Following my last update, our movie night
was a lot of fun, and we – Ethan, Ehlana, and I – surprised the guys with a
Star Wars movie night that included the two new movies that we picked up in
Crystal Springs. Before I continue, I’ll
remind you that my daily ending line for my journal was picked because Michael
is a big fan of Star Wars and Star Trek, so while I do like the movies too; I’m
not a mega-fan. Nobody would believe
that around here, since my photographic memory does allow me to remember all of
those little details that make for a great trivia geek; but it is true. I say that only because I might be considered
a heretic in the Star Wars universe for suggesting that I liked Rogue One better
than I liked The Force Awakens – aka Star Wars Episode Seven. I don’t want to bother going into movie
details and write a review for each show, and if you’re that interested; watch
both of them – if that isn’t something that every kid and teen has done in your
‘now’ anyway; and make your own choices about which movies you liked best!
Moving along, we didn’t start those shows
until Michael joined us, so Tim, Ethan, and Aiden did some video gaming first;
Rowen and I had some play time with Ehlana and Naomi that included getting
their nails and hair done; and then we cuddled in couples for the next four
hours or so and enjoyed our immersion into the Star Wars universe. That made for a very late night for us by the
time the kids were put to bed – and yes; Naomi did try for another sofa
sleepover with Ethan that didn’t work at all but did earn a lot of laughs. Michael and I didn’t have a sofa sleepover
either, but we did have a bit of alone time to say goodnight while we split up
and did the dishes clean-up in the kitchen while Rowen and Tim took care of
straightening up the lounge – and saying goodnight to each other too.
Michael and I had a too-early wake-up call
for work, but we did get up on time and were at the Inn five minutes early
while Rowen, Tim, and the kids slept on for another hour or more – depending on
whether they got up for Tai Chi or not.
It was cold out again – near to freezing; but it warmed up into the low
sixties later today; so it was a decent day for having some outdoor play time
after lunch. I had fun working the
dining room with Miranda; that kicked up a few notches when Rowen and Tim
brought the kids with them for breakfast; and I almost made enough with that
breakfast shift and tips to pay for their meals! That didn’t work out for me very well
financially; but the smiles, hugs, and kisses were enough of a compensation for
the work and expense. Rowen and Tim
timed their breakfast so that I could take over the babysitting with the twins
and their besties; they went on to work at the store and shop respectively after
that; and I went home with the kids after that – and got to work on the chores.
I had four junior helpers for that work; we
had some Magi play time while doing that; and then we had an easy-meal lunch
before going out to play for the afternoon.
Michael joined us during his afternoon break; we biked the trails and
played at the playground; and then we dropped the four kids off with Naomi’s
father when it was time for us to get ready for work and go to the Inn for the
dinner shift. Mr. Seager wasn’t watching
all four kids – plus Eli – for very long; but he did take care of Ethan and
Aiden until Aiden’s mother or father could pick them up once they were done at
the bakery for the day. I didn’t need to
work until close today, so Michael and I only worked for about four hours of
that dinner-to-close part of the day. We
were really busy because of the extra March Break business, but that mostly
just made the time go by faster. When we
were done, we collected all four kids again from the Seager and Draper houses;
headed home; and had another movie night.
This time, it was a Harry Potter themed
evening; and the feature film was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them –
another new purchase that we picked up on Friday. We all liked this movie a lot, and the one thing
I will say about it is that I enjoyed the storyline more for this movie because
there wasn’t a book version of the story first to compare it to – or be
disappointed when things were changed from ‘the original’ version of the story. All of those movies are long, so we couldn’t
exactly watch all of them – right? ;^)
Okay, we didn’t really watch all of the
Harry Potter movies, but I did use a time phase so that we could watch a total
of three movies without staying up all night.
One of our junior movie watchers didn’t stay awake until the end of the
third movie – or the second Harry Potter show; so we wrapped up the mini
marathon after that; the kids were left to camp out in the lounge for the
night; and Michael and I took care of the clean-up – and our goodnight hugs and
kisses – before he went home at a bit before midnight. I’ve been doing a bit of bedtime computing
since getting changed and tucked in with Mandy, but didn’t have much to deal
with for the family business; so I’ll still have time to get some rest before
needing to get up early for Tai Chi. In
addition to getting four kids fed and ready for church; Michael and I also have
teen praise team in the morning too; so it’s going to be a very busy day for
us.
Before I wrap this up, though; let’s go
over a bit of news for Mom’s weekend away.
I haven’t talked with Mom or Dad at all, and have no idea what they’ve
done during the rest of the day today; but they were going out to dinner and a
show tonight – and I don’t mean the movies.
Crystal Springs isn’t a hotspot destination for the big touring
productions, but they do get some B-circuit concerts and shows; and their
theatre has seating for up to two thousand; depending on what it’s being used
for. Anyway, Dad had that dinner and
show set up a while ago; the Malloys are doing that with them; and so are Uncle
Adam and Aunt Leanne. I didn’t mention
that earlier because I’m not babysitting their kids tonight. That had been discussed, but Grandma and
Grandpa Carrington have Zack and Brianna instead; and that’s partly because I
needed to work at the Inn too – though grandparents do occasionally get to
invoke babysitting privilege now and then too.
Mom, Dad, and four of their best friends have hopefully had an amazing
night out; Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne are staying in the city overnight too;
and I’m sure they are all enjoying their kid-free adventures. No more details for some of that fun will be
required by the kids; but I’ll add any news that is family-rated with my next
update – if there is anything particularly newsworthy.
By the way, I should also add that I basically
haven’t even seen Violet and Dillon over the past two days. They’ll be heading back to college tomorrow,
and while I’d like to spend some time with them tomorrow before they leave;
that isn’t going to work out for me – though I could leave Ethan and Ehlana
with them for the first part of the service while I’m busy with the praise team
so that they can at least have a bit more time with them. They did work in the lab with Dillon, so
maybe that isn’t a big deal to them; but I really do miss getting to spend time
with Violet – especially compared to when she first started coming to spend her
holidays with us during my first March Break here with our new family.
There isn’t anything I can do about that,
but we have had a good day; so I’ll be happy about that and not let what I can’t
do get in the way of enjoying all of the really good in my life. Getting some sleep is at the top of my list
for really good things right now, and that’s all of the news I have for today;
so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
