This has been a fairly amazing day; though
the fun came in bursts while there was also a lot of work to do too.
For me, the fun came first with Tai Chi by
the river with Michael and our four toddler exercise buddies at dawn. Michael, Tim, and Lucas went on to do their
football training at the park with their buddies after that while Rebecca,
Rowen, and I stayed at the campground and dealt with kid control – along with
some camp cleaning and tear-down work.
We knew about a seriously awesome breakfast surprise by then; so we were
motivated to be ready to head over to the Inn once the guys were finished their
practice for a special buffet that was offered to all customers.
That was especially awesome because we had
most of our families along for the meal – including the Nortons. I don’t know how Claire talked Karl into do
that with all of the work on the farm; but he came along too and really made
Lucas’ day. Actually, let me correct
myself – I do know how Claire does that; but it’s a girl-thing secret that I
can’t divulge to the men reading this journal even if that won’t happen until
sometime in the future. I’m sure they’ll
understand – or won’t. If you’re
confused – good. That’s exactly the
state girls like to keep you! ;^)
While breakfast was both delicious and
entertaining, it was also short; and then everyone either headed off to work or
other activities. I had some help back
at Michael’s house with the rest of the camp teardown, but most of the younger
kids had been returned to their parents by then; Michael and Rebecca stayed at
the Inn to help out there; and I headed home once the work at Michael’s house
was finished. They’re calling for rain
this weekend, so I decided to shoot for getting all of my yard work done
today. I mowed the lawn in the morning;
had lunch with Mom and the twins; and then did the rest of my usual chores this
afternoon while Mom was back at the lab and Ethan and Ehlana were at KidZone
for a few hours. Michael came over
during his break and helped out a bit while keeping me company. We had a break and went for a swim too; but
he was back to the Inn for the dinner shift – and once again that was so that
Jake and Stephanie could spend time with Violet and Dillon tonight.
We got a bit of rain around four o’clock,
and again after seven; but we also managed to dodge the raindrops long enough
to cook and eat dinner before moving indoors for what actually ended up being a
dinner and a movie night. There haven’t
been many of those this summer; so it was nice to do that – even though I was
on kid control a lot and that included having all of the younger guests
upstairs in the lounge while the parents and teens watched a movie in the
living room.
All of our usual dinner and a movie guests
were there, but we also had Dillon’s family and some other guests – at least
for dinner. Isabelle and Andrew had to
split their time between our house and his because the Jennings family was
having a going away party for their college teens too; and there were other
people dropping in for cameo appearances before and after dinner. There was a lot of food at our little
pot-luck meal for a few dozen; and I ate way too much – though that came in
handy while keeping up with a bunch of very busy kids. In addition to video games in the lounge and
other random games like tag and hide-and-seek; I took them for a swim with some
teen and parent support; and we followed that up with some back yard play after
dark that went on until the first group of parents were ready to head home with
their little angels after the first movie in the living room.
Michael was there by then, and he stayed to
help keep the remaining kids entertained until eventually it was just the two
of us – and my parents, Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Violet, Dillon, and his
parents left standing. We had a nice
little visit and bedtime snack; and then I walked Michael home to say goodnight
to him while everyone else was either getting ready to go home too or do the
extra goodbyes before heading up to bed.
That move didn’t end up making any difference for Michael and me since
Aunt Leanne was happy to send a few whistles; offers of advice; and a judging
critique of our goodnight kiss that I’m sure entertained everyone within range
of her voice.
Hopefully that wasn’t half the people in
town; but it sure seemed loud from where we were standing at the time. I won’t tell you that it totally killed the
mood, though, since her teasing really just egged me on to try my very best to
make sure that getting razzed by anyone about it later would be worth it for
both Michael and me. I’m fairly sure I
succeeded; though I’m solely basing that on the grin Michael had on his face
when I left him on the front porch.
Dillon’s here tonight, and then he and
Violet are doing breakfast with his family – which is probably why she stopped
in for a girl chat on her way to bed a little while ago. I guess staying in denial about having my
summertime big sister leaving for school is out of the question now; but it
doesn’t actually feel as sad as it did last year. Violet’s both excited about getting back to
school and wishing that she wouldn’t be spending most of the next nine months
in a dorm room instead of with Dillon. I’ll
take a wild guess that they’ll be getting their own place next year once that’s
an option for them. I know for sure that’s
the plan next year for Jake and Stephanie; though I’m not sure how easy that’ll
be to work out for them in New York.
That’s one place where dorms might actually be cheaper than most other
housing options.
At least we do get to have Jake and
Stephanie here for another week before they leave; though I might not get to
spend much time with them outside of the Inn – unless we get time to do some
things together next Monday and Tuesday.
It’s getting late, though that’s mostly because I got caught up in some
family business work that I kept working on until I had it finished; and
past-time for me to wrap this up and get some sleep. Other than seeing Violet and Dillon off
sometime tomorrow morning, I don’t really have any specific plans for the
day. If we can, Rowen and I might get
together for a cheerleading practice; but we won’t do that if we can’t get any
privacy here – or at her place. We still
have over a week to go to get ready for tryouts, though, so I’m not really
worried about it if we don’t get a chance to do that this weekend. Rowen’s biggest issue won’t have anything to
do with learning cheers, dances, or gymnastic moves – it’ll be getting out
there in front of people and being the center of attention. Yes that would be as part of a squad, but don’t
forget that she has amazing red hair that will attract a lot of attention – as if
being really hot wouldn’t do that anyway.
Yeah, I know we’re only thirteen, and there
actually still are guys around here who can’t see her that way – as a
hottie. Then again, she doesn’t
necessarily see that in herself – at least not the same way I do – or Tim
does. I’d add Michael’s opinion to that
list, but having my boyfriend agree that my best friend is hot would just be
weird – even if it’s true.
My mind is definitely wandering off in
strange directions now, and that seems to be a sure sign that I’m overdue for
some sleep; so, until next time...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of
the Light!
