Cassie's Journal - May 21, 2017

Happy 4^th Birthday, Kendra!

As usual, I didn’t have much involvement in Kendra’s birthday; but mention it for future reference related to my cousins.

It’s been a very long day; so let’s get to the news and then I’m going to be heading into nap mode for a few hours before needing to get up and do it all again.

The movie marathon was fun; Michael and I had extra cuddle buddies; and we also spent a lot of time getting kids wound down and eventually off to sleep.  The shows were all toddler-friendly, but while that was a bit boring for the older guys; we managed to keep them entertained too.  Michael, Tim, and Rowen all stayed overnight, and since I didn’t mention it in the last update; we were indoors for the sleepover instead of camping because things were a bit wet from the rain yesterday; and it was too cool for camping with the youngest kids.  We still had junior movie marathoners awake when Mom and Dad got home at around two-thirty, but they let us deal with them and went off to bed after a quick round of goodnight hugs and kisses.  It was three by the time that Rowen and I said goodnight to our respective boyfriends and climbed into bed with Mandy; and we pretty much crashed and slept once we were tucked in for the time we had left to nap.

Tai Chi by the river was fun with the extra exercise buddies; if a bit chilly.  After that, it was controlled chaos as we fed and got all of those kids ready for church.  We had to get them there after that; had parental help for that; and then the babysitters in the group were ready for another nap by the time the service started in the sanctuary.  We didn’t do that; and had a fairly-quiet couple of hours at church – though that might have just been my perspective; since I was on the run all of the time before and after the service and Sunday school.  Michael and I needed to hurry to the Inn after church; we were put right to work on the prep line for lunch; and then it was a very long work day as we tried to keep up with too much busy all through the lunch and buffet dinners rushes.  Everyone wanted to check out the new dining room; we had extra customers from the Carter-Reynolds wedding guests visitors; and more new customers still interested in checking out the new fare that Jake is already bringing to the buffet tables as he has fun playing in the kitchen with his father.

Yes, Michael and I had our breaks, but we also studied while having them and trying to rehydrate and eat; so we didn’t really stop for any rest through until we walked home together at a bit after ten o’clock tonight.  Michael didn’t come home with me; we did our goodnight hugs and kisses on his front porch; and then I came home and got to work.  Mom’s Magi lesson was first while Dad finished his weekend homework; and we wrapped that up early when Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa got home from Dillon’s house after an evening of wedding work that they had fun with after going to the early buffet.  Dawn, Chris, and Martin went back to Woodvale after that buffet and while I was still working; and they’ll be back again after school on Thursday for the wedding – after school for Martin and Dawn.

I came up to my room after the goodnight visit in the office; got ready for bed including having a quick shower; and then got to work on my computer once I was tucked in with Mandy for the night.  That was too-many hours ago; I’m exhausted; and won’t bore you with the family business work and language studies details.  The coming week is going to be insanely-busy; I need all of the nap time I can get; and expect that I won’t get nearly-enough down time – so there will be a lot of self-healing going on most mornings to help me make up for the lack of sleep.

Going into nap mode right now is an option, though; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 20, 207

Congratulations, Christie and Ray Reynolds!

It may feel a bit weird that one of my favorite trail ride leaders is now married when we go out to the ranch for rides, but Christie and Ray are very happy; and they really are a good match!

I didn’t have the stress of a wedding – or get to have that kind of fun either; so let’s blast through this mini-update because I’m doing it while taking a quick break between finishing work at the Inn and the babysitting in progress here at home.

I was up early; got ready for work; met up with Michael and his Dad; and headed for the Inn well-before dawn to get started on the breakfast shift prep work.  We had a busy shift because there were lots of visitors in town for the big wedding; including the rooms at the Inn that have been available while the remodel is continuing; and we also had extra guests from the ranch for wedding guests that came to town for hair appointments or to host the meal for guests that are staying in town or elsewhere for the weekend.  It was heading toward ten before I could get away from the Inn; I switched to chores mode; and got fairly-damp while working outside with Dad on gardening and other chores that needed to be done ahead of the holiday weekend.  With wedding-related activities booked all week and everything else I have on the go with school, practices, and work; we needed to do those chores today rain or shine.  That wasn’t much fun, but it did clear up a bit this afternoon; I dried out; and didn’t melt from the wet.  Dad and I only took a break on the fly for lunch; we worked until three-thirty; and then I hit the shower and got ready for the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn.

Jake and Stephanie helped out with the prep work for dinner, but then they were done for the day and needed to spend the rest of the night with their best friends – including hosting the party at Sheldon’s and having dinner with Violet, Dillon, and quite a few of the parents and grandparents.  While they did that, Rowen, Tim, and Dawn led the babysitting effort with all of my younger cousins, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, Sophia, Eli, and Hailey.  Chris and Martin helped out with getting them fed, but they were also at the dinner with Violet and Dillon after that and then they did their own thing for the rest of the evening.

While Michael and I missed out on a lot of the babysitting, we were very busy at the Inn until the dinner rush faded early – by around eight-thirty.  That had a lot to do with Violet and Dillon’s party, but since Jacob and Miranda were attending it; we got to stay and close the Inn for them while they went home early to get cleaned up and ready to party!  We were still out of the Inn and on the way home by nine-thirty; and we’ll be starting a movie marathon soon – or before I get out to the lounge if I don’t do that soon.  Our thirteen kids might think that they’ve been having a party tonight, and Rowen, Tim, and Dawn have had fun with them, but it isn’t a party for us; and we’ll be busy through until whenever we finally get all of the kids in beds and off to sleep – which won’t be anytime soon judging by how fired up they all are right now.  Yes, even Brianna is wide-awake and ready to rock-and-roll; so we’ll be lucky to get that done by the time Mom and Dad get home from their party.

