Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - August 9, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

This update is coming to you live from the ferry we’re on heading back to the mainland and Vancouver from Victoria and Vancouver Island!  We’ve had an awesome work and play day on the island with a mix of work that included a boat ride with a partner marine biology and conservation group that is a mix of scientific grant and charity funding.  No, I am not looking to bio-engineer our way back to having Megalodons, but don’t let that keep you from making those types of jokes!  The play time on, in, and near the water were highlights of our day, but we loved the work related to First Nations and island conservation projects and partnerships; and there was a bit of history learning that Ethan loved the most, but was great for the rest of us too.  The evening ferry ride that heads east instead of west feels different – and not just because we’re down to hours left in Canada before we head back to the United States tomorrow.  The sunset reflecting on Vancouver and the mountains ahead of us is awe-inspiring; and yet another experience that we are very glad to have perfect memories for to keep these experiences available to replay anytime!

We wish that the rest of the world could have this much love and joy in their lives, but the world news is far from full of roses and puppies.  Ukraine got hit hard again with Russian missile and drone attacks on Odessa, Kiev, and beyond; they don’t seem to have any air defenses left; so those Russian attacks are devastating when everything gets through to targets.  That’s a problem on the front lines too, since the Russian air force can now bring in close air support without serious danger to jets or attack helicopters; and that is decimating the Ukrainian forces.  The western and Ukrainian leaders continue with their meetings, speeches, and promises that all mean nothing while the country is destroyed and their people are killed; and nothing changes except that life gets worse for the people on the ground.  There are reports about Turkey looking to both get Russia to end the blockade of the Ukrainian ports while also potentially closing their Black Sea strait access to Russian ships.  That isn’t going to happen without major concessions to Russia; and Turkey’s leaders will join the club of insane leaders if they put a naval blockade on Russia.

There is a Middle East story that involves Turkey too – a NATO-like defense pact that they’ve made with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that is aimed at containing Iran, but is also insane; since now they are adding in a nuclear weapons power – if a comparatively-minor one – into the mix.  Maybe that’s what the major world leaders want – for Pakistan to nuke Iran so they can take the blame.  That is really dark, but then that’s true for everything going on around both wars.  Israel continues to break the Lebanon truce; there doesn’t actually appear to be any deal for Gaza or the West Bank as President Trump claimed; and the battles roll on between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis – and probably with the Iraqi militias too.

If all of that wasn’t enough, China has already retaliated to new trade tariff and sanctions restrictions placed on the by our country, and now, in addition to rare earth minerals restrictions; they’ve added licensing restrictions on drone components that will restrict sales for any military purposes.  There are sure to be work-arounds for that, but it will disrupt supply chains in the near to mid-term; and the combination could make production some high-tech weapons more challenging for western countries.  That is bad news when ‘our’ stockpiles of those weapons are being used up in those wars.

As we wrap this up, we want to point out that these new alliances and trade provocations are setting things up for wider wars; and we can only hope that our world leaders will collectively step back from the brink they are hurtling us all toward before it is too late.  We don’t expect peace to break out between right now and our next update; so that’s all we have for today.  Stay tuned; since our next report will be coming at you live from our own country and Seattle!  That might sound more-impressive than it is; since we’re only a few hours away from Seattle; and we actually cross the maritime border in and out of American territorial waters on this ferry ride due to a strange little quirk of how these international borders between our countries was done.  No, we do not have to deal with customs for that little cross-border incursion, but that would be funny if there were customs stations or maybe boats to do checks at just for spending a few minutes in those ‘American’ waters!

We obviously need to stop this update now to avoid more silliness; so we are out of here and back to enjoying the boat ride and amazing scenery!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - August 8, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 6^th Anniversary, Sally and Joshua Parker!

