Hopefully by this weekend, Mark will get used to our time zone, but he and Aunt Grace didn’t make an appearance at our house until nearly eleven o’clock again. They’ll miss out on half the fun if they sleep in on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday!
While they were sleeping – or something – we were busy working. Violet and I were drafted for a bit of running around that included picking up a few things at the grocery store and bakery to drop off at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Mom was cooking all morning, and Alicia took care of Ethan and Ehlana while we were busy. Violet and I had fun together, and it’s hard to believe that we really haven’t had much time for just the two of us all summer. I’d suggest that we work on doing better with that next summer, but since she’ll be going away to college; that probably won’t happen.
Mark and Aunt Grace were over in time for a little visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana before helping out with lunch; and it was nearly one o’clock by the time we finished cleaning up the kitchen and were set free to play for the afternoon. Rowen and I were their entertainment coordinators, and we took them, and Ethan and Ehlana, for a canoe ride; stopped to play at the park; went across the river for an Emporium ice cream break; and walked to the Falls before canoeing home again. Mom, Violet, and Alicia all joined us for a swim, and then Rowen and I went back to the park on our bikes while everyone else went inside to stay cool and relax for the rest of the afternoon.
Grandma and Grandpa got home a bit later than expected, so we all met them at their house and helped out with unloading their van before walking to the Inn for dinner. They provided the stories; the food was as awesome as always; and we sat and talked until we were the last group in the dining room. Jacob and Miranda even joined us for a while to have a little break before we headed out; and they got ready to close the Inn for the night. By then, it was middle-of-the-night to Grandma and Grandpa, so we walked them home and they went in with plans to go straight to bed.
Rowen had come with me for dinner, and we were doing a sleepover too, so we made a side-trip to pack an overnight bag for her before going home. We went for a moonlight swim after that, and ended up having a little more time to hang out with Violet when she, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie all decided that a moonlight swim was a good idea too. That was fun, but short for Rowen and me; since we only played with the four teens for fifteen or twenty minutes before decided that six was a crowd.
Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Aunt Grace, and Mark had come home with us; and Rowen and I joined them in time for Ethan and Ehlana’s bedtime story and drinks – none of us needed snacks too. We did that in the living room, and then Rowen and I took Ethan and Ehlana up to bed on our way to my room. After getting changed and in bed with Mandy, it was time for some serious girl chat and a little random surfing around the net. We’ll probably do at least one more sleepover this weekend while Dawn is here, but since this is the last one for just the two of us before going back to school next week; and it was school that we talked about the most.
We’re both working at our jobs tomorrow morning, and it’s nearly midnight, so I’m going to wrap this up and we’re going to get some sleep. Just two more days until the holiday weekend, and the three-day blast of fun before we go back to school; and at least some parents celebrate the start of their kid-free weekdays.
Live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!
