. When you think about it, what happened in that first year was a miracle, and while I obviously have no doubt about God when I can communicate with Him on the higher plane; our story should show His hand at work to others.

Seriously – what are the odds that brother and sister Magi – and two very-eligible singles – would stay unattached as long as Dad and Aunt Leanne did; and then have everything change in just a year? That was extraordinary; and so was everything else that happened that first year. Okay, there was a lot of normal, everyday stuff going on then too, but since I hadn't really known normal until then; that's a perception that I didn't start to have until maybe two or three years ago. I still find miracles every day, though; and I hope that never changes!

Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were, I'm sure, thoroughly roasted, but that was still going on long after the kids were finished eating; and they needed to be entertained – once we had them cleaned up again. A trip to the park to burn off some energy seemed to be a good idea; so we rounded up some older kid and younger teen help for that; and headed for the park playground. That kept us busy until it was time to head home again for the campfire; and the kids were starting to tire out by then. That had been part of the plan, which is why I'm wondering who came up with the brilliant idea for having campfire treats that include marshmallows and chocolate. What's the point of wearing kids out and then fill them full of sugar so they'll get a second wind and be ready to party again once they've toasted their marshmallows and demolished their s'mores?"

That didn't happen for every kid we had camping with us last night, but it did happen with the kids that are scariest to deal with in that situation. Yes, for those of you reading this in my future who also know Zack; he is included in that group – and it's a bit scary when he's only two and a half years old. He's chosen a rather overt public image for himself, though; and he finds it very entertaining to try the patience of the adults around him – or in this case; the babysitters. He's still fine-tuning his act, so that doesn't always work out for him; but he does usually manage to walk the line between keeping people exasperated and amused without moving on to annoyed or fed up with him. That isn't a Magi talent either; but I personally prefer Brianna's lovability to Zack's precociousness.

It's so great that he'll always have to sleep in the boys' tents for our campouts – for me and the other girls! ;^)

Michael was able to meet up with us at the park for the tail-end of the play time there, and we got to cuddle with Brianna at the campfire for a while before we were recruited to take a turn leading the music. While a campfire might not be the most-entertaining anniversary activity ever for most people, it worked for us; and most of the parents were glad to wind down the day by spending that time with their kids instead of taking the party to Sheldon's or do something else. The music, stories, and family and friends time was amazing, but it had also been a long day, and some of the parents had kid-free nights to get home to; so the campfire began to wrap up at eleven o'clock.

It was time to get kids ready for bed and into their sleeping bags after that. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had help for that from some of the parents, and we had some older kids to help with tent supervision too; but we were still busy for more than an hour by the time we had every kid tucked in for the night. They weren't all asleep, though, so we also ended up sitting outside of the tents and supervising for nearly another hour before getting some sleep was an option. Rowen and I were in separate tents last night; and we each had junior babysitter support. I had Jessica with me for that; and we had Ehlana, Naomi, Sophia, and Brianna with us. Mom and Dad would have kept Brianna inside with them, but she wanted to camp with us; and I was okay with having her with me for a cuddle buddy.

I couldn't exactly sneak Michael in to do that with when we had a gang of kids with us, and while that would have been great; cuddling with Brianna was a pretty good next-best option.

Getting a lot of sleep didn't end up being on my schedule last night. Rowen and I had naps between runs to the house for middle-of-the-night washroom breaks and other minor emergencies that included younger kids that weren't as excited about camping in the darkness of night as they'd been when their parents had still been around and helping to get them tucked in. That wasn't a problem in my tent, but I helped out when Rowen, Michael, and Tim needed me – or we all worked together. That made the wake-up call for Tai Chi seem very early – and not just because it was earlier than normal.

We had a lot to do this morning, so Tai Chi with bonus exercise buddies was great, and helped to get us ready for the crazy that followed; but then it was non-stop action from then until, well, for the rest of the day for me!

All Moms that were invited to join us for breakfast were not allowed to work; so that meant that we not only needed to get ourselves and all of the kids ready; but our adult 'men folk' needed help with putting together a massive breakfast for a diverse group of eaters. Tables had been left set up on the patio for that, but they needed to be wiped down and readied too; and we had to do all of that without the benefit of any time phases. Since Rowen and I did have help from Jessica, Lindsay, and a few others, we were able to help out with the cooking and prep work too; though I should also mention that quite a few of the fathers brought food with them that was already cooked and ready to go – so we only needed to keep those dishes warm until we set everything out on the buffet tables.

That breakfast meal was an amazing, entertaining blast of fun – and also so crazy-busy that it was a blur that seemed to be over in minutes. Follow that up with the post-meal cleaning; and I barely had enough time to shower and get dressed before I needed to run for the church with Michael and some of the other kids and teens so that we could be there in time for the warm-ups some of us needed to get through ahead of the Mother's Day service. Our participation in the service is also why I didn't even have a break during the service to catch my breath. The fun continued as we sang and played with the teen praise team; Michael and I helped out with the younger kids too as they did their parts in the service; and then we also ended up helping out in Ethan and Ehlana's Sunday school class to help the kids finish up Mother's Day projects that they'd been working on for the past couple of Sundays. Most of the teens were helping out all morning too, so don't think that we were doing more than anyone else; but the fun was worth all of the busy – even if I'm exhausted now.

The church service didn't run long, but Michael and I still needed to hurry over to the Inn because Jacob and Miranda were having three Mother's Day buffets instead of two – with the first one at noon. Our busy was back into the realm of crazy-busy after that; and stayed that way for the rest of the day except for when we took our breaks. Oh wait – Michael and I had to fit our weekend homework into those breaks too; but I guess we were only busy then without the crazy!

All three buffets were among the busiest we've ever had at the Inn thanks to the extra seating between the new and old sections. Jacob and Miranda are slowly building up their staffing, and will continue to do that over the next year so they're ready when the full remodel is finished; but we were still pushed really hard to keep up today. The second buffet was at three o'clock, and the third at six. My family was at the last one so that Uncle Adam's parents could go to it too; but I didn't even go out of the kitchen to see them. By then, I was not fit for being seen in public; and we were too busy in the kitchen anyway. I know they had fun, since I got the report after I was home, and I wish I could have done that with them; but Jacob and Miranda needed me more.

They also needed everyone that could stay to be at the Inn until close because the final clean-up was massive too. That's why it was ten-thirty by the time I made it home again. Mom and Dad were still working in the office then, but the twins were in bed and sleeping; so I had a drink and snack while trading Mother's Day stories with my parents before heading up to bed. I stopped along the way for goodnight kisses with my sleeping brother and sister; and then it was time to do some multi-tasking. The soak in the Jacuzzi was a necessary part of that because I didn't even want to be around me by then; and the work and studying couldn't wait because I needed to play catch up on the work I didn't get done since Thursday while I was busy with birthday and anniversary parties; camping adventures, and everything else.

I used a time phase for as long as I could do that; and that got me through bath time and about half of the work; but then I had to work at normal Magi speed after that. It's taken too long to get caught up, but I'm there now, and have even managed not to totally short-change my archive journal in the process; so I'm happy about that – even if I'm not going to get much sleep tonight.

Before I wrap this up, though, let's add a short college update. Violet, Dillon, and most of my favorite collegians are writing final exams this week; with the great news there being that they'll be home from school for the summer this weekend – or sometime over the next week after that for some of them; depending on their plans. Violet and Dillon are going to Woodvale for the weekend before coming home to get started on summer jobs at the lab next week, and Jake and Stephanie will be in Europe for another week; so the homecoming won't actually be much of one for our family. I will be happy to see everyone else, though; and it is going to be great to have Violet back home with us again too.

There will be lots of chances to write about that over the next few weeks, and I'm running out of napping time before I'll need to get up and going again; so that's it for tonight. Having this much fun and work packed into just four days has made it feel a bit like we're heading toward summer, but we're not there yet, and we'll be back to normal school week life starting in a couple of hours; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, May 9, 2016

We've actually managed to have a day when we didn't have anything going on after school; so I took advantage of the opportunity and will be sleeping before eleven o'clock!

I'll need to rush this a bit to make that happen; but there isn't much to report anyway.

Our morning routine was fairly standard except Tai Chi was indoors due to wet ground and roving bands of rain and thunderstorms in the area today. The post-Mother's Day weekend gossip was fun, but the push is also on now to get ready for final exams in June; so we're finishing up the current batch of study modules; and exam review is beginning as we do that. We were indoors for lunch thanks to the wet weather; and the work in every class made for a fairly unexciting day. Michael and I had more fun after school; and I went home with him. We did our homework; had a music practice; and even had a bit of time for a minor make-out session before dinner. Jacob was exhausted from the busy weekend, so we went with a rare easy meal for one of their days off from the Inn; and the clean-up was easy too.

Now for the shocking part of my day – I went home after that; and got to work on my studies and family business jobs! I know, an evening just having fun with Michael would have been great; but I'm way overdue for some quality sleep time too. I worked in the office so that Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana could take advantage of the time phasing; and Mom took a turn at that too when she saw that I was getting tired out. We finished up by ten o'clock; I helped out with the bedtime routine for Ethan and Ehlana; and then got ready for bed as soon as I was in my room.

The only thing I've done since climbing into bed with Mandy before starting this update was one last email and computer check, and now that I've taken care of this; it's time to go into nap mode for the next seven hours or so. There's a very good chance that those hours of down time are going to be a highlight of my day, but the play time with Michael and dinner with his parents and sister were pretty good; so I'll let you know about that with the next report. Okay, that's definitely it for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Nora!

My only involvement in her birthday fun was at lunchtime when a little party was thrown for her for those of us who weren't going to her party after school. That was a fun, if short, blast of fun; though I'm also sure that getting her driver's license was the most-important event of her day. From what I saw at school and then at the marching band practice, Nora's had a good day; and I'm glad that she has enjoyed her sweet sixteenth.

I've also been too busy today to do much more than that when it comes to even thinking much about anything else that's going on around town – and it is fairly busy as the first big holiday weekend of the summer tourist season gets nearer every day. We're now down to just two practices left to go before the long weekend for both our first marching band debut and the holiday weekend Sunday service that the teen praise team will be leading; so our practices tonight were fairly intense.

We had a busy concert band practice too; though that was partly because we were getting ready for the marching band practice too – and not just with the music. The work for the fundraising and other jobs – like uniforms – needs to get done too, and since most of the marching band leaders are in the concert band; we can get some of that done during that practice – especially now that we don't have anything else to get ready for with the concert band through the end of the school year. Topping the to-do list tonight were updates for the fruit and vegetable boxes sales; plans for holiday weekend fundraising; and the uniforms. The first is keeping up with our goals, but we reminded everyone tonight that the deliveries this month are on the holiday weekend; and that it's a great time for extra sales both to our hometown family and friends looking for extra food to feed incoming guests and to make sales to those visiting guests to take home with them when they head home again.

Our holiday weekend fundraiser is going to be a snacks and drinks booth at the park. There isn't much fundraising allowed on the Memorial Day weekend – especially when the picnic in the park on Monday is free to everyone; but we are being allowed to do this, and if it works out okay for everyone without intruding on the holiday; the booth may be allowed to be used by other charity groups in the future. Finally, the first batch of uniforms is in; so we finished getting the individual orders ready to hand out tonight. We want to have at least one shirt in the hands of every band member by the end of practice next week; but we still have quite a few orders that need to be paid for first.

By the way – we do have a fund for students that can't afford the expense of the uniforms – including offering vouchers for the pants and shoes that we're responsible for picking up on our own if we don't already have black pants and dark-colored shoes. That's being funded through the family business; but only a couple of teachers know that.

Moving along, our marching band practice went pretty well, and we're where I expected we'd be with two practices left to go. The music is really coming together now, and we have fewer mess-ups with the marching; so I think that we'll be ready to go for the parade – if not quite ready to play the Super Bowl half-time show! Now that the work is starting to show some results, we're all having more fun too; and I can also report that the band members from Maple Valley are feeling a lot better about fitting in with everyone from our school too.

That practice went a bit long, so we got a late start to our praise team practice. We still had a full practice to do to get ready for the Memorial Day weekend service, though, so we were late getting finished at the church too. Cascade that along, and you get why it's so late as I'm writing this report. Michael came home with me; we did our homework; Mom did a Magi lesson with us when she had the chance for that; and then Michael and I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night. Taking time after that for a minor make-out session was both a great and bad idea, but doing that was a lot of fun; so I'm okay with the extra time I've needed to stay awake due to that diversion before Michael went home and I got to work on my studies and family business job.

Adding in those long hours of computing in 'normal' time; and it's been a very long day for me. It's also time to go into nap mode now, and I don't really have anything interesting to report from my work and studies anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

The changes in the weather today might be the most newsworthy event around here today. It's been weird too, since we were outdoors for Tai Chi by the river; then Rowen and I – and most other students – got rained on while walking to school as a thunderstorm rolled through and dumped a fair bit of rain on us. Then it was gone as quickly as it came; and we had sunshine for a while; followed by another round of thunderstorms in the afternoon that put on a good show; but didn't dump much rain. After that, it was clear skies again; which meant that baseball practices were on tonight. Some of the early practices were done on the grass while the diamonds dried; but we didn't have that problem for our practice.

We've had a pretty good day despite the rounds of bad weather. Our school day was fun, if uneventful; I did another saxophone practice with Jessica after school; got my homework done after that and before dinner; and then enjoyed the easy-meal dinner with Mom, Dad, and the twins before we needed to clean up and head for the park or school for our practices. Being back on a Carolyn Landry team is fairly intense compared to playing on Coach Claire's squad. I'm not suggesting that's in a good or bad way – just that it's different. While I like to win as much as anyone; Carolyn wants to win on a different level; and she seriously hates to lose. I almost feel sorry for the other teams this year! ;^)

Our second practice of the season was good, and Rowen and I managed to have fun even with the more serious nature of our practices. I won't say that for everyone, because Carolyn can be a force of nature while on the way to getting what she wants; but she is pushing all of us to get better – even those of us who need to hold back to play like 'normal' teens.

While I do like getting to play baseball with my friends, not getting to do my work and studying early on Wednesdays isn't so great. Dad's in the same boat with me, though, so I worked in the office tonight once I got home from spending a bit of time with Michael after our practices. We only sat out by the river at his house and talked for a half-hour or so, and he still had his homework to do after working the dinner shift ahead of his practice; so we kept that quiet little blast of fun short so that one of us still had a chance at an early bedtime.

That didn't happen for me; though I'm not up as late as I would have been if I hadn't used a time phase while working with Dad in the office. Mom didn't need to do that, so she took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana bathed and into bed; and then she enjoyed a soak in her Jacuzzi that conveniently ended at nearly the same time as Dad got his work done. I still had a lot more to do, but I came up to my room then so that I could get cleaned up from my ball practice too while multi-tasking some of my language studies. My soak in the Jacuzzi lasted a bit too long, but I felt better by the time I had my hair dry and crawled into bed with Mandy and my computer. The work wasn't done yet, but I didn't have enough in me to try another time phase; so I just kept plugging away at my to-do list for tonight until I had everything finished.

Now that I have this update pretty much finished too, it's time to get to the last item on my to-do list – getting some sleep! It's been fun, but I've had enough for today; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday, Beth-Ann White!

My involvement with her birthday was non-existent; but I'm noting her birthday because she is a pre-school friend of Leah's and Zack's; so I will eventually spend more time with her as they all grow up and start hanging out together. Both of my cousins went to her party today, and I'm sure they had fun; but haven't gotten the party report yet. Maybe I'll hear about it tomorrow – or you can check out their journals to see whether Aunt Deborah or Aunt Leanne wrote anything about the party for them.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom helped to get my day off to a great start; and we've had a really nice weather day too. That made the walks between home, school, and the Inn a lot better – and drier; and we had fun outside during our lunch break too. We had a bonus class outdoors this afternoon that kept the fun going; but then it was time for Michael and I to get to work for a while when we went to the Inn after school to help out with the dinner rush. Thanks to the weather, we had a small crowd for dinner; and we were finished the kitchen clean-up earlier than normal. We helped with the game night set-up too; but then I brought Michael home with me so that we could do our homework; have a music practice; and catch up on some way-overdue make-out time.

Okay, we didn't include that last part of the plan when advising the parents that we were skipping game night again, but I'm sure they're okay with a don't ask, don't tell policy for that! ;^)

Those couple of hours alone with Michael was the highlight of my day, but it did have to come to an end; and that happened when Mom and Dad got home with Ethan and Ehlana. Michael and I did the bedtime snack and chat with them; we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night while Mom and Dad got to work in the office; and then I saw Michael out and on his way home before coming up to my room again and getting ready for bed – and the hours of work and studying I still needed to get done. I didn't feel like doing any time phasing, so I worked at 'normal' Magi speed; and that's why it's taken me four hours and change to get everything done. I did get there, though, and I've cleared my computing to-do list for the weekend; so maybe I'll have some time here and there for some fun to go along with the regular chores and weekend work.

I'll let you know how that works out for me, but I've had enough fun for today; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, May 13, 2016

It's another Friday the 13th and nothing scary happened around here at all today!

In fact the only news I have for today is that Miranda was short-handed at the Inn tonight; so I volunteered to help out when I stopped in on the way home while walking that far with Michael. We both ended up working until close; I went home with Michael from there so we could have a bit of cuddle time to wind down; and then I came home from there because he's working the breakfast shift too and needed to get some sleep.

I'm not working at the Inn tomorrow, but I am doing chores with Mom and Dad around here; and I'm babysitting tomorrow night with help from Rowen after dinner so that the parents can go out for a birthday party; so I need to get some sleep too.

The only other news I have is from our favorite collegians. Most of them are finished exams; some are already back in town; and the others are either still in transit or starting their summer holidays elsewhere. Violet and Dillon are in or near Woodvale by now; so we won't see them until Monday sometime; and Josiah is with Christina and her family for the weekend too before they'll be here to start summer jobs. I'll do more updates for that over the next week or so; but don't want to do that tonight.

I've got nothing else exciting to report for the rest of my day. We had another one of those weird weather days with storms and sun taking turns, but since we were indoors most of the day; that didn't really get in the way of anything for me. I did miss out on some family time at home, but with the party tomorrow; they weren't doing a major dinner and a movie night this week.

It has been a decent day – just not very exciting. Going to sleep comparatively-early on a Friday night isn't exciting either, but I'm okay with a bit of boring in my life; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Happy 32nd Birthday, Uncle Mark!

Before I get to the news of the day, including the birthday dinner and party news; let's do a pregnancy update for Aunt Grace.

It doesn't seem as though Aunt Grace should be coming up on the end of her second trimester already, but she's there; and looks amazing! She doesn't think so most of the time, but she's wrong about that; and seriously needs to stop comparing her pregnancies to being the equivalent of twenty or thirty years of too much holiday weekend food all rolled up into one over-sized package!

Okay, that's funny, but her kids might not find the analogy very amusing when they're older. ;^)

That train of thought didn't exactly end up where I intended it to go. I wanted to mention that Aunt Grace and the baby are both doing just fine; though we are getting to see how tough it can be for a no-Magi mother to keep up with a Magi toddler and a pre-natal Magi baby. Thankfully, she has a lot of help for that. I'm not getting to be part of that help very often; but we do have Caleb here overnight as part of our babysitting service; so Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark get a kid-free night as part of his birthday fun. Well, they aren't technically kid-free, but pre-natal babysitting isn't an option even for Magi Masters; so Rowen and I did the best we could – and have been busy enough with the kids we do have here tonight.

Before I get to the babysitting report; let's go back to the start of the day and get to the rest of the news of the day.

It was comparatively chilly outside this morning, but we dressed warm and went outside for Tai Chi by the river anyway. Michael wasn't with us for that because he was already at the Inn by then; but he likes working the breakfast shift with his Dad – even though that also makes for a long day on Saturday by the time he's finished at night. I was busy this morning too. After exercising, we had breakfast; I helped with the clean-up; and then Dad and I got to work on the outdoor chores. With the holiday weekend coming up soon, that included some work to get canoes and bikes ready for incoming guests; and we're still working on the new gardens around the patio and sunroom. I won't say that much of that work was fun, because it was a bit cool for most of that work this morning too; but I did still enjoy working with Dad – and with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana when we did some of the gardening together later in the morning after they'd done a run to the garden center to pick up some flats of plants and flowers.

We worked until nearly one-thirty and then called it a day for the chores. I grabbed a shower before lunch; we ate in the sunroom, and then Michael and I took Ethan and Ehlana out to play while he was on his afternoon break. After he went back to the Inn, I went to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house with Mom and the twins to help out with the pre-dinner work there – and a bit of kid control when needed. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne had lots of help with getting ready for Uncle Mark's birthday dinner, so that was mostly fun for all of us. Dad had stayed at home to put in some extra work ahead of his week in the city; but he came over in time for most of the social hour that got the party started for the guest of honor; and kept everyone busy while waiting for stores to close in town so that the rest of the party guests could get there in time for dinner.