Since our last update, we made it to the last ferry of the day to Victoria; that ride was a bit less than two hours; and the twilight-night crossing was amazing!  We’ll also mention here that we think it is a bit weird for the city of Vancouver to be on the mainland of British Columbia while the Capital, Victoria, is on Vancouver Island.  As Americans, we can’t say much about that; since our city of Washington is on the other side of the country from Washington State!  Nobody else in the world would be shocked to find out that our leaders are geographically-challenged; since we prove that over and over again! ;^)

We were late getting to our hotel and rooms; didn’t stay up for long once there; and still only managed a handful of hours of sleep.  This is an early update because we’ve finished our work and sightseeing in Victoria for the day; and now we’re heading out for some work and play elsewhere on the island.  The transit time gives us the chance to write this report; and we expect to be busy for the rest of the day.  The first thing we want to mention about our day-so-far is that the weather is awesome!  It is sunny; the high is going to reach the mid-eighties; and the ocean and channel and water views are incredible!

Cassie and Michael’s work here is a mixed bag of transportation and environmental conservation projects; there will be one provincial government related meeting tomorrow; and we are helping to develop sustainable communities that are small-scale for the near future and hopefully scalable in the long-term.  For the record, our ideas for that are not the same as we see promoted by the rich and powerful; since we focus on all of the people in each community and that makes each project unique while also working toward transferrable good ideas.

Our sightseeing so far today has mostly been cameo moments, but we’ll do more for the rest of the day; and most of our fun will include seaside and water play.  We’ll share those stories with you tomorrow; since we’re also going to put our tech away – or most of it – for the rest of the day and focus on our adventures out here in the real world.

Back at home, thanks to the time change, we already know that Brianna pitched another no-hitter to help her Rebels team to the six-zero win over the Scions this morning.  Leah and Hailey just finished helping their Mist team to a much-closer, thirteen-to-eleven win over the Fog; and those are two more reasons that Naomi, Sophia, and I are going to get razzed about our team’s loss last night after we get home!  We’ve missed more chores again today, but Cassie and Michael are going to miss out on the anniversary party for their friends tonight; and that’s going to be a barbeque and barn dance that will start after the farm work is wrapped up for the day.  That just leaves the world news update before we move on; so let’s make that quick and wrap this up.

I want to start with a story that won’t really get any news coverage.  The Lake Mead reservoir at the Hoover Dam hit a new low water level, and while we are not getting on any bandwagons because of that; we do take note of changes that can affect availability for fresh water for millions of people.  While that could be a future problem for the people downstream of the reservoir; it is one of the signs of growing water resources constraints that are going to have a growing impact on people around the world – especially when limited supplies lead to new conflicts.

As for the top two wars in the world, claims of imminent deals in the Middle East continue without any actual changes on the ground – and the deals that have been made have all be broken anyway; so this won’t likely be different even if yet another deal does get signed.  There are no deals even being discussed for the Ukraine war, and while Ukrainian and western leaders still hype their own benevolence by offering a ceasefire deal to Russia; everyone knows that isn’t going to happen only to allow Ukraine time to re-arm and re-build their army; and it is no better than the same deals they’ve been offering for more than four years that Russia has rejected every time.  While there is no diplomacy; the bombings continue on both sides; the front lines fighting is ugly and desperate for the Ukrainians; and every day the costs of war are getting worse for everyone involved.

We’re going to stop there – mostly because we’re closing in on our next destination and need to get back to the fun now.  The countdown feels on to our return home, but we still have the rest of this weekend here on the island and then a work day on Monday in Vancouver before we head back to the United States; so we will enjoy the adventures and keep you posted on those stories along the way.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - August 7, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 5^th Anniversary, Caleb and Erica Palmer!

This update is coming to you while we’re on the road this evening from Whistler to the provincial Capital of British Columbia, Victoria.  Our final day in the Canadian Rockies has been amazing, and along with the work stops; we checked out some of the top natural wonders in and around Whistler; ranging from an art museum to bear watching and a zip line.  That was a lot to pack into one day and the total drive time to Victoria will be around five hours plus cameo sightseeing stops, but the views heading out of the mountains and toward the Pacific Ocean with the sunset ahead of us are going to be amazing too!  That part of our story and the personal news for the rest of our night can wait for our next update.

