Cassie's Journal - April 29, 2012

Wedding talk and action has been in the air this week; mostly with Mom and Aunt Leanne helping Aunt Deborah with her wedding plans. Aunt Deborah and Aunt Leanne were in Crystal Springs yesterday too; meeting the other girls in the bridal party to be fitted for their gowns.

All of that has reminded me that there seems to be a lot of weddings going on this summer. Grandpa Grant and Eleanor Byrd are first up on the last weekend of June, followed by Jared Spencer and Amy White the following weekend. Aunt Deborah and Nick have their big day two weeks after that; with Rob and Trish’s wedding on August eleventh. I’m only officially invited to Aunt Deborah and Nick’s wedding, but Rowen and I plan on going to the ceremonies for Grandpa Grant and Eleanor’s, and Amy and Jared’s weddings. Having Amy as my very first teacher in Witch Falls is only one of the reasons why she’s still my very favorite.

I wasn’t really involved at all with those wedding plans, and have been spending extra time working on the family business and my studies; mostly because I’m already getting set up so I’ll be ready for more fun time during summer vacation. Yes, it is just the end of April, but we have just under seven weeks left until school’s out, and a holiday weekend between now and then. Add to that the start of baseball season, with our first practice on Tuesday, and I’m going to be busier than ever!

That really does have me feeling like summer is just around the corner, even though the weather this week has ranged from summer-like to near-winter – a very strange end to April, and not particularly good for May flowers either.

Mom keeps up with the journal for Ethan and Ehlana’s education, just as she does for me, but since I’m thinking about things like summer and the end of this school year, I should mention that my precocious little brother and sister have just wrapped up their Grade Six education, and are shooting for finishing Grade Eight by their first birthday. It’s weird thinking about them being that far along in their education already, but they’re only a bit ahead of where I was at their age, and they’ll be playing regular student eventually too. The price we have to pay for our secret Magi Master identities!

This pretty much puts a wrap on things for April, and we are really going to be having some fun in May – especially with our future plans. Mother’s Day and the Memorial Day long weekend will be great too, and it looks like everyone from our family and Uncle Adam’s will be home for the holiday weekend this year. I should probably rest up a bit extra for that, so...

...live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!

Cassie's Journal - April 22, 2012

Dillon’s seventeenth birthday was on Monday, and while I’m sure he loved the gift that Violet had me hand-deliver to him, and the gift that Ethan, Ehlana, and I got him; my hug and kiss wasn’t much compared to the hug and kiss he wished he could be getting from his girlfriend instead. His parents and friends took care of the rest of his birthday entertainment, and while they were having fun; I got started on a busy week of work and studying.

With Dad away in Crystal Springs; Mom and I tag-teamed taking care of Ethan and Ehlana with some help from Aunt Leanne and some of our friends. That meant that a lot of our work and studying didn’t get started until after the twins went to bed each night, and I’ve been up until at least one o’clock every night this week. We took breaks for game night at the Inn on Thursday, and dinner and a movie on Friday night; but we had a long, all-day yard work session on Saturday. Dad had to spend most of Sunday working in the office, so Ethan, Ehlana, and I spent some of that time with Rowen, and the rest working on our future plans.

I haven’t written much about that lately, but what we’re working on now is fairly boring, even as it’s exciting to see everything coming together too. Aunt Leanne is going to have the land purchases we need done over the next couple or three months, and we’re all getting presentations ready that Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne will be taking to both the Magi and town councils after Grandma and Grandpa get home from their winter getaway. By the Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be ready to really start having some fun with all of it!

Anyway, that’s all for this week, so...

...live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!

Cassie's Journal - April 15, 2012

We’re back to the usual daily routine now that Easter is past, and the next holiday weekend is nearly two months away.

In local news, Patrick had his ninth birthday last Monday, and I helped him celebrate by having Rowen stay at my house for a sleepover while he had his buddies at their house. We didn’t escape the birthday party and dinner, and managed to get through the experience without using our Magi powers on any of the boys. Talking about what we could have done to them did provide some bedtime entertainment, and by morning, we were ready to wade back into the boy-zone and help Rowen’s parents with getting Patrick and his friends fed and off to school.

