Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 24th Birthday, Rowen!
This Black Friday is also the anniversary
for her birthday boyfriend gift from Tim, so we’ve had some fun with that;
though she’s also been stuck working at the store for the big sale day
too. That won’t keep Cassie from helping
her best friend to have an awesome day, but that story will need to wait for
tomorrow; since her party hasn’t happened yet!
We need to start our report from the last
update; so let’s do that now. We had a
busy Thanksgiving day morning with the work we had around the big dinner and
kid control duties as our cousins and some friends arrived, but we also watched
some of the annual parade in New York and had some play time with the other
kids and teens too.
As usual, our afternoon and evening
entertainment highlights included watching football games in the living room or
chick flicks in the sunroom or video gaming in the lounge – along with added
indoor or outdoor play and games, but the big dinner was also a main event –
though we needed to split up among the dining room, kitchen, and sunroom to
have room for everyone. Most of the
teens and kids were in the sunroom or kitchen; we had a blast and ate too much;
and let’s not really comment on the major clean-up that followed. Ethan got stuck with watching more football
than I did, but then none of the outcomes of those battles were seriously in
doubt despite some scoreboard comebacks; and each game started with one team
dominating and then coasting to the wins through the third or fourth
quarters. Our guests either stayed most
of the day and fairly-late into the evening or made cameo visits; so it was
busy around the house all day. Since the
video gaming marathon was already at our house, Ethan eventually hosted the
boys for the night – and didn’t get much sleep – while Brianna hosted a girls’
sleepover that Naomi and I were at with the gang of mostly-younger girls. We went home with Brianna by around
ten-thirty with some Mom support; and then the rest of our evening included
lots of girl chat, a movie, and a much-earlier bedtime than the boys had.
Some of us were still up early for Tai Chi,
but then our adventures for the day really kicked up when we got ready for the
big shopping day and then headed to the Inn for the breakfast buffet that most
of the members of our collective families attended sooner or later. That was later for some of our favorite boys –
including Ethan and Aiden, but we didn’t really mind; and that allowed us to
have fun with some shopping that the boys wouldn’t have been with us for
anyway! You don’t really want the
shop-by-shop details; so I’ll only add that we loved all of the shopping and
time with favorite people; and then we headed home again for the rest of the
day – at least for most of us.
We should add that Uncle Nick, Aunt
Deborah, and their kids headed out today to spend the rest of the weekend with
her family and an ‘in-law’ holiday with her mother’s family. Yes, we mentioned that being the case this
year for the Johnson-McEwan clan, but in this case; Aunt Deborah’s family is
juggling sibling in-laws too; and that’s why they could be here with us
yesterday. Let’s not dwell on the
inevitability of that change coming for us as the next-gen families grow. Here at home, it has stayed cold again today,
but we still had a bit of fresh air time – or more of it for any boys that
braved football scrimmages at the park.
There has also been college football game watching here; more gaming in
the lounge; and continuing movies and board games in the sunroom. Lunch was a buffet snack break; and we’ll be
split up among quite a few homes for the dinners we’ll be having soon – which for
us will include leftovers and pre-cooked options including lasagna and
casseroles. Ethan and I will be hosting
some teens for the night; our cousins and some of their friends will be
elsewhere at their own homes or other places; and the parents and grandparents
will be getting around and visiting too.
It is a bit quieter here as we’re writing
this and getting ready for the rest of our day, but that is relative; and this
little break for Ethan and I is really just a cameo blip that we need to wrap
up and move on from now. We’re having an
amazing holiday so far and expect that to continue; so stay tuned for the next
round of stories while we get back to having fun with our family and friends!
Until next time, live with love, fellow
Magi of the Light!
