It’s heading toward one o’clock and I should be sleeping
just as everyone else in the house probably is by now; but I’m still winding
down and sitting in my window alcove with my computer while Dawn and Mandy are
in bed and out for the count. Kaitlyn
and Kara are asleep on the sectional sofa in the lounge too, while Ehlana got
Jaimie to have a sleepover in her room instead of staying up here with us. The wind down is taking a while for me
because it’s been such a great day.
Tai Chi this morning was about the only thing that was calm
and relaxing through until my cousins started nodding off while we were having
a little bedtime girl chat. Breakfast
was a busy rush because Mom and Violet both needed to get ready and pack a few
things to take along for their airport day trip – like snacks and travel
entertainment options for their passengers.
Dad was working a short day, but he needed to get ready too, so it was
up to me to get Ethan and Ehlana fed and dressed for the day. I had to get ready to go out too, but I
waited to do that until Alicia got to the house to take custody of the twins.
My first outing of the day was for the hair appointments
Rowen and I had with Liz at the salon.
We were booked for today because there were not enough available
openings for us on Friday or Saturday.
Since styling our hair wouldn’t last the day let alone until Saturday
afternoon, we just went with basic cuts, and Liz and Vicky both taught us a few
styling tricks that we’ll be able to use when we get ready for the wedding on
Saturday. That tutorial did mean that we
were still looking pretty good when we left, and that earned us some attention
from Michael and Tim when we met up with them for our last bike practice this
afternoon.
I’m getting ahead of the update, though, so we’ll get to
that in a minute. After our
appointments, Rowen was working at the store, so I went home; put a little time
in on the family business; helped Alicia with the twins; and then she and I
both helped Grandma and Grandma Mercy when they came over to help with making
lunch. That kept us busy all morning,
and the fun level kicked up a few notches when Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and
the kids arrived shortly before noon. Welcoming
them home and unloading their SUV took a while, and by the time we had that
done, Mark’s parents, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah had joined us; and we
were able to sit down and have our lunch.
Everyone else was either working, at the airport, or on their way there
by then; so the parents and grandparents had time to relax while Alicia and I were
kept busy with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden.
The seven of us had a little picnic by the river, and Jaimie
and Kaitlyn had time to give me the travel report and a few stories about their
summer so far before I went to help with the post-lunch clean-up; and they
helped Alicia keep the three toddlers busy until we could all go for a
swim. Rowen came to get me when it was
time to meet up with Michael and Tim for our final bike practice; and we went
over to the farm equipment lot at Landry’s where the trailer was set up and
ready for the parade except for some signs that would get added in the
morning. We ended up bringing Jaimie and
Kaitlyn along, but left Jayden and the twins at home so that Alicia wouldn’t
need to try and keep up with all three of them while we were busy.
Tim was already there and practicing his tricks when we got
there, and Michael was only about ten minutes behind us; so we were able to put
the entire routine together – including everything we were going to be doing on
the street around the trailer; like back and front tire wheelies and
one-eighties. The jumps off of the
trailer are going to be the coolest looking stunt, but that looks higher than
it really is. The bottom of our tires
will only get about four feet off the ground; and the dual-suspension makes the
landings a breeze.
The entire routine takes about six minutes, but we’re doing
the tricks in two teams; taking turns two at a time on the trailer and
road. I didn’t mind one way or the
other, so three out of four of us decided that Michael and I would pair up
tomorrow while Rowen and Tim rode together instead of a boys against the girls
set-up. Since we only have three minutes
to fun the little course we have set up on the trailer with the big finishing
jump; that half of the routine for each pair is a fast-paced blast of action
while the three minutes on the road lets us catch our breath with easier tricks
and one blast along the sides of the road to toss candy to the kids of all
ages. Finally, Tim was just using a
portable stereo today, but Michael picked out music that’ll give us a rhythm to
work with on the tricks. They’re going
to customize that a bit tonight so that we’ll have a track loop that will fit exactly
with our tricks.
Jaimie and Kaitlyn had loved watching us, and had fun trying
a few tricks on their bikes too. We took
them for ice cream at the Emporium after our practice, and Michael and I had
them giggling when we shared a little goodbye hug and kiss before he went back
to the Inn and we headed home. We took
frozen treats back with us for Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana; and Rowen and I were
in charge of kid control from then on – and the welcoming committee for
incoming guests – while everyone else was busy with getting ready for the major
dinner meal.
The airport inbound arrivals were first, and Mom was leading
the first group because she had his brother and sister-in-law; and four out of
five of his nieces and nephews with her – mostly because our minivan had the
built-in entertainment system that kept three of the young kids entertained
after a very long travel day. We added three
out of four of the kids to our play group after helping get their luggage up to
two bedrooms at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house. Mark’s youngest niece, Noel, is about six
months old; her big brother, Noah, turns three this month; and their two oldest
cousins, Kellum and Colleen, are going on six and just turned three
respectively. Noah and Colleen jumped
right in to play with Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana; and despite the fact that she
was a girl, Kellum didn’t seem to mind hanging out with Kaitlyn. They are going to make a really cute flower
girl and ring-bearer couple. Kellum and
Colleen’s almost one-year old brother, Julian, was with their parents, and
while they were in town nearly at the same time; their first stop was at the Inn to deliver luggage for all four parents – since they
were members of the wedding party.
