Heirs of the Magi News Flash!

***Heirs of the Magi News Flash!*** Winter has, for the most part, been mild so far - or awesome for the month that Cassie and Michael spent in summertime-Australia! They are home now and will be working from home for most of the time until Easter. The hometown work will include getting ready for their next trip, but there will be a lot of fun to get in on and share with their favorite people - including their March Break trip to Florida adventure. All of your favorite Magi Masters will continue to work and play while their future plans unfold; so... ...Visit Witch Falls often to keep up with all of their latest stories; and Happy Reading!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Cassie's Journal - April 12, 2014



Happy 14th Birthday, Gil!

There’s a lot to cover tonight, but my first thought as I begin writing this is about how much things have changed in a year!

Twelve months ago, I was in the middle of a tween drama with Lisa over Michael – even though I wasn’t even interested in dating him – or any other guy – back then; Rowen and I were playing dodge the tweird all evening at Gil’s party; and my sleepover was at Rowen’s house complete with pranks and practical jokes from Patrick and Scott to help end our day with a little more annoyance.  For Gil’s party this year, the most obvious change is that Michael’s my boyfriend now; but we also got along pretty well with Lisa today, there wasn’t any teen drama, and my sleepover tonight is at Michael’s house!  That last part was set up by our parents because Dad’s in the city next week and he and Mom are getting the kid-free night that they helped quite a few of their friends get last weekend.  Ethan and Ehlana are spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa, and while I’m sure they’ve had a good day too; it probably hasn’t been as much fun as mine has been.

I missed the good morning hugs and kisses with Michael today, but I loved Tai Chi by the river again; and I really hope we’ll be able to do that more often than not from now through until the fall.  It just isn’t quite the same when we’re cooped up indoors.  We weren’t meeting up with Gil and the rest of his family and guests until a quarter after ten with a ten-thirty departure time, so while Michael was helping out at the Inn; I had breakfast and did some work around the house until it was time for me to grab a shower and get ready for the birthday adventure day.  The only hint we had about what we were going to be doing today had been instructions to dress to play, so while I took time doing my hair; I dressed in jeans and a casual top – and packed shorts and a matching top to be ready in case we were going to be outdoors when the forecast was for temperatures into the eighties.

I’d been given the sleepover at Michael’s house news at breakfast, so I’d needed to pack an overnight bag too, and when it was time to go; I took that with me to drop off at his house when I met up with Michael on the way to the Emporium – where we were meeting everyone before heading for the city.  Michael had gone home with enough time to get showered and ready too, and we were delayed for a few minutes while we caught up on the hugs and kisses we’d missed out on before Tai Chi.  He also grabbed a change of clothes too after I mentioned it to him; but then we were ready to go, and still managed to get to the Emporium before most of our friends – including Rowen and Tim.

Gil, his parents, girlfriend, sister, Bethany, and one of her friends were there already; along with two minivans.  That was just enough room for the fourteen of us; though I was a bit surprised that Gil’s parents didn’t recruit some extra adult support.  Roger and Lisa got there less than a minute after Michael and me; two of Gil’s and Alicia’s Grade Seven friends – Diana Connor and Julian Sparks – were next; and then Rowen and Tim brought up the rear.  The meet and greet didn’t take long, and then we loaded up and hit the road.  Michael and I were in the minivan with Gil’s mother, Beth; Rowen and Tim; and Bethany and her friend, Jordan Taylor.  Gil’s father had the other six teens with him; and led the way.

The trip to the city was entertaining, and while a lot of things have changed, Bethany still has a great sense of humor; and she kept the conversation funny and fun – particularly for Michael and me since she sat next to us on the back bench seat while Jordan rode shotgun and Rowen and Tim had the middle seats.  Our first stop in Crystal Springs was for a fast food lunch; and that’s where we found out that the afternoon part of our adventure was going to be go-carts and mini-golf.  Gil had a couple of gifts to open at lunch too, but his parents had us keep our gifts for him until dinnertime.

I didn’t have much experience with go-carts before today, but it didn’t take me long to find out why Gil loves them so much.  All of the guys did – including Gil’s father, Greg.  After watching the action out on the track today, it might be a good idea for the Moms of every teen boy there to be very afraid now that their little angels are coming up on being one year away from being on the roads – even if they’ll be starting out with a year of supervised driving before being out on their own.  Then again, Greg wiped out his go-cart a few times; yet seemed to be a good driver from what I saw on the trip to the city, so maybe the roads around Witch Falls are in imminent danger from next year’s crop of drivers.

