Ethan and Ehlana:
Happy 43rd Birthday, Nathan Draper!
Our day began with Tai Chi by the river, and that was great, but then our fun level kicked into high gear while helping to cook the special birthday breakfast for Aiden’s Dad; and pretty much all of our first day of May has been amazing!
We’ll get to all of that news too, but let’s back up to our adventures last night. By the time we got to Aiden’s house, Hailey and Leah were there, so we basically went straight into babysitting mode – and continued to do that through until Aiden’s parents got home from Sheldon’s Pub. We kept the younger kids entertained until dinnertime; Pizzeria pizza and some snack and veggie sides were a hit with all of us; and ice cream and bakery treats took care of dessert needs. Our ‘kids’ last night also included Zack and Eli; so they made life interesting for us with their usual games and gags. Their antics were offset by Brianna and Faith; while Caleb and Sebastian ended up being willing supporters for Zack and Eli if not co-conspirators and prank assistants.
We had some outdoor play time after dinner; played video games after that; and wrapped up the babysitting with a movie that we all saw through to the end while waiting for parents to pick up most of the kids. That didn’t end up being all of the parents, since Zack was taken home with Eli; Brianna went home with Faith; and Sebastian ended up with the Everetts too while the Ayres, Carrington, and Proctor parents ended up with the kid-free nights. Once we were able to get around to the co-ed sleepover part of our night, we were pretty much just ready to crash and nap – so we did.
Following the birthday fun this morning, we had a busy morning at church and Sunday school that included Mother’s Day crafts to get ready for next weekend. We were helpers for the younger kids with those crafts; so we had extra fun with that; and then our day continued to be awesome with a barbeque lunch that Mom and Dad hosted. The entertainment highlight for today was getting to ride the new trail all the way to Quarry Lake this afternoon. The trail will officially open tomorrow, but the work is done; and we took advantage of the nice weather to test it out today. We only had three parents with us for that ride while another half-dozen drove out to Quarry Lake with the younger cousins and friends. The trail is twelve miles long – including the part of the ride into the campground to near the lakes; it took us about an hour to do that first ride at an easy and steady pace; and then we had some play time at Quarry Lake for an hour or so until riding home again. The younger kids got to have the extra play time instead, but they want to do the ride soon too; so we’ll likely do that sometime soon when we have time to do the round-trip at a slower pace.
That wasn’t an option this afternoon because we needed to be home in time to clean up and get to the Inn for the late buffet and Nathan’s birthday dinner celebration. We made it back with lots of time, so we also took care of a few chores while getting ready for dinner; that meal was a blast of fun with our family and friends that ended up lasting until after eight o’clock before we came home again; and our evening has been a wind-down for the weekend that included some work in the office; a Magi lesson with Mom; and bath or Jacuzzi time.
Now it is late and we’re once again ready to crash and nap; so that’s all for this report. We have a busy first week of May ahead of us; so stay tuned while we go out and live those adventures; since we have a really good feeling about this new month – and the coming summer! ;^)
Until next time, this little blast from your near or distant past is written for you with love from Ethan and Ehlana Proctor – twin junior Magi Masters of the Light!
