We’ve got rain in the weekend weather forecast, so Mom and I spent the morning getting the yard work done in case that wasn’t an option tomorrow. I mowed the lawn; helped with some of the garden weeding; and swept the porches, sidewalk, and driveway while Mom did most of the weeding; raked the paths; and trimmed a few trees and bushes.
Violet had worked in the office all morning while Alicia took care of Ethan and Ehlana; and they had lunch ready for us when we finished our work by a bit after twelve-thirty. Rowen came over to meet up with me while we were still having lunch, and we stayed and helped with the cleanup before hopping on our bikes and heading out to play for the afternoon. Our first stop was the park, and since some of our friends were there, we stayed for most of the afternoon; hanging out around the playground; swimming in the river to cool off; and sitting under the shade of one of the big oaks when we didn’t feel like doing anything except talking for a while.
Mom and Dad were doing a dinner and a movie night with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah, so Rowen and I needed to be home in time to help Mom with making dinner and setting the table. It’s hard to believe that this is our first Friday dinner and a movie since the end of June, but I guess we have all been busy just about every weekend this summer. Uncle Nick and Aunt Leanne came over at the same time that Dad got home from the office, and the guys went outside to get a grill fired up while Aunt Leanne joined the kitchen cooking crew. Violet was helping us by then too, and we had fun while making up salads and side dishes to go along with the steaks and barbeque chicken that Dad was cooking.
The real reason we were having a dinner and a movie night was so that Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Aunt Deborah could talk about their plans for the next week and the holiday weekend. They got started on that after Aunt Deborah and Uncle Adam joined us after closing the clinic for the day. Since Aunt Deborah hadn’t taken a break in hours, she was put in charge of making the lists and notes while sitting at the table with a cold drink. Rowen and I mostly stayed out of that conversation, and a lot of what they discussed included extra work for me, but I’m getting more excited about our last week of summer too.
First up was contingency planning for Saturday night if we get the rain and thunderstorms that are being forecast. Rain wouldn’t affect the party at Sheldon’s, but it would be for the major camping adventure that had been planned for our back yard – complete with a crew of babysitters to take care of all of the younger kids. The tentative alternate plans will be sleepovers at several houses – including ours; and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s. Rowen and I suggested having separate boys and girls sleepovers, but Aunt Leanne didn’t think that would be fair to the babysitters stuck with the younger boys; and Violet thought that was a terrible idea too.
I wonder why?
Anyway, we moved on to plans for entertaining Aunt Grace and Mark next week – particularly while Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne were at work during the weekdays. We’ll need to do that around the extra work, like pre-cooking meals for the long weekend; but having them here for nearly eight days is going to be really cool. I offered to help Aunt Leanne get a second bedroom ready for their guests after she had Aunt Deborah add getting a guest room ready for them to her to-do list for the weekend; but she didn’t seem to think that was necessary.
By the time we’d finished dinner and cleaned up, the planning was done, including everything from getting Grandma and Grandpa’s house ready for their homecoming on Wednesday to long weekend guest assignments. Rowen and I took a swim break then, and took Ethan and Ehlana with us while everyone else relaxed on the back porch with cold drinks for a while. We watched a movie after that; did the bedtime snack and story with Ethan and Ehlana; and then Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah took their boys home; Rowen went to her house then too; and Violet went to meet up with Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie at the Inn.
I came up to my room after Ethan and Ehlana were tucked in, and got changed and cuddled in bed with Mandy. We talked for a bit while I started my usual nightly computing, but she’s been asleep for nearly an hour now. Whether we can salvage the campout, or end up doing a sleepover, it’s going to be a late night, so it’s time for me to wrap this up and get to sleep too. Rain or shine, it should be a fun weekend!
Live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!
