Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - January 26, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

***RESTRICTED UPDATE***

Cassie and Michael have fought and defeated the Dark Magi Master that they confronted on their Friday night.  It ended badly when Sabre opted to destroy himself and his yacht instead of accepting defeat, and while Cassie and Michael were able to protect themselves from the blast instead of being ‘taken out’ too; we all continue to hope for better outcomes in these battles – as in we want these Dark Magi to find their way to the Light before it is too late for them.  That obviously didn’t happen with Sabre, and Cassie and Michael regret that, but that won’t dissuade them from their mission.

They do have some unexpected news that Cassie found out right before Sabre died.  He apparently also planned on taking his wealth with him in the explosion, but since Cassie heard those thoughts; she and Michael now know that the majority of Sabre’s ill-gotten gains were on-board his yacht; and they are going to ‘make’ time this weekend to recover the gold, precious gems, and anything else they can salvage from the yacht.  We’ll put that money to better use with our businesses and charities than Sabre ever did; so that will be a bonus that will keep on giving for years to come.

On the not-fun side of the fight, Cassie and Michael assure us that this fight was the worst-so-far for them.  They are not telling a big fish story about the shark that Sabre tried to force to eat them after hurling it at them on the beach from out of the water.  Cassie and Michael managed to both stop that and avoid seriously-injuring the shark, but that does give you an idea of the extremes they faced that ranged from Sabre trying to use animals against them to mental horrors and every kind of power attack available to Dark Magi Masters.  They eventually had a fairly-lengthy chat while Sabre needed a break from the fight; and the end that came with the big explosion happened after Sabre implemented his last, biggest attack on them that included military-grade weapons that were apparently on his yacht for personal protection from mundane dangers like pirates as well as for his own, occasional piracy opportunities.  Sabre was back on his yacht by then; Cassie and Michael had locked onto his Magi-powered attacks and were draining him; and he blew up his yacht to keep them from completely draining him.

Cassie suspects that Sabre expected to be able to protect himself and survive the blast, but by then, he didn’t have enough power left to shield himself and do that – though that is just a suspicion; since it wouldn’t be the Dark Magi Master way to try and escape from a Magi fight that way.  Even if he’d managed to do that, he wouldn’t have been able to trick Cassie and Michael into thinking he was dead, but it is also possible that Sabre wouldn’t know that about Magi of the Light.

Instead of rolling along with more speculation; let’s wrap this up and you can get all of the details directly from Cassie and Michael in their sections of the archives instead of second-hand from us.  We’re grateful that they defeated Sabre and didn’t get hurt at all in the fight; we’ll think about ways that we might help them to do better with getting the Dark Magi Masters they defeat to take their second chances at saving their souls more-seriously; and continue to hope for better in the future.

***END OF RESTRICTED UPDATE***

Ethan and I are only going with a micro-update today because we’re currently getting ready for a night at Naomi’s with our best friends – including Sophia and Aaron.  Naomi is hosting tonight because her parents suggested that she take more turns with the co-ed sleepovers at their house; and we’re fairly-sure that officially being a teen has nothing to do with that request!  The ‘mid-term’ exams and tests are finished at school; the high school teens are celebrating; and we’re going to play for the rest of the day too – though we are also going to have a band practice to continue getting ready for the school dance and the seniors’ luncheon we’ll be playing at around Valentine’s Day.

The details for the rest of our adventures can wait for our next report.  We’ll be helping out with cooking dinner and don’t want to be late; so we’re out of here!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - January 25, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Our top entertainment event of the day was game night at the Inn, and since there was a low turnout due to exams for the teens; that says a fair bit about our day.  The tests we wrote at school weren’t a big deal for us; we ended up with another study session after school with friends that Sophia hosted with a few more of Aaron’s and Naomi’s same-grade friends; and then we had an easy-dinner with Mom and Dad before going to the Inn for the games fun.

Since we’re heading into the weekend, we opted for some time-phased work in the office after getting home, and even with that Magi-powered help; it is now getting late because some work needs to be done in normal time so that we can access networks and the internet.  That’s why I’m going to keep this report short; not get into any world news commentary or rants; and just call it a night so that Ethan and I can get started on our nap time – starting right now.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - January 24, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 23^rd Birthday, Lisa Byrd!

