Happy New Decade!
Ehlana:
Ethan will continue to be first getting
most of our daily updates written, but mine will still come first for a change
in this new decade – our second so far!
Starting our second decade today isn’t
really meant as a joke, but that has been the cause for some entertainment last
night and today – especially among the older adults. The ‘winners’ for those jokes are the seniors
among us that get to one-up everyone else in town by starting their second
century – a very exclusive club in our little town.
Let’s get this report started with the rest
of the news from yesterday.
It wasn’t necessary, but Ethan and I still
picked up our dates; and got razzed about it by our friends for needing Mom and
Dad to drive the minivan. That’s going
to be a fact of life for us for most of this new decade; and isn’t a problem
for us. If you’re wondering why Aiden
didn’t pick me up; that’s because his Dad had to close the bakery; so his
parents and sister couldn’t get to the Inn until nearer to the start of the
dinner while we were there for most of the opening social hour. One of the private dining rooms was set up
for gaming of various kinds, so we – the kids – had entertainment options while
the adults did most of the ‘boring’ socializing; and then our New Year’s Eve dinner
buffet was an amazing culinary adventure – especially for anyone willing to try
new gourmet dishes. Since we were on a
date, we were at one of the tables-for-four while Mom and Dad were with Uncle
three sets of our aunts and uncles.
Cassie, Michael, and May got to hang out with kids their age for dinner
too; but we still got to spend some time with all of them during the rest of
the night.
So our meal was awesome; there was a break
while the dining room was cleared of dishes and readied for the rest of the
night; and we – the kids – had more play time while staying out of the way of
that work. The other private dining room
was being used for football watching and other games like cards and darts, but
the main dining room was party central.
Dancing was involved, so Ethan and Aiden went dancing with Naomi and me
several times; earned more razzing from the guys our age for doing that instead
of playing video games or other ‘manly’ activities; and we again didn’t really
care because we were having too much fun – including with those
joke-insults. Naomi definitely shared
more hugs and kisses with Ethan because of that; and might have been going with
Cassie’s theory on how to deal with junior pranksters and jokesters. We’ll see if that helps us at all, but it
obviously did for her; since Michael and Tim still won’t prank Cassie anymore
since their one-and-only true attempt to do that back when they were only a bit
older than we are now.
Moving along, we had a blast with our
favorite people through until the big countdown at midnight; Naomi and I had
New Decade kisses for Ethan and Aiden – and Naomi joked about not wanting to
have to wait for another ten years before getting the chance to do that again
in twenty-thirty. That isn’t entirely a
joke on her part; since life-and-death fights with a Dark Magi Master and her
goons has affected Naomi at least as much as the rest of us; and enjoying every
moment as much as possible is part of her plans for the future – along with
marrying Ethan and living happily ever after. ;^)
We had hugs and kisses to share with all of
our favorite people at the party after midnight, but the fun began to wind down
then; and Mom and Dad took us home by one o’clock. Dad’s night wasn’t over, since he was a
designated driver. So was Michael, so
Cassie and May had time for a bedtime girl chat with Naomi and me once we were
home. May didn’t really think that it
was fair for the rest of us girls in the house to have cuddle buddies, but then
she ended up with Silkie for the night; and we won’t really have time for more
than a nap anyway. Ethan and Aiden got
the lounge set up for us while we were having that chat; Mom, Dad, Cassie, and
Michael checked in on us one the guys got home from their driving duties; and
then it wasn’t that much longer before we were all asleep – three couples;
Aiden and I in separate sleeping bags but next to each other; May and Silkie;
and Mandy – though Cassie’s cat had only woken for the girl chat visit and then
went back to her favorite spot on my bed.
