Congratulations to the Broncos, Seahawks, and their fans for
winning their playoff games and making it to the Super Bowl!
Considering my general lack of enthusiasm for football, that
might seem like a weird start to my update today; but that gets the football
news out of the way so that I can move on to the good stuff – like our family
play afternoon and the girls’ night and sleepover.
Morning hugs and kisses with Michael, Tai Chi, and breakfast
at his house all made for a really good start to the day too; though I had to
rush around a bit to get showered and ready for church too between Tai Chi and
breakfast. Church and Sunday school was
fun and a little bit awkward as word got around quickly among the girls about
our plans for tonight – with the awkward being because of the girls who wished
they were going to be there too. I’ll
have to set up another night with the girls in our class to make up for that;
but needed to mix it up this time because I really was thinking about Rebecca
first; and she wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun if none of the girls had
been her friends too.
In case you’re wondering, no, Vanessa and Nora did not give
any signs of being upset at not being invited; though they might be ready to
accept those invitations when I do set up that next girls’ night. Maybe I’ll do that during March Break. Mom and Ehlana might be okay with monthly
girls’ nights, but Dad probably isn’t; and Ethan isn’t quite old enough yet to
appreciate them the way he might when Ehlana and their friends are my age.
Moving along from that thought; I walked with Michael to the
Inn after church, and then continued on
home. Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack
had lunch with us, and then we had some outdoor play time at the park and a
walk until it was time for the guys to go watch football. Michael joined them for that while on his
afternoon break, and Mom, Aunt Leanne, and I kept busy getting everything ready
for our girls’ night while Zack had a nap and the twins split their time
between the living room and supervising our work in the kitchen, lounge, or my
room. I went to the Inn with Michael to
help out with dinner, and though I was co-hosting the girls’ night with Rowen;
I didn’t go to the early buffet at the Inn so that Rebecca and I could instead
be set free early – right after the first wave of food went out to the dining
room for the second buffet sitting.
All of the other girls – including Rowen – did join my
family for dinner; and half of them were there with their own families too. Rowen assured me that I missed out on a lot
of fun with that, and I’m sure that I did; but I always have fun working with
Michael and Rebecca, and regular hugs and kisses with Michael make up for a lot
when missing out on other things. It was
also worth the work to see how happy Rebecca was tonight – and all of the other
girls too.
Dad, Uncle Adam, and any other football fans that went to
the first buffet missed the end of the first game and start of the second,
though they still caught most of the action thanks to an abundance of cell
phones and iPads tuned into the games – or at least the ESPN gamecast. While they could have watched the game in the
living room at our house, Dad and Ethan opted to go watch the game with Uncle
Adam and Zack at their house instead.
That made our place guy-free for a few hours; and the fun had already
started by the time Rebecca and I got there.
Rowen and I only invited Sally and Gretchen from our class,
and Naomi and Sophia were added for Ehlana.
We had a back-up plan, but Jenny decided to join the party after finding
out that Erica Bassett and Anna-Marie Palmer had agreed to come. While we hadn’t planned on it at first, since
her sister and cousins were all going to be here tonight; we added Jessica to
the guest list so that she wouldn’t feel left out; and that led to including
Lindsay Faulkner so that Jessica would have a friend her own age.
Mom, Aunt Leanne, and Liz were already working on the first
makeovers in my room when Rebecca and I got there; the first movie was cued up
and ready to go; and my Jacuzzi was also in use – as it was pretty much all
evening as eight out of thirteen of us took turns enjoying a hot, soothing soak
in the tub either before or after their mini-makeovers.
It was chick flick movies all the way, but we started with a
toddler-appropriate, animated romance that Ehlana, Naomi, and Sophia all
watched before their turn for makeovers.
Since girls of all ages love Disney princesses and the happily-ever-after
stories; they had lots of company – and cuddle buddies. The second movie was a total, teen-rated
chick flick; but we had a music video intermission that lasted until the
younger girls went to bed before starting that show.
There was a lot going on tonight that I won’t be able to
cover here without really dragging this update out; so I’ll just mention some
personal highlights.
Whether she realizes it or not, Jenny has changed quite a
bit since last summer – and especially since starting high school and becoming
a cheerleader. I liked that she was back
to acting like Rebecca’s best friend tonight.
Maybe this will help to remind her of what she’s been missing out on
while spending so much time with Garth and their new circle of football players
and cheerleaders while leaving Rebecca mostly on her own.