We weren’t involved in Lisa’s special day and Cassie and Michael missed it while away, but we know that Rowen and Tim are among the friends joining in on the birthday dinner and party; and we hope that she is having an awesome day!

Our adventures haven’t been that kind of fun, but our tests at school went well; we had some study fun with a gang of friends that we hosted after school because we were asked for some help for the tests we have tomorrow; and then we spent the evening playing at the lab or archives.  There was a quick and easy dinner with Mom and Dad between the studying and lab fun; and we got a fair bit done because we had some supervision and could use a time phase for some of our work.

Mom picked us up from the lab at ten o’clock; Ethan and I split up for bath or Jacuzzi time; and now we’re dealing with the usual bedtime computing and twin chat fun.  It is Thursday for Cassie and Michael, and they are mostly having a work day that includes site visits into the regions around Melbourne.  That requires more travel time and they are fitting in cameo moments of sightseeing along the way, but it is also a bit cooler too with an expected high in the mid-seventies today instead of the eighties they’ve enjoyed for most of the time that they’ve been in Australia so far.  That isn’t affecting their work at all, and we’re still jealous; since that is a lot warmer than here – even as we appreciate having our highs rise above freezing again!

Cassie and Michael are doing so much good on this trip and we wish that they could do more; since the biggest problems in the world continue to cause so much harm and do so much damage.  The risks of wider conflict in the Middle East continue to rise; and there doesn’t seem to be many leaders in the world trying very hard to reduce tensions or honestly negotiate for peace.  How many people will need to die or have their lives destroyed before the fighting ends?  There have been hundreds of thousands of casualties just in the past two years and millions have been displaced, injured, and worse.  The last thing we need is to expand any of the current conflicts or start news ones.  We’ve stayed away from politics most of the time in our journals, but that can’t be ignored when a presidential election year absolutely affects current foreign policy.  That’s true in other major countries too and there are a lot of stresses between elites and ‘normal’ people in many parts of the world right now; so the problems are also very complex.  Our worries for this year, though, are that our leaders will make some very bad choices simply for the sake of getting elected and staying in power – or gaining power.

Ethan does not want me to start ranting on any of that, so I’ll resist the urge and wrap up this report.  We’ve had a good day and need to keep love and happiness in our hearts, since regardless of the problems in the world; our future plans begin here at home and with us!  Let’s take that happy thought with us into dreamland and move on to nap time right now!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - January 23, 2024

 

Ehlana, Aiden, Naomi, and Ethan:

Happy 40^th Birthday, Liz Seager!

Naomi’s Mom is currently out with some friends – including Mom and Dad – at the pub, but we helped out with her birthday fun before school and during her birthday dinner at the Inn.  We could add in the kid-free night ‘gift’ that we’re helping with by having Naomi stay here, but let’s be honest and admit that the co-ed sofa sleepover fun is as much for us as the parents.  We still won’t want any details, but then it is still a work night; so we don’t expect to help out with any fatigue healing in the morning – unless it is for the four of us! ;^)

Moving along, our top news of the day is that there was a delay to the start of exams today because buses were delayed an hour while the road crews dealt with the freezing rain and snow mix that ended by around five or six this morning.  The drivers needed more time to get the buses cleared of ice too, but while that changed things up at school; it didn’t mess up the entire day for the exams – or for our less-important tests.  Our school hours were adjusted; the buses returned a half-hour later this afternoon; and the breaks were shortened to make up the time loss.  There were some disappointed students because we didn’t get a day off, but we’re glad that didn’t happen; since that wouldn’t have been fun today when playing outdoors wouldn’t have been entertaining when everything was wet, icy, and eventually very sloppy.

Most of our shortened after-school time was spent helping to get ready for Liz’s dinner party – including a bit of decorating at the Inn.  That meal was our entertainment highlight of the day to that point; and we had fun even while helping out with some of the younger cousins and kids while Naomi’s Mom was roasted by family and friends.  Everyone gathered around for the most-important birthday moments; and then the four of us came home while the small gang of adults headed for the pub.  There is a bit of babysitting going on around our family, but we weren’t drafted to do that this time; since there were teens available that could multi-task exam studies with watching kids.  That worked for us, since we were happy to have a little band practice – though that wasn’t a full practice without Sophia and Aaron.  Since then, we split up for showers or Jacuzzi time; the boys did some video gaming while Naomi and I took turns in my tub; and now we’re winding down with a movie and chat time while working on the usual bedtime computing too.

