Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 4, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 1^st Birthday, Rose-Marie Palmer!

We’ve had a very busy day and want to get another earlier-than-usual start to our nap time; so we’re going to make this a quick report.

Tai Chi was by the river this morning; we had a hot breakfast; and then the church service and Sunday school were awesome and fun – including offering our best wishes to Rose-Marie.  We left straight from church for Woodvale to meet Sadie for the first time; Naomi and Aiden went along; and the four teens in the minivan took turns driving there and back with Mom or Dad taking turns supervising each of us.  We stopped in Crystal Springs for a quick lunch to go; the visit with Sadie was fairly-short because she was in high demand and was worn out by her collective family.  We – and the rest of our ‘hometown’ family – headed for home in-time to get back for the late buffet; that was the food highlight of our day; and we had some bonus fun with rose-Marie and her family – though we weren’t there as part of her birthday party group.  She’d been worn out by her family and friends by then too; and was sleeping by the time her parents took her home for the night.  We should mention that we also met Dawn’s boyfriend, David; didn’t spend much time with him because he was as-popular as Sadie – if not more for some of the girls and Moms; and we’ll leave that alone.  We should get to spend a bit of time with Dawn and David while they’re here; and they will be staying with Cassie and Michael from Wednesday to Friday.

Ethan and I came home from the Inn with Mom and Dad; didn’t add in any extra work or even a Magi lesson; and moved on to bath or Jacuzzi time soon after getting home.  We’ve made quick work of our computer checks and the twin chat time was mostly about our plans for the coming week; since we did spend most of the day together and didn’t need to trade stories.

We’ve really had a very happy family day, so instead of messing around with all of the warm and fuzzy feelings we’re still enjoying even after our computer checks; let’s just take the night off from writing about all of the stupidity from our world leaders.  With the fall festival coming up this week and coming weekend, we have a lot to look forward to; and getting a bit of extra sleep tonight will help us to be ready for those adventures – so we’ll wrap this up and get started on the nap time right now.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 3, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Welcome to the family, Sophie Rice!

Congratulations, Sadie and Chris – it’s a girl!

Sophie was born yesterday, but we didn’t get that news until after our last update – and after the game last night in Varney.  Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well; and we’ll also mention that Violet, Dillon, and their kids are now in Woodvale and headed there last night after work to meet Sophie – and Dawn’s boyfriend, David!

That was the family news highlight from yesterday – especially since we don’t want to write about Mom and Dad’s kid-free anniversary night!  Okay, we’ll mention that they had a dinner party at the Inn and went to the pub for a few hours too, but those stories are available elsewhere in the archives; so we won’t share them second or third-hand here.  We will report that our team won again last night by a score of fifty-four to twenty-three, and while our defense had some issues again; our offense coasted to the end of the game with four field goals after building a forty-two to thirteen lead.  Ethan, Aiden, and Aaron shared the spotlight with two touchdowns each; Ethan gained the most offensive yards; and Aaron had a really good night for rushing yards and runs for first downs to go along with the points on the scoreboard.  Sophia, Naomi, and I got back to Sophia’s house well-ahead of the boys; had Pizzeria pizza waiting for them once they did catch up with us; and then we don’t have a lot to report after that late-night snack break because four out of six of us fell asleep soon after we started a movie and co-ed cuddle time in Sophia’s game-play-family room.  I won’t name names, but for the record; I was still awake at the end of that movie and turned the television off!

That brings us to the news for today – and there isn’t much of it for Ethan and me.  We went outside for a chilly workout by the river after it cooled down to a bit below fifty by then; we had a hot breakfast with Sophia’s Mom; and then we split up for a fall chores or part-time jobs work day.  Ethan and I worked at our house, two cottages, and Aiden’s house when he joined us for the afternoon work time.  We had a decent day for the outdoor work with the high reaching the seventies and mostly-clear skies and sun; we got a lot done; and were tired by the time we wrapped up and joined Mom and Dad for a late dinner at home without any extra guests.  Mom cooked that meal, so we handled the clean-up after enjoying the meal and chat time; and then we didn’t do much of anything before opting for an early bath or Jacuzzi break because we were tired by then.  We didn’t make any play or sleepover plans with our friends tonight, so an early bedtime is an option; and we’re going to catch up on our sleep as soon as we wrap this up with the world news report.