We were indoors for that, which is why I was in the kitchen with most of the kids for dinner while the adults were in the dining room. I missed out on the birthday roast, but the dining adventure with my brother, sister, cousins, and a few friends was both fun and time-consuming. Actually getting to eat too was a bit of a challenge, but I eventually managed to do that too; and that ended up being easy compared to the post-dessert clean-up of a bunch of toddlers. Zack, Caleb, and Sebastian were scariest, but Leah and Brianna managed to end up fairly messy too; and it might have been easier to hose them all down or dunk them in the river – two options that have been used before during the summer! We did strip them down as far as needed and cleaned faces, hair, hands, and anything else that needed to be washed before getting them dressed again; and then I took them outside with some grandparent support while the kitchen was cleaned – and I really mean that the kitchen was cleaned before anyone could get around to the dishes.

Rowen had dinner plans with Tim's family, but she came over not long after that, and we moved the kids over to my house for our night of babysitting while most of the adults moved on to Sheldon's Pub to continue Uncle Mark's birthday party there. We brought the kids up to the third floor; and kept them entertained with everything from hide and seek to music and video gaming. Michael and Tim joined us for a while after Michael was done at the Inn; and they kept the boys busy with the video gaming while Rowen and I played with the girls. In addition to Ethan, Ehlana, and all of our local 'kid' cousins, Naomi and Aiden are here for the night too; but we didn't get Hailey and Eli this time – or any other kids. The gang we do have is enough, though, and Rowen's already sleeping as I'm writing this because they pretty much tired us out by the time the last of them finally went to sleep.

Rowen and I have all of the girls up here on the third floor with us – including Ehlana and Naomi. They're all together in one guest room, and while Leah's in the same bed with Ehlana and Naomi; Brianna's in the crib we put in there earlier today when we set things up for tonight. I'm getting this update a bit jumbled by jumping around; but that says more about how tired I am than anything else.

The kids didn't start running out of steam until nearly eleven o'clock; and it was twelve-thirty by the time Michael and Tim managed to get Zack off to sleep – even though Ethan and Aiden had already gone to bed before midnight – when Ehlana and Naomi went to join Leah and Brianna in their room for the night. A bit of cuddle time for Michael and me – and Rowen and Tim – followed, but Rowen started dozing off almost immediately; and Tim and Michael decided to head home at a bit after one instead of waiting for my parents to get home from the pub. I walked Michael out to the front porch and we did our goodnight kisses there while Rowen and Tim stayed in the lounge to do that, and after watching Michael walk home; I puttered around in the kitchen until Tim was ready to leave too. Once he was gone, I came back up here; waited for Rowen to take her turn in the washroom getting ready for bed; and then did the same.

She was half-asleep by the time I climbed into bed with her – and with Mandy. She was asleep before I finished my email check; and I've mostly been dealing with a bit of family business work that came up and I had time to do anyway while waiting up for Mom and Dad. They're not back yet, but they were designated drivers; so I knew they'd be a bit later than normal.

They should be back soon, but I don't really have anything else to add to this update to drag it out while I wait for them; so let's just wrap this up and I'll find something else to do until they're home and it'll be safe for me to go into nap mode for a while. It's been a fun day even with all of the work and babysitting, and while there hasn't been enough teen time in my weekend so far – or alone time with Michael; I am glad that we had another chance to play with my cousins today. I might not get very many chances to do that between now and the end of the school year; so I really need to appreciate these moments when I get to have them.

I'm really going to appreciate getting some sleep soon too, and that might come sooner than later now that I'm sensing Mom getting closer to home now, so that's it for tonight; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, May 15, 2016

We had a chilly morning for Tai Chi, but Mom and Dad didn't skip it today because of the weather – they stayed inside to help Rowen with the younger kids while Michael and I went outside with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden to exercise by the river.

That was a fun start to our day, and then it was time to get busy. For me, that meant helping with getting all of the girls ready for the day and dressed up for church. Michael didn't stay this morning because he wanted to be home for the last video chat they'd be doing with Jake and Stephanie before they head home from Europe. I wish I could have been there for that too; but Mom and Dad needed my help more. Getting the kids fed was a challenge only because of the time limit; and then I was on the clean-up crew while Mom and Rowen took their turns to get ready for church. We manage d to get there with time to spare – even after reuniting most of the kids with their parents while on our way to church. The service and Sunday school were fun – and the Sunday school part was a nice break for Rowen and me after all of the kid-time last night and this morning.

Speaking of kid time; I should mention that I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Brianna decided to wake up and want to get changed; have a bottle; and then stay awake and let me cuddle with her while singing to try and get her back to sleep again – for about an hour and a half. Don't get me wrong – I loved every minute of that time with Brianna; but a bit more sleep would have been nice too!

Moving along, after church, I walked Michael to the Inn but didn't stay to help with the lunch rush this week. Mom and I took care of making lunch while Dad got to work in the office; he took a break to eat; and then I took care of the clean-up while Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana got ready to head over to the lab for some play time there. I went along, but only stayed long-enough for tours of Ehlana's lab and Ethan's archives; and then I headed home again so that I'd be there in time to hang out with Michael, Rowen, and Tim so that we could all do our homework while Michael was on his afternoon break.

We did that study session in the sunroom this time, and thanks to adding in a bit of exam studying to go along with the assignments; Michael and I pretty much needed to get to the Inn as soon as we were done to be there to help with the prep work for the first dinner buffet. The next few hours were a blur of busy, but we had enough staff this time to handle the customers thanks to some bonus collegians that didn't want to wait before getting started on their summer jobs. That worked out for me because I didn't need to stay until close, and while I missed out on the family dinner at the Inn ahead of Dad's trip to the city; I did get to go home with them when they were ready to leave again.

Spending some time with Michael after the Inn closed would have been nice, but I really wanted to get my work and studying done more; and I was also able to help Dad out by working in the office using a time phase so that we could both get our work finished as early as possible. We managed to do that by a bit after ten; I came up to my room after that; and we won't discuss what Mom and Dad have been doing since getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night. I'm writing this while having a soak in my Jacuzzi, but I was mostly just soaking and listening to some music videos on YouTube while winding down from a long, busy day. I'll be getting out of the tub soon and heading off to dreamland right after that, but before I do that; let's take a quick look at the week ahead.

First up, Violet and Dillon will be home sometime tomorrow. They may stop into Crystal Springs to try and have lunch with Dad or at least have a short visit with him; but they should be here in time for dinner. I'm not sure when they'll start working at the lab, but it'll likely be sometime this week; and they'll be living with us all summer except for visits to Woodvale or other time off trips. The senior class trip is this week too, so it'll be a bit quieter around school with a quarter of the high school students away. They've picked a trip to the east coast; and will spend their time in Georgia and Florida; with visiting historical sites the learning part of their trip to go along with the sun and fun on the Atlantic coast. Jake and Stephanie will be home on Saturday, and I'm sure you can imagine how excited their families are about that after not seeing them in person for nine months!

We should be in for a fairly amazing week, and having a night when I can get some extra sleep will help a lot with keeping up with everything I'll have on the go; so it's time to wrap this up, get out of the tub, and get ready to climb into bed with Mandy and head off to dreamland. It's been another good weekend, but the fun level is really going to start kicking up now as we speed toward the holiday weekend; and it does already feel as though things are speeding up as we all get busier.

Maybe I should try some slow-down time phases! ;^)

That might be fun to try, but wouldn't be practical for anything I need; so we'll leave that sort of Magi play time for practice and experimenting. The potential for extending my life might be of interest to me in a few decades, but isn't high on my list at fifteen; and I'm more interested in some nap time over pretty much anything else right now.

It would be tough to explain why I didn't move much for a week or two at a time anyway – not to mention that if I really wanted to do that; I'd pick missing most of the winter over doing that during the summer! ;^)

Okay, now I'm just rambling on, and don't have anything else to add; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, May 16, 2016

Welcome home, Violet and Dillon!

It's late, and I've had a really, really long day, but have a lot to cover today; so let's get to it – from the beginning.

Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were up early to see Dad off to the city this morning. For me, that was a fairly short visit because I really wanted to get as much sleep as I could too. Napping with Ehlana for my cuddle buddy while Mom had Ethan to cuddle with while we were all in her bed after Dad left was fun too; though not long-enough before it was time to get up and going for the day. Tai Chi without Dad wasn't as much fun – and that was also because we needed to be indoors for that workout thanks to a rainy weather day. Michael came over for that, but had breakfast at home ahead of his weight training at school.

The rain made the walk to school a bit damp for us, but we had a pretty good day in our classes, with the only news being the senior class trip – with news trickling in to younger siblings and friends from the Grade Twelve students while they were in-transit to Georgia. It really did seem quieter at school without a quarter of our high school students here, but I'm sure that was just perception; since it was probably louder while we were all stuck indoors all day. Other than that, there isn't anything exciting to report from my school day; and the fun kicked up a handful of notches once we were set free.

Violet and Dillon were back home by the time Michael and I got there, but we stopped in at Michael's house on the way there; so let's cover the news from his home first. His parents – and the Wingboroughs – have been setting up a little surprise for when Jake and Stephanie get home; and they started getting that set up today – a make-over of one of the third-floor bedrooms so that Jake and Stephanie can have a bit of privacy while living there this summer. It seems that they collectively decided that was a better option instead of having Jake and Stephanie rent an apartment for three months when they still have a year of college to pay for too; but the new room will be a surprise for Jake and Stephanie.

Maybe we should have thought about doing that for Violet and Dillon at our house, but I don't think that is such a great idea if it would also mean having me give up my room and move to the second floor for the next couple of summers until they're finished school too.

I am glad that they're home, though, and Michael and I had fun with them – and with everyone else – right from the moment we got to my house. Mom had set up a family dinner, and that included Dillon's family; so Isabelle and Andrew had come over early to help her out with the work – and to spend the extra time with Violet and Dillon once they were back in town too. They'd left Woodvale this morning, but did manage to set up a lunch with Dad in Crystal Springs; and then they did a bit of shopping and picked up a fast food fix for Aunt Leanne on their way out of the city before coming here. By the time we got home, the main conversation topic was Isabelle and Andrew's wedding. I've been completely out of the loop for that, but Violet and Dillon are in their wedding party, and since the wedding is two weeks from Saturday; they have a lot to get done between now and then.

It's funny how such important events in the lives of people that are close to me can happen while I'm busy with my own life, but other than going to the ceremony; Michael and I will have almost no involvement with Isabelle and Andrew's special day. We won't even be going to the reception because we'll be helping out at the Inn instead while other teens need the time off instead. That isn't the case for Violet and Dillon, and they'll be juggling wedding-related activities around their work and the holiday weekend family fun too. While I'm thinking about Isabelle and Andrew, I'll also mention that they've graduated with their Master's degrees now. Isabelle will start teaching at the school in September; and Andrew is going to run the tech center at the med center.

By the way, I always seem to refer to that building as the med center, but it's actually called the Witch Falls Professional Offices and Medical Center; and Andrew's tech center will take care of the computer systems and equipment needs for all of the current and future occupants – as well as helping out with the lab systems too; though Mom will still take care of the software and security systems for the lab – and where needed for the med center too. Mom – and Owen Emerson – are going to be glad to have the full-time help there now, and while that will mean a bit less business for Emerson Computers; they will still get all of the business for the hardware and supplies purchases for the med center and lab – and we can always send more business their way through the family business.

Dillon's parents came over after his Dad was finished work; Grandma and Grandpa were here by then; and Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Zack, and Brianna were last – getting here shortly after the med center closed for the day. Dinner was an adventure, though I spent as much time taking care of Zack and Brianna as I did with Violet and Dillon. The food was great, and we had fun; but that hour or so we got to spend together was also too short before it was time to move on. For Michael and I, that meant helping with the clean-up; and then we needed to get started on our homework and a music practice to get ready for our classes – and our bands and praise team practices on Tuesday. We also had Ethan, Ehlana, Zack, and Brianna with us for most of that time in the lounge and my room while the parents and grandparents had a nice visit with Violet, Dillon, Isabelle, and Andrew.

While I missed out on that, I did get to hear all about Rebekkah Burroughs' third birthday party from Zack's perspective.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Rebekkah!

Zack, Leah, and Caleb were among the kids invited to Rebekkah's party, and thanks to the rainy day; they had that party in the fellowship hall at the church so that the kids could still run around and play the games that had been planned. I'm sure that Zack had fun despite his claims otherwise, but his perspective on the party through the lens of the public image he's trying to create for himself was entertaining; and it's going to be fun watching him grow up with a persona that's more than a bit on the Neanderthal side of human. He's already a junior version on Chris and Martin from back when I first met them; so maybe it isn't totally an act and he inherited some throw-back family gene. ;^)

Taking another little side-trip while I'm thinking about them; Dawn sent me an email tonight to let me know that Chris is buying a car that he's going to need for his summer job this year. He won't be picking it up for another day or two, but Dawn sent pictures; and it's a decent-looking 2012 Honda that's sure to get decent gas mileage for him – which he'll need because he's going to be working for Uncle Blaine this summer. I'm sure that he'll enjoy having a car to take back with him to school in August a bonus too; and that works out for Martin too because he won't need to share their car this summer – or not have one whenever Chris needed a car.

I'll need to deal with that sort of thing in a couple of years when it's my turn to head for college, but I already know what I want to do for that; and will be ready to deal with that – and everything else that will go along with going away to college. Tonight isn't the time for writing about that – especially when it's so late; so let's get back to the rest of the update.

Michael and I had fun with the kids while doing our studying and having our practice; though I wish we could have spent that time with Violet and Dillon too. Zack and Brianna were taken home at nine when all of our guests headed out; but Michael and I still had more music to practice before we were ready to have another short visit with Violet and Dillon – and a bedtime chat and snack with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana. That was fun too, but then Michael needed to head home so that I could get busy with all of the bedtime computing work and studying I needed to get done tonight.

I started working on that three and a half hours ago, with just one short freak for a bedtime chat with Violet while she was waiting for Dillon to take his turn in the washroom while they were getting ready for bed. That isn't the same as it was when we were younger and Violet first started to come home for longer visits to train with Mom, but we did still have fun; and I'm glad that we can do that again – even if we won't get the chance to do that every night if last summer is any indication. It's a bit weird having Violet and Dillon next door again after they've now been living together for the past school year, but I prefer that to having them switch back and forth between houses; and it would just be silly to expect them to be separated for the next three months and just do a lot of sleepovers instead.

The precedence for Michael and me will be helpful in a few years too! ;^)

Now that's actually a fun thought to head off to dreamland with; so let's wrap this up. I don't have anything important to write about from my work and studies; though I did get a lot of work finished tonight. I can report that Violet and Dillon will likely both start their summer jobs on Wednesday; though they'll confirm that when they stop in at the lab tomorrow. Violet will continue to work for Mom and the family business too just as she does during the school year, but her work at the lab will continue to be important as she works with Aunt Grace – and helps her out while she's going through the last trimester of her pregnancy. I'm sure that Violet will help a lot with getting everything ready for the time off that Aunt Grace will need after the baby's born. Ehlana's happy to have Dillon home to help out in the lab; and she'll likely spend more time in there working with him.

Okay, I'm about ready to drop. It's fun, but I have some sleepover dreams to get to that will have Michael involved in a starring role, and that's going to be more fun than typing on my computer; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

It's been cloudy and cooler today, but the rain ended overnight; and it was nice-enough outside for us to once again have our marching band practice outside today. We've lucked out with that so far this year; though we do have the option of practicing in the gym if needed.

I don't have much to write about from my own adventures today; though I've been going non-stop pretty much since I woke up this morning. Whether that was with Tai Chi and the rest of my usual morning routine, our classes at school, two band practices, the teen praise team practice, or everything I've done since then; it's been a lot of busy and nearly as much fun. For this morning, having breakfast with Violet and Dillon was the highlight. I can't say that there was anything happen during our classes to make any highlight reel, but we still had a good day; and the extra work and exam review we're getting into now is really important for most of my classmates as we all get ready for the final exams in June.

Our first band practice was another mix of music and some prep work for the marching band practice. For part two of that, one of the bigger jobs today was getting the order ready for the fruit and vegetable boxes. We'll continue to fine-tune how we're doing that each month, but for this time around, today was the cut-off for ordering the boxes; and we've got until next Tuesday to have all of the money collected and handed in. We also have everything set up for the holiday weekend fundraising booth we're going to be running at the park on the holiday weekend. For our end of that, it was getting the student volunteer schedule set up for every day from Friday evening through Monday afternoon. I'll be one of those volunteers, and have to juggle that around helping out at the Inn; so it's going to be a busy holiday weekend for me without any family and friends time added in at all.

Getting back to the bands report, our marching band practice was pretty good. We have just one practice left before the Memorial Day parade, and my modest opinion is that we're ready for it now. As I've mentioned, that's not the same as being ready for the big times – like a Disney parade; but we'll get to that level in time too. The marching band practices are getting to be more fun now that we don't have the steep learning-curve issues; and Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are having fun making new friends with some of the Maple Valley teens.

Michael and I also had fun with our praise team practice, and we're pretty much ready for the holiday weekend service for that too; but I was also getting tired by then – and we hadn't even gotten around to our homework yet let alone my family business work and language studies. When we finished at the church, I went home with Michael, and before we got started on our homework; we were taken on a tour of Jake and Stephanie's 'new' room. They're going to be in one of the river view rooms on the third floor, and in addition to a nice new mattress and box spring to go along with the antique bed that was already in the room; the room has been re-decorated; cleaned-up; and looks nice-enough to be one of the guest rooms at the Inn. The third-floor bathroom has been freshened up too; but not with a major re-model or new fixtures. It will work for Jake and Stephanie, though; and I'm sure they'll love the surprise.

It was homework time after that, and Miranda also fed us some dinner leftovers while we worked after deciding that our snacks between practices weren't enough to keep us going until breakfast. I was okay with that, since I was hungry, but for the record; we didn't have gourmet meal leftovers. They'd gone with an easy-meal night so that they could keep working on the third floor. It was eleven-thirty by the time I got home from Michael's, so Ethan and Ehlana were already in bed by then; and Mom, Violet, and Dillon were hanging out in the office but getting packed up and ready to head for bed too. While I was busy, they'd had a pretty good day that included a visit to the lab; some family and friends time around town; a barbeque dinner; and a play evening until they moved into the office to do some work or play computing. Violet and Dillon will be starting their summer jobs at the lab tomorrow; and they'll be busy with wedding-related appointments and other fun pretty much every day from now until the wedding – except for during the holiday weekend.

I had a short visit with them that included getting their news of the day; and then we all came up to our rooms. Violet and I had another little chat after we were both ready for bed and Dillon was taking his turn in the washroom; but then it was time for me to get to work after that while they went to bed – and eventually to sleep.

No other details are wanted or needed on that for me; so let's move on so I can wrap this up and get some sleep too.

I didn't have the energy for another round of time phasing, so I worked at normal Magi speed tonight. There was a lot to do, so it's taken a while to get everything finished, but I did get all of the work and studying done; so I've managed to keep up with the work for the first two of my busiest weekdays. Now I just need to get through tomorrow; and maybe I'll manage to have an early night on Thursday – if Michael and I skip game night again this week. We'll see whether that works out or not, but I only have time for a nap now; so it's way-past time for me to get started on that bit of sleep while I still can.

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

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

I've hit the wall; so this is going to be a micro-update.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom with Michael staying to have a visit with Violet and Dillon was great. Our school day was fairly quiet and busy with the extra work as we continue to get ready for exams and wrap up the last round of learning modules. I did a saxophone lesson with Jessica after school at her house; came home and did my homework; helped out with making dinner and the clean-up; and had a nice 'how was your day' kind of chat with Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, Violet, and Dillon that was mostly about the time at the lab parts of the day for all of them.

Baseball practice was up next for Mom and me; Ethan and Ehlana went to the park with Mom; and Violet and Dillon had to get to a wedding meeting and work session that kept them busy for the rest of the evening. The baseball practice was fun; Rowen and I met up with Michael and Tim after our practices for a bit of hang-out time at Michael's house; and then I came home at ten-thirty to get ready for bed with some Jacuzzi time and start in on my family business work. I didn't use a time phase, so after having a nice, long soak in the tub; I still had lots of work and studying to get done. I had one other short break for a goodnight visit from Violet and Dillon when they were on their way to their room; and then I worked through until getting everything but this update finished by a bit after three.