Cassie and Michael are keeping busy with work on their Wednesday, but they made time for a vid-call with Liz while we were at the Inn.  We didn’t get to talk to them for long and they didn’t talk details about their work, but they are taking some time for sightseeing today too – including a tram ride and a museum visit.  They’re going to check out the historic library too, but that’s mostly just to have some fun with Ethan; since he might be the only person we know that would find that kind of sightseeing interesting!  We’ll have more on their adventures when we get more details; so stay tuned for that while we wrap this up.

Yes, I could drag this out for another page or ten, but now that we’re closing in on a month into my current turn; I’m appreciating Ethan’s interest in shorter reports – especially when writing them takes away from co-ed cuddle time!

World events roll along with more bad than good for the big stories, but I can resist the urge for commentary or a rant.  Maybe we just need to change perspectives anyway, since there is good happening in the world all of the time for billions of people.  Add in all of the people in the world that are oblivious to most of those worst events happening elsewhere; and the majority might even be reasonably happy.  Don’t take that the wrong way, since we will always care about everyone that is being hurt by wars and the rest of the worst that people do to each other – I’m just offering thought alternatives.

I’m also proving that I have a tough time just wrapping up these journal updates, but for the record, if you think this is bad; try reading my lab reports!  On that scary note, that is all for tonight; and I am going to move on now and enjoy the quality cuddle time with Aiden.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - January 22, 2024

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

The first day of exams for the teens – tests for us – has been uneventful for us; since we don’t exactly need to stress about them.  We did have our four best friends over here after school to at least pretend to study for the next round of tests tomorrow, but didn’t really need to do that; since we are all well-ahead of our grade levels in our ‘real’ educations.  We don’t write about that very often, so let’s mention that Naomi and Aiden are a bit more than a year apart on the education ladder – mostly due to the age difference, but they are also each years ahead on their education.  That means junior or senior high school level or above for everything with some favorite subjects beyond that into college-level knowledge.  Sophia and Aaron are at advanced levels too, but Sophia is actually a bit ahead of Aaron – mostly because she’s had more help from Mom – including with training her mentors.  Aaron is still at the top of his class with Naomi, though, so that really isn’t a big deal or difference.

Moving along, our friends headed for their homes by dinnertime; we helped Mom with that work and had our meal ready by the time Dad caught up with us after a busy day at the office that was in-part because we’re expecting some freezing rain and a messy Tuesday morning.  We enjoyed sharing that time together; moved on to some office work and a Magi lesson after the clean-up; and then we all opted for another comparatively-early night.  That works for us, since we’re expecting a late night tomorrow; so I’m also going to keep this update on the short side too.

Cassie and Michael are in Melbourne and their Tuesday is in-progress with meetings of various kinds either finished already or ahead of them for the rest of the day.  We had a short vid-chat with them while they were in-transit between meetings, and they are enjoying the great weather – though they advised us that it was actually on the cool side overnight and first thing on their Tuesday morning with a low in the mid-fifties.  As we’re coming out of our deep freeze, we can’t feel bad for them to need sweaters for Tai Chi by the pool; and wish that we could be there and enjoying the highs of their day that will be in the eighties!  They’re expecting that the entertainment-work highlight for their day will be the charity dinner and fundraiser they’ll be attending in a while, but we’ll be sleeping; and can wait for the report on that until sometime tomorrow.  The time difference really does still feel weird to us, but that is only because of the day-ahead thinking – and knowing that Cassie and Michael are doing the same thing in the other direction when it comes to keeping up with hometown events like birthdays.

That’s enough for us for tonight.  Ethan and I really should get the rest now – especially if we’ll need to deal with outdoor work related to snow or freezing rain in the morning!  We’ll keep you posted on that along with the rest of our adventures with the next report, but we’re out of here and heading off to dreamland right now!

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