Mandy and I have a sleepover buddy in bed with us tonight, and Violet has Kaitlyn with her. Our cousins have the guest room across the hall from Violet’s room while they’re here, but didn’t want to stay in there for their first night here without their parents.
It’s been a really busy day. Mom spent most of the day helping Aunt Leanne with some help from Violet while Alicia took care of Ethan and Ehlana all day, and I was in charge of the rest of the yard work that needed to get finished so we could have the weekend off to play. Rowen came over and helped me, and by two o’clock, we had everything done – just in time to go get cleaned up and get to the Salon in time for our hair appointments at three o’clock.
Both of us were booked with Liz, since she and Vicky had been busy most of the week with so many people getting ready for the biggest wedding of the summer. Rowen went first, and we were both done in about forty-five minutes, since we weren’t doing the full styling treatment this time that would never last the twenty-four hours until the wedding anyway. When Liz set us free, it was time for me to meet up with Mom and Aunt Leanne, and after checking in at the computer store and a quick phone call; Rowen had approval to stay with me until after dinner.
I haven’t written much about all of the work that’s been going on to get ready for Aunt Deborah and Nick’s wedding; mostly because I’m not really involved in any of that work. There was lots of proof of the imminent event at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house, with the most obvious being the large pavilion tent in the back corner of their yard closest to the river. I’ll skip commenting on the other temporary additions to the back yard; other than to say that I’m going to be very glad to have full access to the washrooms in my Aunt and Uncle’s house during the reception tomorrow. If that hadn’t been an option, though, I’d likely have just walked home when needed instead. Moving along, there was a house full of family too, but they were spread out around all three floors of the house, and the back yard too. Mom and Aunt Leann both looked like they needed extra hugs, so I took care of that before Rowen and I were assigned the job of younger kid entertainment and control.
We only had three kids to watch, but Kara, Eddie, and Nicole were all fired up, and ready to use all of the stored energy they’d saved up during naps and their long drive to Witch Falls. Running around the pavilion entertained them for a while, and then we played by the river; jumped in the river for a little cool-off swim; and went for a quick walk to the park and back. There was a light dinner at six, and then we had help for the next couple of hours while Aunt Deborah, Nick, their parents, and the rest of their wedding party were all busy with the wedding rehearsal at the church.
The rehearsal party was at the Ayres’ house, and Mom and I weren’t going to that, so we went home with Violet, Ethan, and Ehlana when Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and the rest of the Johnson family walked over to Nick’s parents’ house. Rowen went home then too, and there was a short lull in the action at our place until Dad got home from Crystal Springs with Jaimie and Kaitlyn. He’d met Blaine, Alison, and the kids half-way between Crystal Springs and Granite Park; they’d had dinner together; and then he, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn had hit the road for the nearly two-hour drive home. Dad looked like he was ready for bed by the time they pulled into the driveway, but my cousins were both as fired up as Kara, Eddie, and Nicole had been earlier.
The good news for Dad was that he could take it easy for the rest of the night; though he didn’t go straight to bed. While unloading the truck and getting everything into the house and delivered to the office and bedrooms, Ethan and Ehlana needed us to stop in their rooms so that Dad, Jaimie, and Kaitlyn could see their new beds. Jaimie and Kaitlyn picked going for a moonlight swim after that, and we ended up having Mom, Dad, Violet, Dillon, and the twins all go swimming with us. We followed that up with some television, chat, and cuddle time after everyone eleven and younger got ready for bed; and I’ve been in bed with Mandy and Jaimie since we came up to my room after doing the bedtime story with Ethan, Ehlana, and Kaitlyn.
Tomorrow’s going to be a big day, so other than my email check; I haven’t been doing any other computer work since Jaimie fell asleep. That’s all I have to report for tonight, so...
...live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!