I took a quick break then, and did one last email check, but that's all I have for today, and I really am totally wiped out now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, May 19, 2016

My Thursday wasn't much different from a week ago. Our school day was more of the same as we wind down the school year; Michael and I worked the dinner shift at the Inn; and then we headed over to my house after that for another Thursday evening of studying, music, and a bit of make-out time once the work and practices were done.

The only real change from a week ago is that I kicked my family business work and language studying into high gear after Michael went home by working in a time phase. That allowed me to get everything done by a bit after midnight; and then I ended up taking a bit of a break before getting to this while having a bedtime chat with Violet after she and Dillon got home from their latest evening of wedding preparations with his family and the other members of Isabelle and Andrew's wedding party. They're having fun with that; but they're also feeling a bit worn out after all of the work that went into their final exams and now jumping right into both their summer jobs and the wedding activities.

I can relate to being tired – even if it's for different reasons. Getting a bit more sleep tonight is an option, though, and that's all of the news I have for today anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, May 20, 2016

We had an uneventful morning; a good day at school; and then Michael and I worked the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn so that he can have time off tomorrow to visit with Jake and Stephanie after they get home. Michael's still going to work the breakfast and lunch shifts; but then we'll be able to spend the evening with his brother and sister-in-law. We'll be sharing them with the rest of their families, and I don't even know how they're going to work that out other than that there's going to be a family dinner at the Inn; but I'll have those details in the next report.

For tonight, we had a busy shift at the Inn; I went home with Michael and we sat out by the river while winding down with drinks, snacks, and some quiet cuddle time. While I was busy, our house was party central for the rest of my family – a holiday weekend pre-cooking party that included dinner and some play time for the kids while the parents were busy. The grandparents took care of kid control since I couldn't be there to help out, and from what I heard while trading bedtime stories with Mom and Dad after I got home; the grandparents were more tired out than the grandkids by the time they all went home for the night.

Dad missed out on a lot of that before he got home from the city, but Violet and Dillon missed all of it while they were busy with more wedding work. They're looking forward to having their best friends home again too; but I'm not sure how much time they'll get to spend together between now and Isabelle and Andrew's wedding. Add in the extra work that Jake and Stephanie will be putting in at the Inn on the holiday weekend; and the four of them might think that they spent more time together while Jake and Stephanie were in Europe – unless they keep up with the video chats they've done together over the past year too. ;^)

I'll get to spend more time with Jake and Stephanie by spending more time at the Inn; which is a bit funny when that won't be true for Violet and Dillon despite the fact that they're living in the room next to mine. Ehlana will spend lots of time with Dillon, though; and she's already started doing that this week. She's been at the lab at least a half-day for the past three days; and I'm sure she'll be doing that sort of thing from now until Violet and Dillon head back to college in August. Ethan will be happy to spend time in the archives while Ehlana's playing in the lab; but his work won't really get started there until all of the archives around the world have been brought here – and that project won't be completed for another couple of years.

It was a bit after eleven by the time I got home, and it was only that early because Michael needs to get some sleep ahead of his breakfast shift. Ethan and Ehlana were already in bed by then, but Mom and Dad were in the sunroom and winding down from their long day; so we had our bedtime chat there before we all came up to bed. Violet and Dillon are still out as I'm writing this, but I'm not planning on waiting up for them just to have a little chat with Violet too. We can do that in the morning, and while I'm not working at the Inn; I do have a long yard work day to look forward to so we'll have the house and yard ready for the long weekend. That doesn't sound very exciting, but the reunion with Jake and Stephanie is going to be the best part of the day tomorrow anyway; and I really need to help Mom and Dad tomorrow after not being much help from Mom this week while Dad's been away.

Okay, that's it for now, and I'm past-ready for some quality nap time; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Welcome home, Jake and Stephanie!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kendra Byrd!

I'm sure that you can guess why those opening salutations are in that order for me, but Kendra's birthday is noteworthy for future reference, and this year; I want to make special note because Zack and Leah were both invited to her party – along with quite a few of the other kids that will be future classmates with Kendra – and starting school together the same year that I'll be heading off to college with my friends. While I didn't have any involvement in Kendra's special day, the weather was great for an outdoor party; so that party has likely been the place to be for all kids their age – and everyone else in Kendra's family.

Compared to that, spending a bit more than half of my day doing yard chores with Dad – and with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana some of the time too – hasn't been very exciting; but we did have fun together even with all of the work. The yard looks great too; and all I'll have left to do ahead of the long weekend is another round of lawn mowing that I'll likely do next Thursday instead of working at the Inn. We worked until nearly two o'clock to make sure we got everything done; had a quick lunch outside so that we didn't mess up Mom's clean house; and then it was time for me to hit the shower and get ready for a fun rest of the day with Michael and his family. He was finished at the Inn for the day by then too, and came over here shortly before I was finished; so Ethan and Ehlana kept him entertained until I was ready to go. We had time to spare because Jake and Stephanie weren't quite back to town yet, but it wasn't much longer until they did get here; and we were sitting on the front porch of Michael's house when Stephanie's father pulled into the driveway – and the crazy welcome home adventure began!

The round of hugs and kisses didn't actually last very long because Jake and Stephanie had orders to get over to the furniture store and the Inn to reunite with the rest of their parents; but Michael and I did get to help out with their luggage – and show them to their new room for the first time. Stephanie's Dad was officially in charge of springing that surprise on them; and I'm happy to report that Jake and Stephanie both really loved the room – and finding out that they're going to have a bit more privacy than they expected over the next three months. Michael and I stayed behind when everyone else left for ValleyView Furniture. We didn't want to be in the way for that reunion, so we ended up wandering around town for a while after leaving Michael's house. Since dinner was at the Inn, we went there in time to be part of the welcoming committee for everyone that had been invited; and we were using one of the new dining rooms – the one at the back of the Inn with the river view windows. Having that as an option now is really great; and it also allowed us to have a bit of a social hour before dinner while we waited for the store-owner guests to close up shop for the weekend.

Jacob and Miranda couldn't take the time off from work, but they did take turns spending time in the dining room when they could do that so they could spend a bit of time with Jake and Stephanie too. Michael and I weren't exactly on kid control during dinner, but we did hang out with his younger cousins; and Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia were all very happy to have us sitting with them for dinner – along with Rebecca and Lucas. Rebecca helped out with the dinner rush first before joining us – including delivering the orders to everyone in our group; but then she was done for the night. Okay, that didn't keep us – and Michael – from helping out when it came time to clearing the tables between dinner and dessert and then after Jake and Stephanie headed on to her house for the rest of the welcome home party, but that didn't take too long; and then we headed over to the Wingborough's house too.

Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor had been in charge of getting that party ready while Stuart and Samantha had both been busy either working or doing the airport run, but they had friends and family support for that; and most of the treats were of the Olde Bakery variety. More friends were invited to the evening fun, and while Violet and Dillon were multi-tasking while busy with more wedding-related fun that was at Sheldon's Pub this time; they stopped in for a visit with their best friends too – as did most of their local friends. Add in neighbors and friends of the family; and it was quite the little party!

Michael and I were definitely on kid control while we were there; and that meant keeping the younger kids entertained and mostly out of the way while Jake and Stephanie were busy getting toasted and roasted. It's funny that I haven't really thought about this being the first time they've been home since their wedding; but that was mentioned a lot this evening; and the changes in the happy couple are fairly dramatic. They are still the same people we know and love, though; and I'm seriously looking forward to finding out some of the things Jake's learned under the tutelage of some of the great chefs of Europe!

The party at the Wingborough's house didn't start wrapping up until around midnight, but Michael and I were drafted to take Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia home at eleven o'clock; and we stayed with them until their parents got home at twelve-thirty. That got us out of helping with the party clean-up; and we were back at his house in time to welcome his family home and have a short visit with everyone; but then I came home after that – even though I was tempted to stay there and have a sofa sleepover with Michael. We mostly decided not to do that so that Jake and Stephanie didn't have a house full of company for their first night at home; which is why Lucas went home too – even though he'll be back here for breakfast in the morning.

I'll be at Michael's house for that breakfast too, and it isn't that many hours before I'll need to get up again and ready for Tai Chi by the river, but I had a bit of work to get done that came up in my email; and I decided to get that out of the way instead of saving it for tomorrow night. Since I'm going to work a full shift at the Inn tomorrow too, it's going to be a long day, and the extra sleep would have helped with that; but I'm glad that I won't have the extra hour or so of work to do after working in the kitchen all afternoon and evening.

It's really great to have Jake and Stephanie home, and I've had a lot of fun today, but it's time to get to sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, May 22, 2016

The lede for this update is a bit weird for me; but apparently should have been part of my report yesterday.

According to Rowen, and quite a few of the other girls – and women – around town; I should have mentioned that Jake is even hotter now than he was when he and Stephanie left for Europe last August. Okay, it's probably more-fair to report that every girl and woman in town with a pulse has that opinion of Jake, including me, but I am over my little-girl crush on him now; so my perception is different. I also found that sort of attention for Jake fairly amusing – especially when the girls didn't seem nearly as interested in noticing that Stephanie is equally changed – and looked especially beautiful in a trendy, favorite sundress that she brought home from Europe.

Abby might need to do a bit of shopping with her suppliers to offer some of the clothing styles that Stephanie has in her new wardrobe, and if she does that; I'll be happy to pick out some new outfits! ;^)

While my girlfriends wanted to talk about Jake's hotness; the boys did not do the same for Stephanie – or at least they had the good sense not to do that while their girlfriends were around. That seems incredibly unfair for them, but it's a fact of life; and they're used to the double standard. Jake and Stephanie were among the most-wanted collegians to visit with at church because they'd been away for so long, but Violet and Dillon were popular too; and so were the rest of the students that had returned to town over the past week – including Josiah and Christina. They got home earlier in the week, and were at the party last night at the Wingborough's house; but I haven't mentioned them before now because I haven't spent any time with them yet. I should mention that Christina is staying with Josiah at his house this summer, and while that isn't a trend with the non-married couples their age; I am okay with the precedence my favorite collegians are setting for Michael and me – especially when we're only a couple of years away from heading off to college too.

I've started this report closer to the middle of the news for today than the beginning; so let's back up now and cover the early-morning news.

I was up early today and ready for Tai Chi before anyone else in the house; so I had time to put a pot of coffee on to brew and a bit of quiet time by the river that Michael joined me for before Mom, Dad, and the twins joined us for our Tai Chi workout. That was fun, but then I needed to hurry up and get ready for the day so that I could get to Michael's house in time for our first Sunday morning breakfast with Jake and Stephanie. Violet and Dillon went with me for that; but they'd already been well on the way to getting ready for church by the time I got back inside again. We don't need to discuss how they managed to do that so quickly – or that I'm not the only one in the family with acute-enough hearing to know that the shower in 'their' bathroom was only used once this morning.

Jacob and Jake were both cooking special dishes for breakfast today, so we were at the best breakfast in town for sure; and Lucas was as happy to be there as Violet, Dillon, and I were. Having the smaller group allowed us to have more fun with story time too – and none of the distractions we had yesterday with the extended family and so many friends figuratively or literally pulling Jake and Stephanie in a dozen directions. The food was truly amazing, and if that meal was a taste of what to expect; everyone in town is going to benefit from Jake's studies over the past school year.

While I'm thinking about studies, nobody is even mentioning Stephanie's school year in Europe, since international business accounting studies are boring compared to studying with some really great chefs; but Stephanie's education is going to be very helpful at the Inn, ValleyView Furniture, and especially with our family business.

Moving along, Michael and I were on the work crew for the post-breakfast clean-up, but we had extra help for that today; so it didn't take long. We were at church early-enough that Jake and Stephanie could begin the meet and greet with as many members of our congregation as possible. Michael and I were out of the loop for that because we went to hang out with Rowen and Tim instead; and we were with our friends most of the time through the first part of the service and during Sunday school while we worked on a few things to get ready for the holiday weekend service instead of having a lesson. All of that was fun, but when the service went a bit long; we needed to get straight to the Inn to help out with getting ready for the lunch rush.

Jake and Stephanie were told to stay for the meet and greet after the service, but Rebecca and Jenny came with us – as did most of the staff working the lunch shift. I don't actually have a lot to write about from my shift at the Inn, since the work doesn't exactly change much; but having Jake and Stephanie back again does make life more fun there! First up, Jake had fun teasing Michael at every opportunity – whether that was because Michael got to have all of the worst jobs or for other reasons including the frequent hugs and kisses I share with Michael while we work together. The added dimensions of fun that Jake and Stephanie both bring to the Inn really does make a difference; and I've missed that a lot – even while we always have fun with Jacob and Miranda regardless of the mix of friends, family, and co-workers we have there at any given time.

Michael and I took our breaks, but we spent most of that time doing our weekend homework. Exams start two weeks from tomorrow; so we'll be working on that a lot between now and then – though it will be tougher this year with all of the extra things we have on the go. We did get our assignments finished, and while that didn't leave us with much of a chance to relax; we managed to keep going until we were done all of the work by ten o'clock. I went home with Michael, but only long-enough for a bit of quiet time with him by the river while we wound down from the last big clean-up push; and then I came home to get started on my bedtime computing, studies, and family business work.

While I was at the Inn, I missed out on a lunchtime barbeque and afternoon family and friends play time, but Dad had a lot of work to get done too; so they had a quiet dinner and evening at home that included parents working in the office while Ethan and Ehlana studied for their college courses. They were wrapping up for the night by then, and Violet and Dillon had gotten home from more wedding-related fun shortly before I did; so we had a bedtime snack and chat in the sunroom before heading up to our rooms for the night. I took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night since I didn't get to spend much time with them today; and then I came up to my room and hopped into my Jacuzzi for a soak while multi-tasking the first part of my work in a time phase.

That allowed me to still be in bed by eleven-thirty, but I didn't have enough left in me for more time phasing; so I worked as fast as I could to get everything else done at 'normal' Magi Master speed. I would have liked to have the extra nap time instead, but the work needed to get done; and I also want to make sure that I have my language studies finished in time to take the summer off. Keeping up with everything is exhausting, but I seem to be handling it better right now than I was back in January and February. Maybe it's because it isn't winter or thanks to the fact that summer holidays are almost here, but whatever the reason; I'll need to keep handling the long days for at least another three weeks.

Since the busy will be kicking up a handful of notches tomorrow and through the holiday weekend, I don't need to drag this report out with my meandering thoughts; so I won't do that. It's been a fun weekend even with all of the work, but it's definitely time to get started on my nap now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, May 23, 2016

This has been one of those incredibly crazy-busy days that are exhausting just due to the sheer amount of things going on regardless of the fun or work levels! Since there is so much to write about, let's start from my wake-up call; and I'll try not to miss any of the major news along the way for this update.

Tai Chi by the river was an option, and a great start to the day; but we then had to deal with thunderstorms and rain for quite a bit of the day through until late afternoon. That didn't get in the way of breakfast in the sunroom that was more fun with Dad home again too, or my walk to school with Rowen and Rebecca; but it did mean that we were indoors for lunch while a storm rolled through; and the weather certainly messed up some of the activities around town – and for my family too.

Topping that list was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new bridge. It opened today, and that's a big deal for our little town; but Mother Nature was apparently not impressed enough to keep from raining on that party. That was particularly unfair for the Malloys, since they only came here for the day so that Terry could attend that ceremony and then they could have a visit with our family before heading home after dinner tonight; and the wet weather also kept us indoors for that dinner – though that was because everything outside was wet; not because it was still raining. The bridge did open despite the weather, and that is really great for everyone in town to have that second river crossing; so I guess we shouldn't make a big deal out of a rain-shortened ceremony.

While I'm writing about the bridge, let's cover the news that's most-closely related to it – and big stories around town today too. In addition to the bridge, we have a new walk and bike path that goes along River Road between the two bridges that gives pedestrians and bikers a safe route from the new section of town to the park. As I've mentioned before, the new path along the southern edge of the Emersons' and Seagers' yards connecting our street with the new section of town is now finished and open too; so we have a cut-through to that part of town – and a short-cut to the lab and med center that Ethan and Ehlana are really going to like having as they grow up and will be allowed to go there on their own.

It'll be convenient for visiting Aiden and Naomi too, and for other, future reasons; but I won't spoil any surprises by writing about that today. ;^)

Connecting the paths to the park, all of the completed, new paths at the park are now officially open; and the work there is finished for the summer season. I can now report that the final phase of the park and paths plan will get done over the next year, starting this fall, but we do have a lot of trail options at the park right now; and I'm hoping that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I might even get to find some time this summer to go and play there. That does fit in nicely with the next bit of news – the new bike and canoe rental shop. It won't officially open until Friday for the holiday weekend, and the weather wasn't exactly great most of the day today for renting bikes or canoes, but since the owners are putting in long days this week getting ready for the weekend; I have heard that they've done a few rentals today; and will continue to do that this week too since they're at the shop anyway. While I won't exactly be in the market for bike or canoe rentals, that little business is actually an important part of the recreation and tourism plans that the town is developing for our future; so I hope it does well during this first summer – especially since Jacob and Miranda are basing a lot of their plans for the Inn expansion on those town plans.

Continuing along those lines; that makes the new Witch Falls Art Gallery opened tonight with a wine and cheese party. It's across the road from the museum in the last building closest to the falls and ridge on the ValleyView Furniture side of the road. It isn't a huge store, but it does have three floors; an interesting mix of local art of varying types and worldly pieces that are being found and sent here by a handful of our family business and charity travelers. I'm getting my own update story out of order now, but I did go to the gallery tonight with Mom, Dad, and the twins to get a first look at the place – which was one of the reasons why I didn't have time for any extra exam studying sessions with my friends and classmates today. Before I get back to that story, let's talk a bit more about the gallery; and then I'll move along. While Bikes and Boats – the rental shop – is part of the entertainment plans for outdoor fun around town, the art gallery adds to the shopping and indoor fun options – and is also just part of the town plans for offering something a bit different for both the locals and visitors of all types – whether they're family and friends or tourists at the area campgrounds. The gallery will fit in nicely with the museum and antique shop; and there will be more to come in the future!

Okay, that's it for the 'business' side of things; so let's get to the personal stuff!

Our class time today was all about exams today – and that'll be true from now until we've finished writing them. Since it was raining today and we couldn't be outside anyway, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had a bonus exam study session at lunch that a few of our friends joined us for; but that was mostly because Michael and I couldn't do any extra study sessions after school today – and we won't be able to do that on Tuesday or Wednesday either. I've already mentioned my visit to the art gallery tonight, but Rowen and I also had appointments at the Salon to get our hair done ahead of the holiday weekend. It's been too long since I've been to the salon – a fact that Mom pointed out to me; mostly because I need to keep up appearances with things like that too despite the fact that we don't actually need to get our hair cut at all if we choose not to do that. I don't really even think about it, and don't usually bother with controlling my hair growth; but could do that – and have sometimes unconsciously done it in the past. I do like going to the salon, though, and should remember to fit it into my schedule more often – especially when I did need to have about three inches cut off like I did today – and that still left my hair a bit longer than I've normally kept it before now.

Rowen and I went straight to the salon after last class, so I met up with Michael at his house before taking him home with me to have dinner with my family and the Malloys. Violet and Dillon were with us for the meal, and we had a blast for that couple of hours of fun; but then Terry and Angela took their kids and hit the road for home because they're both working in the morning; Violet and Dillon went to meet up with Isabelle and Andrew for more wedding-related action; and Michael and I took care of the clean-up before we went to the art gallery grand opening. While I was glad to have all of the fun mixed into my day, all of that entertainment also meant that I got a really late start to the work and study parts of my day. After leaving the art gallery, Michael came home with me again; we did our homework; and then had a music practice to get ready for our band and teen praise team practices on Tuesday. That took until eleven o'clock; Mom did a Magi lesson with us after that in the office; and then we took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night before Michael went home.

I came up to my room after that and got ready for bed. It's been all work since then except for a bedtime chat break with Violet after she and Dillon got home at twelve-thirty or so; and it was the family business work that took up most of my time tonight while I cut back just a bit on the language studies to make up for some of that extra time. A bit of time phasing was involved too, but I didn't try to push that beyond what I could handle; and worked in 'real' time after that. The details from the work aren't particularly interesting to most people, so I'll continue to spare you the boredom of it in my journal, but for the few that do enjoy those boring details; you're welcome to check out the related business archives if you have access to them. Since it isn't something I mention often-enough, though, and I'm thinking about it tonight as I wrap up my day with this report; I will remind you that I do always have a true sense of satisfaction with my family business work because I do a lot of good with everything – whether that's directly through our charities or by making the money that supports those charities.

