We’re back in Witch
Falls again now, and
while we had an amazing few days in the city; there really is no place like
home for me – especially when we have extra family here to have fun with!
Fun was the word of the day – even for Michael, Dillon, and
Ethan despite being outnumbered two-to-one while we were hanging out together
and shopping at the Mall, Wal-Mart, and a couple of other places before we were
ready to leave Crystal Springs and head for home. That started with Tai Chi at the hotel, and
Mom and Dad joined in for that today. We
had another pretty good crowd watching us by the time we were finished; and
then the rush was on to take turns getting ready for the day and meet up again
for another breakfast at the diner. While
that was fun, and it’ll only be two days before Dad’s home again; it was still
tough saying goodbye to him this morning and heading back to the hotel to pack,
check-out, and get everything loaded into the minivan.
Violet and Dillon had already left Woodvale by then with
Dawn and Jillian, but we had a bit of time before meeting up with them at the
Mall; so Mom hit a couple of big box stores on the way to the Mall to get some
of her supply-shopping done first – and leave us with a bit more play-shopping time
later. We were having a snack break in
the food court when our cousins caught up with us, so they took a break then
too before we headed out into the Mall for some quality shopping fun. Dillon, Michael, and Ethan stayed with us for
a while, but then they opted to do anything else other than sit around watching
us shop for clothes; and did their own thing until we met up again for lunch at
the food court.
I won’t bore the guys reading this with the shopping
details, but I really loved spending that time with Violet, Dawn, and Jillian;
and the chat time was more important than the actual shopping. We didn’t even really make very many
purchases – just two or three things each.
While we stopped to pick up a fast food fix for Aunt Leanne before
leaving town, our lunch break was the last fast food fix that Michael, Ethan,
Ehlana, and I are likely going to have for a while; so we picked up a few
different things and had a mini pot-luck lunch of pizza, chicken strips and
fries, and Chinese food. Dawn and Jillian
thought that was funny, but then they have access to fast food anytime they
feel the need.
We had time for a bit more shopping at the Mall after lunch,
and then we made our last shopping stop at Wal-Mart for the rest of the
supplies Mom needed to get – along with a few gift purchases that Michael, the
twins, and I all needed to take care of for upcoming birthdays and other
special occasions. The fast-food pick-up
was our last chore before we hit the highway; and Michael and I got to do the
trip home with Violet and Dillon while Dawn and Jillian went with Mom, Ethan,
and Ehlana in the minivan. That’s
possibly the most uninterrupted time we’ll get to have with them; and we had no
problem keeping ourselves entertained for the hour and a half it took to get
from the outskirts of the city to our driveway.
Violet and Dillon were sent down the street to deliver Aunt
Leanne’s food while the rest of us unpacked the minivan and Dawn and Jillian
got their luggage out of Violet’s car, but once that little blast of work was
finished; Michael took his things home and then went on to the Inn to help out
with the dinner rush there. Rowen came
over to meet up with Dawn, Jillian, and me by the time Violet and Dillon got
back from Aunt Leanne’s house; but none of us stayed there very long before
heading out again. Violet and Dillon
went over to his house for the night, and Rowen got three helpers when she went
over to her house to pack for our sleepover.
We made that a quick trip so that Rowen and I could help Mom
with making dinner while Dawn and Jillian were entertained by Ethan and
Ehlana. It was just the seven of us for
dinner, but then we went for a walk that included visits with Uncle Adam, Aunt
Leanne, and Zack; Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace; and Grandma and Grandpa. By the time we were finished doing that,
Michael was finished at the Inn; and he and
Tim met up with us at my house to hang out for a few hours.
Getting Ethan and Ehlana off to bed was first on the to-do
list, but they wanted Dawn and Jillian to do their bedtime story; so Rowen and
I ended up getting a little time with just Michael and Tim in the lounge while
that was going on. Once they had the
twins tucked in for the night, Dawn and Jillian joined us upstairs and we
mostly ended up chatting while not really watching television. That was a bit boring for Michael and Tim,
though they were willing to deal with that in exchange for the cuddle time with
their respective girlfriends.
