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

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 6^th Anniversary, Rebecca and Lucas Norton!

This has been a wet, rainy and stormy weather day, and we haven’t enjoyed party-level fun for our day-so-far, but we have had fun with our chores and work-play at the lab; and now we’re getting ready for a play night.  Ethan is getting ready to host Naomi here at home; I’m packing for my night with Aiden and the Drapers; and we’re writing this update now before we’ll be split up for the rest of the day.

While it has rained most of the day; there was a break this morning that allowed for Tai Chi by the river – though the ground was definitely on the damp side of comfortable.  We had a hot breakfast, and enjoyed sharing that part of our day with Mom, Dad, and our four best friends before we split up for the rest of the day.  Our friends had their own plans for chores or work; most of our own chores were indoors because of the rain; and we had a snack lunch with Mom and Dad before heading to the lab for an afternoon of fun with our books or beakers.  We used some time phasing to get more done; I spent some of my time with Dillon because he stopped in for an hour or so to check on his own work; and we came home by a bit after four because we needed to get ready for our respective plans.

The rest of our Friday adventures included a pasta-and-sides dinner; ‘live’ music play time that Mom and Dad joined in on; movies in the lounge; and lots of co-ed cuddling and teen chat time.  We – the teens in the house – stayed up too-late; so the co-ed nap time was a bit short while the extra time with our friends was worth it.  Let’s also mention that we cheated this morning and helped our friends out with some Magi-powered fatigue healing.  They appreciated that; and it will only be a problem for Ethan if all of that extra effort today leaves him too-tired later tonight for some quality alone time with Naomi! ;^)

That is a fun note to leave this update on; so let’s just skip the depressing world news of the day and save that up for a weekend update tomorrow night.  Stay tuned for that; and we’ll move on now to all of the fun we’re hoping to have between now and that next journal update.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 29, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

We’ve gotten the forecast rain day, so we’ve been indoors for everything from Tai Chi to now except for the walks to and from school.  Ethan and I are currently getting ready to host a co-ed night with our four best friends; there aren’t any other family plans for meals or evening entertainment; and we are going to save up the rest of our story for our next report.

Before we get back to getting ready for our play night; let’s cover just a bit of world news.  As usual, the top two wars in the world continue to get the media attention, but sorting truth from lies is a challenge.  Peace either is or isn’t imminent; and we don’t see any true reasons for Iran to trust ‘our’ side at all as minor skirmishes continue; Israel keeps attacking Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank; and tensions remain high.  As for the Ukraine war, the waiting game continues for the expected strikes on Kiev; while the ‘regular’ war continues with serious fighting along the frontlines as Russian forces continue to slowly wear down the Ukrainian defenses.  Nobody should try to predict when those defenses will collapse, but there are fewer fortified locations left east of the Dnieper River; and taking all of that territory could be Russia’s next goal in the war.

We also want to mention that commodity prices are being manipulated every day – especially when it comes to those peace talks, but actual world reserves are dropping fast; commercial inventories are reaching historic lows; and it will take years to rebuild those stocks – and that can’t start until we get back to full production and shipping levels again whenever that happens.  Oil and natural gas get the most attention for those stockpiles, but that’s true for all of the other commodities that are now in short supply; and that doesn’t even get into all of the derivative products that aren’t even being seriously affected yet as downstream supply chain products eventually get hit too.

Ethan and I need to move on 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 28, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Our day has been a bit different than what we expected and planned; thanks to the weather forecast for the next couple of days.  Tai Chi by the river, breakfast, and our school adventures were normal except for some bonus outdoor time again where we studied for exams in the yard and with groups of classmates.  The change came when Mom re-directed us to early weekend chores because the rain that has already started could roll on for the next two days.  We are not claiming parental collusion, but our best friends did end up working with us on that work at multiple homes.  We worked through to dinnertime; Naomi and Aiden were with us for that meal with Mom and Dad; and then we all headed to the Inn for game night.

The highlights of the play time at the Inn included getting to spend some time with Cassie and Michael; another senior title for Mom that Dad helped her to win this week while Miranda complained about not getting to win back-to-back titles too.  Ethan and Naomi didn’t win again this week, but we all had fun; and that’s why we love that weekly community time so much!  The rain had started by the time we left the Inn, but Ethan and I still walked Naomi and Aiden to their homes and took Silkie for half of that walk too; and then Mom didn’t let us do any added office work or even a Magi lesson after we got home again.  That might have been a sensory choice, which is why bath or Jacuzzi time was up next on our to-do list.  We were happy to get cleaned up; and now we’re winding down fast with the usual twin chat and computing.

That brings us to the world news update.  There isn’t much to offer from the top two wars again tonight, but we did see a report of a drone strike on an apartment building in Romania.  We doubt that drone came from Russia; so we have to wonder what Ukrainian leaders are planning if they are intentionally directing drones against other European countries.  There have been new attacks in Lebanon, and Iran targeted an American base in Kuwait in retaliation for those strikes on them, but those skirmishes haven’t escalated back into full attacks again – yet.  Peace was both imminent and distant in turns today, but other than putting pressure on commodity prices to the downside; nothing has changed in reality.  We also noted that our strategic petroleum reserves dropped by another nine million barrels last week – there is a lag on that data, and at the current rate; we’ll be at new lows within two to three weeks.