Protests in Europe are not getting much media attention here, but could be a much-bigger story soon if the violence continues to grow and arrests of high school and college students are hitting the thousands already.  The stories we’ve read about so far are mostly in France and Germany, but the anger is real and justified and spreading; so we have no idea how big this could get – or how harshly governments will try to deal with those protesters.  Another new phase for the Ukraine war has added bridges as targets in Ukraine, and it is another case of retaliation; since the Ukraine military has been attacking bridges in Russia; and now there isn’t much left that isn’t a target on either side – though we will point out that Russia is not intentionally attacking children on beaches or in schools and daycares like the Ukrainian drone operators have been doing against Russian civilians.  We do know that none of these infrastructure targets are legitimate during a war, but nobody seems to care about that anymore – just as they don’t do anything about genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Middle East.

Western media is not reporting on any of the bad stories out of Ukraine – or the Middle East.  We do have other sources and the ability to read in multiple languages; so we know that Saudi Arabia continues to get hit with attacks on their energy infrastructure, and while stories are popping up about plans for a ‘massive’ Saudi attack on Yemen; we predict that will just make the situation in the Middle East worse; since that will just escalate and invite further attacks from the Houthis and the Iraqi militias while not likely doing much to stop the Houthi advances in Yemen.

There continue to be more stories about the attempted hijacking by the co-pilot of the FlyDubai jet, and we are not surprised to see Israeli politicians attempt to use the story for election propaganda.  The problem we have is that the stories are getting more insane-sounding with each retelling.  Are we really supposed to believe that an Israeli plumber saved the day by stopping the knife-wielding co-pilot and then pulling the plane out of a death spiral plunge toward the ground?  For the future science nerds reading this in our future; let’s add in that this supposed rescue happened while that plumber would have needed to overcome a negative g-force during the plunge that likely hit negative-six and then deal with somewhere around four times earth’s gravity to pull the jet out of that dive while the jet’s rudder was also severely-damaged.  Ethan and I have been told a story or two about jet incidents with our family that would be unbelievable to most people but still true, but this one pushes even our limits for what is possible or not!

We do really want to get the extra sleep tonight, so we’ll stop there; and add more if needed with our weekend wrap-up tomorrow night.  Stay tuned for that while we get some sleep so we’ll be ready for our adventures on Sunday.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 2, 2026

 

Naomi and Ehlana:

Happy 16^th Anniversary, Mom and Dad-to-be!

Happy 4^th Birthday, Bradley Benton!

My best friends put on a special anniversary breakfast for their parents with help from Cassie and Michael; their grandparents joined in on the fun; and Aiden and I were their breakfast dates after we also joined them for Tai Chi by the river this morning.  We can’t help with any other celebrations thanks to the football game we need to head to soon in Varney.  They will be having a dinner party at the Inn and then some fun at the pub while we’re away; and Sophia is hosting the co-ed sleepover so a kid-free night is on their schedule too.  Cassie and Michael get teased about setting precedents a lot, but I’ll assure our future Magi that I am okay with the precedents that my future in-laws are setting for the more-distant future I plan on having with Ethan!

No, Ehlana, I am not suggesting that Ethan and I will have belated honeymoon gifts after we get married, but you really don’t want me to comment on any details that I am referring to now; so let’s move on!

Our school day has been good; Ehlana and I are nearly ready to meet up with Sophia, since she and her Mom are driving us to Varney while our parents are busy with the anniversary fun; and we really don’t have much news from the lessons and studying.  The rain moved on overnight, but it has cooled quite a bit too; and the game-time temperature will be around sixty and definitely be down to the mid-fifties before it is over.  We’re just glad that it won’t be raining; and we have our fall-weather uniforms available if it gets too-cool for the uniforms that our favorite boys like best!  Okay, most guys like those uniforms a lot more than the options that keep us warm, but we don’t need to write about something that obvious either! ;^)

We do have one more family story to cover that is still in-progress but that we’ve just gotten some after-school news about from Woodvale.  Sadie Rice has gone into labor and will likely have a bonus anniversary gift for Ethan and Ehlana’s parents – even if that will only be with future anniversary jokes.  That’s awesome, but Dawn Rice is in Woodvale for a vacation visit and had her own surprise – a serious boyfriend that she’s brought home to meet the family for the first time!  We don’t have details yet, but David Jordan is a pilot too; they met after Dawn moved up the ranks to co-piloting passenger jets; and he is only a bit ahead of her on the career path as a fairly-new Captain for the same company.  Dawn and David will be here for a visit next week – mostly to spend time with Violet and her family, but they’ll stay with Cassie and Michael; and we’ll hopefully get to spend some time with them too.  Those updates will need to wait; since Ehlana and I need to get going soon and she wants to add in a minor world news report before we go.

