Happy 6th Birthday, Zack!
Ethan:
Ehlana wants to do the double-update thing tonight;
so I’ll leave this report to her – and I’m totally saying that because I’d
rather move on and cuddle with Naomi again tonight when we’re getting to have a
bonus movie and sleepover night! ;^)
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
We have a lot of news to cover for today,
but let’s back up and do the full two-day report in as much order as I can
manage while also making this quick so that I can move on to the rest of our
night too.
Ethan and Aiden were the only boys in our
class with dates to the festival this weekend, so they got razzed about that a
lot by the other guys – especially Miles and Joshua. They’d never be honest and admit that they’re
jealous anymore than they’d admit to liking certain girls – the two that they
love to bug the most. That isn’t news,
but the fact that they needed to be cool on Friday worked out for everyone;
since they spent most of their time in the midway or playing games while we
were left in peace to watch the shows and check out all of the exhibits. Sure, Ethan and I can memorize everything
around us at a glance, but while that can be very handy; it’s also nice to take
our time; discuss what we’re learning with our best friends; and share the fun
with our neighbors – especially when it comes to sharing their hobbies and
interests.
We also loved the rides we went on – and can
go on now, but that still wasn’t as much fun as it would have been in warmer
weather. There is one difference this
year that matters for us – the fact that we didn’t do the annual amusement park
trip this summer.
Okay, Ethan and Aiden – we did get to go on
that one drop-zone-worthy ride thanks to Gwyneth Hathorne, and the white water
rafting was great too; but you know what I mean. ;^)
The cool weather was tiring for me, but we
stayed active when outside; had regular hot drinks; and were dressed accordingly
too. It’s still weird to wear heavier
coats and gloves on thrill rides; which is likely why you don’t see many
pictures of that sort of thing – and they do have cold and wet days now and
then even at the Disney parks. Then
again, as Ethan noted yesterday, it could’ve been worse for us. I wonder if there were any fall festivals
going on during that snowstorm in North Dakota or the other States getting that
blast of early winter over the past couple of days?
Moving along, the play time with our
families after the end of the work or school day was my favorite part of the
day. Ethan didn’t mention that we won
some prizes along the way with the games in addition to the food and thrill
rides. He also skipped over the dancing
he did with Naomi, but while we had fun with that too; I was just ready to come
home and thaw out by then as the temperature dropped after dark. The movie time back at home was a nice way to
wrap up the day; Aiden and I actually cuddled while doing that too so that we
could get warm faster; and then we did not end up having sofa sleepovers in the
lounge because the parents intervened and sent us to segregated rooms despite
Naomi’s protests and Ethan’s reluctance to move on to his room. Naomi still got to cuddle – it was just with
Silkie instead of Ethan; and she shared our adorable dog with me.
That parental order was likely for the
best, since we got more sleep than we might have if we’d tried to watch a
second movie. Our morning started out
with indoor Tai Chi and a hot breakfast; and then we – the kids – were soon set
free to go play at the festival while Mom and Dad did some prep work for the
rest of our day – including some help for Zack’s birthday party. That part of our adventure didn’t start until
after lunch, but it took a while for the temperature to warm up, so we did
another round of the pavilions and the shows before going on some rides later
in the morning; and then we had lunch with some of our parents ahead of the
start of Zack’s birthday party.
Zack loves it when he gets to have his
birthday at the festival – and his friends feel the same way. Ethan, Naomi, Aiden, and I were on the edges
of the action while Zack did everything with his best friends, but we were part
of the larger group that went on rides and played games for a couple of
hours. We also helped to entertain
Brianna and some of the other younger kids in our group; and that kept most of
the girls from getting too-annoyed with Zack, Eli, and a few of the other guys
that went along with their leaders no matter what they did. The good news is that nobody got sick on
rides or elsewhere no matter how much they ate or drank before going on the
rides; and the contests were normal and not any worse or disgusting than usual
for five and six-year-old boys.
That’s news for Zack’s party – he only
invited boys; not including the cousins and sister that were there because he hadn’t
been given a choice. He obviously didn’t
think that one through, since he would have gotten more gifts, but then he got
a few gifts from girl-friends anyway. I
won’t mention their names, but they ought to be afraid; since Aunt Leanne took
note for future reference. She really
wants to find a match for Zack before he’s forty or fifty; and should likely
get started on that now! ;^)
There isn’t much else to report from the
park and festival. We played all
afternoon – though a couple of hours of that time was away from Zack’s
party. We were with our family and
friends for Zack’s birthday dinner, the gift opening, and special dessert; and
then we got to do the rides for another hour or so until it was time for the
country dance – and we were sent home for the night. Zack’s doing a birthday sleepover with Eli
and six other guys, but Brianna isn’t with us tonight because Brianna and Faith
are with Leah at her house tonight.
Hailey’s with them; and they have a babysitter while the parents are at
the festival dance. We have Patrick and
Jessica here with us, and the bonus sleepover for Naomi and Aiden is entirely
because their parents are getting a kid-free night. That works for us; and we were okay with
coming home early too; since we can be warmer again; there’s time to watch a
couple of Halloween movies; and Naomi and Ethan are hoping to get away with a
sofa sleepover if they’re asleep before Mom and Dad get home – which is a
possibility.
I’ll let you know how that goes with the
net report, but that’s all for now; and it is past-time for me to move on to
that movie and cuddle time – so I will.
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
