This morning started out great when Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam surprised me and came over for Tai Chi; to help out with Ethan and Ehlana; and join us for breakfast. Getting to do all of that with them, and with Grandma and Grandpa, was a lot of fun; and the day just seemed to keep getting better from there.
We got to see Aunt Deborah and Nick for the first time since their engagement before church; though everyone else wanted to congratulate them too, so we only had time for quick hugs and kisses. Aunt Deborah’s new ring is beautiful, and I really loved seeing them so happy. It felt a bit strange being at church without Mom and Dad, but that only lasted until Rowen and I went to Sunday school. Pastor Lewis must have been on a roll, because church didn’t let out until nearly a quarter after eleven, and our Sunday school class had mostly just been playing for the last half hour. That also meant that I didn’t get a chance to talk to Miranda, Jacob, or any of the other people who had either already left before the service was over, or needed to move on right away.
Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne weren’t in any hurry, and we were one of the last groups to talk with the Pastors before heading home. Grandpa and Uncle Adam were put in charge of feeding Ethan and Ehlana while Grandma, Aunt Leanne, and I made lunch. The twins were ready for a nap by the time we were ready to eat, and that gave us enough time to have lunch and clean up before they were awake again; fired up and ready to go.
Rowen was busy with her family for the afternoon, so I decided to work in the office for a couple of hours while Ethan and Ehlana entertained our grandparents, aunt, and uncle. Mom and Dad pulled into the driveway by shortly after three, so I took a little break to join in on the welcome home hugs and kisses; though it wasn’t long before Mom went upstairs to nurse Ethan and Ehlana with help from Aunt Leanne that I’m sure included some girl chat that was hopefully not too explicit for the twins to handle.
While they were doing that, the rest of us got drinks and a snack, and then went into the office so that I could finish what I was working on, and Dad could take care of the work he needed to get done before going back to work in the morning. Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Adam sat at the conference table and talked with us until Mom, Aunt Leanne, and the twins came back downstairs, and then they all moved into the living room for a long telepathic chat until it was time to get ready to go out for the late buffet at the Inn.
Grandma and Aunt Leanne had set up the dinner party, and they made sure that Mom and Dad were at the Inn early enough to welcome all of their guests. That included the local members of their wedding party and their families; though Jacob and Miranda weren’t able to sit down with us until near the end of the second buffet sitting after the last batches of food had been sent out to the buffet tables. Terry and Angela made the quick trip down from Crystal Springs, and along with the Emersons, Aunt Leanne had invited Mom and Dad’s closest friends; and our little party took up nearly a quarter of the tables in the dining room.
Rowen and I were put at the table directly behind Mom and Dad, along with Ethan, Ehlana, Grandma and Grandpa, and Rowen’s grandparents. Mom and Dad had Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, Rowen’s parents, and the Malloys with them; plus two extra spots for when Jacob and Miranda could join them. Before we all got in line for the buffet, Mom and Dad opened their anniversary presents; including the one that Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah had helped me pick out last weekend for Ethan, Ehlana, and I to give them. Other than staying with them while they did that, we were pretty much on our own during dinner; though we did have grandparent support and entertainment too.
We took turns getting our food so that someone was always with Ethan and Ehlana, and the conversation at our table was mostly about Grandma and Grandpa’s upcoming trip, and the other trips that Grandma Emerson was working on – or the parts of those trips that they could talk about in public. Since we were at the late sitting, there was no rush to eat and make room for more customers; and it was close to nine o’clock by the time we started the goodbye hugs and kisses; mostly because Mom needed to get home and nurse the twins again.
It was while she was doing that after we got home that Ethan and Ehlana sprung their own anniversary surprise on us – they had decided that they weren’t going to need the three o’clock feeding anymore! I suppose that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but the cool part of it was that they’d learned how to control their metabolism to make that possible. I hadn’t even considered doing that when I was a baby, but they’d apparently figured it out from watching Mom control her physical systems over the last few months while controlling how much milk she needed to produce for them. I thought that was the best present Mom and Dad got all day, though I am biased; since it also means that I’ll be getting a lot more sleep from now on too. This weekend has really made for an amazing start to October!