Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 29th Birthday, Jake Stone!
Happy 23rd Birthday, Shannon Wildes!
We didn’t have any involvement in Shannon’s celebrations, but we did spend some time with Jake and Stephanie’s kids during the Easter Egg Hunt at the park; and Cassie and Michael had fun with his family and their friends – including taking care of their niece and nephews while their parents were busy at the Inn, Pizzeria, or farm. That didn’t include any kid-free nights ahead of Easter, but there was some babysitting involved into the evening; so we didn’t spend as much time with them today while they were busy and in high demand with everyone else too.
This update is going to be out of order, but let’s stick with the news of the day while mixing in some of the overall news of the weekend-so-far.
First, let’s mention that our collective weekend guests include the Rice clan except for Dawn because she’s stuck working most holidays while a junior pilot and most of the McEwans except for Jonathan and his family. In all cases, these visits are for Violet’s and Christina’s kids, and while we got the Rice family ‘grandparents’ at our house; the uncles and aunts are with Cassie and Michael or Violet, Dillon, and the kids. Christina and Josiah have all of her family with them, but we’ve also been doing some combined family meals; and that will include an early Easter dinner tomorrow that the Carringtons are hosting this year. Let’s also mention that the Everetts are having an ‘away’ weekend with Aunt Grace’s family and they took Jeremy with them so that he could be with Kaitlyn; so they’re missing out on the hometown fun including the egg hunt this morning.
Ethan and I were part of the volunteer crew for the hunt this morning; we helped with the set-up and then with the younger kids; we helped with the clean-up after all of the prizes had been handed out; and then we needed to do some work at home too – including the pre-lunch chores with Mom and the kitchen crew. We were set free for the afternoon to play with the other ‘kids’ while also helping out with kid control at the park and on the trails. It wasn’t quite as warm today, but the high-sixties was still pretty good and worked for us! For the record, it was cooler this morning, but that didn’t affect the egg hunt beyond having the kids dressed warmly instead of in the shorts and tees that many of us had on while playing and biking at the park and elsewhere.
That lunch was a family-and-friends’ event; we had tickets for the last buffet of the day at the Inn; and that was the culinary event of the day. We do not have any ‘kid’ guests with us tonight, since all of the kids are at their own homes ahead of the imminent arrival of the Easter Bunny overnight. Ethan and I didn’t have much teen time with our best friends after we left the Inn, but we did take Silkie for a walk while seeing Naomi and Aiden to their houses; and had a cameo visit at the Carringtons’ home on the way back to our house. That pretty much brings us up to now except for the bath or Jacuzzi time that followed our return home; so let’s cover a few highlights from Thursday night and Friday.
We had a blast with our four best friends on Thursday night – and with the usual gang of friends after school and through to dinnertime while we mostly biked the trails. Our evening included music play time and movies while the guys skipped any video gaming because they chose the co-ed cuddle time with their girlfriends instead. Yes, we had the Rice grandparents in the house too, but Mom and Dad kept them entertained; and there was only one cameo joke about joining us for the movies at bedtime while they stopped by to say goodnight to us. We stayed up too-late; the co-ed sofa sleepover naps were too-short; and then we were still up at normal time for Tai Chi by the river for eight. Ethan and the other guys were put to work cooking breakfast while the girls took turns getting ready for the day; the girls joined in for the clean-up; and then we all headed for the church and the solemn Good Friday service. Mom and Dad hosted the family-and-friends’ lunch that followed the service; we helped with work on both sides of that meal too; and then we spent the afternoon playing and biking while enjoying the mid-seventies high for the afternoon. The family dinner was another big event that included grilled food; and then Ethan and I hosted a gang of cousins and friends while many of our favorite adults did their own thing for the evening at various family homes – whether that was hanging out with other adults or spending time with the ‘next-gen’ kids. We had another too-late night that this time did include a lot of video gaming in the lounge for the boys and then there wasn’t a co-ed sleepover for any teens or tweens because the guys continued the gaming until after all of the girls in the house were sleeping and Naomi and I had Brianna with us for the night too in my room.
That brings us back to this morning, so all we have left to cover is the early Tai Chi by the river with a small gang of family and friends and the breakfast that was on the run for those of us helping out at the park. Ethan, Naomi, Aiden, and I missed out on most of that work at home thanks to being at the park so early instead, but we also missed out on the best parts of that breakfast – the fun with everyone else that was there for that meal including some of our favorite aunts and uncles. We’ve covered the rest of the news for today, so that’s all we have for tonight. It isn’t late compared to the last two nights, and we’ll pretend that we need to be asleep before the Easter Bunny gets to town; so we’re out of here and ready to catch up on our sleep for the rest of the night.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
