Ethan and Ehlana:
Our top news for this update will be the big football win for Michael and Tim. We can also assure you that their amazing football feats were helped along by our collective home-town cheering section! With one road game to go in their regular season, Michael, Tim, and their team mates have a record of eight wins and three losses, so while that won’t get them into the division title game; it will pretty much guarantee them a bowl game regardless of whether they win or lose next Friday. The win today really was thanks to Michael and Tim; since they teamed up to score more points than their opponent without adding in the points from their kickers or running game – and they were the only receivers to score touchdowns on their side of the ball. We had a blast during the game; followed that up with a dinner that Michael and Tim couldn’t do with us while busy with the team; and then we headed back to the townhouses or hotel for what was left of the evening.
For us, that meant Christmas movie time with snacks and a long chat with Cassie, Rowen, and some of the cousins and parents. That wrapped up not long after Michael and Tim got home too; and then we were all ready to crash and nap by then after a very long, happy day. We can’t say the same for some of the members of our gang staying at the hotel, but we didn’t hear about those late-night stories until we got together for breakfast this morning. We shouldn’t go into any details, and didn’t hear all of the stories that weren’t kid-friendly anyway, but will mention that Jaimie and Micah and Kaitlyn and Jeremy earned some extra attention for being among the late-night adventurers; and they unapologetically cited Cassie and Michael for teen family precedents for what might have been roommate swaps last night! ;^)
Moving along, we were busy at breakfast thanks to helping out with Sierra and Ryan so that their parents could spend some time with our favorite collegians; most of us went to church with Cassie and Michael; and then we resumed our shopping fun for a few hours before it was time to hit the road for home. Since we had Dad’s truck today too, we had more room for passengers; and he ended up with a gang of guys for half of the trip home; and then with us, Naomi, and Aiden for the last leg of the trip. The traffic was a bit heavy in-part because of the football game and a delay for the exodus from college for their Thanksgiving reading week; so our total drive time including the break was over six hours.
We still needed to unload the van and truck once home – including doing some deliveries; we dropped off our best friends and their purchases; and then Mom had us help out with chores while Dad needed to get some work done to be ready for work in the morning after a week away from the office and the usual follow-up meetings with his clients. Mom used a time phase to help us with getting that work done without being up half the night, but it is also still late now; and we need to get started on our nap time soon.
Before we get to that, there is one bit of news from home to add – a move-in to one of the loft apartments that are being renovated on the third floor above the new shopping galleria project. Two of those apartments are rented for December First; and Aunt Leanne approved this move-in so that her tenants could be there in time for Thanksgiving. Those new tenants, by the way, are getting a nice discount through until the galleria opens in compensation for dealing with the ongoing construction noise and inconveniences; so they are happy with that as well as loving the upscale lofts that have an awesome view of the river, falls, and park.
Finally, there is no way to include every detail from such a busy weekend, so we’ll end this update by declaring our weekend adventures a major success. Our favorite college team won their game; our Christmas shopping is nearly-done and ahead of schedule; and we loved all of the family-and-friends time – even when a lot of that happened through cameo moments that collectively added up to totally-awesome!
Okay, that’s enough for now, and we really do need to get some sleep ahead of our holiday-shortened school week; so, until next time...
...this is Ethan and Ehlana Proctor; live from the hidden home of the Magi of the Light – and May the Magi Force be with you!