While we’ve been having an amazing, sunny, and fairly-hot day here, we didn’t miss out on a lot back at home – though Cassie and Michael – and Sophia and Aaron – likely would have been at the anniversary dinner and party for Caleb and Erica.  They’ve had a hotter day, but also got a bit of rain; and it would have been a chores day for us if we’d been home.  Thanks to the time change, we can report that Naomi, Sophia, and I are getting blamed for our team’s loss tonight in their game against the Vortex.  We’ll deal with the teasing about that, but for the record, they only lost by two runs; and the hot weather and a rain shower might have had more to do with that difference in scoring than our ability to be there to contribute!  Cassie and the guys in the van with us aren’t buying that line when we all know that we’re the three best players on our team; so let’s just stop there and move on with the world news update.

Let’s begin with a story that might prove to be an actual problem in the future thanks to the precedent related to the Ukraine war but out of Sweden.  They pirated a Russian ship, and then their courts ‘awarded’ it to the Ukrainian government.  The trends toward piracy by European and American navies has been stupid, but now the courts in those countries are getting involved and trying to legitimize those thefts; and that is going to end badly for everyone.  If that isn’t a problem for ‘our’ side; then we surely can’t complain if Russia, China, India, or any other country in the world does the same to our commercial ships!  Do we really want the world to go back to the days of actual piracy risks and the need for naval escorts and security forces to protect shipping?

While politicians and media pundits have been fighting over stories about western weapons shortages and President Trump added threats against ‘leakers’ along with the never-ending threats against Iran; the Middle East tensions remain high as Israel continues attacks in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon; and the Saudi-Houthi fighting continues and intensifies too.  Iran and America might not be exchanging missiles and drones again yet, but those tensions remain high; we still don’t see a deal for the Strait of Hormuz not just being agreed to but actually implemented; and there is very little shipping traffic happening in either strait.  That will continue to deepen the economic consequences for the world – especially as reserves dwindle and actual access to petroleum-based products becomes a bigger issue than price.  News flash to our leaders – you can’t sell what you don’t have!

European leaders continue their insanity far beyond piracy and theft – though they continue to steal interest accumulation from frozen Russian assets and give them away to their own military industrial complex – we mean Ukraine!  The immigrant crisis in that Spanish enclave continues, but that is just a distraction for the people that is self-inflicted due to foreign policies in Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere.  They really are pushing hard to get Ukraine to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian, and we can add in a bit of cynicism here when writing about ongoing efforts to send all fighting-age Ukrainian men back to Ukraine to die for the cause too while keeping the young Ukrainian women.  That is more than a little dark, but possibly-true; and not even as-terrible as it is to intentionally send men to die on the front lines of a war that Ukraine shouldn’t have fought at all.

Finally, for this report, the tariff war with China is on again; our leaders just passed another Russian sanctions bill that really targets China and India; and the battle is on again as tariffs or controls are added for everything from rare earth minerals to tech of all kinds and general consumer products.  Our leaders really should crack a history book or three, since trade wars, blockades, and other economic aggressions – like piracy – often lead to hot wars.  Since our side isn’t doing very well with the wars already in progress; maybe we shouldn’t risk starting one with China and its allies!  They should also keep in mind that allies sometimes switch sides – not to mention that many of our allies also have large segments of their populations that hate us; so we should seriously think about reversing course before the fighting around the world really does escalate into broader conflicts or wars!

Yeah, we don’t trust our leaders to have that much sense either, but let’s stop there.  We want to enjoy the rest of this drive to the west coast; the scenery is stunning; and the co-ed cuddle time is really great too – at least for three out of four of the couples in this van!  Stay tuned, since our final weekend in Canada should be awesome too – even with all of the work that Cassie and Michael have booked in Victoria and Vancouver!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - August 6, 026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 39^th Birthday, Aunt Deborah!

Happy 11^th Birthday, Alex Byrd!

Happy 10^th Anniversary, Neil and Michelle Ryan!

We are missing out on some fun back at home today, but we did some short vid-chats; left gifts; and hope that family and friends will help with making the three celebrations awesome – whether at home or elsewhere!