There is a limit to what I can do, though, and I've hit my limit for today. It's been fun, but this is just the first of my long, busy days this week, and I need to get all of the nap time I can to keep up with everything; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

At the risk of jinxing things for our marching band; I'll mention that we once again dodged the rain for our practice tonight. We had some rain showers this morning; and there is a thunderstorm rolling through the area as I'm writing this update; but it was mostly-sunny and hot out for our band practices – and it stayed nice through until I got home from Michael's house once we'd finished out homework after our teen praise team practice.

There wasn't any rain first thing this morning either, so Tai Chi by the river was an option; and I'm really enjoying our breakfast time with Violet and Dillon – especially when I basically don't see them at all for the rest of the day except for the nights when we cross paths at bedtime. Our school day was all about exams again, and that'd be boring to write about every day; so I won't. I can report that we've had our last concert band practice of the school year. We won't have any other concerts or parties to play at before the fall, and we don't need the extra practice time for the marching band leaders; so that'll be one less practice I'll have for the last few weeks of school.

That won't be the case for marching band or the teen praise team, since we'll have the Fourth of July holiday for both of them; but then we're going to have marching band practices this summer too so that we can keep getting ready for our Florida trip – and make sure that we keep up with the fundraisers too. Speaking of that, we're going to be busy on Friday – and all weekend – with the fundraisers. The fruit and vegetable boxes will be delivered to the school on Friday, so we'll be dealing with that as well as the annual Memorial Day weekend work around town and at the cemetery; and the booth we'll be running at the park all weekend. I'm a bit worried about that booth, since the weather forecast isn't looking very good for the weekend as of right now; but maybe we'll get lucky and the storms will roll through at night – or be short and leave us with lots of sunshine time too.

Since we did get that today, it's too bad that I didn't get to be outside enjoying the fun, but other than our marching band practice and walking to and from home, school, and the church; I was indoors most of the time. Everyone was happy with our marching band practice today. We're definitely ready for the parade on Monday, so rain or shine; it's going to be exciting to march in our first parade! Our teen praise team is ready for the Sunday service too, and that's because we kept working until we had everything worked out – and the songs sounding exactly the way we want them. That meant that Michael and I didn't get back to his house until a bit after ten o'clock; we worked on our homework until eleven-thirty; and then I came home so that he could get some sleep and I could get started on my bedtime computing.

I didn't have a time phase in me tonight, so I've been working on my computer for more than three and a half hours – including the multi-tasking bedtime chat with Violet before she and Dillon went to bed. They're busy too with work and wedding-related activities, but they do have the advantage of working during the day while I have to do that at night. The good news as I wrap this up is that I only have two more late work nights to go this week – and then I'll have a long weekend full of late nights for other reasons!

That is all of the news for today, though, and I'm seriously ready to pass out for a while; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

We're getting storms and lots of rain tonight, and had a bit of rain this morning too; but didn't have rain get in the way of Tai Chi this morning; some play time at lunch; or our baseball practices tonight.

That is good news for all of that, but I would have been okay with a rained out ball practice tonight; since that would have allowed me some extra time earlier in the evening to work on the family business and my language studies. Carolyn would find that sentiment scandalous with the opening weekend for baseball so close now; so let's not tell her I've been thinking that tonight.

What I'm mostly thinking about right now is passing out for a few hours because I'm way-past exhausted; so let's keep this update short.

I had a normal morning and the rain timing really was pretty good; since it started after Tai Chi and ended before I had to walk to school. Every school day is about getting ready for exams now; so I don't have any news there. The lunchtime outdoor fun has been mentioned, if not in any detail, but then that was just teen stuff; and not particularly newsworthy either. Jessica's saxophone lesson was up first for my after-school adventures; followed by homework for one; dinner for five; and baseball practice at the school. Michael met up with me for some hang out time together; but I was home before the rain and storms moved into town; and have been working on my computer since getting changed and into bed with Mandy. There was too much work to do, but I got it done anyway – and did all of my scheduled language studies too.

Leaving anything for tomorrow night wasn't an option that I wanted to take, but wrapping this up and going into nap mode does work for me now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, May 26, 2016

The storms continued to roll through town off and on today; and they definitely messed with any outdoor time for everyone.

Staying inside most of the day worked out for the rain not having much impact on me except for having to be indoors for Tai Chi and at lunchtime; but I'm also once again worn out from too much work and studying. This time, that's thanks to exam prep work all day in our classes; followed by an after-school study session with quite a few of our classmates at Tim's house that included a frozen pizzas dinner so that we could all stay and keep working until a bit after ten o'clock. After that, Michael walked home with me but didn't stay so that I could get started on my bedtime computing right away – though I didn't get to that until after I had a visit with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana in the office; and then helped to get my brother and sister tucked in for the night.

The family business work and language studies that I've been working on since getting changed and into bed felt more like chores tonight; and I've really had to push myself to keep going instead of just calling it quits and crashing for the night. I didn't want to do that and leave even more to do on the holiday weekend than I already have; which is why it's so late – and why I'll need some self-healing in a couple of hours when it's time to get going again.

Since you can flip a digital page while reading this in the future, I'm not going to bother with a look ahead for the weekend. You can read on to find out what's going to happen and I'll get started on my nap. I'm skipping the news for everything I missed out on with my family today, but other than some more wedding –related fun for Violet and Dillon; it was a fairly quiet day thanks in part to the rain and thunderstorms. I should mention that there wasn't a game night at the Inn tonight because most of the regulars were too busy getting ready for the holiday weekend. The study time at Tim's house was probably more fun than the work evening I'd have had at home instead, but then that work was done with a bit of Magi power assistance; and I would have been able to get started on my family business work early.

I'm too tired to waste time writing about what might have been if only things were different, and I really do only have time for a nap now; so I'm going to wrap this up and get right to the being unconscious part of my day.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, May 27, 2016

We've had a very long, busy day, and I'm really tired now; so let's get right to this update so I can get it done and head off to sleep!

Tai Chi by the river was an option only because the imminent rain held off until we were indoors again. Mom had a breakfast planning session ahead of the long weekend that I was only involved in because I needed help with the fruit and vegetable boxes deliveries after school. Dillon was drafted for that; but most of the work that I wasn't involved with was all about a last round of chores at home and picking up the groceries and supplies we'll need this weekend. Getting all of that done along with work and everything else on the schedule for today was tough; but I do know that everything did get done. Some teens might be shocked to discover how that kind of thing can happen without their help; but I am actually aware that the world doesn't revolve around me. ;^)

Moving along, the highlight of the school day was our afternoon work around town, and this year; it was once again our turn to help out at the cemetery. As the oldest students there; we were mostly in charge of helping the Grade One kids. Michael and I teamed up to do that, and we had a blast helping 'our' kids plant flowers and flags; along with the clean-up parts of the job. Since we had that rain off and on this morning, that work was fairly messy; so some of us needed to hit the showers when we got back to school because we didn't have time to go home and do that instead. While working with the kids was the highlight of our school day, I didn't exactly have much schooling involved in my school day because Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were also on the crew unloading the truck for the fruit and vegetable baskets this morning, and I needed that shower because I was also on the crew helping out with the order pick-ups after school.

For the record, our full order was nearly double the first one; and that was entirely because a lot of the band members were able to sell extra boxes to visiting holiday weekend guests or send extra boxes out with family and friends that were going away for the weekend. I had extra orders for both of those options; which is mostly why Dillon helped me out instead of Violet or Mom. He came and picked up my order with Dad's truck, and while I was finishing up at the school; he made deliveries to Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah, and Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace so that they had the boxes they were taking with them for their family weekend away trips. I have extra orders for the Rice and McEwan families, and they ordered some extras for friends too; so my order this month was closer to triple the first one.

I'm not going to drag that story out. Dillon and I had fun doing those deliveries, but that work was a bit rushed because I needed to get to the Inn after that to help out with the dinner shift there. The Inn was surprisingly busy, but I wasn't there as an add-on to help out with that – I was scheduled so that Miranda could save up other teen hours for when she really needs them on Saturday and Sunday. We didn't have a full house at the Inn tonight, but would have if we'd still had just the original dining room available. The work in the kitchen wasn't particularly newsworthy either, though, so let's move on to cover the action outside of the Inn that I missed out on while I was busy through until the Inn closed for the night.

Mom and Dad are hosting Violet's family this weekend; though Grandma and Grandpa Rice are staying with Grandma and Grandpa instead. Chris and Martin came here in Chris' new, used Honda; and they're happy to be back together again after Chris' first year at college. I'll get to the family report in a minute, but let's cover the rest of the weekend guest report first. While the Proctor side of our clan is having an 'away' holiday weekend, and so is the Johnson family; Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne are hosting the McEwan clan at their house; and Michael's family is home this weekend too. They're mostly here to see Jake and Stephanie for the first time since their wedding; which is mostly why Jake and Stephanie were set free from the Inn as soon as the cooking side of the rush was finished so that they could welcome his grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins home when they arrived.

I went home with Michael for a short visit after we closed the Inn for the night, but the kids were in bed already and the adults were all exhausted too; so I didn't stay long. Michael's cousin-in-law, Heidi, was the only adult to already be sleeping, so I didn't get to see her either, but she's about eight and a half months along with her second pregnancy; and the long trip was really hard on her. Drew joked that she only agreed to come along in hopes that the trip would put her into labor early, but didn't think it was funny when his brother, Eric, suggested that Heidi really only wanted to go into labor while here because our doctors are way hotter than her doctor back at home. Those jokes could both turn into great baby stories for the future, but since I haven't seen Heidi yet; I can't tell you whether there's any chance she'll be ready to deliver early or not. Stay tuned for an update on that for whenever I do get to see her this weekend.

After my short visit with Michael's family, I came home and joined the party in the living room that was really winding down toward bedtime by then. I'd missed out on all of the arrival work and most of the first round of storytelling, but we did still have a nice chat for a half hour or so; and then Violet, Dawn, and I had a much longer girl chat on my bed while Dillon, Chris, and Martin did a bit of video gaming in the lounge. Dawn's top news from home was mostly about her flying lessons and hanging out at the airport; though we talked about her school and friends too. The things that I can talk about with Dawn seems boring by comparison to city life, but while Dawn wouldn't trade places with me; she does understand why Violet and I both love our little town so much.

Okay, Dawn might trade places with me when it comes to Michael being my boyfriend; but only if he'd move to Woodvale! ;^)

Moving along, Violet and Dillon went to bed first; Dawn and I only talked for another twenty minutes or so after that; and then she went to bed too. I closed the doors to the lounge then, and Chris and Martin continued to play video games for a while longer; but they've gone downstairs to their rooms now too. I've been doing some bedtime computing since getting changed and into bed with Mandy, and while I didn't have any family business work scheduled, there were some emails that were work-related that I could deal with; so I did. Maybe I should have left that for next week, but I'm so used to being up late most nights right now; I just wasn't ready to sleep yet.

That's something I'll likely regret by tomorrow night, since I need to be back at the Inn to help out with the breakfast buffet; and that's also why I need to wrap this up and get started on my extended nap. It may have been mostly a work day for me, but I did have quite a bit of fun while doing a lot of that work; so I'm only a bit sad to have missed out on the family fun that I couldn't be here to enjoy. That trend is going to continue tomorrow – and for the rest of the weekend; but I'll still try to have some family and friends fun around the work. I should get used to that anyway; since it'll likely be quite a while before I'll be able to take holiday weekends off from work again – if that'll ever happen. For all I know, Michael and I will get drafted to help at the Inn on holiday weekends for the rest of our lives!

Happy 15th Birthday, Reid!

That's an abrupt switch, but I was about to wrap this up and remembered that I didn't start my update with that bit of news. With the holiday weekend fun going on, Reid didn't try to have a big birthday party, but his girlfriend, Lily, did set up a birthday lunch for him at school that all of his friends were there for; and Reid did still have a small birthday dinner with his family, Lily, and a couple of their best friends. Reid was mostly happy to be joining the drivers' club after getting his learner's permit this morning; so everything else was just a bonus compared to that achievement. The only other bit of news I'll mention is that Michael and Tim picked out a fairly nice gift for Reid that Rowen and I pitched in to buy for him. Since Reid has a good chance of being the new quarterback for the team for the next two seasons; I'll suggest that Michael and Tim might have a motive behind the gift choice, but I don't really think they need to do things like that; since Reid is nearly as much of a football fanatic as Tim is – and he'll be happy to have two really great wide receivers to work with on his team.

Okay, it's definitely time to call it a night and get some sleep when my journal update includes writing anything about football in the off-season; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

My day started out with the early wake-up call; then I quickly got ready for the day; and then I met up with Michael at his house on the way to the Inn. Our holiday weekend didn't feel like a holiday at all as we got to work and started cooking breakfast for the hundreds of guests we expected to get at the buffet. Since shopping was going to be a big part of the entertainment on Saturday; I wasn't surprised that we had a full house for the buffet – especially when it wasn't exactly sunny and warm this morning.

The good news is that we only had a spit or three of rain roll through this morning; and it's been really nice for the rest of the day. That worked out for me while I was doing my shift at the fundraiser booth at the park; but switching from working at the Inn to working the snack booth still meant that I was working – and not spending any time with my family. I did get to see quite a few of our weekend guests – and Mom, Dad, and the twins too; but that was only when they stopped by the booth to pick up treats while playing at the park. Due to a couple of volunteer cancellations, I ended up staying and working the booth until it was time to go back to the Inn and work the dinner rush, so other than a couple of quick breaks and a stop in at home to freshen up before going to work again; I pretty much kept busy through until the Inn closed at around ten-thirty.

The top news story for the dinner shift comes from Jenny; and it is a full-out teen drama event. I feel bad to be writing about Peter Gallagher for the first time in a long time when it's bad news for him, but he and Jenny haven't been hanging out with us at all; so I just haven't seen him around very much while they've been busy doing other things together. Today was actually an example of that, since they were out at Quarry Lake this afternoon with some other friends – and had met out there so that Jenny could drive herself back to town in time for the dinner shift at the Inn. This teen drama is all about Jenny. I'll cut through the double-speak, and just report that Jenny is in lust with one of the new lifeguards at Quarry Lake. Evan Wilson is apparently the hottest guy Jenny has ever met, and she apparently ignored Peter from the moment she saw Evan. Peter obviously wouldn't have been happy about that; Jenny basically ignored his complaints; and fairly bluntly blew him off with a break-up that she apparently tried to rush along so she could get back to hanging out around Evan.

I love Jenny, but don't like what she did to Peter today. He wasn't her match, but he's a really great guy; cares a lot about Jenny; and didn't deserve to get tossed aside like that – regardless of Jenny's justifications for what she did. Telling her any of that isn't my business, and I'm not writing any of this to complain about her choices, since none of us are perfect; but I do think that Rebecca is going to talk with her because she feels the same way that I do. It's obvious that Jenny's moved on from Peter, and it might be too late to fix things even if she hasn't; but she should at least try to apologize for not dealing with the situation better.

While I feel for Peter, Jenny barely mentioned him; and had a surprising amount of information about Evan after only talking with him for a short while once she had her now ex-boyfriend out of the way. Evan is a high school senior; he'll be working at Quarry Lake for the summer; and is college-bound in August or September. Whenever I eventually meet him, I'll offer my own review on his 'hot' factor; though I have no doubt he'll be good-looking – especially if he really is so much hotter than Peter. I can tell you that Jenny is planning on making a lot of trips to Quarry Lake this summer now; and won't be surprised if some camping adventures are added in to the plan despite the fact that she isn't all that big on camping anymore.

That, by the way, is something different around our house this weekend – a lack of cousins' interest in camping. We did have a campfire tonight that Michael and I joined along with his family and Lucas after we closed the Inn for the night, but for some reason; Chris, Martin, Jonathan, and the rest of our older cousins don't want to pitch tents and camp in the back yard anymore. Ethan and Ehlana would have done that with me, but gave me a break when they know I'm putting in so much time working this weekend. I'm glad for that, but would have camped with them anyway if they'd really wanted to do that. The campfire was a nice way to wind down the day, but it was time to call it a night by midnight when I was falling asleep while cuddling with Michael.

I came up to my room without even helping out with the post-campfire clean-up. A shower was necessary before Mandy would let me sleep in our bed, so I did that; and was in bed by the time that Dawn and Violet stopped in for a very short goodnight chat. The only computing I've done since they left was a quick email check before getting to this update. I'm going to be even busier tomorrow with the work around here in the morning; the church service; and working the full, triple-buffet shift at the Inn. That'll mean another day without much family time; but maybe I'll make up for that a bit on Monday before they all head home again.

Okay, probably not; but you never know – it could happen that way! ;^)

What can happen right now, though, is that I can wrap this up and head to sleep. I can't say this has been the most-fun holiday weekend ever so far after the first day, but that can't happen every time anyway, and I'm at least getting to spend lots of time with Michael; so it isn't all work and no fun. That'll be true tomorrow too, and more fun with every extra minute of nap time I can get; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

It's been a really long day, and I'm exhausted; so flip the digital page as you're reading this in my future for the double-update I'll write tomorrow night whenever I get around to it sometime tomorrow night.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Memorial Day is a lot more than the first holiday weekend of the summer season for most of the people here in our little town, and while it might not seem as though I'm reporting enough of that side of the holiday here in my journal; it is a sentiment that you can't help but feel around here – especially on the holiday Monday.

I'll get to the Memorial Day report soon, but since this is a double-update; let's back up and start from Sunday morning.

Tai Chi by the river was great, but it was the only quiet I had in my day pretty much until I crawled into bed last night and wrote that little blurb in my journal before crashing into nap mode. Breakfast for twelve and juggling bathroom time as we all got ready for church was the usual couple of hours of crazy; and then I needed to meet up with Michael and get to the church for the teen praise team warm-up ahead of the holiday weekend service. All of the work and music was fun, but it meant being too busy all morning too, and when the service went a bit long; Michael and I then needed to hurry over to the Inn to get started on the cooking for the first of the three buffets Jacob and Miranda were hosting at noon, three o'clock, and six o'clock.

I was working the full shift to close, and I'm not going to bore you with the details, but it was a hot, tough day in the kitchen; and we were pushed to the limits to keep up with a full house for every buffet. Michael and I also worked at the fundraiser booth during our only long break; and we were sent off for that as soon as the second buffet started at three so that we could be back in time for the bulk of the second round of clean-up and to help with getting the third buffet sitting food cooked and ready to go for six o'clock. For the fundraiser booth, having a great weather day helped a lot, and considering what the forecast for the weekend had looked like earlier last week; we've really lucked out!

While I worked all afternoon and evening, I missed out on all of the family fun – including the late buffet dinner at the Inn that allowed most of the working members of our family to attend too. Speaking of family, I should mention that Michael's visiting family had fun on Saturday and Sunday without spending a lot of time with Michael and me; but Jacob and Miranda did try to work it out so that they could spend time with his parents, sister, and her family; and had Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca work out their breaks so that they could help with entertaining their weekend guests. Some of Michael's cousins also took a trip out to Quarry Lake on Sunday afternoon after attending the first buffet dinner at noon; but the oldest and youngest members of their family stayed home – or visited with old friends instead of going out to play – and Heidi was definitely not interested in climbing the rock wall or taking her baby for a ride on the zip line! ;^)

Going out to Quarry Lake or on a trail ride with my family would have been great, but that wasn't an option for me; so I pretty much missed out on all of the family and friends fun on Sunday. A lot of people do need to work so that everyone else can have fun on holiday weekends, though; and I'm okay with helping out now that it's my turn to do that. Thanks to all of the work, I don't actually have much more to report for Sunday. Michael and I worked until close with Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca while Jacob and Miranda went home early to spend the evening with his family. It was ten-thirty by the time we had the Inn cleaned and set up for Tuesday morning; and then I went home with Michael for a while. We had a visit with everyone that was still awake and hanging out in the living room; had a bit of quiet time for two out on the front porch after that; and then I went home and pretty much went straight up to bed. There were still a few adults and teens awake here at the time, but I'd had enough fun; and even my bedtime computing wasn't much more than an email check and that little journal blurb before I just needed to be sleeping instead.

That brings us to my wake-up call this morning – and Ethan and Ehlana did that for me so that I wouldn't miss out on Tai Chi by the river. The exercise, breakfast, and rush to get ready for the day was nearly the same as it was on Sunday; and the only exception was that some of our guests also started packing for the trip home too. Instead of needing to rush to the church, I needed to hurry to get to the parade staging area once I'd helped with the breakfast clean-up. I was as fired up as every other band member, and that made for a very strange counter-point to the somberness of the occasion to have a small gang of teens enthusiastically getting ready for our first parade as a marching band.