Mark’s younger brother, Matthew, looks a lot like their
father. He’s a doctor too, and his wife,
Candice, is a medical researcher; though she isn’t working right now so she can
be home with Noah and Noel. Their older
sister, Maria, specializes in women’s medicine, and her husband, Colin, is a
Psychologist.
I bet he’d have a field day in Witch Falls
if he knew about the Magi here!
Mark’s family really is great, and the kids are all
adorable, but his father wasn’t the only guy who thinks he’s nuts to make the
move. There were even some half-jokes that
Mark told us about passing all of the psychological tests he’d been given by
his brother-in-law – and had passed despite the worries that he’d lost his
mind. I’ll take a guess that Mark’s had
enough of that, and I’ll skip reporting on most of the other sanity-related
humor.
While they weren’t in the first group back to town, Mark and
Grace weren’t far behind; and they had his best friends from back home with
them. They’d needed to go over to the Inn first too, but then they finally got to do the tour of
their new home with Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and both sets of parents. Kids were not allowed along on that first
tour, but we did get to go over there after dinner so we could see the house
too. The new house earned quick approval
from Mark’s family, and while I’m thinking about it, that didn’t happen when
Mark showed his parents the clinic on Monday.
I’m sure they’ll have a different impression of the new medical center
when it’s completed in a couple of years.
Compared to what they’re used to in Seattle, our little clinic probably does seem
fifty years out of date.
While I’m still on the subject of construction and houses,
one of the reasons why Uncle Blaine took the day off and came here early was so
that he could have a meeting this afternoon with the construction
contractors. They normally do their
meetings by conference call or video, and the occasional meet at Uncle Blaine’s
office; but this gave him a chance to tour the lab construction site. He did that while we were biking, and seems
to be happy with everything so far.
Getting back to the action, while Rowen and I played with
the younger kids, the incoming family and friends arrivals continued. We didn’t have everyone at the house right
away, but everyone who was spending the weekend with us was here by five
o’clock. Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, and
the kids were first, and we just had time to get their luggage up to three
bedrooms before Uncle Adam’s cousins, Scott, Melanie, Kara, and Eddie pulled
into the crowded driveway. I know that sounds
like a lot now that we only have five guest bedrooms, and we are going to be a
bit crowded; but since all of the girl cousins, except Violet, will be staying
in my room, the lounge, or with Ehlana; the only change from the normal we had
to make this time was to have Chris and Martin bunk together until Sunday night
when the parents head home.
Rowen was able to stay for dinner, and we were on kid
control until the food was ready; and then we supervised the kid tables with
help from Violet, Chrissy, Dawn, Chris, Martin, and Jonathan – though the boys
were reluctant draftees. It wasn’t until
after dinner, when we were sent to the park for some playground time, that I
stepped out of my little world to see that this was going to be a big
home-visits weekend thanks to having a lot of people taking a four-day weekend
or vacation time around the Fourth.
Rowen needed to go home to help with her own incoming family, but Dawn,
Violet, and Chrissy came to the park with me; and we had some grandparent
support too with so many kids. We didn’t
have Chris, Martin, or Jonathan with us – they grabbed bikes and went in search
of their friends about a minute after they finished second or third plates of
food; and took desserts to go.
As I think about it now, the entire evening was just a fun,
action-packed blur. While my main job
was to entertain my cousins and the other ‘kid’ guests, I still managed to at
least meet all of Mark’s family, the closest friends he and his parents had
invited, and the group of Aunt Grace’s friends who had come early so they could
spend the Fourth of July with us. After
playing at the park, there was a round of short canoe rides for the younger
kids, and then we went for a swim while the parents and grandparents were busy
with the babies and youngest kids; getting the campfire ready; or just
continuing the meet and greet around the tables we’d used at dinnertime.
The campfire was mostly for the benefit of the kids who
wouldn’t be staying with us for the next week or two, and they’re all younger;
so Mom and Dad planned on a two-hour time limit so we could all get to bed in
decent time – though that hasn’t worked out for me. My favorite part of the campfire was when
Michael stopped in with Dillon after they were done at the Inn. He had a house full of family too, and
couldn’t stay long, but we had fun for the half hour he could stay, and getting
to share a goodnight kiss was pretty good too – even though that meant getting
teased some more by my family.
I was on kid control again when it was time to call it a
night, and Dawn and I had our own group of girls to help get changed, take
turns in the bathrooms, and then tuck them in for the night. Just doing the rounds of goodnight hugs and
kisses with everyone heading to other houses or the Inn,
and with our own parents, aunts, and uncles and getting all of the younger kids
into bed took an hour. Our little girl
chat wound down fast because it was so late by the time we had Kaitlyn and Kara
settled on the sofa in the lounge; and I’m mostly re-processing everything from
today – going over all of the details that I heard and saw but hadn’t been able
to really think much about while I was busy.
That’s probably what it’s going to be like for the next four
days – non-stop action; and not much time to appreciate everything until
later. I’ve been working while trying to
wind down, and took care of some family business in between writing this update
and the usual nightly computer checks.
There were only work-related email, since most of my regular email
buddies are here in town tonight. There
was one pep talk message from Carolyn Landry, but I didn’t dare answer that –
especially since part of her pep talk was a request for all of us to get to bed
early so we’d be well-rested for the three o’clock game.
It’s too late to take that advice, but I really should at
least try to get to sleep, so...
...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor;
logging out!