Here in the Rocky Mountains, we’ve had a work-travel day as we’ve made our way from Salmon Arm to Whistler – our last stop in the Rockies before we head to the west coast tomorrow for our final few days in Canada.  Before we get to that part of our story, we did find out about the Salmon Arm city name; and it was not really all that exciting.  The city is on the south end of Shuswap Lake; that part of the lake is called the salmon arm; and the origin is related to salmon runs up into the lake that historically were so heavy that the settlers were able to use pitchforks to harvest the fish not just for food but for fertilizer on their fields.  We’ll choose our town legend for the naming win! ;^)

As for the work and driving, it is about two-hundred and fifty miles from Salmon Run to Whistler plus a few extra miles for the work and sightseeing stops we did along the way, so after another few hours of work at two meetings in and near Salmon Run, we headed west through more amazing mountain and valley terrain; enjoyed all of the work and play with Cassie, Michael, and our best friends; and had a great lunch at a small-town restaurant that felt a bit like home – if Witch Falls was surrounded by massive mountains.  Whistler is another world-famous resort town with the advantage of being relatively-close to major west coast cities; so it is a popular vacation destination year-round.  We are not here to buy any resorts or make deals for tourism-related businesses, but we can appreciate those operations, and while our family businesses have hotel and restaurant interests and investments; we aren’t involved in anything here or anywhere that the costs are too high compared to other opportunities elsewhere in the world.  We are interested in conservation, environment, and helping small communities to grow and prosper, though, and that’s what we’re working on while in the area.

It was close to dinner time when we got to Whistler, so we checked into our hotel; freshened up; and then we opted for a diner that is popular with the locals and offered an interesting menu; we went to a charity working meeting after that; and then did a hike that included a lookout point with an awesome view before eventually heeding back to our hotel.  Going for a swim was an option we were happy to enjoy – even though that meant extra time drying hair for the girls; and now we’re winding down in our rooms that aren’t a suite but are adjoining and meant to be family friendly.  We’re also winding down fast now after a long day, so let’s cover the world news; and then wrap this up and get to the co-ed cuddle and nap time fun!

The Middle East could be on the way to a worse mess tonight as Israel bombed Lebanon again and ignored that ceasefire; Saudi Arabia and Yemen could be on the verge of a new war front there; and Iran has hit some ‘hostile’ targets in the Strait of Hormuz.  There are also reports that the Hormuz deal being negotiated is only between Iran and Oman and would ban American and Israeli ships from using the strait at all.  Our leaders will never accept that, but it is obvious that Iran no longer cares what our leaders think; and they certainly don’t trust enough to even talk to our diplomats let alone believe that we’d honor any deal.  President Trump still claims full control over the situation and threatens destruction if Iran doesn’t capitulate; so more fighting and bombing seems inevitable.

In Ukraine, the situation is becoming dire for the people and armed forces; western backers seem to be having issues with actually being able to supply missiles either for air defense or for launching attacks into Russia; leaving them with drones as their only answer to the shortfall.  While their supply crises mount, Russia continues to push along the front lines; and the Ukrainian positions are starting to crumble in a handful of places.  From our perspective, fighting valiantly to the death is pointless if losing is inevitable at continually-rising costs to your own people and country.  At the rate their going, nobody will want what is left of the country; since it will cost trillions of dollars to rebuild!

Let’s also mention two reports related to conscripting Ukrainian men into the army.  There are reports of new press gang quotas of forty-thousand new ‘captures’ per month, and while we don’t think that can happen; the apparent need for a half-million new troops over the coming year strongly suggests that the Ukrainian army is in deep, deep trouble.  Beyond the Ukraine borders; European countries want to send young Ukrainian men back to Ukraine knowing that they’d be immediately press-ganged sent to the front, and killed.  Those leaders shouldn’t be able to look themselves in the mirror; since that goes against laws and basic human decency.  How far we’ve come from when leaders were lauded for protecting men from the draft back during the Vietnam War!

Here at home, there has been a political upset for the Michigan Senatorial primary; the billionaire and Israel lobby pick lost the Democratic primary despite blowing seventy million dollars on the contest; and the underdog managed to win.  Don’t take that the wrong way; since we actually don’t think that it matters anymore which candidate wins at any level of election when they all end up serving the elite instead of the ‘normal’ people.  It is also a distraction from the real crises in the world that continue to get worse every day.

That isn’t a very exciting note to wrap this up on; so we’re just going to stop there; work on some happy thoughts before we go to sleep; and help to get there with our best friends and some quality co-ed cuddle time!

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