Ethan, Naomi, Ehlana, and Aiden:
The change in order of names for these occasional group reports is because we’ve decided that a new year should include more-official recognition of the reality that we are couples as well as a foursome! We’re also at Naomi’s tonight – mostly so that Mom and Dad could get another break after a very busy holiday weekend. There is also a lot to cover for this all-weekend update; so let’s get to it!
Our weekend guest arrivals on Friday kept us busy from before dinnertime until, well, the end of our day. Mom and Dad got most of the Rice clan, but Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa spent the weekend with Violet and her little family. Our visiting Proctors were with the Everetts – though that wasn’t all of the time; since their kids spent a lot of time elsewhere – including with sleepovers here or at other homes – including with the Byrd or Green families for Jaimie and Kaitlyn! ;^)
Cassie and Michael still needed to juggle all families this weekend – and helping Rebecca at the Pizzeria, but they spent as much time with our family as they could; and we’ve enjoyed that as much as everyone else. The Pizzeria pizza snacks have just been an awesome bonus! Moving along, let’s get to some of the New Year’s Eve Day stories!
You know that you’ve had a remember-forever day when the family Christmas and gifts might not have been the in the top-five for best moments of any day. Don’t get us wrong, we did love the gift exchanges – especially with extra guests including Micah and Jeremy, but you can’t be surprised to find out that our dates for the dinner and party at the Inn was number one; and the co-ed sleepover that followed was next-best – though that didn’t include much time for sleeping! Thanks to the weather on Saturday, we also had an afternoon bike ride that the girls enjoyed a lot thanks to escaping some of the college ball games; we had fun playing with our cousins and friends; and the girls also had more fun with the getting ready for the party time.
The dinner that Jacob and Jake put together for the party at the Inn was seriously-amazing. All four of us were happy to get in on trying out the special offerings included with the buffet; and loved everything too. We also like the work-free fun that comes with going to the Inn for a party, but the next top highlight after the meal was the dance – and half the credit for that was because Naomi and the Holiday Harmonies were drafted for a few unplugged songs to go along with the canned music and the later video feed from various celebrations around the country. Family was involved in that set-up, since guitars, a keyboard, and Aiden’s basic digital drum console was magically available for us too. We had a blast with our four-song set; Cassie and Michael got ‘hired’ for a couple of songs too; and the live entertainment really did take the party to the next level.
Our own dancing was another highlight of our night, and Naomi wants me to report that our midnight kiss was good-enough to keep me out of trouble with her! ;^)
There was a lot going on at the Inn on Saturday night, and we weren’t involved with quite a bit of it, but we should at least mention that there was football-watching in the smallest dining room; board games and cards to be played in the other small dining room; and adult beverages to enjoy that we’re still a bit-less than a decade away from being able to choose to try for ourselves. We’re not in any hurry to reach that particular next-level, but mention it only because that is a party reality even in a small town; and that also means that another activity that we don’t have anything to do with is part of the adventure too – making sure that all of our friends and neighbors get home from parties safely.
We won’t get into that, but we will assure you that we got home safely from the Inn – along with the rest of our family. It was past-two by then; our co-ed sofa sleepover began soon after that; and we didn’t get to sleep right away because we felt the need to chat for quite a while – including cameo moments with Cassie and Michael when they got home after helping out with the Inn clean-up. We loved all of that; and then we enjoyed the short blast of cuddle and nap time.
New Year’s Day began a little later than usual. We already mentioned that we skipped Tai Chi; breakfast was self-serve and mixed in while we all got ready for church; and then that service was among the quietest we’ve attended; and that seemed entirely-due to the sleep-deprivation of a majority of the congregation. We still had fun, and the teens provided an amazing experience as always; and then we all moved on to a first day of twenty-twenty-three that was a bit different because it landed on a Sunday. Because of that, the usual annual college bowl games were delayed a day while pro football games went ahead as usual. Mom and Dad didn’t exactly host a party today – it was more of an informal gathering from lunchtime through until early-evening. Maybe that isn’t different at all, but it didn’t feel the same to us. The great weather allowed the kids and teens to have bonus outdoor time, so we went biking, played at the park, and were out of the house for a lot of that football-watching – or the chick flick movies in the sunroom. There was video gaming in the lounge too, but that was happening shortly before dinner and then into the evening. We had all of the cousins and some friends with us for most of the day, but we had limited available guest rooms, so the sleepovers on Sunday night ended up happening at three homes. Jaimie and Kaitlyn ‘hosted’ one at the Everett’s house; Zack did the same with a bunch of the guys at his house; and we got some of the girls – including Brianna, Faith, Leah, Sophia, and Hailey. We still had a co-ed sofa sleepover in the lounge; got teased about it; and didn’t let that get in the way of being comfortable and happy.
That brings us around to today. While it is still warm today, rain moved in; and with a lot of rain on the way; all of our guests opted to pack up before and after breakfast and then hit the road for their homes – or most of them did. Jaimie and Kaitlyn are staying for the second-half of our Christmas break; so they are staying with Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace. Okay, that’s not where they’re staying tonight, but let’s not go there and just be happy for the precedents! Jayden did not want to stay too – though he could have done that. He does have friends at home, though, so we can’t blame him for that – or his expectations of a good week as an only child. We helped out with getting everyone loaded up and on their way; followed that up with a lot of work to get the house cleaned and laundry done; and then we headed for Naomi’s house in time to help her Dad with cooking dinner. This was a holiday weekend work day for Naomi’s Mom, and they were very busy; so we were happy to make her life just a little easier. The stores will slow down by next week when we go back to school, but for now; most store owners and workers around here are just tired out from all of the busy. That had a lot to do with why our evening fun was cuddling and a movie for the three couples in the house while Zack and Eli chose gaming in the family room. Aiden and I played some games with them too after Naomi’s parents went to bed; and then we only had to deal with about an hour of Zack and Eli pranks and annoyances before they were ordered to cease and desist; and we are now able to wind down toward our co-ed sleepover.
We like having more time for our school break before Christmas because we get to have more of that side of the holiday fun, but the occasional extra time in the New Year is pretty good too instead of jumping right back into our academic adventures. We’ll get back to the play time again tomorrow, but that’s all we have for tonight, and we really do want to focus on the cuddle part of that co-ed sleepover fun; so we’re out of here! ;^)
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