We did some of the racing as a group, but split up a bit when it came to playing mini-golf – mostly so we didn’t tie up the course for any length of time with our group.  I’m my mother’s daughter, and admittedly a bit scary when it comes to timing putts and working out angles; so at least two of my friends weren’t surprised when I aced the mini-golf course; and had by far the lowest score of our group.  Rowen and Tim had golfed with Michael and me, but both boys were more interested in getting back to the track than in the game – which might have something to do with why Rowen came in second for our foursome.

While Gil’s parents had booked a party pack of tickets for the go-carts and mini-golf, picking up more tickets was an option; and an anonymous donor that you might know from these journals picked up enough tickets to even keep all of the boys happy through until it was time to go for dinner. Before I move on to that part of the story, I should mention that the weather was every bit as great as forecast for us; though I heard later that there had been some short thundershowers pass through Witch Falls this afternoon while we were away.  Those of us who could changed into shorts and tees for the afternoon, and then got changed again before we headed over to the surf and turf restaurant for Gil’s birthday dinner.

I’m not going to rank the food tonight anywhere near Jacob’s best; but my dinner – and Michael’s – was really very good.  I know that because we ordered two different meals and then shared so we could each try both; and we were probably the most adventurous diners in our little group.  While I loved the food, our dinner conversation and entertainment was the best part of that couple of hours; and where Michael and I had the most fun with Roger and Lisa.  Rowen and I had spent some time with Lisa; Gil’s girlfriend, Alicia; and Diana in between our own trips around the go-cart track and had gotten along really well.  It was sitting close together at dinner and chatting that really seemed to help Lisa in particular to terms with the fact that we actually like each other – and that she’s happier with a boyfriend who is over the moon for her instead of Michael – even if she still has a minor thing for him.  Roger has always gotten along well-enough with Michael, though they’re not really close friends; but I think we’re on the way to where we can be better friends with them now.  We’ll see how it goes.

There was a time limit for dinner because we were wrapping up the birthday adventure with a night at the movies.  We needed to make it there for the early shows, though; so we ended up being a bit rushed getting through the cake and dessert – and having Gil open his gifts.  I won’t go into all of that, other than to mention that Gil loved the gifts and had a great time at dinner.

For the movie, it was guys’ choice for Gil and his friends; so it was no surprise that they picked the new Captain America movie.  Gil’s parents took Bethany and Jordan to see the ‘Rio’ sequel instead; and had most of us girls wishing we were with them – except for the fact that we wouldn’t have traded that if it meant missing out on the boyfriend time.  It’s not as if any of us were making out like crazy or anything; but I did love holding hands with Michael; sharing snacks and drinks; and having fun with our friends while watching a half-decent action-fantasy flick.  There were a few kisses here and there too that were nice too; but we were nowhere near winners if that particular category had been a competition.

There was a switch-up for the drive home; though Tim, Rowen, Michael, and I were still in the minivan with Gil’s mother – and Gil and Alicia; so that they could spend that time with the five of us.  The slightly bad news there was that one of us had to ride shotgun – and two of us couldn’t sit with our boyfriend or girlfriend.  Michael and I lost that competition, and he sat in the back again while I kept Gil’s mother company in the front seat.  That wasn’t very romantic; but then I was the only girlfriend doing a sleepover at her boyfriend’s house tonight so I can’t really complain at all!

Michael and I were dropped off by a bit after eleven o’clock, and while his parents had already gone to bed by then after a long busy day; Miranda and Rebecca both came downstairs to see us and get the condensed daily recap from us.  That took a half hour, and Michael and I got drinks and a snack together while we did that; and then we moved into the living room to watch a movie and cuddle for a while before going to bed.

Okay – we were only interested in making out for a while; but Miranda didn’t actually believe our movie excuse anyway so it isn’t as if we were fooling anyone.

The movie was bad; we didn’t care; and when Michael and I did finally go up to our beds, we were very happy campers.  The kiss goodnight outside of my bedroom door was fairly serious too; which is why I’m not quite ready to sleep yet – and have been doing an extended bedtime computer check since getting changed and into bed.  I do need to get some sleep, though, and don’t really have anything else to report; so it’s past-time to pack this computer up and get started on my nap time.

I don’t have much planned for Sunday, but morning Tai Chi with Michael and a gourmet breakfast are definitely two things I don’t want to miss – make that three including good morning hugs and kisses with Michael.

Oh, look at the time!  I really have to go, so, until next time…

…Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!