Ethan:
Happy Birthday, Dad!
I stayed up later last night with Zack and
the other guys, and I’m tired now; so I’ll leave most of this update to
Ehlana. We’ve had a good day, and there
was some birthday fun with Dad, but he had to work too; and most of the fun he
had for his special day happened last night.
I definitely don’t want to write about that
– or think about it; so I’m going to not do either and go to sleep now.
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
Happy 40th Birthday, Dad!
As usual, I don’t mind adding in the age to
my best birthday wishes while Ethan often avoids it; since I don’t think that
being a year – or decade – older and wiser is a bad thing even if there
actually are some people around here that do share ageism issues that are
usually caused by vanity issues. Dad isn’t
one of those people, though; and he’s holding up pretty well for his age! ;^)
We do have a bit of news from last night to
cover; so let’s start with that; and then move on to the birthday report while
Ethan gets started on his nap.
Pizzeria pizza dinner with Zack, Eli, and
some of the other boys is a bit scary, but Halloween is over; and they can stop
acting like monsters! Babysitters should
be forewarned, though, and possibly get paid a premium; since extensive
post-dinner clean-ups are required; and the kids can’t just get dunked in the
river to clean them up in November the way that gets done during the
summer. I’m not really joking about
that, but then the babysitters that get hired to take care of our family and
friends gangs of kids for nights out like this one do get paid well for the
job.
I’m okay with doing this update for both of
us tonight because I do owe Ethan and Aiden for helping to run interference and
keep the younger boys entertained last night.
That doesn’t mean we – the girls – didn’t get bugged, but it wasn’t
nearly as bad as it could have been if not for their help. We also got to sleep a couple of hours before
Ethan did – and he out-lasted some of the parents that came for their kids
before Zack crashed for the night – a fact that our cousin is very proud of for
being able to ‘out-party’ the parents.
While the boys played video games a lot last night, the girls watched
movies, did mini-makeovers, and played little-girl games with Brianna, Faith,
and the other younger girls. I didn’t
impress my younger cousins and their friends with my scientist Barbie play
time, but Naomi did her best to help me out – just as she does in real life
with our friends when I get too caught up in my play time at the lab. We – the girls – also started going to bed by
eleven; we were all sleeping long before the first parents came to get their
kids and take them home; and I only woke up long-enough to say goodbye to Naomi
when her Dad came and got her while her Mum took care of carrying Eli home.
Tai Chi was skipped by most of our usual
exercise buddies, but Ethan still got up to do the work-out with me; and I won’t
comment on why Mom and Dad decided to skip their normal morning exercises;
since it wasn’t for the same reason that Zack and his parents slept in! Brianna did join us, though; and that was fun
for all of us before we moved on to get ready and then help out with Dad’s
birthday breakfast. We had fun with that
celebration too, and while there actually were some funny stories from Dad’s
party last night, my favorite part of that meal was the vid-chat with Cassie,
Michael, Rowen, and Tim while we all had our morning meals. Ethan and I might not have been able to spend
much time with just Mom and Dad today because we had most of the birthday fun
with family and friends, but Cassie wishes she could have had time with him in
person; so I’m grateful for what we have been able to do today – just as she is
thanks to that video chat.
By the time we finished with the food,
gifts, and fun, we had to rush around to get to church on time; there was more
birthday fun to be had there for Dad too thanks to our neighbors and friends;
and Ethan and I were there for some of that before we were busy with Sunday
school instead. We came home after that;
had a quiet lunch for four; and then Dad had to work all afternoon until we
went to the early buffet for dinner – another family and friends
celebration. While he worked, Mom stayed
with him in the office; and Ethan and I went to play at the lab and archives
for a while. I mostly puttered around in
my lab today, but I was just glad to be there; and did get set up for more
experimental work this week.
We made sure we were home in time to get
ready for dinner; had fun at the Inn while enjoying that meal and birthday play
time, but we were also at a ‘kids’ table; and were on the sidelines for the
birthday roasting that kept Dad and his dinner companions entertained. Mom and Dad brought us home after that, and
we spent some time together in the office while Dad finished his homework; and
we won’t comment on why he didn’t get his work finished this afternoon because
that might have something to do with Mom finding ways to distract him that
Ethan and I will pretend we don’t know about at all.
Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and then we
all headed up to bed – which started out with bath time for Ethan and me. I love Jacuzzi time, so that’s been a fun way
to wrap up my weekend, but I’ve also pretty much run out of news for the day;
so it’s time for me to put my toys away and get some sleep too. Our first full week of November is sure to be
quieter than it was around here last week, but I’m okay with that; and we can
actually hope that it will be quiet again now that we know Gwyneth is safely
back at Princeton after her scary-for-us study week away. I should write more on her soon too, but not
tonight; since I really am ready to get started on my nap too.
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
