I have a movie night to get to now; so this
is going to be a short update of a very busy; amazingly fun day!
We were up early; I went to the Inn early
to help out with the prep work for the breakfast buffet; and went to join my
family to eat after the first round of food went out to the buffet tables. That hour of food and fun was a blast –
especially since we had most of the one hundred and seventy-two shoppers booked
for our trip today. As usual, Mom and
Aunt Leanne coordinated the departures and made sure that all groups were
together and kids were accounted for before heading for the city too, but I was
with Rowen today; she was one of the teen drivers; and we headed out early
along with most of the other teen drivers and their groups. We also had fellow cheerleaders, Emma and
Bethany with us for the drive both ways; our arrival was mid-pack because Rowen
went the speed limit; and we shopped for nearly an hour before meeting up with
my family for a bit of shared shopping fun that included us helping out with
taking smaller kid groups around to do their gift buying with a bit of privacy
from some of the gift recipients.
I’m pretty sure that more than half of the
teens helped out with jobs like that because we only had forty-four adults to
keep up with one hundred and twenty-eight kids and teens. Most of the parents in my family had three
kids per adult; and that was especially tough for the parents with young
kids. Uncle Adam, for instance, probably
deserves a medal or something for keeping up with Zack and Eli while also
helping out with the other kids in their larger group. Rowen and I had fun while doing our part,
though; and we still managed to have lots of shopping time with Rebecca, Jenny,
and some of our other friends when we could do that too. I also picked up nearly-everything on my list
today; and used my phone to order the rest when I couldn’t get certain gifts
in-stock in the stores. Yes, I had time
for that too – since we had the drive home again where I could multi-task while
talking with the other girls.
I really do need to move this along; so let’s
do that. We shopped at the mall all morning;
had lunch in the food court; and split the afternoon shopping between our
favorite big-box toy store and Wal-Mart.
The last stop was also for the usual trip to the city supply pick-up;
and Rowen and I stayed long-enough to help Mom and Dad with getting those last
purchases packed into the van and truck.
We picked up fast food to go; drove home again; and then Lucas and
Rebecca took over getting Emma and Bethany home while we unloaded the van; did
a couple of deliveries for friends; and then helped my parents with unloading
the van and truck. After that, we took
Ehlana and Naomi shopping to catch the tail-end of the big sale here; picked up
some more gifts and an outfit or two; and then we all eventually ended up back
at my house. Rowen collected Tim first;
I came home with Ehlana and Naomi; and we’re going to have a Christmas movie
night once Michael gets here after the Inn is closed for the night.
Naomi and Aiden are booked for another
sleepover here, and I’m planning on accidentally having a sofa sleepover with
Michael; which is why I’m writing this while taking a break to freshen up and
change into something that will be perfect for cuddling with Michael while
having that sleepover with him. I haven’t
covered any of the details from our shopping fun, but I really do want to get
back to the fun; so let’s do the music video pick and then I’ll do that.
I’ll pick this little song again because
the kids have the show cued up first for our evening entertainment – and they
still really love Holly and Hal Moose.
Okay, I do too; but I’m sure that Tim is likely rolling his eyes over
that choice – even though he’ll never say anything about that to the kids. I don’t want to mess with his rep, though; so
here’s one of Ethan’s and Ehlana’s favorite Christmas music videos.
I’m nearly ready to go and watch the rest
of that animated Christmas adventure now; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
