Happy 38th Birthday, Aunt
Leanne!
Ethan:
The usual jokes were dusted off again
today, but while some people actually care about their age, Aunt Leanne mostly
just has fun with the jokes – and can do that because she looks so young. That’s true for most Magi – of both the Light
and Dark, though in the latter case; that’s often more a matter of youthful
vitality and use of their power that can be used to mask over the
darkness. For our little community of
Magi, having Healers available is making a difference too – and that could be
something to consider in the future. In
the past, Magi have needed to move around specifically because of their
youthful appearance, but that isn’t something that is really an option for us
in a world where we’re likely a lot safer in our little town than anywhere
else.
I’m not going to get into a long commentary
about that – or anything else; so let’s move on to the rest of this report.
While we could have left Silkie at home and
just stopped in for a bedtime and morning walk, Naomi and Ehlana decided to
take her along for the sleepover when we headed over to Naomi’s house after
grabbing our overnight bags. We took our
bikes too; and eventually moved on to the biking and park play with our
friends. We didn’t take Silkie along for
that, since it takes forever to brush and clean her if she gets messed up while
playing at the park, but Brianna offered to play with her instead while we were
gone; so Silkie was a happy dog – especially when Faith joined in for that play
time too. The top news from last night
was that we picked out what we’re going to dress up as for Halloween. That isn’t going to be anything original for
our town – or even our family, but after starting to watch the Harry Potter
movies tonight with Naomi’s parents, Zack, and Eli; we decided that Naomi and I
would go as Harry and Ginny while Ehlana and Aiden will dress up as Hermione
and Ron. There was some talk about going
as their kids instead, but Naomi didn’t like the idea of us being Albus and Lily
Potter – and that was entirely because hugs and kisses would just be weird
between siblings! ;^)
On the Halloween-scary side of the night,
Zack and Eli were in fine form; and Zack stayed for a sleepover too. They may go with a Harry Potter themed costume
too, but if they do; it’ll be as Fluffy – the three-headed guard dog. I already feel sorry for their parents if
they’re talked into trying to pull that kind of costume off in just a couple of
weeks! Naomi and Ehlana don’t think that
they need to dress up at all; since they were monsters toward them all night
and don’t need the disguises.
The movie time was fun even with the minor
annoyances; and then we had to deal with Zack and Eli bugging the girls until
well-past what should have been our bedtime while showing off for Aiden and me –
and trying to get us to stay up late and play video games with them. Naomi’s father eventually intervened, but
while we were up fairly-late; it wasn’t a big deal for Ehlana and I because we’re
used to longer days due to time-phased work and studying with Mom and Dad.
Our morning started out great with birthday
Tai Chi by the river with Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Brianna. We ended up having breakfast with everyone
that included a vid-chat with Cassie and Michael; so that made for an amazing
start to our day – even when the guys were drafted for the clean-up while the
girls played dress-up before work, school, or daycare. We were at school when Mom got home with a
birthday fast food lunch for Aunt Leanne, but we were in on the birthday dinner
and mini-party. For us, that started
with after-school kid control of the younger cousins. Uncle Adam cooked the special birthday dinner
– along with ‘normal’ food for Zack and a few of the other kids; and the Olde Bakery
cakes and desserts are always a hit at every birthday party!
I won’t get into a detailed list of
birthday gifts, but there was one notable highlight – a vacation getaway for
Aunt Leanne to Catalina Island that Mom, Dad, and Uncle Adam are going to go
along for during the first week of November – starting on the Saturday after
Halloween. That destination was picked
because Cassie and Michael had so much fun on their honeymoon – and because
they’re also going to spend time with Barb and her husband too. Ehlana and I will be with Naomi and Aiden for
the week while the parents are gone; while Zack and Brianna will spend time
with their Carrington grandparents; local aunts, uncles, and cousins; and
possibly with friends for a night or two too.
In hindsight, that plan could have
something to do with why Naomi got such easy approval for Silkie’s sleepover
last night – it might have been a test before having her there for that
week-long adventure.
We’d have loved a week of sun and fun too,
but we did get to have a fairly-awesome vacation this summer; and we’re happy
for our parents when they get to have some kid-free fun with their friends –
just as we get parent-free time with ours!
Getting back to the news of the day, we missed having Dad here to join
in on the celebration, but had fun – even when the guys were once again drafted
for the clean-up work. That was a bigger
deal after a major meal, so that took nearly an hour, but then we watched a
Halloween cartoon before Ehlana and I went home with Mom. By then, Mom was tired, so I took Silkie for
a walk while the girls in the house moved on to some quality time in their
Jacuzzis; I had a quick shower; and now I’m in bed and ready to get some sleep.
We’ve really had a great couple of days, and
the fun is sure to continue tomorrow with the monthly game night that Miranda
loves best – getting to team up with Mom for her best chance to win the senior
team title. Dad will be home on Friday,
and we have a family and friends dinner and a movie booked too; so we’ll keep
entertained through to the weekend – and all of the fall clean-up chores
waiting for us once we get to Saturday.
That’s a thought that I can ignore for
another couple of days – so I will. I’ve
covered all of the news from home too; don’t need to write about Mom’s night in
the city with Dad; and am past-ready to crash and nap – so I will.
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
That was quite thorough, Ethan; so I’ll
only add a couple of comments and then get back to enjoying my tub time.
Ethan earned points last night for cuddling
with Naomi during the movie despite the razzing and prank attempts from Zack
and Eli. We can report that Mom and Dad
had dinner and a visit last night with the Malloys; and the only news I have
from Cassie and Michael was from our vid-chat this morning – just a news nugget
about a Halloween party they’ll be doing the weekend of the Haunted Halloween
Walk that they won’t be able to come home to do with us instead. They haven’t had any problems with parties so
far this school year; so we’ll hope that trend continues – and that our
favorite Dark Magi will leave us alone this Halloween.
Let’s also add that Zack was actually
pretty good during Aunt Leanne’s birthday party; though that might have been
thanks to orders from his father after Zack and Eli had a bit too much fun at
breakfast while continuing their efforts to bug Naomi, Brianna, and me. I don’t mention this often, but I really am
lucky to have such an amazing brother and twin.
Zack is amazing too – only that’s in a future potential sort of way;
since he really enjoys the ‘normal’ image and reputation he’s worked so hard on
making for himself.
Since I’m thinking about that, I’ll mention
that he’s very meticulous about that image.
For example, while grades aren’t really a big deal in Grade One; he’s
even intentionally making mistakes on tests and assignments to avoid perfect
marks. He thinks that’s funny when he’s
doing high school level studies at home along with his Magi lessons, but he
will have to change that eventually; since he’ll need top grades if he sticks
with his current plan to be a doctor like his Dad.
I expect that will happen; since I can’t
really picture the current version of Zack as a doctor too – or at least I can’t
do that without laughing.
Okay, that’s all for me; and I’m ready to
relax again and enjoy my Jacuzzi play time for a while longer before going to
bed. Ethan’s more-tired than I am, so I
might do a bit of light lab report reading tonight too, but then I’ll get some
sleep once I’m ready to call it a night.
Stay tuned – the Halloween-themed fun is going
to continue!
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