By the time the parade started, we were ready to go and acting more appropriately. As usual, the bagpipers led the parade, but it also wasn't a long parade either; so we didn't have that much of a wait before we brought up the rear of the parade. That was actually the best spot for our band because we then had everyone watching the parade following us to the cemetery. At the risk of being very inappropriate, I'll admit that I had a great time during the parade; and I'm really proud of our marching band. I'd say there's a lot of pride in us with our families, friends, and neighbors too; though that wasn't displayed with any cheering or anything else overt. This is a day for commemorating the fallen, though; so let's not add anything else to those thoughts.

The parade did feel even more special to me, and the ceremony at the cemetery was heart-warming and poignant as the Pastors helped us to remember what it's taken for us to have the freedoms we're blessed with today. This year, Michael and I did the family story time with my family; and Grandpa led the storytelling with help from Grandma and Grandma Carrie. We only had the Rice family and Dillon with us for that while Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne went around the cemetery with the Carrington-Johnson-McEwan clan; but that just made the storytelling a bit more intimate and personal. Most of us headed for our house after leaving the cemetery; and Michael and I helped out with getting everything loaded up and over to the park for the picnic – including walking with some of the younger kids from our collective families.

There was a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for this afternoon, but the decision was made to take the chance that we'd dodge the rain for the picnic; and we mostly did that except for one little blast of wet that really just helped us to cool off for a few minutes – and then made things a bit hotter after that as the moisture added a bit to the humidity. Once Michael and I were at the park, we were on-duty at the fundraiser booth for the next couple of hours. We took that time slot so that most of our friends could enjoy the picnic lunch, but if we'd also hoped that we wouldn't be as busy while everyone enjoyed all of the free food; that didn't happen. That was great for our fundraiser, since all of those sales helped to make a lot of money for the Florida trip; but it was also exhausting for us – and we were ready for a nap by the time we were relieved of duty.

There wasn't time for that, though, and we had a late lunch and then spent another couple of hours having fun with our families before it was time to pack up and head for home so that our weekend guests could load up and hit the road for their own homes. That kept us busy until a bit after five o'clock; and then Michael and I moved on to doing our weekend homework once everyone was gone. We did that at his house; and then we had dinner there too with both his family and mine – a sort of pot-luck and leftovers meal that was minimal work and more fun. I especially loved getting to spend a bit of time with Jake, Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon; but Rebecca wasn't there because she went home with Lucas for the night after they said their goodbyes with her grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins.

After dinner, Michael came home with me and we hung out in the lounge. We watched a movie with Ethan and Ehlana; had a bit of alone time while they were having their bedtime baths; and then we helped out with getting them tucked in for the night before Michael went home at a bit after ten o'clock. I needed to get started on my bedtime computing, family business work, and language studies then, and used a time phase to get as much work done as possible with the eleven-thirty time limit I gave myself for the work. I got everything on my 'must-do' list finished tonight; but skipped a few things that could wait until tomorrow night.

The news from the work and studying isn't interesting enough to write about, but I did have fun with a few family and friends emails. Topping that list was the one from Dawn that let me know they got home safely – and that she hopes that her next visit will include more time hanging out together. Rowen sent me an email too; and it's a bit funny that we need to exchange emails on a holiday weekend when we're too busy to spend much time together. We will change that over the next few weeks while getting ready for and then writing our exams, but I don't want to think about adding that to my schedule right now; so let's not do that until needed – tomorrow.

Okay, I promised myself that I'd be sleeping by midnight, so it's time to wrap this up. My long weekend hasn't exactly been the fun and games of previous years before work and other responsibilities started to get in the way of the family and friends play time; but it has been a good weekend; and I am, as always, very thankful for everything I have here in my little corner of the world.

Let's finish this up by thinking about the brave hearts that have sacrificed all to make the lives we have here possible. A few hours of service to our community and in remembrance once a year is not too much to ask of any of us in thanks for that ultimate gift.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

This last update of May is not going to be very exciting because I'm out of steam; and need to crash into nap mode for a while.

The post-holiday weekend Tai Chi and breakfast was really quiet by comparison to the last few days – no surprise there. Life is returning to normal around here; with everyone heading back to work and school. Final exams are the name of the game at school, since they start next Monday; and that was the only real change in my schedule for Tuesday. We didn't have concert band practice; Michael, Rowen, and I replaced it with an exam study session at the school with some of our classmates while we waited for marching band practice; and then we had fun with that practice because we also put getting ready for the Fourth of July parade at the top of our to-do list – though some of us still had to deal with the business end of things for the fundraisers. That'll include another booth at the park for that holiday weekend; and it should be another good month for the fruit and vegetable boxes sales; so I also already know that it's going to be another very busy work weekend for me!

The music for the Fourth of July parade is much more festive, so that made the practice more fun, but Jenny, Rebecca, and the rest of the color guard are able to have even more fun because they'll be able to do more for this parade – some actual flag-twirling routines that will add a lot to the entertainment side of our band. They have been working on that for a while; but getting ready for our first parade had been the priority before this week. Once we were finished at the school, Michael and I moved on to our teen praise team practice. Music for that service is more festive and upbeat too, and while we never venture too far toward the cutting-edge of Christian music; we do get to pick songs that are appropriate for teens – and freshen up old hymn favorites too. I really do love all of the music time in my life, but it can also be exhausting to keep up with everything; and today was one of those times.

When we headed home from the church, Michael and I still had some exam-related study homework to get finished; we did that at his house; and then had a bit of quiet time in his living room before I came home that included just a tiny bit of making out. That did slow me down for getting started on my bedtime computing, but we were overdue; and it was one of the best cameo moments of my day – if not nearly enough alone time for us to catch up after a weekend with almost no Michael and me time at all.

Somehow, this update is dragging out beyond the little blurb I'd planned on writing tonight, but while I don't really need to add anything about the hours of family business work and language studies; I should mention that the countdown to Isabelle and Andrew's wedding is on; so Violet and Dillon are spending all of their extra time on helping out with that. They didn't get home until around one o'clock; I took a short break to get the wedding update from Violet; and then they headed for bed while I got back to work. The breakfast and bedtime interaction with them is great, but it still feels as though we're living in two different worlds right now; and only have those passing moments where our lives intersect before we move on again.

I could say the same thing about my parents, sister, and brother right now too, but I really have had enough for today; so let's not go there. It's been fun and too busy; I'll have more of the same every day for the next week and a half; and that's all for tonight; so, until next time...

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

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Allen!

He's joined the ranks of the independent drivers' club today, so Allen is a happy camper; but exams now just days away; he did not try having a major party while everyone is busy studying instead. He did have a dinner with his family, Marcie, and a couple of best friends; but studied for a while with the rest of us at my house before dinner and again after we resumed studying once the members of our group that had baseball practices got back from doing that tonight.

I'm getting ahead of the daily report, but then the studying and ball practices were the highlights of the day; so there isn't really anything newsworthy to add from a completely uneventful morning and school day. We did have a minor birthday party for Allen during our lunch break, but Allen was a bit late getting back from his driver's test this morning; so that party was short by necessity before we needed to get back to our classes.

The studying was at my house; and we took over the dining room to do that after school. Burgers, hot dogs, and cold salads were the dinner option that my friends were invited to stay for while we worked until the baseball players on our teams needed to be at the park or school for our practices. That was important for my team because our first game is on Friday evening. Our team, by the way, is Landry's Lunar Eclipse. The other teams in our division are the Witch Falls Solar Flares and Connor's Comets. Michael and Tim are playing for the Witch Falls Werewolves; and Mom and Dad are on the Olde Bakery Bandits' team this year. Our practice went really well, and we're ready for the game on Friday against the Flares, so while Carolyn is more worried about that than her exams; I'm sure we'll do just fine.

Of course, while I like to win a lot too, I'm okay with it if some of our friends win now and then too; so my perspective is different than it is for Carolyn. She should chill out a bit – it's just a game! ;^)

We resumed our studying after baseball; worked until eleven o'clock; and then everyone headed home then – including Michael. I seriously needed some tub time by then, so I did that first with a bit of multi-tasking on my family business work. Using a time phase was out for me tonight, so it's taken longer to get everything finished, but I did get there eventually; and now I'm ready to get some sleep. This hasn't been the most-exciting first day of June ever-so-far for me, but the exam studying is going fairly well for my friends, and I really do like having the extra time to spend with them; so it has been a good day even with all of the work.

More studying and work are ahead for tomorrow, and we'll be busy this weekend too; so it's time to wrap this up and call it a night – or early morning. With the summer holidays approaching fast, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel; and now I'll just need to hope it's the sunshine and fun of a brilliant summer – and not an oncoming train!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Okay, it's definitely time for a micro-update.

I had a normal start to my morning; we worked on exam studying all day at school; and then the studying after school was at my house again. Staying for dinner was optional; with cold salads, burgers, and hotdogs as the only menu choices along with make-your-own ice cream cones for dessert. There were bowls of snacks available before and after dinner too, and Mom went through several cases of pop, juice, and water; but she's a veteran at that now; and is used to the extra expense.

Mom and Dad were also happy to escape exam study central when they took Ethan and Ehlana to the Inn for game night; but Michael and I stayed and studied with our friends until eleven o'clock when we again called it a night. Michael stayed until eleven-thirty, but we spent most of that time cleaning up the dining room and kitchen; and then he went home and I came up to my room to get to work on my usual to-do list of bedtime computing.

That was nearly four hours ago, and while I finished all of the work and studying; I'm seriously wiped out now. It's mostly been a good day even with way too much work, but that's it for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, June 3, 2016

It's been a long day; and will be a longer one tomorrow; so let's keep this update as short as possible.

Our last school day before exams was a blast of last-minute question and answer sessions; and not much else to report from that part of my day. We had an optional after-school study session at my house because Michael and I are busy all day tomorrow with chores, a wedding, and dinner shift at the Inn for me; and work, a wedding, and more work for Michael. The studying went pretty well, but we wrapped up before dinner; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were the only teens in the house for that meal; and then it was time for Rowen and I to get to the park for our first ballgame of the season.

We – Landry's Lunar Eclipse – had a great night against the Witch Falls Solar Flares; and we won fairly convincingly with a score of fourteen-to-five. I'm not going to write about the game details, since that isn't important; but Rowen and I did have a lot of fun playing with our friends. We also had some cheerleaders at the game – including Aunt Leanne, Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna; and they led the sidelines fun for our team while also entertaining the small group of spectators we had watching the game. I didn't have my entire family at the game, but Mom and Dad, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and Grandma and Grandpa came out to support our team. That won't likely be an every game thing this season, but I'm glad that they were there tonight; and it is more fun when we have the extra support for our team.

Rowen and I were in need of showers after the game, so we split up to do that; and then met up with Michael and Tim at my house to hang out in the lounge and watch a movie. Ethan and Ehlana have Aiden and Naomi staying here tonight, so they joined us for the movie – and we had four cuddling couples in the room. All four kids fell asleep before the show was over, and while that was adorable; it meant more work for us when we each took a kid and then got them all changed and into their beds for the night after the show was over. Rowen and Tim moved on after that; but Michael stayed for a bedtime chat with Mom and Dad before they finished up their work in the office for the night. Michael went home after that; and I came up to my room and got ready for bed.

I didn't have any work booked for tonight, but two family business jobs came up during my email check, so I took care of both of them; and did a bit of bonus language studying because I'm running out of time to get that done too before taking my summer break from that part of my training. Violet and Dillon are both away tonight – Violet with Isabelle and the other girls in the bridal party; and Dillon with Andrew and the other guys standing up with Andrew tomorrow. They were busy with the wedding rehearsal and party tonight; so I haven't seen Violet and Dillon since breakfast; and I won't see them much tomorrow either – except for during the ceremony. I'm hoping the weather forecast will hold and that they'll have a beautiful day for the wedding, but the rain and thunderstorms have been a bit unpredictable this past week; so I'll let you know whether that works out for them with my next update.

I've skipped a lot of the details, but that is the main news for today, and I really am ready for some quality nap time now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Congratulations, Isabelle and Andrew Jennings!

Let's begin with the wedding report; and then I'll go back to cover the rest of the day from my wake-up call through until now.

It's been a perfect weather day for a wedding – not too hot, but a lot of sun and warm. My wedding fun didn't start until after lunch; and Mom, Ehlana, and I had one hour to get ready before we needed to be at the church for the ceremony. A bit of time phasing allowed us to get our hair done and finish up when we started to run out of time; but we were downstairs and ready to go with twenty minutes to spare. Dad, Michael, and Ethan had been waiting for us for a while by then; so we were able to get into the minivan right away and drive over to the church – and we only did that so Mom and I didn't have to walk that far in heels.

By the way, I don't wear heels all that often, but it is nice to be able to do that now that Michael's enough taller than I am to do that without it being weird for him! ;^)

Dillon escorted Mom and the rest of us to our seats; and then we ended up with Aiden and Naomi with us too when they were allowed to come over and sit with Ethan and Ehlana. They weren't there as couples; but did conveniently sit in boy-girl pairs. Having well-known parents made for a big turn-out for the ceremony, and there were more than six hundred guests in the sanctuary by the time the doors were closed and readied for the arrival of the bridal party. I haven't gone to a lot of weddings of friends so far since we've moved here, but I'm sure that'll start changing over the next few years as our favorite collegians start graduating and tying the knot – though not necessarily in that order! ;^)

Sticking with the wedding news for today, though, Isabelle arrived on-time with her bridal party; and Andrew, Dillon, the best man, and the other groomsmen all looked very handsome in their tuxes as they stood at the front of the sanctuary. When the main doors were opened, Isabelle had a flower girl and ring bearer lead off the processional, and then Violet was the first bridesmaid to follow them. Andrew's sisters, Lynn and Alicia, followed Violet; and then it was time for Isabelle's college-friend maid-of-honor to walk down the aisle just ahead of Isabelle and her very proud father.

I am a total sucker for happy endings, and though weddings are actually a happy beginning, you know what I mean; and the wedding ceremony was really beautiful. Andrew was appropriately smitten with his bride; Isabelle was breathtakingly gorgeous; and the joy and love filling the sanctuary was the feeling that I wish we could all have all of the time every day.

Going off-topic again – that's exactly what is meant to be for us. When the Ascension of the Light happens; that's the direction we'll be heading toward – a world filled with love and joy!

Okay, so the actual ceremony is short and sweet, but every wedding is a bit different; there are special moments; and today was no exception. I am not going to record anything here that might embarrass anyone in the future; but will instead only suggest that the little imperfections that are part of life are also part of what makes those moments special. Andrew and Isabelle were soon pronounced husband and wife; there was a pause in the action while they left the sanctuary to deal with the paperwork; and then my last involvement in their happy day was watching the recessional and then when Michael and I had our fifteen or twenty seconds to congratulate them outside of the church before we moved on and headed home so that we could get changed and ready to go to the Inn and work the dinner-to-close shift. The rest of the wedding report will have to wait until tomorrow or Monday night because Violet and Dillon are still at the reception as I'm writing this and won't be home tonight.

I guess that means it's time for the rest of the news from the rest of my day; so let's get to that so I can head into nap mode soon.

Tai Chi by the river was wonderful this morning; and so was breakfast in the sunroom. Michael couldn't do either with me because he was working the breakfast shift at the Inn; but then we didn't drag out the breakfast because we had a lot of work to do this morning ahead of the wedding. The beautiful weather made the outdoor chores a lot nicer to do, but I still got dirty and sweaty while working on the lawn and gardens straight through until we stopped for lunch and needed to pack up for the day. We ate outside because some of us were too dirty to do that indoors without having showers first; and then you already know about the pre-wedding hour we had for getting showered and dressed up. The Inn was surprisingly busy when it was so nice out, and we were short-staffed because of the staff that needed to be off for Isabelle and Andrew's dinner and reception party; so we were really, really busy for the entire shift; and ended up working until nearly eleven o'clock before we could close the Inn and come home.

Michael and I needed some wind-down time first, so I went home with him; we sat out by the river with drinks and snacks and cuddled for an hour; and then I came home right around midnight. Another shower was necessary by then, and while some Jacuzzi time was really tempting; I was too tired to take the extra time for that. In hindsight, I could have had the bath because there was some family business work that I could have multi-tasked; but by the time I checked my email; I was already cleaned up, changed, and snuggled in bed with Mandy. That work didn't take too long – just a half hour or so; but that is why it's past-one as I'm writing this.

As I mentioned, I'll add more to the wedding report when I get the news from Violet and Dillon, but I will add that Mom, Dad, and the twins were not invited to the reception. They were having a fairly small group for that; and more than half of the guests were members of the Jennings or Jacobs extended families. While I worked, Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana instead had a play time and dinner at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house that sort of became a mini block party with the Seagers, Drapers, and most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

That would have been fun to join in for, but Jacob and Miranda needed me more; and I expect that to be a regular theme on weekends this summer. Even with all of the work today, though, it's been a really great day; and I'm especially glad that it's been so great for our newest newlyweds.

Their honeymoon next week is sure to be really great too compared to the week of exams I have to look forward to, but I won't wish that it was Michael and me going away instead; since we're still a bit young for that kind of fun! ;^)

Speaking of exams, we're going to be studying for them a lot tomorrow – and all next week; so I need to wrap this up and get some sleep so I'll be ready for all of that work. That won't be wedding party level fun either; but has to be done. This update is done now too, and I'm definitely ready for some quality nap time; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, June 5, 2016

My plan for today was to take the day off from the Inn; help my friends with getting ready for their exams; and then maybe wrap up the studying early so that I could get my usual bedtime computing and work finished at a decent time.

That plan did not work out; so this is going to be a micro-update.

Tai Chi by the river; breakfast at Michael's house; and the church service and Sunday school were all really great. News from the wedding had top billing with the girls this morning; and the reception was apparently a great party for everyone who was there. I went home after church while Michael went to help with the lunch set-up; and all of our classmates had an open invitation to join us for lunch while we got right to work on our studying. About half of them did that; we worked outside because we've had a beautiful weather day; and that allowed those of us that were tutoring a bit more freedom as we wandered around and helped our friends.

My change in plans came with Michael when he came over as soon as the main cooking rush was finished for lunch. Miranda had a bunch of call-in-sick cancellations; so Michael and Rebecca were now drafted; and Miranda asked me to come and help too. I obviously couldn't say no to that; so the change in study plans was for us to work until four o'clock; and then Michael and I headed for the Inn while Rowen and Tim took over the study group – and headed for Tim's house for the rest of the day. Mom and Dad sent the extra snacks, drinks, and food along that they'd been ready to need for dinner and snack times; but that was mostly because Tim's parents didn't have time to do a shopping run on short notice when they were busy with work too.

Michael and I ended up working until close; and then I went home with him for some wind down time; so it was after eleven by the time I got up here to my room. By then, my family was all sleeping – including Violet and Dillon. For some reason, after a couple of really late nights; they were tired out! What a surprise!

That did mean that I haven't gotten their wedding report from the perspective of wedding party insiders; so I'll have to pass that news on tomorrow night – or maybe never if there are many more delays. I really needed some tub time by the time I got home; so I multi-tasked the soak in the Jacuzzi with the first part of my family business work. I'm now down to just two weeks to summer holidays, so keeping ahead of my language studies is important too; which is why it's heading toward four o'clock and I'm still not sleeping even though I have three exams to write in the morning.

That is the reason for keeping this update so short, though, and I don't need to drag out the study or work details anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, June 6, 2016

Okay, this is going to be a tough week!

It also seems very unfair that the weather is perfect for summer holidays; but we're not quite there yet.

That was nice for Tai Chi by the river and a couple of study break swims; but I'd have rather had the day off.

Instead, we wrote three exams – Science, Accounting, and Spanish. Once we'd finished that; we headed for Michael's house and studied for Geography and Math until eleven o'clock – the parental time limit for study groups. There were those swim breaks I mentioned, and Jacob and Miranda fed those of us who could stay for dinner; but it was all work the rest of the time.

Work and studying was the name of the game after I got home too; though I grabbed a quick shower before getting ready for bed and cuddling in for the long haul with Mandy and my computer. That was about four hours ago, and while my work is done for another day; I'm pretty much done-in right now.

That's why I'm also done with this little update, and I plan on being asleep very soon; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The work overload was bound to catch up with me; and it has done that tonight.

Our exams today were Geography and Math. We followed that up with studying until eleven o'clock for History, Music, our Music playing tests, or other alternate subject for those of us not taking Music.

I'd hit the wall by then, but used a time phase to do a bit of can't-wait family business work. Everything else will have to wait, because I am completely done-in now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Happy 32nd Birthday, Aunt Grace!

Congratulations to Drew, Heidi, and everyone else in the Stone family – it's a girl!

