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!

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 14, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 42^nd Birthday, Uncle Mark!

The birthday dinner and game night at the Inn were the entertainment highlights of our day; we had some after school biking fun too; and helped with next-gen kids during that meal while the adults were busy with the birthday roasting and other entertainment.  The rest of our day was good too, but uneventful; and we’ve had a quiet night since getting home – if you don’t include the sound of the thunder that has come along with the storms that will be in the area for half the night before moving out of the area.  Mom didn’t want us to do any work in the office tonight after getting home from the Inn, but we did deal with some chores before the bath or Jacuzzi time; and now we’re taking care of the usual twin chat and computer checks.

Cassie and Michael spent their day working in and around Philadelphia with a mix of business meetings, charity-related meals, and two site visits.  They are still on the road as we’re writing this with one of their longest evening drives as they head to Pittsburgh next; and they are going to be tired by the time they get to their hotel.  They will also only have time for a nap before getting back to work, but they also want to get a lot done at every stop between there and when they’ll be home in time for the holiday weekend.

The top world news today was the visit between the American and Chinese Presidents.  The reports have been surprisingly-quiet; so we’re hoping that President Trump didn’t do anything to insult the Chinese leaders.  The few claims that have come out seem insubstantial, and if a two-hundred jet purchase order for Boeing is the best they could do for that level of meetings; then the entire trip was pointless.  There were statements about China ‘helping’ with the Strait of Hormuz, but there were no specifics; and we doubt that China will offer to do anything that would actually help with our goals for the Middle East; and President Trump won’t actually want the kind of help that China would like to provide that would require serious concessions on ‘our’ side of the conflict.

On the Ukraine war front, Russia is resuming and expanding their attacks on Ukraine; and Kiev and Odessa are definitely in the cross-hairs now while the fighting on the frontlines are ramping up too as Russian forces push to take full control of the Donbass region.  We expect that they will push on beyond those borders; and the Ukrainian leaders should be worried about a total collapse of their armed forces.  There is no way for outsiders to know when that will happen, but then the bigger question ought to be whether there will be anything left of Ukraine before or after that happens.  Western leaders continue to talk tough and send more money and weapons to Ukraine; and that just proves that they are delusional.  A story we saw today about a proposal for a Ukraine war tax on NATO countries to pay for those expenses is more proof of that stupidity, and the Pope apparently agrees with us; since he has stated that the European plans to build up their militaries are a very bad idea and that diplomacy is the answer to bringing peace to the region again.

Finally, we want to mention that worldwide draws on strategic petroleum reserves are continuing, and that affects oil prices, but some countries are already closing in on limits for being able to do that; and we are closing in on the point where those drawdowns will need to stop; and then the problem won’t be price – it will be supply shortages that will lead to economic slowdowns.  World leaders can continue to pretend otherwise, but economic output has a direct relationship with energy use whatever the price, so if we get to a point where the supply in down ten or fifteen percent; world output will decline by that amount too.  No, that doesn’t mean that the decline will be constant across the world, and poorest countries will be hit hardest, but we should all care about all people; and we do not want to see millions of people moving down from insecurity to desperation.  There are some stories about new rounds of migration toward Europe and elsewhere; and that is sure to get worse if our leaders don’t get serious about solving the biggest problems right now.

To bring this part of our update around to that Presidential meeting in China; there weren’t any signs that the two most-powerful leaders in the world made any progress in solving those problems; and we are very sure that two-hundred new jets will not make a difference – unless the plan is to use them for daily flights for desperate migrants needing to relocate to anywhere they might have a chance to survive the consequences that are coming from all of the worst political decisions of the past few decades.

That’s enough for tonight.  We’re ready to get some sleep; so we’re going to get started on that right now.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 13, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

It is getting late, so we’re tired; so let’s get right to the news of the day.  The weather has been awesome again today with lots of sun and warm; so we had fun with Tai Chi by the river; there was outdoor play time at school; and then we opted for biking the trails with cousins and friends after school.  While some of our favorite people went to the park for the co-ed ball practices, we opted to work-play in the lab or archives after dinner.  There was work we wanted to get done tonight despite the urge to keep the outdoor play time going.  I’ll admit that Ethan went along with me when I led for that choice, but while I wanted to work on several experiments; he had fun with his books too and we both got a lot done tonight.  We used time phasing to have more time to do that work; and still stayed at the lab a bit later than we should have for a school night.  It was past-eleven by the time we got home; bath or Jacuzzi time followed a quick visit with Mom and Dad; and now we’re winding down fast toward nap time.