I also loved hanging out with Sally and Gretchen tonight;
and need to make more of an effort to do that with them – something that isn’t
always easy when they’re out in the country; and especially during the
winter. There really isn’t any good
reason for why Rowen and I didn’t hop on our bikes more often and ride out to
their farms – or invite them to come into town and hang out with us more often
than just at birthday parties or special events. Add yet one more item to the list for things that
I need to do better.
One thing that the Magi council would be happy about, other
than my getting involved more, is that we had a pretty good mix of Magi and
non-Magi. Having a mixed group did give
me a chance for some more observation, and while I’m always aware of my own
interaction with others; it’s interesting to see how other Magi act around
their friends – especially since they don’t know which are and aren’t Magi
too. There are obviously a lot of other
factors that go into inter-personal relationships; but while the more
socially-extroverted girls probably don’t dwell on the Magi part of their lives
very much; others are more guarded and less open because of their special
gifts. I haven’t noticed that factors
such as whether kids or teens have Magi parents or not makes a difference; but
I may look into whether Magi training has an impact. In Rowen’s case, I think that it did; though
she’s naturally very shy anyway.
Rowen, Sally, Gretchen, and I didn’t spend as much personal
time with the four older girls as we did together; but we weren’t two
completely separate groups either. I’m
getting to know Erica better through Michael and his family, and while
Anna-Marie has always been friendly with me; I’ve probably spent more time
around her brothers because of Erica and Christina. They’re both going to be more important and
connected to my family in the future; but I’ll leave that thought there just in
case anyone reads this before those future events come to pass.
I should mention that it wasn’t all work and no fun for Mom,
Aunt Leanne, and Liz. They had their
turns for mini-makeovers too; watched the movie with us after putting Ethan,
Ehlana, Naomi, and Sophia to bed; and then had a bedtime snack with us before
either going home to their favorite boys – or in Mom’s case; off to bed with
Dad while my friends and I wrapped up our night with some music videos and girl
chat time. That started to wrap up when
Jessica fell asleep and Erica and Anna-Marie took care of getting her and
Lindsay over to their room and tucked in for the night. They went to bed too shortly after that, and
so did Rebecca and Rowen; leaving just Rowen, Gretchen, Sally, and me in the
lounge. Sally and Gretchen were camping
out on the sectional sofa, so Rowen and I talked with them for another half
hour or so; and then we came into my room after we all took turns in the
bathroom. There’s going to be some major
laundry to get done tomorrow; but I’ll worry about helping Mom with that in the
morning.
Since we have a house full of guests, and two friends in the
lounge; I’ve only been doing the very basic computer checks tonight. Rowen and Mandy have already fallen asleep,
and I need to join them soon; but I should add a college teens update too
before wrapping this up for the night.
While our favorite collegians have been back to school for a
while now, the last handful of teens headed back to school this weekend; and
will start their next semester on Tuesday.
Whether about to resume classes or already into them; this was apparently
a fairly crazy weekend at pretty much every campus. Three-day weekends are apparently an excuse
for at least two solid days of partying, and even after months of exposure to
college life; our home-town teens are still regularly amazed by the weird and
wacky going on around them at school.
That wasn’t as big of a deal for Jake and Stephanie, since
while they did hang out on campus at both of their schools they were also
spending the weekend together too; and more interested in alone time at their
hotel than partying all night with their new friends. Violet and Dillon stayed on campus and didn’t
get to do sleepovers, but they also did more studying than playing; which is
why they won’t need to study all day tomorrow while a lot of their friends will
be cramming to get work done in time for classes on Tuesday. Christina and Josiah split the difference and
spent one night away from school; though that news flash came from
Anna-Marie. I’m sure that Christina was
just having too much fun to remember to send her usual Sunday night update – or
maybe she’s holding off until tomorrow night because of the long weekend. I know they’re having fun, but I think that I
prefer my first round of college – home-schooled, and without all of the
extra-curricular teen weirdness. When
it’s time for my ‘real’ college education; I’ll let you know if I change my
mind about that.
I guess that’s about it for tonight. Other than a big breakfast in the morning,
Rowen and I don’t have any specific plans other than to spend the day with
Michael and Tim. Since we do have the
extra day this weekend, I’ll save the look ahead for next week until tomorrow
night. For now I’m just ready to put my
computer away and get some sleep, so...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