I had absolutely no personal involvement in either event, but Aunt Grace only had a small dinner party; The Bishop family is a bit far away for a quick visit; and I was busy with exams and studying all day and night anyway.

For all of that, take yesterday, move the study subjects up to the exam writing – or playing – stage; and promote Computers, Graphic Design, and Sociology to top billing for the studying. The location was still at my house; the weather continues to be unfairly awesome when we're too busy with exams to enjoy it enough; and dinner was self-serve mini-sub sandwiches, cold salads, and munchies. Mom and Dad left that food for us while they went to Aunt Grace's dinner with Ethan and Ehlana. Missing out on the family fun was a pain; but I still had fun with my friends even with all of the work.

Ditto last night for the time phased short work session after everyone went home at eleven; and that's it for today.

Two more days of exams; and we'll move on to the last, easy week of school before the summer holidays. That will not mean a sudden slow down in the speed of life for me, but then I'm okay with simply slowing down into nap mode for the rest of the night right now anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Okay, this is going to one last short update for exam week, but I had to stay up late tonight to get everything done ahead of the weekend that I haven't done earlier this week; so there's a very good reason why I'm exhausted right now. Doing most of that work in a time phase helped me to get there – both done and exhausted; but I wouldn't have finished at all in normal time mode.

My Computers, Graphic Design, and Sociology exams all went perfectly – no surprise there; and studying for English and PhysEd tonight was the easiest of the week. We did still work until eleven o'clock, though; so the start to the rest of my work was just as late as it's been for the rest of the week.

I won't bore you with the work or study details, but will mention that the study time dinner was grilled meat of various types along with cold salads and Olde Bakery desserts. Mom, Dad, and the twins went to game night, since there's only one left after tonight; and they were home in time for an end of exam studying, bedtime snack and drinks before my friends headed home. Violet and Dillon caught the tail end of that; and I had a short bedtime chat with Violet when she and Dillon went to bed; but then it was all work and studying until about fifteen minutes ago.

There isn't much time left for sleeping, but we do at least get to write our last two exams in the first two time slots on Friday; so we'll be set free early. If things don't go weird at the Inn tomorrow night, I won't be working; but might need to help out a bit this weekend because some of the full time staff has put in extra time this week while the teens have been busy with exams. I'll keep you posted on that, but this little update is already longer than I'd planned, and I do want to get all of the nap time I have left before getting up and going again; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, June 10, 2016

Final exams are done for another year!

The even better news is that the amazing summer weather is still with us!

I was half-expecting Mother Nature to mess with us and have it start raining about ten minutes after we were finished our last exam; but that didn't happen. Being done school early was a great bonus too; and Michael, Tim, and Rowen came home with me so that we could hang out until they needed to be at work or elsewhere by four or five o'clock. We hadn't planned anything specific, but when Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden suggested a camping night with the four of us as their supervisors; we were good with the idea; so we used that time to set up two tents and then go for a swim in the river to cool off because the temperature had climbed to over one hundred – at least for the 'feels like' index.

Michael needed to work the dinner shift at the Inn and Rowen was working at the store, but when they left; Tim wasn't sure if he'd be working at the shop or at home – though he was hoping for going out on calls with his Uncle and cousin if that was an option. I took the night off, but checked in with Miranda first to make sure she didn't have any last-minute problems; and was glad to find out that she didn't need me tonight. I really needed the break, and Mom sensed that too; because she put me in charge of kid control instead of helping with the dinner part of the dinner and baseball night she'd booked with most of our family and some friends on the baseball team. Since Hannah is subbing for Aunt Grace this season, the Drapers and Seagers were on the guest list; so I had a lot of kids to keep up with.

Yes, maybe the cooking would have been easier, but I did have some grandparent support; and the play and swim time was a lot more fun!

Dinner wasn't anything fancy – just standard, easy-meal barbeque fare, and by the time we sat down to eat; we needed to hurry to get through the meal and do the clean-up before going over to the park for the co-ed baseball game. I was on kid control again at the park, but didn't have any problems keeping up at first while the kids all stayed near the ball diamond to watch the start of the game. Our Olde Bakery Bandits were up against Sheldon's Pub Pirates; and the hot weather brought out quite a few fans for both teams. I would have been happy to watch the game, but most of the kids were bored before the end of the first inning; so we headed for the playground with some other teen and grandparent support; played there for a couple of innings; watched the fourth inning while the kids demolished the ice cream treats that the Grandmothers had done a run to the Emporium for; and then we went for a swim in the river and some more playground fun.

By then, we'd started to lose some of the younger kids to nap mode – including Brianna; so the grandfathers shuttled tired toddlers to the ball diamond bleachers so that grandmothers or other non-players could have cuddle buddies for the tail-end of the game. The Bandits won the game eleven-to-nine, and while that was a close end; they'd had a lead for most of the game; and the Pirates weren't able to catch up before running out of outs in the seventh. Rounding up the kids by then was easier because I had Rowen and Tim with me by then, and while Michael ended up working until close; he caught up with us shortly after we got the campfire started that Ethan and Ehlana talked Dad into setting up for us.

After a long week, I'd have been okay with getting our camping started by then – and the sleeping; but cuddling with Michael and winding down with some songs and stories was fun too. We didn't have a huge gang for that campfire, but the Seagers and Drapers stayed for a while; Michael's parents wandered over and talked with the rest of the parents for a half-hour or so; and Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah stayed with the kids until Leah fell asleep. We'd only gone with a small fire; put it out at a bit after eleven; and then it was time to get ready for bed and out into our tents by the river.

I have my computer with me because we used it for some bedtime YouTube video watching while Ehlana and Naomi wound down and fell asleep. While they did that, Rowen and I sat outside the tents with Michael and Tim; and Ethan and Aiden used iPads and games to get to the same place as the girls – though that took them a bit longer. The teen time was really great; reminded me again that the four of us are not spending enough time together lately; and ended with goodnight hugs and kisses that have me thinking that Michael and I need some alone time soon too.

Too bad we don't live on a planet with longer days! ;^)

After Rowen and I got into our tent and snuggled in with Ehlana and Naomi; we talked quietly until she dozed off while I worked on my computer and we both listened to music. I hadn't planned on doing any work tonight, but some came up via email that I didn't want to leave until Sunday night; so I took care of that – and then did a full computer check after that. The long days are apparently a problem for sleeping early tonight; but I'm nearly ready to do that now.

There are a few things I want to mention, though, so let's do that before I wrap this up and call it a night.

First up, I didn't mention any practices this week. I should have, because the news was that I didn't have any. That decision wasn't mine, but some of the other teens in the band, and on our praise and baseball teams requested getting the week off because of exams; and their requests were approved. I'm glad that I didn't have those practices on top of everything else; but would have fit them in if needed. We'll likely need to work harder next week to get ready for games and the Fourth of July weekend; but we'll see how that goes. Violet and Dillon weren't hanging out with us tonight, but that was mostly because they haven't spent a lot of time with Josiah and Christina while busy with Andrew and Isabelle's wedding; so they were hanging out together for dinner and the evening after they all finished work for the day. I haven't had much of a chance to talk about the lab with Ehlana, but she's been pretty happy; so I'm sure that she's having fun getting to work with Uncle Adam and Dillon so far this summer.

I'm not expecting a very exciting weekend – even though we had a lot of fun today; but then we want to do some extra work now so that we can have it a bit easier for the Father's Day weekend. Since Dad will also need to get ready for his week in the city next weekend; that's even more important. A bit more play time tomorrow would be nice, but I'm booked for the full day on Sunday at the Inn because Miranda needs to give some of her full-time staff off to make up for the extra hours they put in during exam week. There's a lot that I just haven't written about from the past week that I'm just not going to get to, but one thing I will add that was confirmed tonight is that Jacob and Miranda are going to head out to see and meet the new Bishop baby next Monday and Tuesday on their days off. That'll be fun and tiring for them, and Michael and Rebecca will need to pick up some of the chores slack while they're gone; but they're looking forward to a couple of parent-free days too.

Party at the Stone house! ;^)

Oh wait – that might be what Jake and Stephanie are thinking! I'll keep you posted on that too!

I guess that's enough for tonight. The last week of school is pretty much all play and no work, so I feel like we're practically starting summer holidays already – with the camping and campfire helping out with that. Let's hope that we'll manage to make time for a lot of fun around the inevitable work with summer jobs and everything else! For now, the only thing I want to make time for is sleeping; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Congratulations, Colt and Wendy Carter!

I wasn't at the second big wedding of the summer, but the Carter and Reynolds' families were celebrating today – and did that out on the ranch because they had a very large party!

My day wasn't nearly that exciting for the yard work that I spent most of the day doing; or the dinner shift that I worked at the Inn while Michael needed to be off for his first ballgame of the season. I would have liked to be there to cheer for him instead, but he wasn't the only dishwasher needing the time off; so I drafted myself to help Jacob in the kitchen while he was short-staffed. Michael and Tim's team, the Witch Falls Werewolves, played the ValleyView Vampires tonight, and since they won fairly-convincingly by a score of seventeen-to-ten; I'd say they did okay without a major cheerleading section. Rowen did go to the game, and went for a swim with Michael, Tim, and some of the other teens after the game; but then Michael came back to the Inn while Tim and Rowen went to do their own thing for a while until we closed the Inn for the night.

Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden wanted a bonus camping night, so Michael and I met up with Tim and Rowen once we were set free from the Inn; we went to my house; and took over kid control from Mom and Dad after that. Some of us went for a swim then; we followed that up with a campfire; and then put the fire out at eleven-thirty because we had orders to have the kids in their sleeping bags before midnight. We managed to do that; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I then only sat by the river and talked for another half-hour or so; and then we turned in for the night too.

I was only planning on an email check and this update, but the family business work intruded again tonight; so Rowen fell asleep before I got it finished. I am still working the full shift at the Inn tomorrow, and need to get what sleep I can now; so that's all I've got for tonight.

There was a bit too much work, but wrapping the day up with the play and camping fun has been good; and I do have a really great cuddle buddy to sleep with – even if that would be more fun with Michael instead. That isn't happening, and I don't want to go there and end up staying awake thinking about that too much; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

We had a fun morning with Tai Chi and breakfast for twelve; church and Sunday school was fun; and then I've pretty much been working my tail off since then. A full shift at the Inn was only broken up with an afternoon break that Michael and used to eat and go for a swim with Ethan and Ehlana. We didn't get out of the Inn until nearly ten-thirty; it was past-eleven by the time I got home; and then I had a bedtime chat with Mom and Dad before coming up to my room to get started on my bedtime computing and work. Time phasing that helped, but has also exhausted me; which is why this is going to be a very short report.

It's also short-enough that I'm already done; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, June 13, 2016

We've had another great weather day, and now that we're basically just putting in time at school for the last week of classes; there was bonus outdoor time so that we could enjoy the hot, sunny day.

Jacob and Miranda left town early this morning, and I hope they're having fun hanging out with the new baby and the rest of Jacob's family; but Michael and I haven't talked with them today or heard any news about their trip. Jake and Stephanie stayed home in case they were needed at the Inn, and while they didn't plan it; they're enjoying a family-free night at home while Michael's here with me and Rebecca is staying with Lucas.

You're welcome, guys!

Okay, so that isn't a sacrifice for Michael and I, but I'm sure that Jake and Stephanie are glad to have the break – especially after being on their own while in Europe.

Tai Chi by the river was as great a start to the day as always; I've already mentioned the easy-day at school; and Michael came home with me after just a short stop at his house to spring the surprise on Jake and Stephanie with Rebecca and Lucas – and so that they could pack overnight bags. We didn't have any homework or practices to deal with, so we met up with Rowen and Tim and finally got a chance to go and check out some of the new trails in the park. We did that for an hour; went swimming with Ethan and Ehlana after that back at my house; and then Rowen and Tim headed home to his house for dinner while Michael and I helped Mom with an easy-meal at our house that included grilling some burgers and jumbo hotdogs to go along with one hot and several cold side dishes.

We ate that meal in the sunroom, and I especially liked spending the time with Violet and Dillon. They were going to have plans with Jake and Stephanie, but for some reason; those plans got cancelled. ;^)

This next part of my day might seem like an odd choice, but I had an ulterior motive. I stayed home to get my work and studying done while Michael took Ethan and Ehlana to the park to play. Mom and Dad had work to do, so I time phased the room and we kicked it up a few dozen notches. An hour and a half later; and we had everything finished. Mom and Dad might be wishing that they had a kid-free night now too, but they did at least get to have a few extra hours to have fun instead of working. Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana were home by then and paddling around in the river, so I went for a swim too; and then we came inside and watched a movie together in the living room. It's funny to think about that, but I rarely do that anymore; so it felt a bit strange doing that tonight. We did have fun, though, and Ethan and Ehlana think that Zootopia is a great new addition to their favorite animated movies list.

I'd... make... a... sloth... joke... here... but... it... would... take... too... long.

Ha... Ha... Ha...!

Moving along, we watched the movie; I threatened to time phase Ethan and Ehlana's bedtime routine if they didn't stop with the sloth jokes and talk; and then Michael and I got them tucked in before coming upstairs. We're currently both getting ready for bed now; and that brings me to my ulterior motive.

Sofa... Sleepover!

Oh, look at the time! I need to wrap this up and meet up with Michael in the lounge; since we definitely do not still want to be awake when Violet and Dillon get home or we might not get away with accidentally falling asleep together – especially on a school night!

It's been fun, but I gotta run; so, until next time...

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

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

There was a risk of thunderstorms for our area all day, but we dodged them; and only had a couple of cloudy hours to go along with a lot of hot and sunny.

That was perfect for Tai Chi; outdoor play time at school when we didn't' want to be cooped up in our classrooms; and for our marching band practice. Since we didn't have a concert band practice too, we were able to go home after school; have a swim break; and get something to eat before heading back to the school. Our band practice went great; and I think we're ready for the Fourth of July parade. Ditto that for our teen praise team for the holiday weekend service, and while I'm thinking about it; we will have a small teen praise team in the parade too – our seniors and a couple of singers that aren't in the marching band yet. I love doing that too; but the rest of us will be in the marching band. We won't, by the way, have everyone in the band with us for the parade either, but if we did that; the parade would be noticeably smaller because we wouldn't have enough teens to do everything else.

Michael's parents aren't going to be home until late from their visit to Garden City, so we haven't heard anything new from them; and I didn't go home with Michael to visit with them after we were finished at the church. I wanted to get started on my work and studying; so I came straight home; got ready for bed; and then kicked my work into time phase gear. That's the only way I managed to get everything done so that I can still be sleeping before midnight, and while I'm glad about that; the exhaustion trade-off isn't so much fun.

Sleeping is an option, though, and I'm ready to go there now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Another hot, beautiful summer day; and one less day left before we'll be free for the summer!

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were outdoors a lot today during school; spending a lot of our afternoon helping out with getting things ready for our play day tomorrow. We were only four of the volunteers, but before you think that we just did that to blow off our classes; I'll add that most of the students and teachers spent the afternoon outside – and most of the morning too. The work was not more fun than the games and goofing around that was going on around us – even if we did have fun too.

The great weather had us taking time off after school too instead of going straight to our after-school jobs; but we only had time for a short bike ride at the park and a swim before Michael, Tim, and Rowen needed to be at their jobs until we had our baseball practices. I used a time phase and worked in the office, and though I didn't get all of my work and studying finished; I did get more than half of it done. That helped out a lot later, but by the time I stopped that round of work; I needed to eat a quick dinner and then get to my baseball practice at the school.

I was running behind by then, so Rowen stopped by to get me on the way to the school; and then we were busy getting ready for our next game – and working harder to make up for the missed practice while we were busy with exams. Carolyn didn't complain about that too much because she'd needed to get good marks too so she wouldn't mess up her college sports stardom plans for her imminent freshman year; but still was the driving force behind our too-tough practice tonight. That's why we went for a swim after the practice. Michael and Tim met up with Rowen and me to do that; and we ended up having Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden with us for that too when Mom and Dad had some team mates stop by for drinks after their practice.

While I'd have loved to spend a couple of hours with Michael, I needed to get back to my work and studies after the swim, so we said goodnight by the river; I went inside with Ethan and Ehlana; and came straight up to my room to start multi-tasking my work with some quality Jacuzzi time. I didn't do that in a time phase; but only because I was able to do my online language studying in normal time while soaking in the tub so that I could get that out of the way. I did switch to a time phase while doing my hair and got started on the family business work then too; and kept up the high speed work until I had everything finished.

Tomorrow is the play day at school, and we'll have a short day on Friday, so it isn't that big of a deal if I stay up late; but the good news is that I don't need to do that! I've also covered everything I wanted to include for this report, and going to sleep early sounds really great right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Okay, we've had an amazing, fun day, but I'm also exhausted; so this is going to be a short report.

Play day at school was great; and we all had a blast. There were thunderstorms in the forecast; but they didn't get here until a lot later than expected; so we didn't have any weather problems while we were at school. Mom and Miranda were there for a volunteer shift at the hotdog booth; and they seemed to be having a lot of fun when we stopped there for our lunch break. I won't go into all of the games and other activities; and only repeat that we had a lot of fun.

After a day in the hot sunshine, moving on to the Inn to help with the dinner shift wasn't as exciting, but it was the last game night of the school year; there were extra customers because of that; and Miranda needed the help. Michael and I also stayed for game night, and we won the junior championship; while Mom and Miranda were both out of luck to win and keep the senior title for the summer – mostly because they didn't team up; and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne played better than everyone else tonight.

Staying for game night and having a bigger crowd meant that I didn't get home until a bit after eleven o'clock – after stopping at Michael's house for a bit of cuddle time after the gaming. I needed a bath by then too; so started out my work by multi-tasking that with some Jacuzzi time. I was too tired for time phases; so I've been working away at normal Magi speed. I had a lot to get done because I finished my language studies for the summer and got all of my family business work done so I'm good to go for the weekend. Doing all of that means not having much time left to sleep, but we will be out of school early tomorrow; and will only be having parties and watching movies or playing outside. I can handle that on a couple of hours sleep and a bit of self-healing when I wake up; so I'll be just fine.

This report is lacking a bit on details, but all that I have in me right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, June 17, 2016

We're about to start our campfire; and will be following that u with our first camping adventure of the summer holidays; so this is going to be a short update with the details for the rest of our night coming with tomorrow's report.

Our school day was all about playing and having parties today; we had shortened periods and home room parties at lunch that were outdoor picnics for nearly all of the grades. That all added up to our usual last-day early release, and while Michael had to work the dinner shift at the Inn; we had time to hang out with Rowen and Tim for a while before he needed to go there.

Ethan and Ehlana launched the camping adventure suggestion, and to make a long story short; we've ended up with quite a gang at our house. Michael, Rowen, and Tim signed up right away; Naomi and Aiden were happy to join in; and then we started adding relatives and cousins as we went along – including Patrick, Scott, and Lindsay; Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia; and Rebecca and Lucas. With all of that going on too, I was kept busy setting up tents and getting everything ready for a semi-major camping event in our back yard. Mom had some things to do for that too; but didn't have to go on a major shopping trip or anything because all kids and teens came along with donations of food, snacks, and drinks to help out with dinner for anyone arriving that early through to breakfast foods that'll make for a potluck meal for us in the morning. Dad did stop for cases of drinks and bonus snacks on his way home – along with some extra adult beverages in case the parents and grandparents needed them; but that was mostly because we were hosting the Friday night dinner anyway.

Michael went to work at the Inn on time, and Rebecca was working too; but Miranda wasn't expecting a too-busy night at the Inn thanks to the weather that was perfect for barbeques instead of celebrating the escape from school for the summer with dinner out at the Inn instead. I had more fun than he did for sure because I was on kid control along with being in charge of the campsite set-up; and that meant a lot of playing and swimming.

By the way, while I'm thinking about swimming and through that the canoes tied up to the dock right now; you may have noticed that I've barely mentioned canoeing at all in my journal this spring. There have been canoe trips and they are being used – just not by me. Add that to the list of things I should do and haven't had time for with everything else I have on the go!

I do have that campfire to get to, though, so let's wrap this up instead of wandering off with every stray thought! ;^)

Okay, the pre-dinner play and swim time was great; I took care of Brianna during dinner and the two of us had a great time while hanging out with Rowen and some of the other girls. I'm not including Tim in that, though he was there too. He was busy with the boys; and a bit scary as he helped them out with learning the finer points of important guy things like burping contests and all of those other little games that toddler and tween boys think are so impressive. Yes, Tim has outgrown those things; but he was strictly going there as any good teen mentor will do for the younger boys.

Yeah – Rowen and I didn't buy it either; but had fun anyway.