While we’ve had a quieter, fun day; Cassie and Michael had a very busy work day in New York; and now they’ve recently arrived in Philadelphia after driving there tonight.  They had two financial-business meetings; a charity luncheon; and an afternoon site visit at a logistics distribution center that also provides low-income job training and work opportunities.  They had a work dinner today too with a follow-up meeting to close a new project deal; and they were on the road for Philadelphia by eighty-thirty.  Their drive route took them fairly-close to the Hathorne Estate, but they didn’t stop in for a visit, and if they were being monitored by Gwyneth or any of her goons; they did not sense any danger and didn’t intentionally draw attention to themselves.  We do know that they were able to sense the Hathornes using their Magi talents while in New York; and found that experience interesting when those usages of their special abilities ranged from the trivial applications of telekinesis to mentally bullying the people around them.  Nothing happened that would have tempted Cassie and Michael to intervene, but it was educational to mentally witness the daily lives of Dark Magi.  Cassie has written more about that; so we’ll point you to her journals instead of dragging out that story second-hand.

On the world news front, the world is still awaiting the meetings between the American and Chinese leaders in China on Thursday and Friday.  Ethan and I are simply hoping that President Trump will not say or do anything too-stupid, but that is probably too much to hope for; so we expect the next few days to be very entertaining for all of the wrong reasons.  Maybe that would be better than worst-case options, but then what does that say about current world diplomacy when ‘do no harm’ would be a big win for our leaders?

Let’s stop there.  We’re tired and ready to crash now; 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 12, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 36^th Anniversary, Miranda and Jacob!

Happy 13^th Birthday, Beth-Ann White!

Before we get to our own, not-very-exciting news of the day; let’s start with the celebrations we haven’t been involved in tonight.  Sophia and Aaron had more to juggle than we did, but they were still at both of our practices, but they had a quick dinner break at the anniversary dinner at the Inn; and helped with the tail-end of Beth-Ann’s birthday party after the teen praise team practice.  Mom and Dad are still celebrating the anniversary with their friends as we’re writing this; and they’ve moved on from the Inn to the pub.

Ethan and I are not going to wait up for them – and not because we’re worried about future curfews if we tease them about getting home late!  We’re tired; and need to get the extra sleep while we can.  We have had a good day from Tai Chi by the river through the academic adventures, music practices, and a bit of bonus cuddle and chat time that we had with Naomi and Aiden while hanging out with them during our own dinner and here after we got home from the church; and now we’re busy with the usual bedtime wrap-up.

Cassie and Michael have been working in New York today; they’ll be there tomorrow too; and they have mostly been dealing with higher finance and executive-level business today.  They didn’t have any Magi-related issues; and we’ll hope that will continue to be true for the rest of their time in close-proximity to the Hathornes.  They were out on the town tonight too, but in their case; it was attending a charity dinner and fundraiser event for an inner-city community project.

That brings us to the world news update.  The top stories today include more nonsense from the Middle East where nothing actually changed today; non-stop commentary on President Trump trip to China where there isn’t actually any news because the President is only on the way to China – not there or in meetings yet.  That story could get interesting soon – especially if the Chinese leaders insult him or get insulted by him; since President Trump is well-known for doing that to other world leaders.  Finally, for tonight, we’re going to mention a report about a Department of National Intelligence investigation that was announced into Ukrainian biolabs.  We noticed that story because those biolab stories were laughed at four and five years ago when Russian leaders were making those claims and now they were apparently real-enough to be investigated for being funded and run through American government and private sources – and illegally; since there would be no reason to investigate legitimate operations.  Don’t take that the wrong way, since we do not believe that anything will come from that investigation – we only find it interesting that truth eventually comes out even if nobody ever actually pays for the crimes.

That’s enough for tonight.  We really are ready to get some sleep now; so we are going to do that starting right now.

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