Cassie's Journal - June 4, 2016

Congratulations, Isabelle and Andrew Jennings!

Let’s begin with the wedding report; and then I’ll go back to cover the rest of the day from my wake-up call through until now.

It’s been a perfect weather day for a wedding – not too hot, but a lot of sun and warm.  My wedding fun didn’t start until after lunch; and Mom, Ehlana, and I had one hour to get ready before we needed to be at the church for the ceremony.  A bit of time phasing allowed us to get our hair done and finish up when we started to run out of time; but we were downstairs and ready to go with twenty minutes to spare.  Dad, Michael, and Ethan had been waiting for us for a while by then; so we were able to get into the minivan right away and drive over to the church – and we only did that so Mom and I didn’t have to walk that far in heels.

By the way, I don’t wear heels all that often, but it is nice to be able to do that now that Michael’s enough taller than I am to do that without it being weird for him! ;^)

Dillon escorted Mom and the rest of us to our seats; and then we ended up with Aiden and Naomi with us too when they were allowed to come over and sit with Ethan and Ehlana.  They weren’t there as couples; but did conveniently sit in boy-girl pairs.  Having well-known parents made for a big turn-out for the ceremony, and there were more than six hundred guests in the sanctuary by the time the doors were closed and readied for the arrival of the bridal party.  I haven’t gone to a lot of weddings of friends so far since we’ve moved here, but I’m sure that’ll start changing over the next few years as our favorite collegians start graduating and tying the knot – though not necessarily in that order! ;^)

Sticking with the wedding news for today, though, Isabelle arrived on-time with her bridal party; and Andrew, Dillon, the best man, and the other groomsmen all looked very handsome in their tuxes as they stood at the front of the sanctuary.  When the main doors were opened, Isabelle had a flower girl and ring bearer lead off the processional, and then Violet was the first bridesmaid to follow them.  Andrew’s sisters, Lynn and Alicia, followed Violet; and then it was time for Isabelle’s college-friend maid-of-honor to walk down the aisle just ahead of Isabelle and her very proud father.

I am a total sucker for happy endings, and though weddings are actually a happy beginning, you know what I mean; and the wedding ceremony was really beautiful.  Andrew was appropriately smitten with his bride; Isabelle was breathtakingly gorgeous; and the joy and love filling the sanctuary was the feeling that I wish we could all have all of the time every day.

Going off-topic again – that’s exactly what is meant to be for us.  When the Ascension of the Light happens; that’s the direction we’ll be heading toward – a world filled with love and joy!

Okay, so the actual ceremony is short and sweet, but every wedding is a bit different; there are special moments; and today was no exception.  I am not going to record anything here that might embarrass anyone in the future; but will instead only suggest that the little imperfections that are part of life are also part of what makes those moments special.  Andrew and Isabelle were soon pronounced husband and wife; there was a pause in the action while they left the sanctuary to deal with the paperwork; and then my last involvement in their happy day was watching the recessional and then when Michael and I had our fifteen or twenty seconds to congratulate them outside of the church before we moved on and headed home so that we could get changed and ready to go to the Inn and work the dinner-to-close shift.  The rest of the wedding report will have to wait until tomorrow or Monday night because Violet and Dillon are still at the reception as I’m writing this and won’t be home tonight.

I guess that means it’s time for the rest of the news from the rest of my day; so let’s get to that so I can head into nap mode soon.

Tai Chi by the river was wonderful this morning; and so was breakfast in the sunroom.  Michael couldn’t do either with me because he was working the breakfast shift at the Inn; but then we didn’t drag out the breakfast because we had a lot of work to do this morning ahead of the wedding.  The beautiful weather made the outdoor chores a lot nicer to do, but I still got dirty and sweaty while working on the lawn and gardens straight through until we stopped for lunch and needed to pack up for the day.  We ate outside because some of us were too dirty to do that indoors without having showers first; and then you already know about the pre-wedding hour we had for getting showered and dressed up.  The Inn was surprisingly busy when it was so nice out, and we were short-staffed because of the staff that needed to be off for Isabelle and Andrew’s dinner and reception party; so we were really, really busy for the entire shift; and ended up working until nearly eleven o’clock before we could close the Inn and come home.

Michael and I needed some wind-down time first, so I went home with him; we sat out by the river with drinks and snacks and cuddled for an hour; and then I came home right around midnight.  Another shower was necessary by then, and while some Jacuzzi time was really tempting; I was too tired to take the extra time for that.  In hindsight, I could have had the bath because there was some family business work that I could have multi-tasked; but by the time I checked my email; I was already cleaned up, changed, and snuggled in bed with Mandy.  That work didn’t take too long – just a half hour or so; but that is why it’s past-one as I’m writing this.

