They should come up with a better name than ‘Black Friday’ for a day that is so much fun!
First of all, this is going to be an especially happy day for our family from now on; since it’s the anniversary for when Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam were re-introduced to each other and the rest, as they say, is history.
The second annual breakfast buffet at the Inn was a great way to start our shopping day; and I especially loved that we were getting to spend nearly the entire day with Violet while Dillon was busy working at the Inn. I haven’t mentioned it in my journal, but the Rice family is only here until tomorrow morning; and then they have to leave for other family commitments with Uncle Richard’s and Aunt Melissa’s families on Saturday and Sunday. That made having the time to spend with Violet even more special.
It was a bit hectic around the house while we all got ready to go out for breakfast. Chris and Martin weren’t very motivated after only getting a couple of hours of sleep; but they also didn’t want to miss out on the buffet either. We had lots of transportation help from the gang staying with Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam; and managed to make it to the Inn on time. The food was great, and Jaimie and Kaitlyn in particular did a great job keeping us entertained; but all of the girls were seriously ready to get out and start shopping by the time we were finished eating.
Abby, and Palmer’s, won our votes for best holiday sales; and I’m pretty sure that all of us were set up with enough new outfits and dresses to get us through the entire Christmas season by the time we were ready to move on. We had time to accessorize with shoes from Taylor’s before going home for lunch; and then we spent the afternoon wandering around town and hitting most of the other stores. The guys in the family had gone on their own shopping trip in the morning, and then went to the park to play football for a while before returning to our house to trade in playing the game for watching football on television.
Even with pre-cooked food and lots of leftovers, it still took a while to get dinner ready for the whole gang; and while the parents were busy with that; Violet helped Dawn and I with kid control in the lounge and my bedroom. Jaimie and Kaitlyn were fairly easy to keep busy and entertained, and Jayden was quite happy to sit on the floor with us and play with a couple of his favorite toys. Ethan and Ehlana could do that too – and a lot more – but were stuck playing five-month old normal babies instead. I’ve been there, and know how frustrating that can be; but they seem to handle it better than I did, and they really did like the extra cuddle time that Violet and Dawn shared with them.
Since the Rice family was going to be leaving after breakfast in the morning, instead of splitting up after dinner like we did last year; everyone stayed until after Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana went to bed for the night. Chris and Martin had some of their Witch Falls friends over for a visit; and they took over the lounge while the rest of us mostly stayed in the living room.
Dillon joined us after finishing work at the Inn, and made Violet’s weekend with the news that their parents and friends had surprised them with a day off from the Inn on Saturday and car privileges so that he could go with Violet in the morning; and wouldn’t need to be back until his shift started on Sunday. Even if Violet had been staying all weekend, she and Dillon wouldn’t have had much time to spend together while he was busy working; so they were both very happy with the new plan.
Violet didn’t get to spend as much time with the rest of her extended family now that she was spending so much time in Witch Falls, so staying for the extra two days wasn’t an option; and the downside was that she didn’t have much time to spend on her Magi training with Mom. I’m sure they did a couple of late-night lessons after Dillon went home on Wednesday, and Violet got home on Thursday; but I’ve only seen them get a chance to work together once during the day. Hopefully, she’ll get to spend more time with us at Christmas so she can spend more time on that. Sometimes I forget just how lucky I am to be able to do my lessons with Mom nearly every day. It must be much tougher for Violet; and even Rowen can only train with her Grandmother or when Mom does lessons with both of us.
Anyway, Dawn and I came up to bed after everyone else except Dillon and Chris and Martin’s friends had gone home. We made a very short visit to the lounge to say goodnight to them; but that was fairly scary for both of us; and we escaped as soon as possible. Dawn’s opted for one more visit with my Jacuzzi; so I’m getting this done now while she’s busy. It’s going to be a bit quieter around here for the rest of the weekend after she heads home with her family; but after the last two crazy days, a little quiet time sounds pretty good. I know, something does always seem to come up every time I say that; but we do actually get a break now and then. Maybe tomorrow will be one of those times!