Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 31, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy Halloween, everyone!

We’ve had an awesome day; and now we’re tired and ready to get some sleep soon – without any overnight co-ed guests to help us out with wrapping up the day and month!

The top stories from school were the class parties and haunted house in the gym, and we also helped with the gym set-up this morning while leaving the scary acting to other teens this afternoon.  Ethan and I helped out with the party treats; our costumes survived the peer scrutiny; and we didn’t win any awards for them because we just don’t try that hard compared to some of the other kids and teens.  The haunted house was definitely one of the fun highlights, but we also wandered around the school more than usual this year; and had some bonus entertainment while visiting other classes – including Brianna’s and Faith’s classes.

Since being set free from school, we’ve been busy with family and friends while enjoying the ongoing holiday fun.  Ethan and Naomi were eventually put in charge of handing out treat bags at Cassie and Michael’s house; Aiden and I drew going trick-or-treating with a gang of next-gen cousins and kids; and we all had a blast whether handing out treats or getting to collect them as a bonus for all of the walking around and kid-control ‘work’ that really wasn’t a challenge at all.  The weather was cooler today, but sunny all day and clear tonight; so we were warm-enough with costumes and jackets and the walking exercise.  Okay, Ethan and Naomi chose co-ed cuddling to stay warm instead, but that worked for them; and they did miss out on all of the candy and treats!  I’ll stick with that story despite the fact that they also got to keep their treat bag leftovers; and will likely get the leftovers from our parents’ homes too – not that any of us actually need all of that sugar.

Moving along, this was a big night in town for trick-or-treating, and there is a party going on at Sheldon’s tonight, but we didn’t get asked to do any late-night babysitting; and most parents aren’t partying all night with a work day still ahead of them tomorrow.  Aiden and I were finished with the younger kids by around eight-thirty, so we sat with Ethan and Naomi until they were done at Cassie and Michael’s house as the kids finished up with that part of town; and then we stayed together for a snack and chat at Naomi’s house before splitting up for our own homes.  Mom didn’t want us to do any work tonight or even have a Magi lesson; so bath or Jacuzzi time was next on our to-do list; and we were glad to get out of our costumes too.

Now we’re winding down toward nap time, but before we go there; we should mention that game night at the Inn was cancelled for Halloween, but they were busy anyway with all of the adults that left their kids and teens to run wild in town while they enjoyed having dinner at the Inn instead.  We also want to mention that Cassie and Michael have moved on to Libya from Chad for the rest of the week; they are still dealing with daily dangers while still managing to get their work done and develop new partnerships; and having to deal with bad guys every day is weirdly-fitting for Halloween – not that we expect that to end with the start of a new month.

Halloween might be good for a world news rant too, but we don’t want to do that tonight, and since we have an away football game on the schedule for tomorrow night; and we need to re-charge to be ready for another long day.  We’re ready to do that now, so that’s it for today; and we’ll be back for our next report sometime tomorrow.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 30, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Aiden’s birthday party was a hit with his friends and family, and while we didn’t actually have a lot of time for it thanks to the school band practices and having it on a school night; we fit as much fun into those hours as we could before most of the guests headed for their homes and we wrapped up the day with a six-teen co-ed sofa sleepover that included some cuddle time and a Halloween movie.  For the record, no, we did not have an all-night party at Cassie and Michael’s house; and Aiden also didn’t get a parent and sibling-free night as one of his gifts!  Ethan wants me to add that Aiden liked his gifts from me the best; and is only half-joking when including the co-ed nap time as one of those best-loved gifts.  I don’t want to write about any specific gifts; and we’re happy to know that Aiden did have a really good birthday that was awesome for everyone involved.

Moving along, Tai Chi by the river was an option this morning, but we soon had rain moving into town and it has been with us for most of the day since then.  We were glad that rain wasn’t an issue yesterday and isn’t expected to be one for Halloween either; and it didn’t really get in the way of our plans for today.  The academic adventures were short because we spent half of our school day at the church fellowship hall while helping with the seniors’ Halloween luncheon and dance.  The school band was the main entertainment attraction, but Naomi and the Haunted Harmonies played two songs and there were other music or comedy entertainers; and those hours that included setting up and the tearing down were filled with fun for everyone involved.

Ethan and I managed to be finished at school on-time; we went to play at the lab or archives after that and into the early evening; and then we came home and had a late, leftovers dinner.  After the fun with Aiden yesterday and Halloween ahead of us tomorrow, Mom didn’t want us to work in the office tonight; so we’ve just finished with bath or Jacuzzi time; we’re keeping our bedtime twin chat and computing to a minimum; and we’ll be heading off to sleep earlier than usual too.  While we’ve done more work than play today, we’ve still had a lot of fun; and we’re feeling pretty good tonight as we wind down toward nap time.  With one more sleep to Halloween and the end of the month, it also feels like another ending is here, but then that is always followed by the start of our next adventures; and we wouldn’t mind a little break in the action before the Christmas holiday season gets here along with all of those weeks of holiday fun and adventures that we get to wrap up every year with here in our little corner of the world.  Unlike Hallmark, though, we don’t need to get started on that even a day before Halloween, so that’s all for tonight; and we’ll be back again tomorrow night with at least some of the stories from our imminent Halloween adventures.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 29, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 13^th Birthday, Aiden!

