Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 19, 2026

 

Ehlana and Aiden + Naomi and Ethan:

Happy 4^th Birthday, Luke Norton!

Happy 8^th Anniversary, Mitch and Lynn Bassett!

We can report that the top local celebrations of the day have been happy for everyone involved, but we didn’t join in on any of that fun while busy with school and our usual Tuesday music practices.  Ethan and I heard some of the details from Cassie and Michael via messages; since they were in Indianapolis today and missed out on the fun for their cousins and nephew too – along with a report from Sophia and Aaron because they were briefly at the anniversary dinner between practices.  That was a bit of a repeat for them after doing that last Tuesday too for Jacob and Miranda’s anniversary dinner, but they had fun again and had better food than we did for our dinner break.

Mom headed to Crystal Springs this morning, so we opted for ordering Pizzeria pizza for our dinner with Naomi and Aiden; and ate that meal by the river behind the pizzeria; and watched some of the baseball and play fun at the park from a distance that many of our cousins and aunts and uncles were at – including their own Pizzeria pizza picnic dinner that went along with the baseball.  Our academic play time was good – though not all of our classmates would agree; since we had a serious science test along with the rest of our studies and project work.  The school band practice was all about getting ready for the Memorial Day parade, and then after that pizza food break; we switched to the final practice for the teen praise team program we’ll be sharing with the congregation on Sunday.  All of the teens involved in that program attending the practice; and we took the extra time for a full rehearsal including the skits and readings along with the music.

That doesn’t quite bring us up to now, but I was messing around a bit with the grouping of the names at the start of this update.  Naomi and I decided that we were way overdue for some girls-only time; so I’m with her tonight while Ethan is staying with Aiden tonight while Mom is with Dad in the city.  The boys did walk us home from the church and there were good night hugs and kisses, but then Naomi and I had fun with her Mom with mini-makeovers and girl chat time before moving on to hanging out in Naomi’s room and listening to music while doing a vid-chat with the boys while we all caught up on the world news and entertainment stories of the day.

Before we get to that news; we want to mention that Cassie and Michael have had a busy day in Indianapolis, and while they had a charity event too; most of their work was transportation and logistics-related thanks to the city being an important regional hub that is particularly-important for some of our agricultural interests that are expanding through BMR labs products.  Their personal highlights of the day were the time they spent with Darryl and Wendy Watts.  Their college friends are thriving in the big city; they went out to dinner and checked out a favorite club that features a variety of music ranging from jazz and blues to pop and country cover bands.  They are still doing that as we’re writing this report; so we’ve only had a few messages exchanged while they’re busy.

That brings us to the world news of the day.  That won’t take long tonight because nothing important has changed.  We are keeping eyes and ears on the Russian president’s visit to China – especially when first looks suggest that President Putin is being treated much-better than President Trump was last week.  Nobody should be surprised by that, since our leaders treat China like enemies while Russia and China are building best-ever relations.  We always remember that politics can be fleeting, and the current partnerships can flip easily, but we also don’t see that happening in the near-future; since everyone understands that lines are being drawn between western neo-colonial countries and powers against, well, the rest of the world.

Let’s stop there.  Ethan and Aiden aren’t in a hurry to wrap up and resume their guy talk, but Naomi and I still want to hang out together for a while before we get around to the nap time; so that’s all for this report.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 18, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

This has been a rainy, wet day, but we’ve also been busy – even though our ball practices were rained out this evening.  We were up early to see Dad off on his way to the city for his work week there; Tai Chi was indoors when we got around to it because of the rain; we stayed indoors most of the time while at school; and we work-played at the lab between the academic adventures and dinnertime with Mom.  Ethan and I took care of the dinner clean-up; we worked with Mom in the office for a couple of hours including a Magi lesson and with added time-phased work; and now we’re winding down fast toward nap time.

While we’ve had a damp day, Cassie and Michael were up early for the drive from Columbus to Dayton; they worked most of the day; and then had dinner with the Fletchers where they got to meet Roberta in-person for the first time since she was born in January.  Jeremy, Kasey, and their kids stayed in Dayton for the extra day after visiting his family for the weekend so that they could see Cassie and Michael; they had fun together for a few hours; and then the Fletchers headed home to Lexington while Cassie and Michael hit the road for Indianapolis – the next stop on their work trip.  We’re all counting down the days until they’ll be home again; and we are really glad to be one day closer to having them here with us and in-time for the holiday weekend.

