Happy 8th Birthday, Caroline!
Ethan:
Aiden and I didn’t have much to do with
Caroline’s birthday celebration, but we were in on a group gift with Ehlana and
Naomi that we gave her while at Sunday school; and wished her a happy day while
doing that. Her party was
family-and-girlfriends-only, and we can’t blame her for that; since Miles works
especially-hard to annoy her whenever he has the best opportunities to do
that. Ehlana might want to comment on
that today – again, but I won’t go there in part because Aiden and I already
did our duty by running interference on Miles and Joshua this afternoon. They really wanted to try and bug Caroline
and the other girls anyway – even though the party was indoors and there were
lots of adults around; so we convinced them to take their fun and energy in
other directions.
You’re welcome! ;^)
Tai Chi for two wasn’t as much fun this
morning; and we were awake early thanks to the time change. That gave us lots of time to get ready for
church and have breakfast; and then we drove to the church with a short
side-trip to the bakery. That was a
change from my normal Sunday morning; and that trend continued after church
when Aiden, Hailey, and I had lunch at the bakery. We were set free after that; got our bikes;
and met up with a bunch of the guys to hang out with them while the girls were
busy with Caroline’s party. We had to
put up with a fair bit of razzing along the way to getting the other guys to
leave Caroline alone today, but the ‘extreme’ biking on the trails kept us
entertained instead; Olde Bakery treats at snack time was basically a bribe
that worked; and then we were eventually back at the bakery until it closed and
we went over to the Inn for the late buffet.
Aiden’s parents might go to that buffet more-often that Mom and Dad do,
but when they work seven days a week so-often; that seems like a small bit of
food fun in compensation.
We didn’t get to spend much time with
Ehlana and Naomi after church and Sunday school, but we did meet up with them
for Silkie’s bedtime walk; there were good-night hugs and kisses involved when
it was time to split up again; and I don’t mind admitting that I missed them
today – even as our connections keep us close in other ways that are brilliant
and filled with joy and love. They were
moving on to a bedtime movie, but Aiden’s Dad will be at work early tomorrow;
so we had a bedtime visit; Hailey and her Mom went off to have some quality
mother-daughter time; and Aiden and I went to his room to get our school bags
ready and play some video games before we were ready to sleep.
Once again, the time change helps us out
tonight because it feels later than it is by an hour, but this still feels
early to me as I wrap up this report.
That’s okay, since we’ll catch up in a day or two – and we did wake
earlier than normal this morning.
I’ll leave the rest of the news to
Ehlana. She did the vid-chats and
messages with Mom and Cassie; so there’s no point in me writing about that
second-hand. We’ve had a good day – even
if it wasn’t birthday-party-exciting; and I’m sure the trend will continue as
we really get into the Thanksgiving holiday spirit at school starting
tomorrow. That’s all I have; so I’ll
move on; and hopefully be able to fall asleep soon.
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
I thought that Tai Chi with Naomi was fun –
even without the boys; so maybe Ethan would have felt differently if she’d been
his exercise buddy instead of Aiden! ;^)
We also had a fun morning; enjoyed the
extra time that allowed us to have fun with our hair and getting dressed up for
church; and then we enjoyed the service and Sunday school adventures with the
boys and our friends. Caroline’s party
started after lunch, so we had that meal at Naomi’s house; walked over to
Caroline’s house – after leaving Silkie with Brianna and Faith so that they
could ‘puppy-sit’ her for us while we were busy. The party included games, a movie, music,
girl-chat time, and an early pizzeria pizza dinner. Every part of our afternoon was awesome; and
Caroline is very happy tonight – even if most of the adults helping out with
her special day were exhausted by the time all of the guests headed out to
their own homes.
Since we at early and Ethan and Aiden ate
late, Naomi and I had time to watch a Christmas movie before that walk with
them – and Silkie. While we really didn’t
get to spend much time with the boys, we were all still happy when we went our
separate ways; and then Naomi and I enjoyed the second ‘chick flick’ show –
even though Eli opted to play video games in his room instead; and his Dad
split that hour and a half between the movie and the gaming. Naomi and I headed for her room after that;
we’ve had more girl-chat time; and now we’re settling in and ready to get some
sleep.
We had a morning vid-chat with Cassie and
Michael before breakfast, but there isn’t much news from them. Their sports night at the Rec Center was fun
but uneventful; and their plans for today only included church this morning;
studying in the afternoon; and a quiet evening at home that we’re likely
too-young to know more about than that.
I only had a quick vid-chat with Mom and Dad, but Mom sent some pictures
and messages too; and they spent their first full day on the island doing some
sightseeing and shopping – mostly because Barb and her husband are not exactly
the outdoor type and wouldn’t be interested in hiking the trails, biking, or
any extreme water sports – especially in the comparatively-cool weather. I’m not joking about that, since in one of
those picture; they were wearing sweaters while Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt
Leanne were in tees and shorts.
They’re having fun; so that’s all that
matters to me; and I’ll keep you posted as we get all of the kid-rated news
from their vacation. While I’m thinking
about that sort of thing, Grandma and Grandpa are having fun in Arizona too –
and that’s more-true now that they’re doing that southern trip in the fall with
his brother, sister, and their spouses.
We miss them too, but while we’re in school five days a week anyway; we
wouldn’t see them as much anyway; and I’m really glad that they are able to go
on these adventures – especially when that isn’t an option for too-many
retirees.
That’s a topic I could go on about, but don’t
want to write any rants tonight – so I won’t.
It’s been a really great day and weekend; I’ll be happy and grateful for
that; and wrap this up so that we can get some sleep now.
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