Our New Year’s Day began with a
slightly-later than normal breakfast; so work to get ready for the
football-watching party; and then Ethan, Naomi, Aiden, and I got to have some
play time outdoors before our best friends needed to be returned to their
families for a while. We did get to
spend more time with them, but they each had some family visiting to do first
before coming over to our house again later in the afternoon – in time to catch
most of the Rose Bowl along with the rest of our guests that included some of
the Ayres’ side of Naomi’s family. I
definitely don’t want to get into the football parts of our day – so I won’t. We – the girls – played in my room or hung
out in the sunroom where the women were able to watch chick flicks and get away
from the football action. I do need to
back up and add that we had a snack lunch as our guests began to arrive; the
kids got to have some outdoor play time at the park that included some bike
riding while the temperature warmed up nicely again and we had great weather
for our first day of the year. Dinner
was a buffet, food-to-go pot-luck that included everything from ‘real’ food to
pizzeria pizza. Most of the girls were
in the sunroom or dining room for that meal, but the younger guys didn’t want
to stop their video gaming that long and the older guys didn’t want to miss any
of the football action; so they were in the lounge or living room with only a
few exceptions.
That sounds like we were segregated for a
lot of the day, and I guess that we were, but there was still a lot of social
time between the groups – fun cameo moments that helped to make this an awesome
day for everyone. We’ve stayed up
playing very late; Mom and Dad have extra kids here again tonight because they’re
big softies; so in addition to another sleepover with Naomi and Aiden; we have
Brianna, Faith, Zack, and Eli. Other
cousins and friends sleepover have been arranged so that we didn’t end up with
a completely-full house, but it has still been a bit crazy around here. The guys are using the lounge for the night –
and still playing games, but Naomi and I have Brianna and Faith in my room and
we’ve closed the doors to the lounge. I’m
multi-tasking this update with girl chat time and music, but we’re about ready
to put our toys away and get some sleep.
Every day won’t be as great as this one in
twenty-twenty, but we’re off to a great start; and it would be really amazing
if every year between now and the Ascension of the Light could be a
best-ever-so-far kind of year for all of us!
This is Ehlana Proctor; live from the
hidden home of the Magi of the Light!
***
Ethan:
This update is happening during a video
gaming break – at least for one of my turns; so I’ll keep it short and leave it
to Ehlana to cover most of the news for the end of the last year and start of
this decade. I’ll include a football
report that she won’t want to write about at all, but before I go there; I’ll
include my favorite moments of the last day and a half – give or take a few
hours.
Every moment I spent with Naomi! ;^)
That isn’t a joke – though we had fun with
everyone else too. Try not to have too
much fun with that, but it is also true, and while most of our friends and
neighbors wouldn’t believe us; the bonds we’ve created over the past year and
change are permanent, real, and beyond what most people could even imagine.
Our date last night at the dinner and party
was amazing; the sofa sleepover nap was too-short; and this start to the new
decade has been nearly-perfect. Staying
up late with the guys and possibly playing video games until too-late could be
the one exception to that, but then I’m really just wishing that I could be
cuddling with Naomi again instead; so the fun level will just be relative to
that high standard.
Football really hasn’t been a very high
priority for me this season, but we – the younger guys – did spend some time
involved in the football watching in the living room. I just haven’t found it as interesting to
watch since Michael and Tim stopped playing.
That’s really a matter of the game-watching, though, since Aiden and I
plan on playing once we’re old-enough to join our school team. The actual football action for the college
bowl games wasn’t bad, but the championship teams had already been decided
early – mostly because of the mid-week timing for New Year’s Day; so the stakes
for these games just weren’t as high as in other years for at least one of the
games.
The winners and losers for the games today
weren’t really important to anyone at our house; though Michael and Tim have
friends attending some of those colleges; and offered their support for those
teams – win or lose. I didn’t cheer for anyone
in particular while on my visits to the living room, but did see some good
plays; and had fun with hanging out with Dad and the other older guys – meaning
anyone here of high school age or older.
sure, some of the teen visitors stopped in for some video gaming in the
lounge, but the guys were still into the football watching more than anything
else; so they were part of that group today while I spent more time with Aiden
and the younger guys.
I’m out of time and getting called back to
the gaming; so that’s it for me.
All that’s left before I go is to
end with a new close for a new decade, so in honor of the final episode of Star
Wars that just came out in theaters; I’ll go with one that’s a bit like one
that Cassie used when she was younger. I’d
ask for comments and feedback on that, but since you won’t be reading this
anytime soon; that would be a bit pointless. ;^)
May the Magi Force be with you!