Ethan and I are winding down fast now with the usual computer checks and twin chat; so let’s wrap this up with the world news report.  Actually, there really isn’t any news that we want to write about tonight because nothing has changed beyond the daily rotation of political rhetoric.  Claims are reported and then denied; President Trump offers his daily threats and lies; and the world struggles along without getting any of the big problems solved.  We are keeping informed, but can do that and stay happy even with all of the bad news; and we are going to focus on the good in our lives tonight as we head off to dreamland.  Mom is going to be in Crystal Springs tomorrow night, so we also want to be ready for our own adventures tomorrow night while she’s away; so that’s all for tonight and we’re off to our beds and nap time starting right now.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 17, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Let’s start this report with the news of the day from Cassie and Michael.  They were in Columbus, Ohio today, and while it is Sunday, they are going to be home for the holiday weekend; so they worked today with two meetings, a Site visit, and two working meals – along with attending a church service that they went to with one of the families leading one of our charity partners.  They’ve had one of those site visits this evening; and they are staying in Columbus tonight before heading out to Dayton tomorrow.

Here at home, we had a lot of fun last night with Mom, Dad, and our best friends; our adventures included a pasta and sides dinner; there was some ‘live’ music play time; and we watched two movies – including one that Mom and Dad watched with us in the lounge before they went to bed.  We stayed up too-late; enjoyed the co-ed nap time; and then started our Sunday with Tai Chi by the river.  We could do that because the rain moved on by then; followed that up with a hot breakfast that the teens in the house cooked and cleaned up after; and then we had a good morning at church and Sunday school with our family, friends, and neighbors.

The weather was awesome today with lots of sun and a high near ninety.  That’s why we were part of a group of cousins and friends that biked to Quarry Lake after lunch.  The campground fully-opens next weekend, but they have a full crew of college students working there already to get ready for the summer season; and they let us help out with ‘testing’ some of the equipment – including the rock walls, zip lines, and Aqua Bikes.  We had fun with all of that; went for a cool-down swim in the still-chilly water; and biked home in time for the teens or kids that needed to be back for one of the buffets at the Inn.  We were not among those lucky diners tonight – we went home for a quiet dinner with Mom and Dad; cleaned up from that meal too; and then we all worked in the office for a couple of hours before Dad was ready for his week in the city.  Mom did a Magi lesson with us too; and then we moved on to bath or Jacuzzi time to get cleaned up from our play afternoon.

That brings us up to now, and we’re getting tired fast; so let’s get right to the world news report.  After the non-news from President Trump’s visit to China; he’s moved on to another round of demands for peace with Iran.  No, nothing changed with those demands beyond the number of items on the list.  This time, there are five main points; Iran will still not agree to any of them; and they came with the same threats of re-starting the bombing and worse if Iran does not basically surrender.  We are glad that the fighting and bombing hasn’t resumed yet, but the economic damage continues to build; and going back to war would just make that worse while still not solving anything.

In Ukraine, Russia is hitting Ukraine hard and the front lines continue to move west very slowly.  The Ukrainian armed forces are putting most of their offensive efforts into drone attacks that are primarily on civilian targets in Russia as they adapt to Russia’s air and anti-drone systems.  Yes, they have some ‘successes’ that cause some damage and kill handfuls of civilians, but the impact mostly angers Russian citizens; and that just hardens positions in support of the Russian leaders and troops.  There has been another round of scandals in Ukraine too, but those details are tough to verify; since half of those scandals eventually prove to be fabricated as politicians and business leaders move from the ‘right’ to the ‘wrong’ side of power and get taken down by the leaders currently in-charge.  Finally for tonight, unrest continues to be on the rise around the world with protests, fighting, and more being reported every day in a lot of countries; and we expect that to continue as the weather in the north improves and economic and social stresses grow.  Nobody can predict how that will evolve, but we can be sure that there will be significant costs; and we need to hope that there won’t be new or expanded wars breaking out – especially as resources become scarce and expensive.

We want to stay happy tonight as we wrap this up, so that’s all for tonight; and we are going to think happy thoughts as we head off toward dreamland starting right now.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 16, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 13^th Birthday, Rebekkah Burroughs!

Happy 6^th Anniversary, Reid and Lily Spencer!

We are not involved in either of those celebrations today – though we did send a family gift to Rebekkah that Leah and Hailey will take with them to her party this afternoon.  Thanks to the weather forecast change and imminent rain and storms that are already starting to roll into town; our own plans for the day have been changed and that’s true for Rebekkah’s party too as her family moves it indoors.  Mom and Dad already adjusted our chores plans for today by breakfast; we’re finished with the basics including mowing lawns and minimal gardening; and now we’ve just finished cleaning up and getting ready for incoming best friends for the indoors fun we’ve set up for the rest of the day.

