We’ve had an awesome day!
The weather was beautiful; and Mom and Dad
were all for a play afternoon with Ethan, Ehlana, and me. We had a great morning too, though four out
of five members of my family would suggest that my morning was a bit better
than theirs because I got to have breakfast with Michael and his family; and
what they were having this morning was way better than the meal at our
house. Church and Sunday school was fun,
and while getting to spend some time with our friends was part of that; it was
the final work we did to get ready for the Mother’s Day service next weekend
that kept us entertained during most of our Sunday school time.
I didn’t feel guilty when it came time to
part ways with Michael at the Inn on my way home; though I would have loved it
if he could have come out to play with us this afternoon instead of staying at
the Inn. Once we were home, we got
changed; made up lunch for eight; and had that ready by the time that Uncle
Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack came over to join us out on the back porch. Canoeing wasn’t an option for Aunt Leanne,
but Uncle Adam and Zack were happy to sign up for the trip; and Aunt Leanne
decided to do a bit of visiting and have a nap while we were gone. Lunch was quick and easy, and so was the
clean-up. Mom and I took care of that
while Dad and Uncle Adam got the canoes and gear out; and it wasn’t long before
we were saying goodbye to Aunt Leanne and heading upriver.
Although I’d expected to be paddling with
Uncle Adam, we ended up having boys and girls canoes; with Mom, Ehlana, and I
leading the way while the guys followed – and occasionally paddled next to us
when they could. There was a bit of
traffic on the river, since we weren’t the only family to decide that some time
out of the river would be a fun way to spend the day. Paddling all the way to the whirlpool would
have been great, but we had Zack with us; and the adults in our group weren’t
all that interested in doing that on our first longer trip of the year. We did paddle upriver for nearly an hour and
a half before turning back; and the round-trip took nearly exactly two and a
half hours.
By then, one of us was ready to cool off,
and though the water was quite cold; that just helped me to cool off very
fast. I can’t say that was my first swim
of the year, since we did get to have some pool time while we were in Florida;
but it was definitely my shortest swim of the year so far! Ethan and Ehlana thought about joining me
right up until they each tested the water first; and then came to their
senses. Mom, Dad, and Uncle Adam
flat-out refused; though the two men did tell us about a couple of their early
season swim attempts from when they were kids and teens. They mentioned how nice it was not to have to
deal with peer pressure for things like that anymore, and though I didn’t
mention it; I did think about the fact that I wasn’t under any peer pressure to
go for that swim today – and I actually liked the cold-shock; even if staying
in the water for long wouldn’t have been fun.
Michael couldn’t go for the canoe ride with
us, but he did delay his afternoon break, and we met up for an hour after I got
changed into dry clothes and called to let him know that we were back. I took Ethan and Ehlana with me; we picked up
ice cream treats and drinks at the Emporium; and then went to hang out at the
falls and give Michael a chance to relax after a busy lunch rush. The twins ran around between the upper and
lower platforms while Michael and I mostly sat and talked; though they sat with
us while having their ice cream so that they could help out with the canoe trip
recap. For some reason, Michael seemed
most disappointed to have missed out on seeing me in wet shorts and shirt after
my micro-swim; but he didn’t seem at all interested in going for a swim too.
When he needed to get back to the Inn, we
walked there with Michael; sent him back into battle with hugs and kisses; and
then Ethan, Ehlana, and I went home. The
parents were hanging out in the back yard; Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace had joined
the party; and Zack and Caleb were both having naps under the shade of the
sunroom. We had a little visit first,
but then Ethan and Ehlana wanted to play some games; so we grabbed some toys
out of the storage barn and played soccer, Frisbee, and t-ball. There were some adult players coming ‘off the
bench’ now and then; and I tossed a ball around with Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and
Uncle Mark for a while when the twins were ready for another snack break. Playing catch was suggested after the t-ball
game reminded the parents that baseball practices are starting this week.
We’re all looking forward to that, but that’s
also one more activity on my schedule; and this first full week of May is going
to be very, very busy. That’s going to
start tomorrow when the Malloys get here for their work-visit; so I should
really move this along so that I can get started on my nap time soon.
Dinner was another easy-meal barbeque, and
while I helped with the clean-up; my pre-dinner job was kid control. Zack and Caleb were both awake by then, and
though Caleb isn’t exactly ready to run around and play with his cousins; he
did have fun running around with me and playing on a blanket that I set up
under a tree so we’d have some shade for him.
Everything else about our play afternoon was amazing too, but spending
that time with my cousins was special for me; and something that I just don’t
get to do enough. Yes, I say that about
too many things; but life seems to be non-stop lately and there aren’t enough
hours to do everything I want to do.
Mom and Dad had work to do after dinner, so
my aunts, uncles, and cousins went home shortly after we’d finished the
clean-up so that they could get to that.
The twins and I were tempted to stay outdoors and play longer, but we
decided to instead get an early start on my studies and work while they spent
that time working on their college classes and assignments. That wasn’t as much fun, but we used a time
phase; and finished up all of our work by ten-thirty. It was bath time for all of us after that,
and while Mom and Dad took care of getting Ethan and Ehlana cleaned up and off
to bed; I came up to my room for some quality time with my Jacuzzi.
We won’t discuss bath time for the parents
after the kids were in bed, and if you’re imagining that while reading this,
cut it out – that’s my Mom and Dad you’re picturing in that scene!
Moving along, I had my bath; did my hair;
got ready for bed; and was snuggled with Mandy and my computer by
eleven-thirty. Since I’d done all of my
studying and work for tonight; that just left the usual nightly computer checks
and this journal update to do. There was
nothing newsworthy to report from the Hathornes; I’m not going to get into
global politics or news tonight; and there weren’t any email to deal with since
my last check while working on the family business.
That politics comment does remind me that I
didn’t even mention in my journal that the Grade Eight trip to Washington was
last week; but that’s mostly because it had absolutely no impact on my week at
all – other than that it was slightly quieter around the school and playground
while we were missing a class full of kids and a couple of teachers. The Senior class trip will have the Grade
Twelve students heading for New York a week from Monday, but that won’t be a
big deal for me either. This is getting
off-track, but thinking about that dies lead me to musing about my hoped-for
band trip to Disney; and maybe even possibilities for other school trips
too. I won’t bore you with that right
now, though; and it really is time for me to crash for the night anyway; so let’s
just wrap this up so that I can do that.
For the week ahead, as I already mentioned;
first up is the Malloys’ visit. They’ll
be here until Wednesday while Terry starts his work on the new bridge. That’ll mostly be surveying and taking ground
samples and whatever else he’ll be doing to get what he needs to design the
bridge. We’ll also have three baseball
practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday to go along with all of our
regular activities; and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s 4th anniversary
is on Thursday. Stephanie and Sophia
have their 20th and 4th birthdays on Tuesday, Nora has
her 15th on Sunday; and just in case all of that isn’t enough extra
fun; don’t forget that Mother’s Day is next Sunday too!
I should’ve gone to bed hours ago to rest
up for all of that!
Going there right now is an option, though;
so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