As I mentioned, I’ll add more to the wedding report when I get the news from Violet and Dillon, but I will add that Mom, Dad, and the twins were not invited to the reception.  They were having a fairly small group for that; and more than half of the guests were members of the Jennings or Jacobs extended families.  While I worked, Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana instead had a play time and dinner at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house that sort of became a mini block party with the Seagers, Drapers, and most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

That would have been fun to join in for, but Jacob and Miranda needed me more; and I expect that to be a regular theme on weekends this summer.  Even with all of the work today, though, it’s been a really great day; and I’m especially glad that it’s been so great for our newest newlyweds.

Their honeymoon next week is sure to be really great too compared to the week of exams I have to look forward to, but I won’t wish that it was Michael and me going away instead; since we’re still a bit young for that kind of fun! ;^)

Speaking of exams, we’re going to be studying for them a lot tomorrow – and all next week; so I need to wrap this up and get some sleep so I’ll be ready for all of that work.  That won’t be wedding party level fun either; but has to be done.  This update is done now too, and I’m definitely ready for some quality nap time; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - June 3, 2016

It’s been a long day; and will be a longer one tomorrow; so let’s keep this update as short as possible.

Our last school day before exams was a blast of last-minute question and answer sessions; and not much else to report from that part of my day.  We had an optional after-school study session at my house because Michael and I are busy all day tomorrow with chores, a wedding, and dinner shift at the Inn for me; and work, a wedding, and more work for Michael.  The studying went pretty well, but we wrapped up before dinner; Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were the only teens in the house for that meal; and then it was time for Rowen and I to get to the park for our first ballgame of the season.

We – Landry’s Lunar Eclipse – had a great night against the Witch Falls Solar Flares; and we won fairly convincingly with a score of fourteen-to-five.  I’m not going to write about the game details, since that isn’t important; but Rowen and I did have a lot of fun playing with our friends.  We also had some cheerleaders at the game – including Aunt Leanne, Ehlana, Naomi, and Brianna; and they led the sidelines fun for our team while also entertaining the small group of spectators we had watching the game.  I didn’t have my entire family at the game, but Mom and Dad, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne, and Grandma and Grandpa came out to support our team.  That won’t likely be an every game thing this season, but I’m glad that they were there tonight; and it is more fun when we have the extra support for our team.

Rowen and I were in need of showers after the game, so we split up to do that; and then met up with Michael and Tim at my house to hang out in the lounge and watch a movie.  Ethan and Ehlana have Aiden and Naomi staying here tonight, so they joined us for the movie – and we had four cuddling couples in the room.  All four kids fell asleep before the show was over, and while that was adorable; it meant more work for us when we each took a kid and then got them all changed and into their beds for the night after the show was over.  Rowen and Tim moved on after that; but Michael stayed for a bedtime chat with Mom and Dad before they finished up their work in the office for the night.  Michael went home after that; and I came up to my room and got ready for bed.

I didn’t have any work booked for tonight, but two family business jobs came up during my email check, so I took care of both of them; and did a bit of bonus language studying because I’m running out of time to get that done too before taking my summer break from that part of my training.  Violet and Dillon are both away tonight – Violet with Isabelle and the other girls in the bridal party; and Dillon with Andrew and the other guys standing up with Andrew tomorrow.  They were busy with the wedding rehearsal and party tonight; so I haven’t seen Violet and Dillon since breakfast; and I won’t see them much tomorrow either – except for during the ceremony.  I’m hoping the weather forecast will hold and that they’ll have a beautiful day for the wedding, but the rain and thunderstorms have been a bit unpredictable this past week; so I’ll let you know whether that works out for them with my next update.

I’ve skipped a lot of the details, but that is the main news for today, and I really am ready for some quality nap time now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - June 2, 2016

Okay, it’s definitely time for a micro-update.

I had a normal start to my morning; we worked on exam studying all day at school; and then the studying after school was at my house again.  Staying for dinner was optional; with cold salads, burgers, and hotdogs as the only menu choices along with make-your-own ice cream cones for dessert.  There were bowls of snacks available before and after dinner too, and Mom went through several cases of pop, juice, and water; but she’s a veteran at that now; and is used to the extra expense.

Mom and Dad were also happy to escape exam study central when they took Ethan and Ehlana to the Inn for game night; but Michael and I stayed and studied with our friends until eleven o’clock when we again called it a night.  Michael stayed until eleven-thirty, but we spent most of that time cleaning up the dining room and kitchen; and then he went home and I came up to my room to get to work on my usual to-do list of bedtime computing.

That was nearly four hours ago, and while I finished all of the work and studying; I’m seriously wiped out now.  It’s mostly been a good day even with way too much work, but that’s it for now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - June 1, 2016

Happy 16^th Birthday, Allen!