You can thank me if I’m still around in your ‘now’ as you read this; since I can keep that part of this update very short.  I will start by assuring you that I do keep up with world news – mostly through Ethan and Ehlana, but I also don’t spend much time even thinking about everything that I can’t do anything about anyway.  That’s why I am so much more-fun than my best twin-friends; and have to help them out with being happier than they would be without me too.  As for the actual world news, our leaders are again trying to manipulate the markets by releasing more energy reserves for the short-term gain and long-term risks are ignored.  Both wars are going badly for ‘our’ side but mostly for the people stuck in the middle of the fighting and bombing.  Reality isn’t keeping the western leaders from collective insanity; so nothing is likely to change anytime soon – unless it is a change for the worse.  Ehlana and I need to stay happy to be ready to cheer for our favorite guys and team tonight; so that’s all for this report.  Stay tuned; since this could end up being a very busy, entertaining weekend – especially if we need to add in a quick trip to Woodvale to meet my future cousin-in-law!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - October 1, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 4^th Anniversary, Marc and Gretchen Johnson!

Cassie and Michael are helping their friends with the celebration tonight – so they all missed out on game night at the Inn.  We weren’t involved in the fun at all, but hope that Marc and Gretchen have had a good day even with all of the harvest-time work on their farms.

We don’t envy them that work; since we’ve definitely had a major rain day; so outdoor work sucked for everyone that had to do that – where possible; since we should ad that some harvest work can’t happen in heavy rain.  That rain isn’t all bad news for the farmers, since it will end overnight; and then the weather looks good through what might be the last week or two of the main fall harvests.  I’ll add that the rain wasn’t fun for the football team; they got very wet during their afternoon practice; and I didn’t feel so-guilty that I offered suggestions for the cheer squad to practice in the rain too.  We practiced in the gym; and we are okay with not getting cold or wet unless needed during the games.  Our team is ready for tomorrow night; and Ethan was really glad to come home to a hot dinner after that tough, wet workout.

Ethan and I hosted the dinner and study time between practices and game night – though Mom cooked the meal and the teens in the house took care of the clean-up while multi-tasking our studies and a group Magi lesson.  Game night at the Inn was the entertainment highlight of our day; we didn’t win any championships this week for the family; and had fun even without some of our favorite young adults while they were busy elsewhere.  It was still raining when we left the Inn, so we all had rides home; and didn’t do any walks with Silkie or our friends.  We also didn’t do any office work with Mom and Dad – though they went to do some work while we opted for bath or Jacuzzi time.  Now we’re nearly ready for bed and this is the last ‘job’ on our bedtime to-do list before going there.

As for the world news report, the top stories out of the Ukraine war included more Russian strikes on Ukraine that caused a major blackout in Kiev and elsewhere and more talk about nukes – this time through a Russian warning to NATO countries to keep their hands off of Russian territory.  There have been threats made by NATO countries and leaders, but this is also an escalation of rhetoric from Russia; and we are, apparently, well on the way back to another Cold War.  Let’s all hope that they don’t escalate the ‘hot’ war anywhere else in the region; since those warnings should be taken very seriously.

The top story from the Middle East for us was about the Iranian delegation that had been here for the United Nations meetings and had then been invited to stay for talks with ‘our’ diplomats were ‘kicked out’ of our country because our Foreign Minister didn’t like their refusal to surrender and give the United States and Israel everything they’re demanding.  Since those demands include regime change, total disarmament, and becoming a vassal to Israel, that isn’t going to happen, but it also looks very bad on our diplomats when they aren’t actually trying to negotiate at all while also intentionally trying to humiliate other diplomats.  They are simply proving to the rest of the world that our leaders are not trustworthy and negotiations are not ever done in good faith anymore.