The boys weren’t bored with everything we talked about –
they were happy to talk football when Tim and Rowen were telling us about their
last few March Break days and as part of the discussion of our plans for the
rest of the week. They’re going to join
in for the scrimmages that Kyle will be having tomorrow and Friday, and though
that part of the plan wasn’t particularly exciting for Dawn and Jillian; Rowen
and I will make sure that they have fun anyway.
We’re also going to do some biking and maybe take the canoes out for a
paddle.
Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, and I did take it easy on the boys by
saving our girl chat time until after they went home for the night; but that
still left a lot to catch up on – including comparing notes from school and
everything we do when not in school.
Dawn and Jillian are starting to hang out more with co-ed tween groups
now; and that’s one thing that is very different compared to here. They gather once or twice a week at their
favorite Mall just because they can; and catch a movie no less than once every couple
of weeks – again, usually with a group of friends. They’re not currently ‘dating’ anyone, but
they are sometimes paired up for those activities with specific guys. They’re both feeling some peer pressure
there, but they seem to be handling that fairly well. I seriously doubt that either of them will be
in any danger of caving in to peer pressure – especially when they stick
together. Living in a city may be
different for a lot of things, but they’re lucky enough to have the same kind
of friendship that Rowen and I have – and they’ve been friends for a lot longer
than we have.
I guess there isn’t really much else to write about for that
blast of fun through until Michael and Tim left; though Rowen and I had a bit
more fun than Dawn and Jillian did thanks to the few minutes we each had alone
with Michael and Tim when it was time for the goodnight hugs and kisses. Michael and I went out to the front porch for
that while Rowen and Tim were in the living room; and Dawn and Jillian were
deciding which of them was going to use my Jacuzzi first. There’s a very good chance that Michael and I
won’t get much alone time while we have company here, so even a few minutes for
a few goodnight kisses is appreciated.
The bright side for that is probably the opportunity to plan
that part of our lives better for future holidays; which should make for even
better best-ever moments for years to come!
Rowen and Tim gave us noisy notice of their impending arrival
at the front door, so Michael was ready to leave when they joined us on the
front porch – even though we would have liked to drag those moments out for an
hour or so. Too bad that a time-phase
wasn’t an option for us tonight! The
boys didn’t need to hurry home, so Rowen and I only watched them until they got
to Michael’s house and obviously decided to have a little chat there before Tim
went on to his house. Jillian was in the
tub already by the time we got back up to my room, so we sat on the sofa in the
lounge with Dawn and got started on some serious girl-chat that included the
more interesting parts of Violet and Dillon’s visit in Woodvale – from the
perspective of a little sister.
That started about two and a half hours ago; and Dawn and
Jillian only decided to try and get some sleep about a half hour ago. They’ve opted to crash in the lounge, and
started a movie that they’re already sleeping through while Rowen and I climbed
into my bed with Mandy and have been quietly continuing our chat while I’ve
been doing my bedtime computing. I don’t
have anything else newsworthy to write about for what we’ve been doing, but I
should mention that Christina and Josiah made it home earlier this afternoon
too. We haven’t seen them yet, but I’m
sure we will tomorrow; and they’ll probably be here for our Friday night,
family dinner and a movie plans. I only
had one little family business job to deal with tonight, so it didn’t really
take long to get everything else done and start on this update.
While I’ve had a blast today, it is late; and I need to get
started on my nap time so I’ll be ready for the early morning Tai Chi call that
I’m sure Ethan and Ehlana will be ready for – especially since they went to
sleep more than five hours ago. We’re
also supposed to have a really nice, warm day tomorrow too; so it should be
perfect play day weather for everything we want to do. Michael’s going to be at the Inn to help out
there for lunch and dinner; but Rowen and Tim are both free to play for the
rest of the week if they want to do that – except for normal chores, of course.
I don’t know if we’ll be able to top the excitement of our
city adventures during the last half of our holiday; but we will do our best to
have fun while we play with our family and friends between now and Sunday. With that in mind, I’m out of here; so...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
