Ehlana:
This will not be a twin update tonight
because I’m multi-tasking with some quality Jacuzzi time; so Ethan is not here
with me! ;^)
I’ll begin with admitting that my top news
since the last update is that Aiden and I fell asleep last night before getting
to the separate sleeping bags part of our plans. Joining the sofa sleepover club with Naomi and
Ethan was only weird when we woke up this morning, but while we got teased
about that – and Mom took pictures that were shared with Aiden’s parents,
Cassie, and Michael; that experience wasn’t too-traumatic for us. We were teased on-and-off during the rest of
the day too, but that was still more fun than not; and didn’t get in the way of
the rest of the fun we had at the winter festival or when back at home again.
Tai Chi had to be indoors this morning, and
it took a while to warm up to the highs of the day, but we had a good start to
the day with that workout and breakfast.
We didn’t wait to get everyone together before heading to Maple Valley;
and ended up being among the first to get there. That allowed Mom and Dad to pick up tickets
and other purchases that we could store in the minivan by the time we did meet
up with our aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends; so that worked out great
for all of us.
Maple Valley’s Winterfest is one of the big
events that are put on in the entire area, and we had a blast while there; but
I’ll also have to report that there was a lot less going on this year – mostly because
of another unusual winter that has really affected the maple syrup crop. When those farms and businesses aren’t doing
very well compared to the good years, that affects the festival; and it really
showed this year as the events were scaled back quite a bit from normal. That’s entirely why we were finished with
everything we could do there within a few hours – including catching two shows
and a late-morning pancakes-and-bacon meal.
The cool start to the day helped to at least make it feel like a winter
festival, but by the time we got home; the weather also made it a perfect day
for more biking and play time at the park.
Naomi and Aiden were able to stay with us
for that; we had extra friends hook up with us while on the trails; and there
were cousins and parents at the park for some of our playground entertainment
too. Mom and Dad weren’t part of that
group because they’d opted for some office work and chores at home instead, but
don’t feel badly for them; since they didn’t just work while alone for a few
hours – though we don’t need to even think about why they were so happy when
Ethan and I got home for dinner. The
outdoor biking adventure was another awesome part of our day; and then we’ve
had a quiet evening at home that included a light dinner after having too-much
food at our first two meals of the day.
Mom and Dad watched a movie with us in the
lounge before Mom and I were ready for the quality Jacuzzi time; and Ethan’s
already in bed after opting for a quick shower before bedtime. We didn’t do the music practice thing
tonight, and he might be sleeping before I’m out of the tub; so we’ll likely
skip the twin-chat time too. We can
catch up tomorrow – not that we need to; and I’ll be okay with getting to sleep
soon after my bath anyway. I guess that’s
all I have for tonight, so I’ll wrap this up; and get back to enjoying my bath
for a while longer. Stay tuned. We don’t have any major plans for tomorrow,
but the weather is supposed to be even better; so more outdoor fun with our
family and friends is sure to be a big part of our Sunday!
This is Ehlana Proctor; live from the
hidden home of the Magi of the Light!
***
Ethan:
I love sofa sleepovers with Naomi, and
while Ehlana and Aiden were the focus for family-and-friends’ teasing about
their first sofa sleepover; we still got teased too – as usual. The top news for today might be the
down-sized Maple Valley Winterfest, but while that is a fact; I also think that
getting older is affecting our perception of the festival too. We certainly noticed that a lot of the
visitors to Maple Valley didn’t stay as long as was normal in past years; and
smaller crowds also made it easier to do everything more-quickly without really
having any line-up issues at all. We
still played all of the games and caught two of the shows that each last
between fifteen and thirty minutes; checked out the booths and demonstrations;
and some of us ate way too-many pancakes!
Going out for an afternoon of biking and
park play time was great too – though I didn’t have fun with everything; since
Miles and Joshua badgered most of the guys in our group to ride a few of the
muddiest trails at the park. Ehlana and
Naomi had no problem with getting razzed about it when they refused to go along
and get muddy too, but while that gave Miles and Joshua bonus entertainment; I
really wished that I could have joined them and stayed clean too. That sort of thing can ruin a guy’s
reputation, though; and explains why I really needed the shower tonight – along
with a change of clothes and minor clean-up before dinner.
Naomi still shared a hug and kiss with me
before she went home, but I had to take my jacket off first; and she only
leaned in to avoid getting any mud or dirt transfer from my pants or boots. ;^)
Moving along, I still managed to eat all of
my dinner and dessert, but likely should have skipped that meal; so it’s a good
thing that we’ll likely have another active day tomorrow. I sound a bit like Aunt Grace for that, and
don’t have to worry about getting fat thanks to the inherited hyper-metabolism,
but I sometimes scare myself with how much I seem to need to eat now and
then. We’re still a few years away from
the tween growth spurt part of growing up, but at least some of our parents
should be afraid – and start saving up for those grocery bills!
The movie tonight was mostly a wind down
time for us; Ehlana and I had fun spending that hour and a half or so with Mom
and Dad; and then I hit the shower; took Silkie for a quick walk; and now we’re
ready to crash and get some sleep.
Ending February with such a good day has been awesome; and we expect
more of the same tomorrow for the start of March – if not in a festival-fun
sort of way. I’ll let you know how that
goes, but don’t have anything to add tonight; so I’ll move on to the napping
part of my day starting right now.
May the Magi Force be with you!