That’s our news of the day-so-far, and since we’re only home long-enough to pick up our overnight bags; this will mostly just be a placeholder report; and we’ll do a double-update tomorrow.  We’ve done our best to help Aiden with having an awesome day while we’ve been at school and band practice, and we’ll do the same and more for the rest of the day; so stay tuned for those stories while we get back to doing our part to make sure that Aiden has another best-ever-so-far kind of birthday! ;^)

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 28, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

It was very tempting today to blow off our plans for work at the lab because the weather was so amazing for late-October, but Ethan and I were good and spent our after-school hours at the lab or archives instead of going biking with our friends.  Aiden did go along for the trail ride, but Naomi and Aaron were busy with their practices; and we really need to work when we can because we’ll be busy for a lot of the rest of this week.  The warm weather had everything to do with the bonus outdoor time while we were at school; and that helped to make for a good day – though the ongoing Halloween-themed lessons and activities keep us entertained anyway.  That works especially-well for our lessons in politics that are such a focus for Grade Eight classes, and considering the top options for president this year; Halloween-scary is also very accurate! ;^)

Moving along, Ethan and I were at the lab a bit late today; so Mom just saved dinner for us; we enjoyed the leftovers; and then we worked in the office for a few time-phased hours.  While we did what we could for helping Cassie and Michael while they’re in Chad; we also need to mention that they’ve already had problems there and needed to deal with a gang attack on them that was helped by their local driver and required them to prove that they can defend themselves and that messing with them is a bad idea.  News flash for bad guys – Cassie knows a lot of languages; so don’t set up your ambushes by smart phone while in the car with her and when she can hear both sides of the conversation!

While our office work wasn’t that kind of exciting, we still got a lot done; and we’re happy with everything we accomplished today.  Now we’re ready to crash and nap, since we want to be at full power again for Aiden’s birthday adventures we’ll be helping with tomorrow.  Stay tuned for those stories whenever we get around to writing about them, but that’s all for this report; so we’re out of here.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 27, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

The Haunted Halloween Walk and everything that went with it were amazing last night!  We had a blast with both bands; got in on some of the action at the food booths for dinner and several snacks; played games; and watched a few of the other bands – along with going on the actual walk an hour or so after our set with Naomi and the Haunted Harmonies.  As usual, we were a hit with the crowd; and had a lot of fun singing and playing with our best friends.  Naomi eventually went home with Ethan for the night and I was with Aiden and his family, but we were also together until then and that included hauling our gear home and putting everything away before getting around to our respective co-ed sleepovers that included some of the same activities that don’t need to be written about here in our journals.

It was cold this morning – near freezing, but there were still two groups doing Tai Chi workouts by the river before breakfast with Aiden and I on our own while Mom and Dad had extra exercise buddies including three Carringtons.  They ended up having a two-family breakfast too while I was on my own with Aiden and his parents and sister, but we all had fun; and managed to get to church on-time.  The service and Sunday school before Halloween isn’t exactly different or strange at our church, but other people might think so; since we do semi-celebrate Halloween and do that in positive ways.  If you’re suddenly picturing scenes of Holy Ghosts floating around the sanctuary, congratulations on the active imagination, but there are Halloween-worthy stories in the bible; and that includes overcoming evil that can definitely be tied into Halloween.

While it was near-freezing this morning, it warmed up into the seventies today, so after church, Sunday school, and lunch; Ethan and I were part of a group of family and friends that opted for a canoe ride upriver.  Naomi and Aiden were with us too; our little flotilla paddled about half-way to the whirlpool and back; and then we spent the rest of our afternoon carving pumpkins and enjoying some Halloween snacks.  All of our friends and family members headed for their own homes or elsewhere in time for dinner, but while about half of them were going to the Inn for the late buffet; we stayed home and opted for an easy-meal and some work in the office.  Mom did a Magi lesson with us too, but it was the charity work that was most-important and meaningful.  Cassie and Michael will be in Chad soon after their adventures in Sudan; and Mom will be keeping a closer eye on them because they will be working on some very dangerous areas over the next couple of weeks while in Chad, Libya, and Algeria.  These dangers are going to be part of their work, since they can’t help the people in those countries as-effectively without getting personally involved, but we don’t have to like that part of their future; and will do what we can to keep them as-safe as possible.

Mom let us work until nine-thirty; it was bath or Jacuzzi time after that; and now we’re winding down fast toward nap time.  There isn’t any good news from the war fronts this weekend – especially since Israel bombed Iran again in supposed retaliation for the most-recent attack on Israel - and really just another tit-for-tat bombing that has been going back and forth for long-enough that both sides have likely forgotten the original insult or who started it!  Our national elections continue to heat up to the big vote in a week and change, and we’re basically just looking forward to it being over – though that is wishful thinking, since whomever wins; the politics will go on and the divisiveness will remain.

That isn’t a very cheery thought to wrap up with, but we can stay in our own happy places while heading off to dreamland, and we don’t really have anything else to add to this update; so that’s all for tonight.

Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!