He’s joined the ranks of the independent drivers’ club today, so Allen is a happy camper; but exams now just days away; he did not try having a major party while everyone is busy studying instead.  He did have a dinner with his family, Marcie, and a couple of best friends; but studied for a while with the rest of us at my house before dinner and again after we resumed studying once the members of our group that had baseball practices got back from doing that tonight.

I’m getting ahead of the daily report, but then the studying and ball practices were the highlights of the day; so there isn’t really anything newsworthy to add from a completely uneventful morning and school day.  We did have a minor birthday party for Allen during our lunch break, but Allen was a bit late getting back from his driver’s test this morning; so that party was short by necessity before we needed to get back to our classes.

The studying was at my house; and we took over the dining room to do that after school.  Burgers, hot dogs, and cold salads were the dinner option that my friends were invited to stay for while we worked until the baseball players on our teams needed to be at the park or school for our practices.  That was important for my team because our first game is on Friday evening.  Our team, by the way, is Landry’s Lunar Eclipse.  The other teams in our division are the Witch Falls Solar Flares and Connor’s Comets.  Michael and Tim are playing for the Witch Falls Werewolves; and Mom and Dad are on the Olde Bakery Bandits’ team this year.  Our practice went really well, and we’re ready for the game on Friday against the Flares, so while Carolyn is more worried about that than her exams; I’m sure we’ll do just fine.

Of course, while I like to win a lot too, I’m okay with it if some of our friends win now and then too; so my perspective is different than it is for Carolyn.  She should chill out a bit – it’s just a game! ;^)

We resumed our studying after baseball; worked until eleven o’clock; and then everyone headed home then – including Michael.  I seriously needed some tub time by then, so I did that first with a bit of multi-tasking on my family business work.  Using a time phase was out for me tonight, so it’s taken longer to get everything finished, but I did get there eventually; and now I’m ready to get some sleep.  This hasn’t been the most-exciting first day of June ever-so-far for me, but the exam studying is going fairly well for my friends, and I really do like having the extra time to spend with them; so it has been a good day even with all of the work.

More studying and work are ahead for tomorrow, and we’ll be busy this weekend too; so it’s time to wrap this up and call it a night – or early morning.  With the summer holidays approaching fast, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel; and now I’ll just need to hope it’s the sunshine and fun of a brilliant summer – and not an oncoming train!

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 31, 2016

This last update of May is not going to be very exciting because I’m out of steam; and need to crash into nap mode for a while.

The post-holiday weekend Tai Chi and breakfast was really quiet by comparison to the last few days – no surprise there.  Life is returning to normal around here; with everyone heading back to work and school.  Final exams are the name of the game at school, since they start next Monday; and that was the only real change in my schedule for Tuesday.  We didn’t have concert band practice; Michael, Rowen, and I replaced it with an exam study session at the school with some of our classmates while we waited for marching band practice; and then we had fun with that practice because we also put getting ready for the Fourth of July parade at the top of our to-do list – though some of us still had to deal with the business end of things for the fundraisers.  That’ll include another booth at the park for that holiday weekend; and it should be another good month for the fruit and vegetable boxes sales; so I also already know that it’s going to be another very busy work weekend for me!

The music for the Fourth of July parade is much more festive, so that made the practice more fun, but Jenny, Rebecca, and the rest of the color guard are able to have even more fun because they’ll be able to do more for this parade – some actual flag-twirling routines that will add a lot to the entertainment side of our band.  They have been working on that for a while; but getting ready for our first parade had been the priority before this week.  Once we were finished at the school, Michael and I moved on to our teen praise team practice.  Music for that service is more festive and upbeat too, and while we never venture too far toward the cutting-edge of Christian music; we do get to pick songs that are appropriate for teens – and freshen up old hymn favorites too.  I really do love all of the music time in my life, but it can also be exhausting to keep up with everything; and today was one of those times.

When we headed home from the church, Michael and I still had some exam-related study homework to get finished; we did that at his house; and then had a bit of quiet time in his living room before I came home that included just a tiny bit of making out.  That did slow me down for getting started on my bedtime computing, but we were overdue; and it was one of the best cameo moments of my day – if not nearly enough alone time for us to catch up after a weekend with almost no Michael and me time at all.

Somehow, this update is dragging out beyond the little blurb I’d planned on writing tonight, but while I don’t really need to add anything about the hours of family business work and language studies; I should mention that the countdown to Isabelle and Andrew’s wedding is on; so Violet and Dillon are spending all of their extra time on helping out with that.  They didn’t get home until around one o’clock; I took a short break to get the wedding update from Violet; and then they headed for bed while I got back to work.  The breakfast and bedtime interaction with them is great, but it still feels as though we’re living in two different worlds right now; and only have those passing moments where our lives intersect before we move on again.

I could say the same thing about my parents, sister, and brother right now too, but I really have had enough for today; so let’s not go there.  It’s been fun and too busy; I’ll have more of the same every day for the next week and a half; and that’s all for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!