This update is coming to you from one of
two tents in the back yard. We’re taking
a bit of a risk that we might get rained on before we have the tents packed up
in the morning, but it’s a nice night; and we were ready for our first camping
adventure of the year.
‘We’ is Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I; and we
have four junior campers with us. That
means that there are no tent-mate swaps going on tonight; but that could be an
option now and then this summer – if some of us are lucky! ;^)
I’ll get to that part of our day soon; but
let’s back up and cover the rest of the news from earlier today.
Morning Tai Chi was by the river; and was a
great start to the day. Things were
quiet at school, with the only major news being the updates that some of the
younger siblings were passing along from the teens on the senior class trip in
New York City. They’re all home now as I
write this; but spent most of the day traveling home after just one, last
sightseeing stop while on the way to the airport. I’m sure that they’ve had a great trip, and I’m
glad that they have; but New York City wouldn’t be a top ten pick of places to
go on a trip – and I’m not just saying that because it’s home turf for the
Hathornes. I did live there for a while –
even though I was pretty young back then; and there are lots of places that I
like a lot better.
Moving along, our lunchtime at school was
indoors thanks to a well-timed thunderstorm, but then it cleared up; and we’ve
had a nice day since then. There weren’t
any plans for a family dinner and a movie night this week, since everyone is
busy with work, kids, and getting ready for the holiday weekend. Mom and Dad let me have Michael, Tim, and
Rowen over for dinner and the evening; and the camping was added once we’d
checked and decided that the rain risk was lower than expected. Ethan and Ehlana soon had Naomi and Aiden
added to the camper list; and they’d already been at our house for part of the
afternoon so that they could all play together after being at KidZone together
earlier while Mom had been busy with errands and other work.
Those plans came together fairly quickly
after we got home from school; and then we did some biking for a while first
before Michael, Tim, and Rowen went to pack overnight bags and I started
getting tents and gear out by the river so that we could set everything up as
soon as we were back together again. We
had our camp set up by the time Mom and Dad had dinner ready; and then we
enjoyed having that meal outdoors. My
parents weren’t scared by the depths of Tim’s appetite; but Dad did joke about
it a bit – including offering to switch Naomi with Ethan when they hit their
teen years; though he did specify that the swap would only be at meals.
We didn’t have to help with making dinner,
but we were on the clean-up crew; and Mom and Dad both went to work in the
office while we did that; and stayed there when their little group of campers
headed out to play for a while. The work
at the park was nearly finished – or at least what was scheduled to be finished
in time for the holiday weekend. Some of
the playground equipment was open and could be used; while the rest of it would
be ready by Monday or Tuesday night. The
new main trail out into the new section of the park that goes down to the north
side of the river was finished too; and that’s a nice walk or ride down into
that part of the valley. The rest of the
trails will be added over the next few years, and that’s going to be great too;
but I love what we’re doing there a lot; so I’m glad that we’re involved in
making that happen.
Once we got back home again, we got the
go-ahead for a small campfire. Michael
and Tim got that going for us while Rowen and I took care of rounding up
chairs, blankets, snacks, and drinks for all of us. I went and got my guitar too so that we could
have some music; and then we settled in to have some fun. The four younger kids sat on blankets and
toasted snacks for us; Michael took care of most of the guitar playing; and we
all sang some favorite songs. That
included Michael and I doing a few duets that Ehlana and Naomi requested, and
once we’d had enough of that; it was time for some scary stories.
Our orders were to wrap up the campfire by
around eleven, so there was another blast of work then as the boys took care of
cleaning up from that while Rowen and I dealt with getting four kids ready for
bed. There was another pair of stories
to help get the kids settled down once they were in their sleeping bags. Once that was done, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and
I met outside the tents again and went to sit by the river so that we could
talk for a while before turning in too.
That ended up being more like an hour and a
half, but we were having fun and Rowen and I were quite comfortable as we
cuddled with our respective boyfriend.
Despite the fact that we’d already stayed up too late by then, after
splitting up to do our goodnight hugs and kisses with our guys; Rowen and I
have been chatting for quite a while since getting ready for bed too and into
our sleeping bags. I’ve also been doing
some work on my computer; but only the usual bedtime computer checks and one
small family business job.
We do all need to be up early, and have a
busy day ahead that includes a lot of yard work for me; so I’d better finish
this up and get some sleep. The only
other news I have is from my favorite collegians. I haven’t seen any of them yet, but there are
quite a few of them home by now. That
doesn’t include my six favorite college kids.
Violet and Dillon headed for Woodvale first; and won’t be here until
Sunday afternoon – in time for one of the dinner buffets at the Inn. Christina and Josiah are with her family this
weekend; and will be home again on Monday.
Finally, Jake and Stephanie don’t leave New York until tomorrow; so we
won’t see them until sometime in the afternoon – or ater for me; depending on
how long I’ll be doing chores.
Okay, that’ll do for this update, and I
really do need to get on with the napping; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
