Happy 13th Birthday, Vanessa!
Yes, I know she could care less about my best wishes for her
big day, and might even be annoyed by the gift that Rowen and I sent with Tim
to give her at the party; but that won’t keep us from doing things like that
for her just as we do for the rest of our classmates. We certainly don’t expect to hear about it
one way or the other from anyone who is at the party.
I do hope that she’s having a happy day, but I’m also glad
that we’re not there – and that she didn’t invite Michael to get an opportunity
to play more personal matchmaking games with him. She’s obviously still mad at us; but I’ll
still hope that’ll pass before we head back to school in September.
I was busy enough today without adding a birthday party to
the schedule. We had Tai Chi; Michael
stayed for breakfast again; and then Tim and Rowen came over in time to get a
ride out to the ranch with us for our morning trail ride and lesson. Rowen and I have loved doing these rides
since my first summer here, but we’re having even more fun with Michael and
Tim; and even Tim looks like he’s enjoying himself despite the fact that he
probably wouldn’t have signed up if Michael hadn’t asked him to do it with him.
While I’m thinking about our ride, I’d like to mention that
there are several guys, including Tim, who are fascinated with Rowen when we’re
riding. I think it’s the wind-tousled red
hair and how great she looks on a horse that is getting their attention – along
with the bright smiles and sparkling eyes that especially come to life when we
get to take the horses for short runs.
She was getting noticed back at home again too when we
changed into swimsuits and jumped in the river to cool off and clean up a bit
too. Michael and Tim couldn’t stay long
for that, but we did play in the water for fifteen or twenty minutes before
Michael left to go to the Inn and Tim needed
to get ready for Vanessa’s party.
Rowen and I stayed home for lunch, and then we took care of
Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden for the afternoon while the moving adventures
continued. Sophia had gone home and
Naomi had been dropped off while we were at the ranch. We took the four kids to the school playground
for a change of scenery; did an Emporium ice cream stop on the way home; and
spent the rest of the afternoon in the back yard playing and going for short
swims in the river. Mom and Dad were
staying in to work tonight, but Rowen and I had an easy dinner on our own
before going over to the park for our team practice. That was mostly because Dad was going to be a
bit late getting home, so Mom and Violet delayed their dinner to be ready when
he was.
Our next game isn’t until a week from Saturday, but we’ll be
playing our second match against Palmer’s Panthers; and Carolyn made sure that
we worked hard tonight to get ready for that game. The Panthers are in first place, and our only
loss is to them; so we pretty much need to win this game to have any chance of
at least a tie with them. We’ll be the
home team this time, so maybe that’ll help us out too; but they have a really
good team this season, and it’s going to be a tough game.
It was time for another cool off swim when we got home, but
Rowen didn’t stay to hang out with me after that. I helped Mom with getting Ethan and Ehlana
bathed and ready for bed instead after she left; and then we did the bedtime
story and snack with Dad in the office. Naomi
had gone home again after dinner; and Aiden was with his grandparents
tonight. The Drapers still weren’t quite
ready to move into their new house yet; but Mom told me that they would have
enough done to stay there by tomorrow night; and had extra family and friends
help lined up for the weekend.
Once the twins were tucked in for the night, I met up with
Michael at his house. Rebecca joined us
for a short swim, and then Michael and I had another guitar lesson before going
to sit out by the river again and having a quiet wind-down chat. I love that time with him almost as much as
the goodnight kisses; and the small confidences we share definitely draw us
closer together.
I was home again by a bit after eleven, and pretty much just
did a quick round of hugs and kisses with Mom, Dad, Violet, and Dillon before
coming up to my room to get started on more family business work. Sitting in my window alcove to do my nightly
computing was easier when Dawn was bunking with me – or when we had sleepover
guests in the lounge; but I like being able to look out over the back yard and
river too while I’m busy, and the stars are always beautiful from that vantage
point whenever it’s clear enough to see them.
That isn’t the case tonight, since it’s been overcast all
night; and a dusting of rain started falling as I was wrapping up my work and
moving on to my usual nightly checks before starting this journal update. We’re supposed to have the rain hanging
around off and on through the morning, and maybe into the afternoon; but
Rowen’s going to be at the computer store in the morning anyway, and I’ll be
busy helping out with toddlers again; so rain isn’t really a big deal – except
it’ll slow down the movers a bit.
Michael, Rowen, and I have a play afternoon planned, and we’re doing a
dinner and a movie night at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house; so hopefully
the weather will be nicer for all of that.
I’m seriously ready to sleep now, and there isn’t any other
news; so...
...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor;
logging out!