After dinner, it was time for a trip to the park. Biking was involved for some of us; the rest of our group was either at the playground or ball diamonds to watch some baseball; and jumping into the river to cool off was an option too. Brianna and I went for a swim together while we were at the park; and she is going to be a fish when she gets a bit older. We had to play normal in public, but she can swim already; and absolutely loves the water! Maybe that doesn't sound remarkable, but keep in mind that the water hasn't been warm enough for very long to go swimming; and she was a bit young last summer for learning to swim – as if that isn't true this summer too.

There I go wandering off again. Maybe I should skip the campfire and have a nap – not.

We haven't been home from the park for very long, but it took a while to get here for some of us because we made stops to pick up other kids, overnight bags, or even just walk parents home so they'd get there safely before starting their kid-free night. We – the teens in charge of the camping tonight – still have adult support for the campfire, but then we'll be on our own with some help from junior camp assistants like Jessica and Lindsay. Patrick and Scott might be helpful too; but that remains to be seen for sure. Yes, they do have junior campers in the tent with them; but we'll see whether they help or just get their little buddies for the night wound up and ready to party all night.

That thought definitely has me thinking that it's time to get to the campfire to try and keep that from happening. You can flip the digital page in my future to find out how that – and the campfire and camping – goes for me, but I need to go a have fun living it; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Happy 21st Birthday, Violet!

Her birthday breakfast here was a bit wild, but that was our chance to celebrate with her before she and Dillon headed for Woodvale. They're staying there overnight; and will be back here in time for the late buffet at the Inn so that they can spend most of today and half of Father's Day with her family. That'll be a lot of traveling for them, but will be fun the rest of the non-driving time; and I'm glad that they can do that while I've been busy around here with chores all day.

Before I get to that, though; let's back up and do a quick review of the campfire and camping adventure last night. Michael made it here not long after I wrapped up the last update and went outside again. The usual campfire highlights kept us entertained – including the stories and music; and one swim in the river to cool off for about half of us. With a busy day booked for Saturday, we wrapped up the campfire at a bit after eleven o'clock; got the younger kids ready for bed and into their sleeping bags; and then the teens mostly hung out by the river or on the dock and we talked for nearly an hour while waiting for the least-sleepy kids to finally crash into nap mode for the night. Michael and I didn't get to have any alone time with that, but we did have fun talking with Rowen, Tim, Rebecca, and Lucas before we were ready to get some sleep too.

I can add a bit of tween news to this part of my report too; though I wouldn't dream of saying anything to the participants in this newly budding little teen drama. Jessica has got her sights set on Patrick, and now that she'll be going into Grade Seven in September; he's apparently noticed that she's a very pretty twelve-year old.

Is it just me, or do guys suddenly seem to notice things like that more often when girls are in swimsuits, shorts, and tees – particularly at that age; and at the start of summer? ;^)

I am not the only person to notice the changes going on between Jessica and Patrick, since I caught Rowen smiling a few times while watching her brother anytime he was close to Jessica or watching her; but she didn't say anything either – including to me when we were in our tent and alone except for our sleeping junior camper buddies. It's just a matter of time for Jessica and Patrick now, and I would not be surprised to see them at least semi-officially a couple by the Fourth of July holiday. Stayed tuned; and I'll keep you posted as the story develops. Before I move on, though; yes, I'll be okay with Patrick moving on from his crush on me. It happens to all of us; and would be pretty awful if we couldn't move on from our first crushes. Sure, I had a younger brother of my crush to fall in love with, and Aunt Leanne was still available once Uncle Adam caught up to her, but we're exceptions; and you know what I mean. ;^)

Moving along, I had one wake-up call overnight that required a trip into the house followed by some quiet girl chat time; so I didn't get a lot of sleep. Morning Tai Chi was great with the bonus exercise buddies that included Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne; and then we had a major breakfast to prepare that was thankfully helped with all of the donations. That meal and birthday celebration was outdoors; we had a blast doing that with everyone; and it was a lot of work for those of us on the cooking and clean-up crews. Add in the kid control; and it was non-stop action pretty much from the end of Tai Chi until kids and teens started packing up and heading home – or getting picked up by parents or other relatives. Violet and Dillon left shortly after eating because they wanted to be in Woodvale as soon as possible, but while I joke about them missing out on all of the work; Violet would have had a get out of work free card for her birthday anyway.

I didn't have one, though, so once the breakfast clean-up was finished; I moved on to cleaning up the campground and getting all of our own gear put away. After that, it was time to get started on the chores. By then, Michael, Tim, and Rowen were all off to work or elsewhere too; so it was just Dad and me for that while Mom kept Ethan and Ehlana entertained with some indoor chores that they helped with while doing relevant Magi lessons to help with their work. Too bad Dad and I couldn't do our yard work that way. We'd have been finished in no-time – or nearly so with a time phase. Instead, it was an all-day job. We took three short swim breaks including the one we had when we stopped for lunch; but it was all work the rest of the time until I needed to grab a shower and get ready for my ball game at six o'clock.

By the time I was ready to go, I only had time to grab a hamburger to go before going with Rowen to the school ball diamond. She was sent with food too; though that was mostly because Mom found out that her dinner had been a Pop Tart. I didn't see the problem with that, since it was a blueberry Pop Tart instead of one of the various chocolate types; but Moms are like that sometimes!

Our team was up against Connor's Comets this week, and while we have friends on the other teams; I've decided that the team rosters didn't exactly turn out fair this year. Sure, there aren't a lot of changes to the last team I played on with Carolyn; but more of our players have grown up to be some of the best athletes at our school; and that's showing up on the scoreboard. Twelve-to-eight was a closer score than in our first game, but it wasn't that close; and three of the Comets' runs came in the last inning – and were nowhere near enough to have us worried about losing – especially when two of those runs came with two outs on a really good hit.

I haven't mentioned Michael much yet, so I'll back up just a bit and mention that he did come over for part of his afternoon break – and that was my last swim break from the chores too. He worked the dinner shift too, though; so he couldn't come to watch our game. Mom and Dad stopped by with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden and watched about half of the game, but they didn't come right away while busy having a late dinner; and then Dad wanted to get home so he could work in the office. They left when we were ahead nine-to-three; and we were on cruise control for the rest of the game anyway. Michael came over after he was finished at the Inn; and got here in time to help me with getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night.

They were ready to crash by then because they'd already had a long day by the time they got home from the school; and had a bit more bonus fun when Rowen and I brought some of our team mates back with us for a celebration swim – after stopping at the Emporium for frozen treats. Some boyfriends – including Tim – were along for the swim; but we didn't make a big event of that because most of us had other plans for the rest of the night. Everyone except Rowen and Tim were gone by the time Michael got to the house; and then left after just a short chat with him that included Tim razzing him about missing out on the girls in swimsuits fun.

Michael didn't totally miss out on that, but we didn't go swimming; and you don't need any additional details!

After Rowen and Tim left, Michael and I had a chat with Mom and Dad in the office; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana into bed with some guy and girl chat time; and then we came up to the lounge to watch a movie that we didn't really end up watching. A sofa sleepover was very tempting, but since it is Father's Day – right now as I'm writing this; we decided not to do that so he could be home in the morning. We did have fun with that bit of make-out time, though; so we were both fairly happy campers when he went home at midnight. Mom and Dad were calling it a night then too, but we only took time for a quick round of hugs and kisses – and an early "Happy Father's Day" wish for Dad before we split up to go to our own rooms. Even though we'd had the swim after baseball, I still felt the need to at least have a shower; so I did that quickly; cheated with a time phase to get my hair done; and did a bit of family business multi-tasking with that for a job that came up in my email.

I had that and the rest of my bedtime computer checks finished by the time I got into bed with Mandy; so this is the last bit of computing I have left before calling it a night and getting some sleep. I'll need the down time, since I'll be working the full shift at the Inn; and Miranda and Jacob are going with three buffets again for Father's Day. While breakfast at Michael's will be better food in the morning, I'm going to be home for breakfast because I won't see Dad much after that while I'm at the Inn and he's busy with getting ready for his week in the city. That won't be very exciting for him, but we will have fun in the morning, and he'll be going to the late buffet with the rest of our collective families; so it won't be all work and no fun! I'd add a note about Mom helping him with a fun, late-night start to his Father's Day, but that's more information than any of us needs to have; so I won't go there tonight. ;^)

Cut it out – that's my Mom and Dad in the sleeper berth on that train of thought you're musing about right now!

I so wish I hadn't mentioned that as I'm wrapping this up and getting ready to get some sleep!

Oh well, maybe I can start my own train of thought with Michael and me going along for that trip into dreamland instead. Either way, it's time to go back to the real world now and get some rest; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Happy Father's Day to all of my favorite Dads!

This is going to be a short update because I only have a bit of time to do this while getting cleaned up after a too-long day at the Inn. Michael's grabbing a shower and getting changed at home before coming over; and I'm writing this now because there is a very good chance that we'll be having a planned, unplanned sofa sleepover.

Tai Chi by the river was great; breakfast with Dad was even better; and Pastor Martha gave 'her boys' the annual Father's Day gift of a short service. That gave me time to come home and get changed before hurrying over to the Inn to help with getting the first buffet ready for noon; and then is was mostly work and only a bit of play from there until we closed the Inn about twenty minutes ago. It was also very hot in the kitchen, so our short breaks included jumping in the river to cool off and downing liquids and food to keep up our energy level. We needed to do that because we had a full house for every buffet; and barely enough staff to cover the extra seating we now have available.

I'm not going to write much about it, but will mention that Jenny is in love again; and spent most of her spare time this weekend out at Quarry Lake hanging out with 'her' lifeguard. There will surely be more to that story, but I'm pretty much keeping my mouth shut about it with Jenny; since I still don't like the way she ended things with Peter. Yes, it's pointless and a bit silly; but it's how I feel. Since Rebecca and I heard a lot about Evan Wilson, the hottest lifeguard ever at Quarry Lake and possibly anywhere; it does deserve being mentioned – even if I'd have been okay with a lot fewer details about their blossoming, summer-hot romance.

Okay, let's move along. Michael and I mostly had fun even with all of the work today; and I loved spending so much time with him and his family. With the last buffet at six o'clock, the dining room cleared out a bit earlier than normal, but we still had a lot of work to do; so we didn't get the Inn closed all that much earlier than normal. The break to split up and have showers and get changed was a must for Michael and I if we actually wanted to spend any time cuddling – or having a sofa sleepover tonight; which is why we're doing that now. Going for a swim was an option too; but I'd have still needed a shower anyway to get my hair clean again. I am nearly ready to go, though, and Michael will be here soon; so I need to finish this and go downstairs to wait for him.

Mom and Dad are still in the office as I write this, but will be done soon. Other than the buffet tonight, it's been mostly work for Dad; while Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana got to have some afternoon play time with the rest of our family. Violet and Dillon are home safely from Woodvale, and will be here a bit later; but are still hanging out with his family. That's partly for Father's Day; but also because Andrew and Isabelle are home from their honeymoon tonight too. I'll likely have more on them tomorrow; so let's not drag this out by going on any extra side-trips.

The start to our summer holidays hasn't exactly been all fun and games, but that's life for a teen in a small town; so I'll deal with the transition from lazy summer days as a kid to having more responsibilities now.

We're not quite grown up yet, though, and I have a sofa sleepover to get to now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, June 20, 2016

Top news of the day was not that Michael and I had a sofa sleepover; but that did make the early wake-up call to see Dad off on his way to the city more entertaining! ;^)

While that was fun, and so was the post-departure cuddling and nap that followed; but the top news of the day is the surprise day at Quarry Lake that Jacob and Miranda set up and coordinated with a fairly large group of kids, teens, and added parent support. We had some work to do before going there that included yard work at Michael's house, but I went to help out with lawn tractor along to make that work go faster; and we were out at the campground by eleven o'clock. I won't list everyone there; but Michael and I had Rowen, Tim, Rebecca, and Jenny with us; and we spent a lot of time with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, and Michael's younger Bassett cousins.

On the teen drama front, Jenny gets top billing there with her ongoing summer romance with Quarry Lake's hottest lifeguard, and while that's her description; she isn't wrong about that. Michael and I officially met Evan Wilson while we were there and he was on a break and hanging out with Jenny, and while my first impression was mixed; that was mostly because he spent a bit too much time appreciating the girls around him – Rebecca, Rowen, and me included. I'd say that Jenny didn't notice, but then she's exactly like that when checking out the guys – a fact that directly led to her being available to spend the summer hanging out with Evan. I'm not judging – it's just not something that I'd ever do; and certainly not with Michael's friends.

Okay, I might make a tiny exception for Jake, and I'm sorry about that, Stephanie; but little girl crushes are forever – even if we do out-grow them eventually! ;^)

Second-best teen drama story was another chapter in the Patrick and Jessica story. They were both at Quarry Lake; spent the entire day together; and are definitely one step closer to being an official couple. That's been fun to watch; entertaining from Rowen and Michael's perspective for her brother and his cousin; and I appreciated being totally ignored by Patrick today!

I'm just kidding about that last part, and we did spend some time hanging out with Patrick and Jessica; but it is just a bit strange to have them crossing that threshold to teen couple from the little kids they were just a couple of weeks ago.

Moving along, the play day at Quarry Lake was amazing; we had a picnic lunch there; and then came back to Michael's house for a pot-luck, barbeque dinner. All of the parents at least contributed to that even if they couldn't join in; and Michael and I didn't have to do much work because we were on kid control from the time we got home until after the clean-up was finished and everyone started to head home. I went home then too because I wanted to get my work done and go to bed early, and while more time with Michael would have been more fun; I'm due for a decent night of rest.

That decision worked out for me because we had a bit of rain roll through along with some thunderstorms, but even if it had been beautiful all night; I'd have still picked the work and early bedtime. The second part of that can start as soon as I wrap this up, and since I've covered to basics, that's an option right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Here are a few tidbit-teasers for what will be a double-update tomorrow night.

Mom took Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden to the city today; and they'll be there until tomorrow morning so that Dad can share at least the start of the twins' fifth birthday with them before they come home again for the party we'll be having here at home with them starting tomorrow afternoon.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are having a camping adventure in Michael's back yard that will very likely include a tent mate swap – which is why I'm writing this now and leaving my computer at home when I head over there.

I stayed home instead of going to the city because I had band and teen praise team practices tonight; and didn't want to miss them now that we're so close to the holiday weekend. I also worked the lunch shift at the Inn; and Michael and I had help from Rowen and Tim during Michael's afternoon break to set up our tents by the river so we wouldn't need to do that after we got home from the church.

There's a campfire for me to get to now; so the rest of this report will need to wait for tomorrow night.

It's been a mostly-fun day, and the best is yet to come; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Happy 5th Birthday, Ethan and Ehlana!

There's a lot to cover today, but I'll start with welcoming the newest member of our family! Silkie is Ethan and Ehlana's new baby – a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy that they picked up this morning while in the city. Ethan and Ehlana named her; she's absolutely adorable; and currently having a nap while cuddled between Ehlana and Naomi in our tent. I'll have more on that to come, but before I get to that; let's back up and cover more news from yesterday.

Yesterday, my morning started out great with Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom. Michael stayed for that; and we found out the details of Mom's trip to the city plans with Ethan and Ehlana. I really would have loved going along, but that wasn't an option; and Mom needed help around here anyway while she was gone. Sure, she could have gotten help elsewhere, but I already mentioned that I wouldn't have missed my practices anyway; so it all worked out for the best – even if I did miss out on the fun in the city.

I helped to clean up after breakfast while Violet and Dillon went to work at the lab and Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana started to get ready and the van loaded for their trip. Naomi and Aiden were dropped off with their overnight bags, and when they were all ready to go; I saw the rest of my family off to the city – a bit of déjà vu for me when it felt a lot like Monday morning – except it was later in the morning and warmer. After that, I had chores to get started on to make sure the yard was ready for the party today; so I got to that and worked for a couple of hours before needing to get cleaned up and to the Inn for my lunch shift there.

That was extra work for me, but Miranda had some schedule shuffling to do because of the extra business they're getting on the weekends; so Michael and I were part of that solution today. Rebecca, by the way, was out at the farm with Lucas on Tuesday; and stayed there overnight for her second day off of the week. I don't think that counts as a day off when she helped out on the farm while spending the day with Lucas; but they did have fun together; and I'm glad that they at least managed to have one day together this week – even if they'll both be too busy to see each other much for the rest of the week.

Moving along, I worked the lunch shift with Michael; we met up with Rowen and Tim for Michael's afternoon break; and then used most of that time to get the tents set up at Michael's house for our camping adventure. We also went for a swim and had a late lunch; but then it was time for Michael to get back to the Inn and for me to continue with some more chores at home until I needed to be at the school for our marching band practice. Michael was at the practice too; though that meant only helping out with the dinner rush prep work before I picked him up at the Inn along the way to the school. Our band practice went great; we had fun with our teen praise team practice at the church after that; and then we split up long-enough for me to go home; grab a shower; and pack my overnight bag – along with the email check and micro-update I wrote in my journal while I was getting ready for the rest of my night.

The campfire was great – including the first part with Jacob and Miranda; the visit from Jake, Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon at the same time that Michael's parents were getting ready to go in and up to bed; and the teen-only time after that with just the four of us until we put the fire out at eleven-thirty or so. While that seems early, it was a work night; and we didn't want to bother anyone by keeping the fire going until later. Getting to the co-ed cuddling in our tents after that was a factor too; though we were segregated while getting ready for bed before Rowen and Michael swapped tents – I mean before they accidentally returned to the wrong tents after our washroom breaks. No details are needed for this report for the rest of the camping fun; but I will admit that Michael and I had a lot of fun with a quiet, but fairly hot make-out session before we cuddled close and went to sleep. I'm not going to go there tonight, since tent mate swaps aren't an option when we have five-year old junior campers in the tents with us tonight! ;^)

Michael was working the breakfast shift this morning, so we didn't get a lot of sleep; and then I was on my own for Tai Chi by the river after he left for the Inn with his Dad. I exercised then; had a little coffee and juice visit with Miranda when she was getting ready to go over to the Inn too; and then had breakfast a while later with Rowen, Tim, Jake, and Stephanie once they were all awake and ready to do that. Next up was moving the two tents over to my house for Ethan and Ehlana's birthday party camping adventure. Rowen and Tim helped me with that before moving on; and then it was time for me to get to work on the rest of my chores – and setting up the extra tents for the camping tonight.

While I was busy with that, Mom and Dad did a birthday breakfast with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and then Mom took them to pick up Silkie after walking Dad to the courthouse and saying goodbye to him there when it was time for him to get to work. I'm backing up the story again, but should mention that the entertainment in the city for Ethan and Ehlana included some shopping, and afternoon visit to SportsFusion; dinner out at a favorite Italian restaurant with great pizza; and a movie night at the theater. The two-room sleepover at the hotel included an adjoining room, so Mom and Dad were able to spend the night together instead of having boys' and girls' rooms for the night. There was, according to the report that Rowen and I got before Ehlana and Naomi fell asleep a while ago, some co-ed cuddling going on in the kids' room too for a while; but there were girls and boys-only beds by the time they were ready to sleep after watching a movie while Mom and Dad were busy working in the other room.

Getting back to my story from here at home, I had my work done before Mom got home with the four kids and Silkie; and then it was time to really get busy! Aunt Leanne came over with Zack and Brianna because Mom had brought fast food for her, but while we had lunch too; I needed to keep working – and helping Mom with some cooking for birthday party salads. There was too much going on then to have any hope of covering every detail, but the next couple of hours included a lot of fun as Silkie was shown around the house and yard; we used a bit of animal-human telepathy to smooth over the introductions between Mandy and Silkie; and the work continued along with story time and a bit of birthday fun here and there.

Michael came over after finishing the lunch shift at the Inn; and he was in time to help with the last bits of work before the kids began arriving for the mid-afternoon start to the party. It was time for Michael and I to supervise the kids and run the games for the next hour or so once all of Ethan and Ehlana's friends and younger cousins were here. All of those games were fairly-standard party fare for a summer party; and the kids all had a blast – especially when it came to the messier games that included water balloons, eggs, and ice cream. Yes, that sounds weird; but we are not talking about all three of those things in one game! ;^)

The first half of the party had a time constraint thanks to our baseball practices tonight, so after the games, we went for a swim to cool off – and clean up in some cases; and then it was time for dinner. While Michael and I had been busy with the games, and we'd had help and spectators for that; Mom had lots of extra help with getting ready for dinner too. When half of the party guests are young kids, that part of the menu is fairly easy; but Mom did have other food available for the adults and teens too; so Grandpa and the other guys were kept busy on the grills for well-over an hour as they cooked up hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and a few steaks. Michael and I were on junior kid control during dinner while Mom took care of Ethan, Ehlana, and their friends. That meant that we had all of the younger cousins and some of their friends; and we had help from Rowen, Tim, Jessica, and Patrick.

