Ethan and Ehlana:
Happy 4th of July, everyone – and Happy Un-Independence Day, Mom and Cassie! ;^)
This has really been an awesome day from the Tai Chi by the river start through to now when we’re ready to crash and nap after finishing up with all of the post-party work that has included everything from hauling day camp gear and younger kids home to some chores that needed to be done to deal with the mess we brought home with us. Breakfast, the parade, our picnic lunch that went along with the co-ed ball game at noon were all amazing; and our personal highlights included watching Naomi with the school band during the parade; the win for our team in that ball game; and spending all of that time with so many of our favorite people! The afternoon entertainment included swims in the river, games around the park and at the game booths, canoeing and biking, and lots of snacks and frozen treats to help us to keep cool as the high for the day hit ninety-three.
Our families and friends gathered at our day camps for a major dinner with some food from most of the booths; we helped with the park clean-up; and then the dance was the main event of the evening through to the fireworks show. Naomi and I danced together a lot, and so did Ehlana and Aiden, and while there were the usual joke-cut-ins; we really just loved spending most of that time with our favorite partners. That was true for the fireworks too, and that started at ten o’clock – an hour earlier than usual because it is a work night for a lot of adults. For the record, we do not ever plan on being too-cool for fireworks – or family dances. There has been so much going on that we can’t possibly cover all of the details, but then we don’t really need to do that; since it is always the people we’re with that matters to us – even when the ‘what’ we’re doing is awesome!
As we’re winding down toward a late – or early – nap time, we are thinking about a lot of different things from today and looking into the past and the future. We love that Cassie and Michael could share the day with us after missing most of our past five holidays. We’ve been reminded that this is their tenth anniversary holiday too – though they technically still consider Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark’s wedding as their first date. They were twelve then too – though they were heading into Grade Eight and turning thirteen; so next summer will be more comparable for us – if not for Naomi. The precedents that Cassie and Michael set have been helpful, but we know that our summer will be different – and not just because we don’t have twin toddlers and their friends trying to camp with us every night! ;^)
Moving along, the only mention we’ll make tonight for our contemplation of the future is near-term. Most of our guests will be heading for their homes tomorrow, but we’re still going to be very busy with birthdays, anniversaries, and the rest of the daily and summertime work and play fun. With the holiday out of the way, the countdown is also on to Cassie and Michael’s first trip – to China; so we’ll want to have as much fun with them as possible too before they’ll be away for most of August. That is still more than three weeks away, though, so let’s not go there; wrap this up; and get a bit of rest while we can before the adventures resume again sometime around sunrise! Stay tuned; since our best-ever-so-far summer really is still just getting started! ;^)
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