While we’re waiting to get started on that; we’re writing this early update because we aren’t going to be working on our computers later today.  We packed up our tents and gear and canceled the planned second night of camping too; and the rest of the kids and teens made other plans for the night too – whether that is attending Rebekkah’s party; hanging out with the Carringtons for Zack’s video gaming marathon; or other entertainment options.  Ethan and I are going to have fun with our changed plans and entertaining our best friends, but while that news can wait for our next update; let’s cover the rest of our story from yesterday.

The biking on the trails we started out with after school yesterday was great; some of us hopped in the river to cool down before we had dinner; and then that meal included our help with next-gen kids; we were put to work for the clean-up while grandparents helped with the younger kids; and then our evening entertainment highlight was the outdoor movies.  Most of the adults stayed with us for the first movie; we kept some of the next-gen kids for the camping; and those parents were happy to head out and enjoy a kid-free night.  Those youngest kids were put to bed in tents before we started a second movie – though not all of them stayed in the tents; and I am happy to report that Ethan was the chosen cuddle buddy for the toddler that didn’t want to go to sleep on her own!  Naomi cuddled with them too; and didn’t try to warn off the ‘other woman’ this time; since the hugs and kisses totally sucked her in too – and I’m not talking about hugs and kisses from Ethan for that comment!  We had fun with the second movie; wrapped up the show after that because we didn’t want to bother the neighbors half the night; and moved on to the camping.  Most of us stayed up for another hour or two enjoying the quiet chat time by the river; and then we eventually got around to the nap time that wasn’t co-ed for us thanks to those next-gen kids.

We’ve skipped over some details including the time we spent setting up our tents and gear and the subsequent tear-down this morning.  Tai Chi by the river and breakfast this morning was awesome too; and we don’t need to offer details about the weather-shortened chores.  Naomi and Aiden worked with us on the lawns and gardens at all of our homes – and Cassie and Michael’s place; and they have only split up with us long-enough to hit the showers and pack overnight bags before coming over here again.

Speaking of Cassie and Michael; they had fun last night with the gang of kids and teens they took to the ball game – though the local fans were disappointed when the Phillies won that game by a score of eleven to nine over the Pirates.  Ethan and I love playing baseball, but we do not keep up with pro baseball; so we don’t really care about team rivalries – though in this case; we do know about that one because Stefan has mentioned it around us when talking sports with Michael and the other guys.  Cassie and Michael have hit the road for Columbus as we’re writing this update; they are doing some sightseeing along the way; and don’t have any work booked for today while enjoying that play and drive time.

That’s pretty much it for today.  We are going to save the world news for a full-weekend report, but want to stay happy for the rest of the day; so we are going to do that since we can’t change anything about the biggest issues of the world anyway.  We are going to do our best to make our little corner of the planet a bit better tonight one best friend at a time; and that’s enough for us even as we wish we could do the same for everyone else too.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 15, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

This is just a placeholder update because we are going to be busy for the rest of the day.  The weather is awesome with sunny skies and a high near-ninety; so we are going to play for the rest of the day.  We’ve already planned and have parental approval for a camping night here in our back yard; and we expect a major gang of cousins and friends as word gets out and more teens and kids want to join in.  We are also going to do some biking on the trails; Mom and Dad are hosting another family-and-friends’ barbeque dinner; and we’re going to set up our projector for outdoor movies for our primary camping entertainment.

The rest of our news can wait for tomorrow, but we want to mention that Cassie and Michael are having a busy day in Pittsburgh; and they are mostly working on revitalization projects ranging from micro-manufacturing to housing and parklands restorations.  They are also going to catch a ball game tonight with a group of kids and teens and chaperones through one of our charity partners; and then they will stay in Pittsburgh for another night before moving on to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow morning.

Finally, we’re only going to mention that President Trump’s visit to China has wrapped up; we don’t see anything serious accomplished for any of the top problems of the world; and can only conclude that this trip was nothing more than political theatre.  ‘Our’ leaders still think that they can tell the rest of the world to do what we tell them; and the countries like China that are big-enough to say no are playing a different game entirely and working plans for a future that doesn’t depend on ‘western’ economies to prosper.  Yes, there is sure to be problems with that transition, and there are risks that can lead to new conflicts and wars, but those countries will not willingly consent to a neo-colonial world where they are again subjugated to America or any other western country.

That’s a dark note to leave this update on, but we are going to return to being happy; and get started on what we are sure will be an amazing weekend adventure!

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