It's funny how Jessica and Patrick got drafted to help out, but Sophia's here for the party, so Jessica was happy to help out, and while Patrick is doing a great job helping Michael and Tim with the younger boys; he's definitely here because Jessica is too. Maybe I'd better move up my prediction for them becoming a couple; since that could already be official – and we're still a week and a half away from the holiday weekend!

Dinner was a blast of fun, and I especially had fun with Brianna again. She really likes hanging out with me too; so I should find a way to do that more with her this summer if I can somehow add that to my schedule. Yeah, I say that kind of thing a lot; but she is growing up fast; and I want to be part of that fun with her! We did the full cake and ice cream dessert with the twins; they opened their gifts; and then the party play time moved to the park while some of the adults were busy with their ball practice. Rowen and I weren't in on that because our practice was at the school, but we helped with the clean-up and getting the kids to the park first; and then went on to our practice. That was fun, but not exactly a break in the action as we worked hard to get ready for our next game; and then needed to hurry back to the park to help out with getting the kids home again.

Some cleaning up was in order by then, so we did most of that through a swim in the river; followed by getting the campers ready for bed ahead of the campfire. It was past-ten by the time we had the kids ready and the campfire set up and ready to go. There were some extra guests for the campfire, but that was mostly parents, grandparents, and the cousins that were still awake by then. We don't, by the way, have any of the younger cousins here for the camping. We have enough on our hand with the group of four and five-year old kids; and keeping up with the toddlers too would have been too much. The campfire fun included toasted snacks, drinks, music, and semi-scary campfire stories; and only lasted until eleven-thirty because the kids were falling asleep by then. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had help with getting all of the kids tucked into sleeping bags for the night; I had a bit of extra work getting Silkie settled in for her first night with us; and Ethan wanted Ehlana to get the first night with their new dog because he's that kind of brother.

Naomi did offer to share her sleeping bag with Ethan so that he could be there with Silkie too, but while he appreciated the offer – and would have loved to do that; he couldn't exactly accept when all of his buddies were around here too!

So, we had the kids in tents and most of them sleeping by midnight; and then Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had a bit more work to do to clean up from the campfire before we could sit by the river and have a wind-down break while waiting for all of our junior campers to be settled down for the night. Patrick and Jessica joined us for part of that sit and chat time; but then they headed for bed about fifteen minutes before we did. Rowen and I had a little chat before she went to sleep too once we were in our tent; and I've been working on my computer since then to deal with some family business work that needed to get done.

I'm not going to get much sleep, but I have pretty much covered all of the news, and we've got a busy camping breakfast and morning camp clean-up ahead of us; so it's time to wrap this up and get all of the nap time I can – or I can take Silkie out for another bathroom break. Was she reading my mind; or does she just have really good timing? I have no idea, but since we don't want any puppy accidents in the tent, I'm going to go and deal with that right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, June 23, 2016

I've run out of time and need to get to sleep so that I can be ready for our annual start of summer shopping trip in the city! That's why this is going to be a micro-update.

Tai Chi by the river at sunrise was great thanks to the bonus exercise buddies. Breakfast for a gang of campers was a bit crazy; but Violet and Dillon helped out; and we survived that blast of work and fun. Michael had to get to work after that, and Tim had to leave too; but Rowen stayed to help me with kid control as parents came to pick up their kids; and with the campground clean-up. She eventually went over to the computer store to help out there for a while; and I stayed and worked around the yard and house until lunchtime. We only had Naomi and Aiden still with Ethan and Ehlana by then; so we had a quiet lunch; and then I had the afternoon off to play for a few hours while Michael was on his afternoon break. We met up with Rowen and Tim for some trail riding at the park; followed that up with some swimming at my house that Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden joined us for; and then we wrapped up Michael's break with an ice cream run to the Emporium before we dropped him off at the Inn so he could help with the dinner rush.

Rowen and Tim went to do their own thing after that too; so I brought the four kids home again – and left them with Mom while I got to work on my family business work. I had a lot to get done, so I worked until dinner was ready; took a break for that with Mom, Violet, Dillon, and the twins; and then I went back to work again. Naomi and Aiden had been picked up by dinnertime, but since Mom needed to do the usual final work-up for the shopping trip with Aunt Leanne; Violet and Dillon offered to go out and play with Ethan and Ehlana while I was working and Mom was at Aunt Leanne's house.

Some playing went on at the Carrington house too, but I was out of the loop for all of that while I worked to get everything done so I can take the weekend off from the family business. I had all of that done by ten o'clock; took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night after that; and then came up here to have a soak in my Jacuzzi – without doing any multi-tasking. Everyone else is sleeping now, and my time limit is self-imposed; but I'm tired out too after a couple of camping nights and a lot of work and play time. In addition to the shopping trip, we have a co-ed baseball game tomorrow night; a work day at home on Saturday ahead of the long weekend; and I'll be working the dinner shift at the Inn on Saturday and the buffet to close shift there on Sunday.

I'm getting tired just thinking about all of that, and can write about the work and fun ahead each night; so let's just wrap this up so that I can get some rest and be ready for whatever life throws my way over the next few days!

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

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Friday, June 24, 2016

This has been quite the day!

We skipped Tai Chi by the river and got our exercise through the mall-walking and shopping instead. Getting ready for that was our first job of the day; and then we headed for the Inn and the pre-trip buffet breakfast. Michael was working the early shift, but not because he was coming along – he was booked for the day at the Inn while Rebecca and most of the teen girls went along with us instead.

The food, family, and friends time was great, but it was over too soon; and then we were loading up and hitting the road for Crystal Springs. Mom had a full van load, so I went with Rowen and her mother. I won't bore you with the full list; but we had quite a turnout for the trip; and the town and Ridge River area was missing a notable percentage of the population for most of the day. We didn't have a lot of boys on the trip, but Ethan and Aiden were two of them; and Rowen and I spent a lot of time with the younger kids in our shopping group while we played dress-up and picked out our summer clothes.

This trip was a bit different because Mom had to be back home in time for her ballgame; so our group needed to speed up our schedule a bit to get everything done; and Mom and Aunt Leanne had extra volunteers to make sure that the late groups had everyone accounted for before leaving the city when we were among the first groups to head for home. We shopped at the Mall until one o'clock; had lunch in the food court; and then headed over to Wal-Mart for the supply shopping and the rest of our usual trip to the city purchases – like some of the gifts for upcoming birthdays, anniversaries, and other events. Though we hadn't had lunch all that long ago by the time we were ready to hit the highway for home, we still picked up fast food to go; and ate that lighter meal on the way back.

The annual sale in town was still on, so doing some more shopping was an option for some of us – and one that Rowen and I took with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden along for the fun. Yes, we missed part of the game, but then Dad missed the entire thing because he got held up in the city with work; so we'll only be taking part of the blame for the loss. That doesn't seem fair, since our team had the lead when we arrived and began cheering for them, but I'm okay with that; since Dad shouldn't get all of the blame either.

Do you ever notice that lawyers get a raw deal when it comes to jokes? Dad gets the lawyer jokes even when it's just being teased about keeping him around simply because he's the only lawyer we have; yet is also apparently vital to the success of his ball team if he doesn't make it home in time for a game. That just doesn't seem fair at all! ;^)

Let's not dwell on that loss, but for the record, Rowen, Ehlana, Naomi, and I got some great deals at Palmer's and Taylor's while we were having fun shopping instead. Oh wait, I meant to report that the Ridge River Raiders won a pretty good game by a score of twelve-to-eight; with the win mostly thanks to a three-run homer in the sixth that gave the Raiders some padding on what had been a narrow lead at the time – and a lead that had switched hands twice during the game.

Michael had been given some time off during the day, but worked until close tonight; so I didn't see him until he came over after helping Jake and Stephanie to close the Inn for the night. He has to work the breakfast shift again, so he didn't stay long; but we had fun for the hour or so we did spend together. That included the story exchange; tucking Ethan, Ehlana, and Silkie into bed for the night; and a bit of cuddle time in the lounge.

By the way, our trip today included the first of going away while having a puppy to be cared for while we were gone. Grandma and Grandpa took care of Silkie today; and she apparently has them wrapped around her little paw already. For her part, Many finds that amusing; since cats are obviously superior – and self-sufficient enough to handle a day or two without their family around to wait on them hand and foot. I won't jump in on that debate; and will just be happy to love both of our family pets!

Michael went home at eleven-thirty; I've been doing this and the rest of my computing in a time phase; and will still manage to be sleeping by midnight. That's better than staying up half the night, but the time phase is pushing my limits a bit thanks to a very long, fun, and busy day; so it's time to wrap this up and get to the nap time.

The holiday weekend chores day ahead of us isn't likely going to be a whole lot of fun, but I'll try to make the best of it; and hope for a bit of fun tomorrow night once Michael and I are both done work for the day – which in my case will be the dinner shift at the Inn while he's busy with his ballgame. Okay, it's time to not think about that while going off to sleep; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Saturday, June 25, 2016

It's been a beautiful weather day, but rain and thunderstorms are on the way; and we could be in for a wet night and Sunday.

That'll give you a hint that this update is coming earlier than usual; and that's because I'm about to head over to Michael's house to hang out with him – and with Rowen, Tim, Rebecca, and Lucas. A sofa sleepover might be an option; so I'm writing this now in case that happens!

Okay, the odds are pretty good, or I wouldn't be doing this now; but admitting that in advance makes it much tougher to claim that we didn't accidentally fall asleep later! ;^)

Tai Chi by the river this morning was great, and while Michael had to be at the Inn for the breakfast shift; we were glad to have Dad home with us again. Silkie had fun out there with us too; and that was a fun little addition to our morning routine too. Breakfast in the sunroom was good, and I was glad to spend that time talking with Violet and Dillon; but then it was time to get to work – and we did that for the rest of the day through until I needed to get to the Inn to help with the dinner shift. Feel free to look back in my journal if you really want the usual list of chores that get done in time for the holiday weekend, but I won't bore you with more details except to add that we do have a git of extra work now that we have the big patio and extra sidewalk areas to clean too. We are pretty much ready to go now, though; so all I'll have left to do sometime later next week is another round of lawn mowing and gardening so that we won't need to do any of that on the holiday weekend.

Next up was the work shift at the Inn, and it was hot in the kitchen today! That had nothing to do with hanging around with Michael until he headed for the park and his ballgame, though with a sofa sleepover on my mind; you can't blame me for going there with that thought! ;^)

I had fun while I worked, and while I missed Michael's game; his team won again – this time with a fifteen-to-six victory over the Grocery Ghouls. There wasn't really time to even think about baseball during the dinner rush; and I ended up staying until close because we were just that busy despite the hot, sunny weather. With that to go by, Miranda expects we'll be really busy tomorrow too – especially if it rains a lot and the campers come to town for something to do while it's wet out.

We'll see what happens with that, but let's wrap this up so I can get over to Michael's house for our teen time – and that not-really-for-sure sofa sleepover. ;^)

Michael's came was over before we were done work, and he stopped in at the Inn; but wasn't allowed to stay because he was a bit on the dusty and dirty side – even after the jump in the river. He went home instead to get things set up for us – and grab a shower; and I came home for the same reason – to shower and get changed. Rowen was at the game, and has been hanging out with Tim since then; but I won't be able to get the update on them until I get over to Michael's house. I can report that Mom, Dad, Ethan and Ehlana went over to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne's house for dinner – along with some other friends and family; and they stayed for a while to play until Dad wanted to get home and do some office work before going to bed early. No, manual labor around the yard is not too tough for Dad just because he's a lawyer; but I can't exactly suggest that anyway if I'm going to use that tough work day excuse to justify the non-planned sofa sleepover that Michael and I might – will – have later tonight. I did get some of that update before coming up to my room for the shower, and while Violet and Dillon are out; I did hear that they're hanging out with some friends tonight – possibly including Jake and Stephanie by now.

Now that the work is out of the way for the day, we don't have a lot of time left for fun; but we'll make the best of the time we do have. That's already starting without me, and I really want to get there and join in on the fun; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Sunday, June 26, 2016

I'm tired; so this is really going to be a micro-update.

Michael and I had fun last night with Rebecca, Lucas, Rowen, and Tim. We stayed up too late; Rowen and Tim went home while Lucas stayed the night in a guest room; and Michael and I had a sofa sleepover after we were left alone to supposedly have a bit of cuddle time before I went home. That would have been more believable if Rebecca hadn't tossed a blanket over us and told us that she's see us in the morning; but it worked for me; so I was okay with the non-plan.

Tai Chi by the river was over at my house; breakfast was at Michael's; and we had fun at church and Sunday school. We didn't end up getting rain all day, but just one little late-afternoon blast of wet that was here and gone in no time. That didn't get in the way of my fun because I was working at the Inn by then; but I didn't work the lunch shift. Instead, I was home for that with about half of our family and some friends; we went for a canoe ride after that; and we were back in time for me to hang out with Michael during his afternoon break. We went swimming; played in the back yard; and had a snack break before I went back to the Inn with Michael.

It was hot out today; so it was hot in the kitchen too. The lack of rain or storms did affect the dinner buffets, but we still had a fairly large crowd – including my family for the late buffet. I missed out on that, and we were very busy in the kitchen anyway; but Michael and I had a lot of fun too. I'll skip the work news, since there isn't much except for Jenny's hot summer romance stories – and they don't belong in my journal! We got out of the Inn at ten o'clock; I only stopped at Michael's house to say goodnight to him out on the front porch; and then I came home to get ready for bed starting with some quality Jacuzzi time – once I'd said goodnight to Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana.

I multi-tasked some family business work while in the tub; finished all of my computer and email checks; and only have this update to finish now that I'm tucked into bed with Mandy. There's been a lot going on that I haven't been involved in at all today, but I'm already past this being the micro update that I wanted it to be, and none of that news really affects me at all anyway; so let's just not go there.

We're down to days to the holiday weekend, but we've got some fun and busy ahead of us before getting there; so let's wrap up with a quick look ahead. We've got a friend's birthday on Tuesday that'll be at Quarry Lake; and the big change from previous parties out there is that we'll be having a camping adventure too. Some of us will need to come back for band and teen praise team practices; but we'll still be there for most of the fun! We'll also have chores, work at the Inn, and the next fruit and vegetable boxes orders and deliveries to make; and then we'll be in for a crazy-busy holiday weekend with lots of work at the Inn and family and friends fun.

With all of that going on; I'm only wondering why I'm not sleeping already to rest up for everything. I don't have a good answer for that; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Monday, June 27, 2016

This isn't going to sound like a very exciting report; and it'll be short too because I'm worn out and need the down time.

Tai Chi by the river was good; breakfast in the sunroom was better; and then I helped Michael at his house for the rest of the morning with their yard work ahead of the holiday weekend. We worked until a bit after one o'clock; had lunch; and then Michael and I were set free to play for the rest of the day. We went biking at the park with Rowen and Tim; played and swam back at my house with Ethan and Ehlana after they got home from playing at the lab; and then we had an easy-dinner pot-luck at my house that Michael's parents joined us for while Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca were all doing their own thing instead.

We kept playing after dinner, including a trip to the park playground that Naomi and Aiden joined Ethan and Ehlana for; followed that up with a teen movie night in the lounge; and wrapped up the fun with a moonlight swim to cool off until nearly midnight. I've been doing some family business work since saying goodnight to Michael and coming up to my room; and probably should have gone to be a couple of hours ago. We do have the birthday party and camping adventure ahead of us at Quarry Lake; so it isn't very likely that I'll get much sleep tomorrow night either.

That's a great reason to wrap this up, though, and there isn't anything else to report anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Happy 16th Birthday, Joshua!

Michael and I are about to head out to Quarry Lake, and I've decided to leave my computer behind for a day; so look for a double update tomorrow – or in your case reading this in my future; flip the digital page to find out all about the birthday party and camping adventure!

It was a bit on the cloudy side of things this morning, but Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom was still really great – especially getting to do both with Michael. We did some more yard work at his house after that; and then rounded up our camping gear and packed our overnight bags. The party doesn't start until this afternoon, but Joshua's parents needed help with the work to set up for the camping; and Michael and I are two of the volunteers while all of our farm kid friends are busy working on those farms. Joshua gets a partial break from that to get his license; but that's as much for his family as for him; since he'll be able to do more on and around the farm once he can drive on his own.

Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana are at the lab as I write this, but Miranda is going to give us a ride out to the campground; and Mom or Dad will handle the trips we'll need to take later to get back here for our marching band and teen praise team practices – and then back out to Quarry Lake for the rest of the party. That's all going to be a blast, and I'm ready to get right to the fun now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

This is going to be a short double-update because I'm tired and need some quality unconscious time.

Joshua's birthday party was a blast, and Michael and I got to have some fun ahead of time while waiting for everyone to get there – after we were finished helping with the camp and party set-up. We played hard; dinner was early so that those of us that needed to get back to town for band and praise team practices could do that; and then those practices were awesome too. While there were only a few of us at both practices; Michael and I still made it back out to Quarry Lake in time for the campfire. While there was some minimal parental supervision, we – the teens – were mostly left to have fun without any interventions required. Michael and I handled most of the campfire music; the storytellers kept busy when we weren't playing and singing; and we had some cameo moments from visitors that were usually entertaining – including when Jenny brought her lifeguard around for a visit and to show him off to the girls.

I'm not actually joking about that last part; but let's not take that line of thought any further.

We stayed around the campfire until one-thirty or so; had some more fun around the campsites after the fire was out; and eventually went to bed to get a nap before needing to get up again in the morning. I'm sure you're wondering whether there were some tent mate swaps; so I'm happy to report that there definitely were – and yes; Michael and I were among those campers lucky-enough to have co-ed cuddle buddies while having those naps! ;^)

There was a bit of quality make-out time going on before we got around to the napping; which is why we really didn't get much sleep before waking up for sunrise Tai Chi by the lake. That was amazing too; and we had a bit of an audience for most of our workout too. We have so got to remember to bring a hat along for making breakfast money when we do that; since we got a round of applause for our efforts and could've make a few bucks along the way!

Okay, I'm only joking about that now; but it does feel like we're putting on a show whenever that happens.

Breakfast was all easy-to-serve food and drinks; we needed to pack up our gear; and then some of us were able to play for another couple of hours before heading back to town or home. Michael had to work the lunch shift, so we were back in time for that; I went home to deal with my laundry and some house work; and then I went to the lab with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana after lunch so that I could be there with Ethan in the archive while he played with his books and I worked on the family business using a time phase that let us both get a lot of work done. I worked the dinner to close shift at the Inn after that; had a bit of wind down time with Michael at his house after we were done work; and now I'm in bed and ready to crash once I have this report finished.

I'm skipping a lot of the details, but all that matters for posterity is that I've had a really great couple of days playing with Michael and our friends; and now I'll be heading into a couple of work days to finish getting ready for the long weekend. Getting the extra sleep will make keeping up with that work a lot easier, and that's all of the news I'm going to write about tonight anyway; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Happy 4th Anniversary, Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor!

I've had absolutely no involvement in their special day; but hope they've had fun – even though this has been a work day for them anyway as everyone in town is getting ready for the holiday weekend.

That's certainly been true for me. I did yard work all day; and got that done so we won't have any of that kind of work to do while we're busy with other work or family and friends fun time. Michael was busy at the Inn except for his breaks anyway; so that worked out for us too. We hung out together during his breaks; though I worked too except for when we were having snacks or going for cool-down swims. It was very hot today, but the thunderstorms held off until around dinnertime; and then we didn't really get that much of a storm anyway – at least not compared to what's been happening in other areas. Unfortunately, we might not get that lucky this weekend. There's a lot of rain in the forecast; so when it drops around here will make a big difference on whether our play time will be outdoors or in on Saturday and Sunday – and possibly Monday and Tuesday too. It is supposed to be nice tomorrow, which will work out for our fruit and vegetable boxes deliveries; but I'll keep you posted on how that goes with the next report.

For this update, the only other news I have is that I had dinner at home with Mom, Dad, and the twins; did my family business work in the office using a time phase to get everything done faster; and then I came up to my room to end my day with some quality Jacuzzi time before getting ready for bed and snuggling in with Mandy and my computer. I've done one last email and computer check before getting to this report, and there wasn't anything new with any of that; so I'm ready to wrap this up and get a decent night of rest ahead of the non-stop busy we'll have over the next four days – and beyond as we then start the summer visits for our cousins. I'll go over all of that soon too; but not tonight. Now it really is time to nap; so, 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, and 2015 Journals are also available for free at my  Smashwords Author Page.
