Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - December 31, 2019

Happy New Year’s Eve Day!

Ethan:

I defer to Ehlana for this early update while I try a bit harder to look my best for my date with Naomi.  Yes, I’m a guy, eight, and not supposed to care about that – let alone be going on dates at all, but if you’re reading this in the future and know Naomi; you’ll understand. ;^)

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

The scary thought for Ethan’s comments came from the mental picture I had of our future grandkids or great-grandkids reading that and finding the idea really gross!

Remind me to get Ethan to read through some of the grandparents’ journals in the archives next year for that sort of gem!

I am supposed to be doing our update, though, and I’m multi-tasking that with getting ready for our night out at the Inn; so let’s get to it.

We’ve mostly had clear skies today, but it didn’t warm up much; so the outdoor play time required winter weather gear with temperatures in the thirties – or just a few degrees above freezing for those future readers that might be using a different measurement system and think that mid-thirties is hot.

Going off-track again, maybe we’re thinking about the future because of the day, but we haven’t actually done that with much seriousness – at least so far; and I’ll be okay if we just have fun tonight and not worry about even our near-future – or the bigger picture for our longer-term future.  It’s easy to miss out on the moments that matter the most by getting obsessed with the future – though that would be in a much milder way compared to Magi that get obsessed with the Sight and go mad trying to make the future happen down to the smallest of choices.

Now that’s definitely too-serious; so let’s get back on track.

Tai Chi was indoors and for seven; breakfast was light and easy because we’ve been saving up for the amazing dinner we’ll be getting to soon; and then we had some chores to do because Mom and Dad are hosting a game-watching party tomorrow afternoon.  I have, by the way, been happily oblivious to all things football for most of this season; and we – the girls – will have other entertainment options tomorrow too so that we don’t have to watch bowl games all day.  Those chores took a couple of hours, but that gave it time to warm up a bit outside before we met up with our friends for the play time part of our day.  We biked despite the cool; had some hang-out time with other friends at the park; stopped at home for a snack-lunch; and then had more outdoor fun before coming home to hang out in the lounge until it was time to get ready for the dinner-party.

Naomi and Aiden went home to do that; we’ll get Mom and Dad to help us out with picking up our dates when we’re all ready to go over to the Inn; and then it’ll be time to get the New Year’s Eve party started!

I guess that’s all for now – though I’ll add that Naomi and Aiden are going to stay here with us tonight; so I’ll predict at least an attempt at a junior sofa sleepover.  We’ll get back here late, so that’d be more of a nap anyway, but we are going to have an amazing night with our families and friends; so the sleepover or lounge camping will just make for an awesome start to our New Year and new decade!

I’ll get back to getting ready for my date now, but stay tuned; since the next update will hopefully be a report on our best New Year’s Eve ever-so-far.  The rest of our holidays so far have felt that way to us; so the trend should continue.

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!

Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - December 30, 2019

Ethan:

We did some chores this morning; had a fun play day the rest of the time; and now I’m going to bed early so I’ll be ready for a late New Year’s Eve adventure – and date – at the Inn with Naomi and a lot of our favorite people.

That may include missing an update, so in case that happens – Happy New Year!

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

Cassie, Michael, and May had some play time today with his parents and some of their friends, but they had some fun with us this afternoon too.  We all want to be ready for tomorrow night, so an early bedtime is being had by all tonight.  There might not be any exciting news to report for today, but we have had fun; and a semi-rest day ahead of the next batch of holiday fun really is a good idea – even for junior Magi Masters!

Stay tuned; since there is sure to be more to come over the next couple of days.

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!

Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - December 29, 2019

Ethan:

This has been a really busy day – though it started out quietly-enough with Tai Chi and breakfast for four while Cassie, Michael, and May were busy with his family at his house.  The church service and Sunday school included some teen music fun, but always feels like a return to normal after the extra Christmas services.  The sanctuary was full thanks to all of the visiting guests; and we had extra kids in the Sunday school classes too – which was why we had fun with crafts instead of moving on to the lessons we’ll be starting in the New Year.

The weather improved as the rain moved out of the area this morning, but it is also colder; and all of our visiting family wanted to head home by early afternoon.  That’s why we had reservations for the noon buffet; and also why Ehlana and I had most of the afternoon free to play.  Cassie, Michael, and May joined us for a bit of that fun, but not until after his family was on the way out of town and they’d helped out with the first round of clean-up at his house while his parents were busy at the Inn with the buffets..  The cooler weather and overnight rain was enough to keep us at home and off the trails or playgrounds today, but we had fun around here while our best friends were busy with their families today.

It’s been a quiet evening here too that included a snack dinner after having too much at the noon buffet; a chick flick movie; and bath or Jacuzzi time for most of us.  That’s an ongoing process for some, but I’m ready for bed; and will take advantage of the extra available nap time because we will get busier again heading into New Year’s Eve on Tuesday.  The holiday fun level may have been a bit lower today, but we’re still happy and have had a great weekend; so this has continued to be an awesome Christmas holiday!

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

I love my Jacuzzi; the hot, happy bubbles have me more interested in enjoying the moment than playing on my computer; and I’m going to let another day go by with Ethan covering the news while I go with the micro, non-news update for my side of our journals! ;^)

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!

Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - December 28, 2019

Happy 8^th Birthday, Seth!

Ethan:

Our friend didn’t have a major party with his friends, but we did send gifts out to his farm; and he was celebrating his special day with his family and a couple of best friends while most families are also busy with another round of family Christmases.  That wasn’t true for Ehlana and me, but Naomi and Aiden had family plans for this afternoon and evening; so after our movies and lounge sleepover last night that was really awesome; we got to have some play time after morning chores; and then they had to move on.  The weather has been mixed today, but the rain held off until mid-to-late afternoon, so our morning play time included biking and playing at the park and on the trails; we did some of that with Cassie, Michael, May, and his cousins; and then we were home for the rest of the day once the rain started.

It was nice to see Michael’s Stone-family cousins and help to entertain the younger kids, but his aunt and uncle are more stressed-out than usual; and Michael’s grandparents have slowed down a lot and are having some health issues.  We can sense more, but even if we could help them in any meaningful way; there’s no chance of doing that when they know nothing about the Magi in their family.  That’s affecting Cassie and Michael this weekend, but this is just a part of normal life for us, and while it’s more-personal; we feel like this about everything we can’t do to help others – and we can’t help the vast majority of people in need for any reason around the world.

I don’t want to get into a major commentary on anything serious; so let’s move along.

While we’ve been home and having a quiet dinner and night with Mom and Dad; Cassie, Michael, and May have been busy with his family – including the Stone-Bassett Christmas dinner at the Inn in one of the private dining rooms.  We aren’t attending the Johnson clan Christmas today either – though we did have some play time with them outdoors today too while crossing paths at the park.  Ehlana and I don’t feel left out because we’ve been on fun overload; so a quiet night is working out great for us.  Watching television, having bath or Jacuzzi time, and a bedtime chat on Ehlana’s bed isn’t newsworthy; we’re happy; and the extra sleep we’re going to get will be great too.

That’s all I have, and getting to that nap time is an option; so I’ll wrap this up and do that.

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

That update works for me, and I don’t have anything to add; so I’ll call it a night too – and maybe take a longer turn for our next report.

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!