Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden:
Happy 13th Birthday, Samantha Norton!
This update is coming to you from our tent; it is late; and we are only still in the same tent because the fun is still going on and we can get away with it. There will not be a co-ed sleepover for us, but by the time we get to sleep; there will only be time for a nap anyway. As for our adventures so far since the last report; let’s begin with the rest of the news from last night.
Dinner with Mom and Dad for the four of us was great; and I’ll only add that Naomi and I got teased about having too much fun during the clean-up. At least two of us in this tent do not want to comment on those jokes – especially when comparisons were made to some of our favorite adult couples. For the record, though, I will suggest that if kitchen clean-ups are so much fun for parents to do on their own; then I don’t understand why they’d ever want their kids or teens to do that work for them! Moving along, it was still hot when we went to the park, so some swim time went along with the fun we had with the younger kids that we helped out with while the adults were busy on or near the ball diamond. You already know that Naomi and Aiden came home with us for the night, and the rest of our evening included a Magi lesson with Mom, shower or Jacuzzi time, a music practice, and a wind-down movie to go along with our co-ed sofa sleepover. The music practice was for the band because we wanted to be ready for the campfire tonight. We weren’t hired or anything – or even asked ahead of time, but we were right about our guess last night; and we played and sang for our friends and the other guests for more than an hour. As for the rest of last night, we cuddled and talked until later than we should have; got a handful of hours of sleep; and then we were on the go again by sunrise.
Tai Chi and breakfast with Mom and Dad made for a good start to our day – especially when that meal included a vid-chat with Cassie and Michael. We spent the morning doing chores and getting ready for Samantha’s party; and then Mom gave us a lift to the Nortons’ farm after we had a quick and easy lunch. We don’t know Samantha’s father as well as we know her mother because we see her every day at school, but we like her parents a lot; and her younger brother, Casey, is definitely in the ‘good’ group of younger boys – despite the fact that he’s a friend of Zack and Eli! We were early for the party, but that was mostly so that we could help out – including setting up tents and other work that was mostly about getting ready for the barbeque dinner. The farm work doesn’t end, so the regular work went on around us too; and we loved the opportunity to observe – and even help out a bit now and then.
We weren’t the only friends that Samantha had come over early to help out, but it still took a couple of hours to get our campsite set up – not including some tents that would arrive with the campers using them. The campfire was set and ready for use too; and we took care of setting up the tables and chairs and picnic tables. There was about two hours of play time before dinner, and we had fun with that as Samantha’s friends and guests arrived, but the four of us helped out now and then when Samantha’s Mom needed the extra hands. Naomi is one of Samantha’s best friends, so she and I were at the same table with her at dinner; and it only felt a bit weird not to have Ehlana and Aiden with us too. They were at the table next to us, so we could still talk while we ate, but we were also busier with the conversation going on at our table – including the roasting for Samantha that her parents were happy to lead. The usual birthday fun happened around dessert; Samantha liked her gifts; and then we helped with the clean-up. The adults had some social time after that; the evening games included a football scrimmage, Frisbee tricks and throwing; and volleyball. Swimming in the pond was an option too, but we didn’t choose to do that today – mostly because Naomi and Ehlana did not want to deal with we hair for the rest of the night.
The campfire began at dusk, but we didn’t have many adults with us; and we weren’t surprised that most of the adults wanted to go home and get some sleep. Farm work starts early – especially as the various harvest times start to kick in and the workdays get even longer. We’ve already mentioned that Naomi and the Haunted Harmonies was recruited to provide most of the musical entertainment, and that was a highlight of our day that our friends must have agreed with too – if all of the dancing and compliments were an indication. The fireside fun rolled along until midnight by the time we had the fire out and moved on to hanging out around the tents. We’ve mentioned that the action around here is still happening, but we’re mostly just hanging out in little groups; and there haven’t been any major drama issues or practical jokes. We are all winding down now, but we need to wrap this up and get back to a last round of fun before we’ll split up for the rest of the night. Naomi hates that idea, but we’re not at home; and Samantha’s parents have made it clear that co-ed camping is not approved – especially for their own teen! ;^)
Before we move on, though, let’s include another update for Cassie and Michael. It is Friday afternoon there as we write this; so they’re about half-way through their last work day in Beijing. Their main job today is a visit to an inner-city outreach center, and while that is very different from other community projects that they’ll work with around China; it is a necessary and challenging project too. They have new plans for supporting those operations too, but in this case; there are limits to what we can help with; since there are problems that can’t simply be fixed with more money. Their Saturday is going to be a travel day, but we can write more about that tomorrow night – along with any news we’ll get about their adventures today that we won’t get any details on until sometime tomorrow – or Friday in our time zone! Make that later today, since it is Friday now; and let’s wrap this up because even junior Magi Masters can get messed up when thinking about time changes that are half a world away!
Okay, that’s enough for tonight. We’ve had an awesome day; we’re glad that Samantha has had a happy birthday; and now we’ll get a last round of bedtime fun out of the way with the rest of the campers and then maybe manage to get a bit of sleep too. It could happen – maybe! ;^)
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