We had another birthday boy in our class this week too, but twelfth birthdays haven’t started to be co-ed yet, so Gil’s party on Thursday didn’t affect the social schedule for Rowen and me. We did get him a card and small gift, like we did for all of our friends and classmates, and he got razzed about it just like the rest of the guys did on their birthdays. I’m not sure whether to be glad that this phase will be over for the boys soon or afraid of what comes next!

Moving on from that thought, I’ve been keeping busy all week; juggling school, the family business, Magi lessons, archive and language studies, and the rest of my usual work and play. Dad’s been busy all weekend getting ready for his week in the city; though we managed to fit in a couple of hours of yard work between raindrops on Saturday. Rowen’s parents were busy with the height of tax season all weekend, so she helped them out as much as she could, and we didn’t get to spend much time together.

That doesn’t sound like a very exciting week, but I got a lot done, and did have fun. I’ve also had late nights nearly every day, and am ready to get some extra sleep tonight, so...

...live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!

Cassie's Journal - April 8, 2012

Time for a condensed, Easter weekend, update.

With the family away, Mom and Dad kept me busy with yard work play yesterday morning. Violet helped Mom with the twins, and they did another lesson, before she left to spend time with Dillon before he went to work at the Inn. The work wasn’t all that exciting, but we made up for that with an afternoon trail ride at the Ridge River Ranch that Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and Rowen joined us for while Ethan and Ehlana spent a couple of hours with Aunt Deborah, Nick, and Naomi.

We had a quiet dinner and night at home after that, and it’s been nearly non-stop action all day today; starting with Ethan and Ehlana’s first visit from the Easter Bunny. Note to the parental units – use extreme caution when feeding chocolate to twin Magi Masters! Easter basket fun was followed by the sunrise service at church; the pancake breakfast; and the regular church service an hour later than normal. After that, we had a short lunch break, and then it was time to take the show on the road to Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam’s house. They were hosting the Easter dinner, and while Violet was going to be spending most of the afternoon with Dillon and his family; Uncle Adam’s parents and grandparents came over for the afternoon, and Aunt Deborah and Nick were splitting their time between his family and hers. Two Easter dinners in one day may sound great in theory, but I’m sure they were both on food overload by the time they ‘rolled’ on home after the cleanup from meal number two wrapped up shortly after eight.

I didn’t need to be rolled home, but it has been a long day, and I’m ready to drop, so...

...live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, passing out and signing off!

Cassie's Journal - April 6, 2012

Being a Magi Master and an eleven-year old kid colors my perspective for everything, but I notice it more on days like today. Good Friday is a very solemn time for many, if not most, Christians. Pastors Lewis and Martha led us through a very subdued and emotional service, but after going home and getting changed; Rowen and I met up again with the rest of a beautiful spring day ahead of us to enjoy. While it’s not quite the same thing, I feel the same way about Good Friday as I now do about Memorial Day – thanks to my family and friends in Witch Falls. Remembering and honoring Jesus’ sacrifice is important, but so is celebrating the lives we have today because of that ultimate gift of Grace.

Rowen and I spent a lot of time at the park, including taking Ethan and Ehlana there for an hour or so while Mom and Violet worked on a lesson. Dillon was coming for dinner with us, and we were having Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and the Emersons over for a barbeque too. Aunt Deborah and Nick were busy with his family, and it seemed very quiet without having the usual big family long-weekend meals, but we did all enjoy having a few hours to just hang out together. Rowen stayed for a sleepover even though she was working at the store in the morning, and we’ve been in the lounge watching a movie, surfing the web, and talking with Mandy since helping to put Ethan and Ehlana to bed.

That’s pretty much all the news from here for today, and Rowen and I are ready to get some sleep, so I’ll wrap this up too.

Live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!