That’s going to be late too because they are both designated drivers and will likely need to make several trips each tonight; but I’ll add any news about that party with the next report – along with the rest of the babysitting story.  For a change, I need to wrap this up to get started on what will hopefully be the most-fun part of my day instead of because I won’t have time to get much sleep – though I also don’t expect to have time for more than a nap either once we do finally get to have our naps sometime after the parents are home.

I really do need to get to that movie marathon, though, since I hear the sound of the first movie starting; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 19, 2017

The countdown is on for Violet and Dillon’s wedding; and the most-obvious sign of that at our house was the arrival of Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, Chris, Martin, and Dawn.  The ‘kids’ are only here for the weekend; and will be home for school or work for most of next week; but Violet’s parents will be here until Memorial Day to help out with both the wedding and getting their apartment set up next week.

I had a bedtime visit with Dawn tonight; but haven’t spent much time with anyone else because they didn’t get here until this afternoon or evening in two separate arrivals; and I was either at school or the Inn through until we closed the Inn at ten-thirty.  Michael and I need to work the breakfast shift too, and I had some family business work pop up that needed to be dealt with; so it’s later than I wanted it to be for my bedtime tonight.

There is lots of other news going on around here, but not much of it has anything to do with me.  For today, the return of our senior class from their grad trip to the east coast was a big story – though they didn’t get here until after dinner; and I didn’t spend much time with Rebecca and Lucas because they stopped in for a visit and then headed out to the farm for the night.  Michael and I will catch up on the trip news with Rebecca over the weekend while we all work at the Inn; but that was one more blast of fun that we missed out on today.

Violet and Dillon’s wedding is a big deal for our family with a week to go, but there is another big wedding happening tomorrow for the Carter-Reynolds clans.  I won’t be involved in that either, but the wedding and reception for Christie Carter and Ray Reynolds will be out at the ranch tomorrow; and my parents will be among the guests for the ceremony; but they won’t be at the reception too because they’ll be at the party at Sheldon’s for Violet and Dillon – while I’ll be working at the Inn and babysitting.  That’s a story that can wait until after it happens, though; so let’s keep this moving along.

It’s been a messy weather day off-and-on around here with bits of rain and some thunderstorms rolling through in waves that left things damp but we also had hours of fairly-decent weather too.  The rain didn’t affect me much because I was indoors for most of it except the walk home after work tonight.  We had a quiet day at school; the dinner rush at the Inn was busier than normal; and Michael and I worked until close because we were still light on staff due to the senior school trip.  Michael came home with me so he could join in for a short visit with my aunt, uncle, and cousins; but then he went home to get some sleep by eleven-thirty; and Dawn and I came up to bed to have our little girl chat time before she was ready to turn in too.

Dawn’s going to help out with the wedding prep work over the weekend, and help Michael and me with the babysitting tomorrow night while the adults in our family are at the pub for the evening; but I don’t think we’ll end up having a lot of time together because I’ll also be putting in extra time at the Inn – particularly when this will be our first Sunday with the full dining room available for our customers.  Miranda isn’t quite ready to staff buffets for six hundred and fifty a sitting; so let’s hope we don’t completely sell out this weekend!

Dawn and I ended up talking for nearly an hour; she went to bed in Violet’s ‘old’ room – the one that Violet will use next Friday night ahead of her wedding while our house is bridal party central next weekend.  I finished getting ready for bed after that; did my bedtime computer check; and ended up doing that extra family business work because I didn’t want to leave it until Sunday night.  That wasn’t a big deal, but took a bit of time; and now I’ll have to settle for a long nap before getting up again for my breakfast shift at the Inn.  I’ll also have a chores day around here that could be messy if we get as much rain overnight as they’re forecasting; and then I’ll work the dinner-to-close shift with Michael because Miranda will need the help while Jake and Stephanie are busy with Violet and Dillon’s party.  In addition to Dawn, Rowen and Tim will be among our teen babysitting helpers; so we’ll have a gang of kids at our house overnight on Saturday.  Camping may be involved; but that’ll be a ‘game-time’ decision for later tomorrow.

I’ll keep you updated on all of that with the next report, but it’s past-time for me to crash and sleep now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 18, 2017

We’ve had a mix of sun, hot, thunderstorms, and rain today; though the bad weather mostly arrived late in the evening and continues overnight.

My top news today is that I’m exhausted; so here comes a micro-update.

Tai Chi by the river and breakfast in the sunroom was great; my school day was uneventful; and then Michael and I were busy at the Inn through until the end of game night.  We helped out with the remodel work upstairs; worked the prep line and dinner shift; and then did some work along with the play time during game night.  That was as busy as I’d expected; and the dinner rush had been busy too.  We had to do our homework after winning the junior title, and yes; Mom and Miranda won the senior title despite having a lot more competition this week.  Michael came home with us for the homework and a Magi lesson; he stayed for the bedtime fun with the twins; and then I came up to my room and got to work after seeing him out for the run home through the rain.

For the record; it comes in handy being able to run as fast as he can for more than just football! :^)

Moving along; I worked and studied in time phase mode when I could; worked in real time for the rest; and have everything done ahead of the weekend; so I’ll be able to work my tail off at the Inn and at home instead through until Sunday night.  That all took until just a few minutes ago, though, and I really have hit the wall and need to go into nap mode now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!