Happy 15th Birthday, Brock; and
Happy 1st Birthday, Julian Green!
Other than our little birthday fun at
lunchtime for Brock, I had zero involvement in either of those events, but Zack
and Leah were invited to Julian’s party; and Brock’s party tonight was just for
family, his girlfriend, Gretchen, and a few best friends this year.
Our day started out with indoor Tai Chi,
and while we were tempted to go out to the river for that; but decided to stay
warm instead of bundling up for our workout.
The rest of my early morning was fairly boring, and then we were off to
school, work, or elsewhere; with the ‘elsewhere being the running around that
Mom did with Ethan and Ehlana before heading over to the lab for the
afternoon. I don’t have anything
exciting to report from school other than Brock’s little cake and gifts break;
which might be why the best parts of my day didn’t start until we were set free
from school for the day.
I was at Michael’s for dinner tonight, so
Rowen, Tim, and I went home with Michael to do our homework there; and then we
followed that up with a bike ride before we needed to split up and Rowen and
Tim went on to their own homes. The
biking was fun, though we stuck to the roads and main path at the park. The dirt trails in the woods were just too
muddy from the rain on the weekend, and while Tim was game to ride them anyway;
Michael wasn’t as enthusiastic, and Rowen and I flat-out refused despite Tim’s
attempts at razzing us. For me, it isn’t
the getting dirty that I had a problem with – it was the getting wet when it
wasn’t all that warm out and then being cold and soggy.
Dinner with Michael and his family was as
amazing as always, and after helping out with the clean-up; Michael and I had
time for a music practice before I needed to be home for our family business
and future plans meeting. Grandma and
Grandpa are still having fun in the sunny south, but everyone else was there
for the meeting; and Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack had come over for dinner
too. I was sorry to miss out on that,
but that invitation had been made long after I’d already been booked for dinner
with Michael – and if I’d been home instead; I’d have just missed the gourmet,
experimental meal just as much instead.
I’m not going to drag out a major report on
the meeting tonight, since there really haven’t been a lot of changes from the
last meeting update. The med center,
second apartment building, solar-wind farm, and other construction are all
on-schedule and going great. The deal
with KidZone for the old clinic building is a done deal, and while our only
direct involvement is with getting the old equipment and everything else out of
the place ahead of the remodel that will be needed to turn it into a daycare; some
of us are very excited about that project.
Since it’ll be Ethan, Ehlana, and their younger cousins spending time
there starting in September; you probably don’t need to guess which of us are
most excited.
On the infrastructure front, the
engineering work for the bridge that is going to be built between River Road
and the new section of town will be starting soon. The best part of that for us is that Terry
Malloy and his team is going to be handling the engineering; and he’s going to
be making regular visits here for the next year or so – starting two weeks from
today. Angela and the kids are going to
do those trips with him – at least while she’s off on maternity leave; so we’re
going to get to have some regular visits with them once a month or so for the
next four or five months for sure! While
jokes are already flying around town about the bridge being exclusively for
Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace so that they can walk from their home to the lab and
med center instead of driving all the way around to the bridge on Quarry Road;
we are way overdue for a second river crossing anyway – not to mention that the
new section of town will be where a lot of the staff for both places are likely
to live as they’re hired over the next five or six years.
Some of our teachers at school are
continuing to work with certain senior students with nudges and help to get
them interested in college and new career opportunities. While that always includes the Magi teens; we’re
also working to help all of the teens where possible. Sometimes, that causes a bit of stress with
families that have other plans for their kids, but we’re having a lot of
success with that part of the plan too.
Since this will be a big year for the lab and the test crops they’re
having some of the farms growing this summer, if that works out as expected; we’ll
have an even easier time with parents when it comes to the opportunities we
have in mind for their kids.
There are no new details for the deal with
the Inn and Haberdashery, but that is happening; and Miranda and Jacob are
already working on plans for the expansion and remodel. We have one new business opening in time for
the Memorial Day weekend, and while we’re not in the loop for that store; the
Old Mill Antiques shop is being worked on; and will open the Monday before the
holiday weekend. Quarry Lake will have
the new attractions open for that weekend too; so we’ll have lots of
entertainment options available for our visiting family and friends. Shopping and trips to Quarry Lake are high on
my list of fun options; so I’m good with all of that – even if I probably won’t
be buying many antiques at least for another decade or so.
Our meeting lasted until ten-thirty; I
helped with the clean-up after our guests left; Mom did my Magi lesson with me
while Dad worked and Ethan and Ehlana studied; and then we all came up to bed
for the night. After getting the twins
tucked in; I opted for some Jacuzzi and study multi-tasking; took a break to
get ready for bed and do my hair; and then started in on my family business
work once I was in bed and snuggling with Mandy. That took a couple of hours; I had my archive
assignment to read after that; and now it’s past-three and time for me to wrap
this up and head off to nap land.
Too much of this update sounds like work
without much fun, but I really have had a good day; and even the work and
studying tonight was mostly fun as I mixed in some multi-lingual chats with
teens from Asia with the work and the family business jobs tonight included
looking over teen clothing lines for one of the retailers we own; and dealing
with some new tech toys coming up for the second half of the year. I do have another full day tomorrow, though;
so I’d better just get to the sleeping part of my night. If you’re interested in the family business
details, and have access to that part of the archives; feel free to read all
about my work through those records and reports.
I wouldn’t advise it unless you’re
seriously bored or need a sleep aid; but that’s entirely up to you! ;^)
Sleeping won’t be a problem for me tonight,
though; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
