Happy 15th Birthday, Tim!
He’s a very happy camper tonight because he
has a shiny new driver’s license; and is now one step closer to that
all-important teen freedom level when he’ll be able to drive on his own. While spending the day driving around with
one of his parents wasn’t’ an option because they were both busy with work; we’ve
managed to keep him entertained – once he was set free to play for the day by
shortly before lunchtime.
Tim wasn’t busy with work all morning, but
Michael, Rowen, and I were busy with work or chores that needed to be done
before we were free for the rest of the day too. While Michael was helping out with the
breakfast rush at the Inn, I exercised by the river with Mom, Ethan, and
Ehlana; we had a quick and easy breakfast; and then I mowed the lawn because we
have rain in the forecast for tomorrow and I didn’t want to leave it and then
not be able to do it if we do actually get the rain. I had that nearly finished by the time
Michael was done at the Inn, so he started grabbing tents and carrying them
over to his house. I was ready to help
him with setting up our campsite by the time he was back for the last load of
gear; so we spent the rest of our ‘work’ time putting up the tents for Tim’s
birthday camping adventure.
Then we grabbed our bikes; Rowen and Tim
met us at Michael’s house; and we biked out to Quarry Lake to play there for
the afternoon. WE went for a swim first;
had lunch; and then went rock climbing.
The campground was actually a bit quiet while we were there; so going on
the rock wall and zip line twice was an option – and what Tim wanted to do
most. That still left us with time for
another long swim and play time around and in the lake; but we eventually
needed to bike home again in time to grab showers and get ready to go out to
dinner at the Inn.
We couldn’t do that until nearly seven o’clock
because Tim’s parents were busy; so we were among the last dinner guests of the
day when we did get there with about half of the members of Tim’s family and a
dozen additional teens not including the four of us. I know that Martin and Tracey feel bad that
they couldn’t do more with Tim today, but they also didn’t try and drag out the
meal either and keep Miranda, Jacob, and their staff at the Inn any later than
normal; so we actually had one of the quickest birthday dinners I’ve ever
attended. Tim still had lots of gifts to
open, and there was cake and ice cream for dessert; but he multi-tasked the
gifts while orders were taken through until the entrees were delivered.
There were no new cars or any really big
gifts; but then the Landrys do cars for their kids on their sixteenth
birthdays. That makes them one of the
exceptions for town kids; while it’s more the norm for farm kids. I’m actually looking forward to that next
summer; since it might be the one thing that’ll get Tim talking about something
other than football for the rest of the year!
Just kidding, Tim! I know that you’ll still be crazy about
football; and a car won’t get in the way of that – or your dedication to our
school team.
We really had fun at the Inn, and Tim
enjoyed spending that time with his parents and family as much as he’s enjoyed
hanging out with his best friends; but it was back to teen time and the start
of our camping adventure once we left the Inn.
He and Rowen stayed for a long round of goodbyes with his family and the
friends that weren’t joining us for the camping; but Michael and I came back to
his house ahead of them with some of our other campers so that we could get the
campfire ready to go – and so that we could get our tents set up for the night
too where needed. Only about half of
that work was done by the time that Tim and Rowen caught up with us, but the
fire was started; and they only dropped off their overnight bags in their tent
before being ordered to relax; sit by the fire; and enjoy the fun.
Yes, I meant ‘their tent’. None of our friends had a problem with tent
mate swaps; and moving luggage around at one or two in the morning is just too
noisy! ;^)
Our teen campers tonight include Tim,
Rowen, Michael, and me; Rebecca, Lucas, Jenny, and Joel; and four extra teen
couples – classmates or football team mates.
While I’m expecting that my camping night with Michael will be the
highlight of my day, I won’t be able to write about that until my next update;
since I don’t plan on spending any time on my computer after we get to that
part of our night. I can tell you that
the first half of our campfire has been great, and while Michael and I provided
most of the music; the campfire stories and chat time has been shared by
everyone. We’ve also spent some time
roasting the birthday boy; though I mean that figuratively; and not on a spit
over the fire.
I’m writing this now because we’ve decided
to have an intermission swim; so I decided to do this and an email check while
getting changed in the house – as most of the girls are doing. That isn’t a problem for Jacob and Miranda;
since they just finished having a bedtime visit with us by the fire – and giving
Michael his final instructions to have the campfire put out by one and not do
anything they wouldn’t do for the rest of the night.
See – we had parental approval for the coed
camping; since I’m sure that’s exactly what Miranda would have done when she
was fifteen! ;^)
Anyway, I have covered the highlights for
the day, and need to get back to the party; so that’s going to be all for
tonight. I will let you know how the
best part of my night turns out with my next report, so if you’re not too tired
out; flip the digital page in your ‘now’ to find out without the wait that I’m
about to have. The good news is that we
still have lots of time for fun with our friends before Michael and I get to
that camp and cuddle time; and I’m out of here and off to do that right now!
Until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
