Not going to school this morning definitely made it really
fell like March Break today, even if we didn’t exactly get nice, warm spring
weather.
I was awake as soon as I sensed Dad moving around the house,
and had some time to help him with luggage and his work cases before needing to
give Ethan and Ehlana a hand so they could spend some time with him too before
he left for Crystal Springs. We talked
with him while he had a quick breakfast and then Dad helped me get Ethan and
Ehlana tucked into my bed with Rowen and Mandy.
I went back downstairs to see him off with hugs and kisses; cleaned up
the kitchen; and then I went back up to my room for a little extra nap time.
Sleeping in was an option, but I wasn’t up again much later
than normal. Ethan and Ehlana stayed in
bed and entertained Rowen while I went across the hall and exercised. They got up too after I was done; Ethan and
Ehlana moved on to give Violet her wake-up call; and Rowen and I got dressed
first before joining them in Violet’s room.
I haven’t exactly had a lot of parent-free time in my life, but other
than making some of the morning decisions – like what to have for breakfast –
it really wasn’t that big of a deal to have Violet and Alicia in charge while
Mom and Dad were both away.
We’d finished having breakfast and cleaning up by the time
Alicia came over; and then Rowen and I were set free to do our own thing while
she and Violet took care of Ethan and Ehlana and dealt with the usual morning
work – like running a couple of loads of laundry. It was fairly cold outside, so Rowen and I
had a long music practice in my room; played a video game for a while; and had
Ethan and Ehlana with us for some fun time too so that Violet and Alicia could
have a little break. Lunch was chicken
strips and fries – twins’ choice – and Rowen and I took care of the clean-up
before grabbing our bikes and heading out for a little ride.
Since it still wasn’t all that warm out, biking wasn’t
really much fun, so we only did a tour around the new section of town, mostly
to check out the trailers that were still incoming and being set up to be ready
for the construction workers who would be living there while working on the
lab, houses, and other projects. After
getting home again, we decided to take Ethan and Ehlana to the park for a
while.
Rowen’s laughing at me now that I’ve reached this part of my
recap because we ended up having Michael with us for that playground play
time. That happened because Ethan needed
to go see Michael when we were walking by his house and he was outside doing
some work with his Dad and Jake. Using
his very best public toddler act, my adorable little brother got a temporary
get-out-of-work pass for Michael from his parents with just a few hugs, kisses,
and baby-talk words. Ethan might not
have had an ulterior motive beyond getting to hang out with Michael, but I saw
Miranda grinning at us as we left; and she wasn’t just smiling because Michael
looked so cute carrying Ethan on his shoulders.
Cut that out, Rowen!
You know how I meant that ‘cute’ comment. Am I going to need to start writing my
journals after you’re asleep when we’re doing sleepovers? Let’s try to get back on track.
When we got to the park, Ethan and Ehlana wanted to start
out on the swings, and kept Michael, Rowen, and I busy as we did that; ran
around with them; and played on the slides, fort, and the rest of the
equipment. When they were cold and ready
to go home, Ethan and Ehlana brought Michael back with us for a hot chocolate
and bakery treats snack break. Violet
and Alicia joined us for that, and then they took over taking care of Ethan and
Ehlana after Michael headed home again to get back to work with his father and
brother.
Rowen and I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in
the lounge until it was time to help Violet and Alicia with making dinner. We were cooking for eight, because Violet and
Alicia had invited their boyfriends to have dinner with us. I’d been used to having boyfriends sharing
babysitting duties thanks to Isabelle and Andrew, and Dillon spent a lot of
time at our house whenever Violet was home, but Rowen and I both thought it was
a bit weird having Doug Warren here as Alicia’s boyfriend instead of Jenny’s
older brother.
We made spaghetti, garlic toast with cheese, and a tray of
assorted finger food appetizers; we ate in the dining room; and then Rowen,
Ethan, Ehlana, and I were set free to play while the four teens cleaned the
kitchen. Alicia and Doug left after
that, and Violet and Dillon joined us in the lounge where we played for a
couple of hours until it was time for Ethan and Ehlana to go to bed. Violet and Dillon took care of that, though
Rowen and I were there for the bedtime story and to help tuck them in for the
night.
Once they were off to sleep, Violet and Dillon went
downstairs to watch a movie in the living room, and Rowen and I came back up to
the lounge. We put a movie on too, but
mostly sat and talked; surfed the web; and waited for Mom and Aunt Leanne to
get home. I hadn’t been home for the one
phone call they’d made home while waiting for their first flight of the day,
but I’d kept track of them while they were traveling, and knew when they were
getting close to home; though Rowen and I didn’t go downstairs and risk
interrupting Violet and Dillon until we heard Aunt Leanne’s car in the
driveway. Ethan and Ehlana knew that she
was home too, and Rowen and I picked them up on the way downstairs so they
could get in on the welcome home hugs and kisses.
Uncle Adam had already come over by the time we were in the
front hallway; he was helping Mom with her luggage; and Rowen and I helped him
to carry everything up to her room after I got a couple of hugs to last me
until we got downstairs again. Aunt
Leanne in particular was wiped out by then, so getting their travel stories was
going to have to wait. We had drinks in
the kitchen and a little chat, but then Uncle Adam drove Aunt Leanne home to
bed; Violet gave Dillon a ride home then too; and Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana and I
helped Mom unpack a few things in her room.
Violet was back by the time Mom was ready to get some sleep,
and while she spent a few minutes with Mom, Rowen and I put Ethan and Ehlana
back to bed again before coming back up to my room. We picked up where we left off with our chat
and internet surfing while winding down again from that last little blast of
action. Ethan, Ehlana, and I would have
all liked to have more time with Mom, but she really needs to get some sleep;
and we can spend extra time with her for the rest of the week – if we can all
find time for that between the work, play, and the lessons Mom needs to do with
Violet while she’s here.
We’re not quite ready to sleep yet, but there isn’t anything
else to write about for today, so I’m going to finish this up; put my computer
away; and hopefully be tired enough to sleep soon.
Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging
out!