There are a lot of other stories we could comment on today, but we’ve had enough and want the extra sleep; so that’s all for this update.  Stay tuned; since our first weekend of October should be another really good one; and we are really looking forward to all of the fall fun, work, and adventures!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - September 30, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 39^th Birthday, Uncle Nick!

We had a gift and best wishes for our uncle while at school today, but that was the extent of our involvement in his happy day.  Mom and Dad were among the guests for his birthday dinner, but we were at Aiden’s house and he hosted our dinner and study time between our afternoon and evening practices.  We can add that Leah and Sebastian are not at home tonight; and don’t need to comment on anything else related to that story!

Ethan and I have had a good day, and that was partly thanks to better-than-forecast weather.  We only ended up having a few afternoon showers instead of an all-day rain event.  We were able to have Tai Chi by the river; the high for the day hit the mid-eighties; and even the showers that came during our football or cheer squad practices was welcome to help us with cooling off near the end of our respective workouts.  Dinner and the studying at Aiden’s house were a highlight of our day thanks to the time we got to spend with his parents while Hailey was with Leah for that birthday dinner; and then we were on the go again for our teen praise team practice at the church.  That practice was a lot of fun too; Ethan and I split up after that for a bit of alone time with Naomi or Aiden that he did at Naomi’s house while Aiden stayed with me for an hour or so in the lounge.  Silkie went with Ethan; they were home before Aiden left; and then we had a short visit with Mom and Dad before moving on to bath or Jacuzzi time.  That pretty much brings us up to now, since I won’t be writing about that couples-only time; so let’s cover a last world news update for September; and then we’ll head for our beds and what will hopefully be happy dreams.

One of the stories getting a lot of attention today was the attempted hijacking of a passenger jet en-route to Israel.  The co-pilot attacked the pilot with a knife and tried to crash the jet, but was stopped by other passengers and crew; and then two other pilots on-board took over and landed the jet safely.  The rumors that have gone along with this story were expected, but it is also stupid to try and tie every incidence of violence with State actors before any facts are known at all.  We have mentioned that there is so much hatred growing in the Middle East that anything could set off new violence or conflict, so while we don’t want to see things like this happen; we will not be surprised to see more incidents of individuals or small groups attempting what they surely believe to be retaliations for the Israeli and American atrocities in the region.

As for the Ukraine war, the Ukrainian drone attacks continue to target civilians while Russian missile and drone attacks are focusing on destroying infrastructure that has recently expanded to include telecommunications centers.  They continue to hit energy infrastructure down to the gas station level; transportation systems; and port facilities.  The Ukraine steel industry is basically destroyed now; and every warehouse of any size has also become a target for Russian attacks.  The stories from the frontlines aren’t as spectacular as the bombings and don’t get much attention in western media, but tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are in constant peril as they are surrounded and are often forced to fight to the last man instead of retreating or surrendering.  We’ll continue to wish for their leaders to come to their senses and make a deal with Russia before they have nobody left to fight or anything left to fight for, but their elites are still getting rich; and probably won’t give up their power regardless of the cost to their citizens.

The last story we want to cover tonight is about how much our government manipulates data and statistics.  This is far from new, but we took note of it again today as our government changed methodology for the PCE – Personal Consumption Expenditures – index to make inflation look better than it really is.  Doing things like that have ripple effects that usually hurt the poorest people – such as reducing pension incomes that are tied to inflation and keep benefit payouts depressed.  We find those tactics particularly-disgusting when at the same time as our government hurts the people most in need; they also choose to throw hundreds of billions of dollars into military spending increases and pile up new debts that can never be repaid but will be a drag on our resources forever – or until our leaders take us collectively into bankruptcy.  Our actual point, though, is that manipulating data doesn’t change the reality of inflation – or any other statistic – and it is stupid to intentionally blind yourself to reality just to look better or feel good.  Reality eventually wins – or loses; and that will just be harder to cope with for everyone trying to live in the delusions our leaders and governments try to create to fool the rest of us.

Okay, that’s enough bad news for one day and we really do want to head off to dreamland with happy thoughts; so we’ll end this and try to get to that happier place by the time we do drift off to sleep.

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