Our chat last night about having a teen
night and possible sleepover turned into solid plans this morning; and Mom and
Dad were happy to let me use our house for the event with just a few
conditions.
The first was that Ethan and Ehlana got to
invite Naomi and Aiden; I was in charge of food and snacks – including for
dinner and breakfast; and I also had to babysit the four younger kids so that
our parents could escape the teen invasion for the evening. I was good with all of that; and Rowen and I
soon had Michael, Tim, Rebecca, Lucas, Jenny, and Peter signed up for both a
teen night and sleepover. Before I get
to that part of my update, though; let’s cover the rest of the action from
earlier today.
Tai Chi by the river was nice; and we’ve
had another warmer-than-normal day with the temperature climbing into the
low-seventies. That worked out great for
the outdoor chores this morning, and we’re getting to the end of the fall
clean-up work now – and I’m glad that we don’t need to work in the yard all day
every Saturday anymore. That worked out
even better for me today because it allowed me to take care of some afternoon
shopping for our teen night after having lunch with Mom, Dad, and the
twins. Rowen helped me out with the
shopping; we picked up frozen pizzas, chicken, and appetizers for dinner; lots
of snacks and drinks for a movie night in the lounge; and Olde Bakery treats
for breakfast to go along with fruit and other treats for breakfast that will
keep the work in the morning to a minimum.
Michael caught the tail-end of that trip for the start of his afternoon
break; he helped with getting everything home; and then Michael and I spent the
rest of his break with Ethan and Ehlana at the park before we needed to split
up again while he worked the dinner rush at the Inn.
Rowen hadn’t stayed for the park play time,
but she came over in time to help me with getting the lounge set up for our
evening of fun; and then we started working on making dinner with supervisory
help from Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden.
Michael and Rebecca couldn’t come over for the meal, but Lucas, Tim,
Jenny, and Peter were able to join us; and they began arriving by a bit after
five o’clock. Mom and Dad had decided to
go out to the Inn for dinner and then go out to the pub for at least a few
hours; and they headed out at five-thirty while we – the kids and teens – sat down
to have our finger foods meal in the sunroom.
That was fun, and so was the early-evening
play time with my brother, sister, and their friends while we waited for
Michael and Rebecca to be set free from the Inn. The boys played some video games; kept up
with the college football games; and managed to munch on more snacks despite
the fact that they’d recently demolished a lot of food during dinner. Yes, I knew that we were going to have three
football players to feed, and didn’t run out; but it’s still impressive to see
just how much a group of guys can eat in just one night.
Maybe that’s the origin of the family farm –
some husband and wife in the distant past had to figure out a way to feed their
teenage boys; and decided to try growing and raising their own food. ;^)
While the guys are still into football
despite the end of their high school season; they didn’t try to get us to watch
football all evening. Once Michael and
Rebecca joined us, we had a bit more video gaming in the lounge while the guys
continued to play and Rebecca joined the girl chat in progress while we waited
for the start of our mini movie marathon.
Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden got to pick out the first movie when we
were ready to settle down for some quieter entertainment and cuddle time with
our respective boyfriend or girlfriend.
That didn’t technically apply to the four younger kids, but they were
paired up too; and as adorable as always when cuddling together. That’s true cuddling for Naomi and Ethan; and
sitting close together and holding hands for Ehlana and Aiden.
We didn’t have enough room on the sectional
sofa for all of the teen couples, so Michael and I were on the floor with the
four kids while the other three couples sat on the sofa. That isn’t really as crowded as it might
sound; since it is a very large sectional sofa; but it also wasn’t as
comfortable for them as it normally is for Tim, Rowen, Michael, and me when we’re
here and able to stretch out at opposite ends while hanging out together. None of the kids fell asleep before the end
of their movie, so we didn’t have to carry any kids to bed while taking an
intermission between shows. Michael and
I took care of getting them tucked in for the night; though I know that the
girls went into Ethan’s room to hang out with the boys about two minutes after
we started our first teen movie of the night.
I’ll guess that they were also doing some boy-girl cuddling in the two
beds too; but I didn’t check in on them.
Ehlana and Naomi were still with the boys when Mom and Dad got home;
pictures were taken; and then the girls were moved back to Ehlana’s room for
the rest of the night.
Yes, I could have dealt with that sooner;
but why mess up a perfectly wonderful parental moment for Mom and Dad – and one
that Naomi and Ehlana will love too even if the boys might be slightly
embarrassed over the teasing they’re sure to get from another junior cuddle
incident?
We were just beginning teen movie number
three when Mom and Dad stopped in to say goodnight to us and have a quick chat
before heading to bed; and then we went back to our movie while they didn’t go
straight off to sleep too. That ended up
being our last movie because the intermission ended up being a wind down chat
and play time that included a bit more video gaming for the guys and catching
up on the rest of the college football scores.
It was a bit after two o’clock when we collectively decided to call it a
night; and then we split up into couples for the goodnight hugs and kisses.
For Michael and I; that meant hauling
glasses and dishes down to the kitchen and cleaning up before saying our
goodnights on the sofa in the living room.
That was fun, but I still managed to make it back to my room before
Rowen did – and before Rebecca and Jenny joined us there for one last quick
girl chat before we all finished getting ready for bed and they camped out on
the sectional sofa in the lounge while Rowen camped with me.
That decision was mostly so that nearly all
of us could be on the third floor; and Michael was the only teen on the second
floor. He’s in the room beneath the
lounge; and I half-wish that I was there with him. Rowen, Mandy, and I are having fun with our
sleepover; but being with Michael would be quite a bit hotter. I’d better not take that thought any further;
or I’ll change my mind about being good tonight.
I wouldn’t be the only girl thinking about
some bonus boyfriend cuddle time; but really don’t plan on being the second to
act on those thoughts! ;^)
Adding the name of that girl isn’t
something that I’m skipping for some state secret – but it will be more fun not
to name names so that anyone reading this in the not-too-distant future can
have fun speculating about it; so have fun with that!
There isn’t much else to write about. Our girl chat wound down as we relaxed and I
played some soft music on my computer while doing my nightly computing. Two of my best friends are sleeping now; the
third is cuddling with her boyfriend in his room; and I’m only still awake now
because I had a bit of family business work come in via email that I decided to
take care of tonight instead of leaving until Sunday night or Monday. We’re sure to have a crazy morning around
here with eight teens and four kids to get ready for church, and while I’m not
going to work at the Inn tomorrow; Dad will be getting ready for his week in
the city and I’ll help out with Ethan and Ehlana while he’s busy.
Before I wrap this up, I’ll add a few
comments about tonight that were particularly important to me. First up, but not in order of importance; I’d
like to mention that I really like Jenny’s new boyfriend, Peter. This was the first time that we got to spend
some quality time getting to know him; and I’m ready to award him the title of
Jenny’s best boyfriend so far. That’s at
least partly because he’s a lot like Lucas, Michael, and Tim; with a
personality that’s probably closer to Tim than Michael or Lucas. He gets bonus points for both being
interested in getting to know Jenny’s best friends and for wanting her to get
to know his friends too – something that they’ll be doing more of now that
Jenny’s finished with cheerleading for the season. He’s also smart, funny, and easy on the eyes;
but I’m only adding that because Jenny appreciates those qualities a bit more
than some of the more subtle things that I notice about Peter that really do
make him the kind of guy that fits right in with our little group of friends.
Peter is also really good with kids; and
enjoyed playing with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden. That’s something else I want to mention – the
inter-action between my brother, sister, and their friends is changing a bit;
and I think that’s at least partly because Naomi’s in school now. Sure, they’re all getting older and can do
more with us; I’m also sure that the teen-kid dynamic is different for us than
it is for most of our friends with similar sibling issues. It’s not even the same when we’re
babysitting, and while we still have fun with that; it isn’t the same as it is
with just the four kids. Ethan and
Ehlana still play the ‘normal’ kid for their age; I also feel as though they’re
junior teen couples when hanging out with us tonight. I’m not making any conclusions about that in
any direction; but we might need to pay attention in case we need to make a few
changes if it seems as though they’re standing out for acting too grown-up.
Fortunately, I’m pretty sure that they’re
just getting away with looking adorable when they cuddle as couples and they
have everyone so charmed that nothing else gets noticed.
Finally, though the guys are still
disappointed that the season is over; I have to admit that I’m glad that we’re
going to have more time for doing other things – like this teen night and
sleepover. It’s tough to do that when so
much of our ‘free’ time is taken up with sports and cheerleading. Sure, we have more getting added to our plate
for the holidays; but at least Michael and I will get to do a lot of that
together. We don’t really get to do that
during the football games and practices; and being in the same place doesn’t
always count as being together.
I’d better not go down that trail of
thought, and Michael’s likely asleep by now anyway; which is what I should be
doing now too. It has been one of those
really great days, and I’m so blessed to be able to share these moments with
the people I love the most. While I won’t
be sharing the rest of the night with Michael; I can bring him along into my
dreams. That sounds much more
interesting than typing on my computer anymore tonight; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