Ethan and I can actually be sleeping before midnight if we stop there; so that’s all we have for tonight.  We might be in for a rainy weekend, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing; and we’re okay with the idea of extra indoor time with our friends – especially if bonus co-ed cuddle time is involved!  That’s a happy thought to take along into dreamland, so we are going to do that; and are out of here right now!

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 27, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 9^th Anniversary, Violet and Dillon!

Happy 25^th Birthday, Reid Spencer!

It is late again tonight as we’re writing this, but that isn’t because of work tonight – unless you consider babysitting next-gen kids to be a job! ;^)

Before we get to that part of our story of the day, we started out with Tai Chi by the river with Mom and Dad; breakfast was standard school day fare; and then our academic adventures included prepping for final exams with a fair bit of self-study time that we got to do outdoors to enjoy the nice weather.  The high this afternoon hit the mid-eighties; so that was perfect for Violet and Dillon’s anniversary dinner party.  We helped with the prep work for that meal after school while multi-tasking next-gen kid control play time in the back yard.  Let’s also mention that a food highlight for that meal was the donation created by Jake Stone for his friends; and also explains why many of the women at that party are at least a little jealous of Stephanie for more than Jake’s movie-star looks!  Ethan, Naomi, Aiden, and I enjoyed the meal a lot while taking care of all of the next-gen kids; and then we were sent to the park with those same kids and some younger cousins and friends ahead of the co-ed ball practices while others took care of the clean-up.

The practices at the park were entertaining in-part thanks to the anniversary ‘cheer’ that was consumed with dinner by some of those players, and while we caught some of those cameo moments of silly fun; we spent most of our time playing with the kids and keeping them entertained.  After the park play time, we went home to Jake and Stephanie’s house to babysit the next-gen kids that they were going to keep for the night while Violet and Dillon – and Josiah and Christina – are getting a kid-free night.  We took care of the babysitting for a few hours while many of our favorite adults went to the pub to keep the anniversary celebration going; and we can report that Reid Spencer’s birthday celebration had the same move after his own ball practice.  The actual babysitting wasn’t really work for us since the kids were tired by then; and we pretty much just got them all ready for bed and off to sleep – or at least into their beds.  Some of the pre-schoolers stayed awake in pairs to chat themselves to sleep in their beds, but that wasn’t a problem for us; and the four babysitters in the house mostly enjoyed some quiet co-ed cuddle time while watching music videos and keeping ears open for any issues with the kids.

It is a school and work night, so the party didn’t roll on all night.  Jake and Stephanie came home by midnight; Ethan and I walked Naomi and Aiden to their homes while picking Silkie up and taking her for the walk along the way.  Mom and Dad were home too by the time we got back home; we had a quick wrap-up chat with them; and then bath or Jacuzzi time was needed after all of the play time with the kids.  That’s why it is getting so late now, and we won’t have time for much more than a nap, but we had a good day; and we’re happy as we wind down fast with a shortened version of our twin chat and bedtime computing.

The top world news is that there hasn’t been any big news to report for the top two war regions.  Russia has not yet launched their promised attack on Kiev; and western leaders do not appear to be taking their warnings to evacuate their citizens seriously.  That will prove to be a mistake, but we will have to wait to find out how bad that will be for everyone still staying in the Capital.  While that risk remains high; the Middle East dangers are on the rise again too.  Israel has expanded attacks on southern Lebanon, so that ceasefire is essentially destroyed; and ‘our’ leaders are back to talking tough about Iran with more threats.  The peace talks are going in circles and nowhere positive; and nobody is surprised that the claims of an imminent deal over the weekend have again been proved wrong.  There have been more attacks on Iran along the coast of the Strait of Hormuz; and the wait we have for this story is to see how long Iran will put up with these attacks before hitting back and doing that against similar targets on ‘our’ side of the strait and gulf.

There are also the usual distraction stories; and we were reminded today that those reports are sometimes revived years after the original stories.  For example, there was a COVID-related story in the media about a government cover-up related to the deaths of children caused by the vaccines.  That isn’t news to us or anyone who actually watched what was happening during the pandemic, and as a researcher; I know exactly what caused those vaccine-related deaths and injuries.  Ethan and I can appreciate having truths eventually come out, but nobody will go to jail for those cover-ups; and it does not help those kids and teens that were injured or died because of the rush to push a vaccine out to mass use so that a few billionaires could get richer and some narcissist could gain more power.

Okay, that’s enough for tonight – this morning.  We need to get all of the sleep we can for the time we have left; so we’re out of here and back to the ‘real’ world – and our beds.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - May 26, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Welcome to your Witch Falls family, Reyna Parker!

Congratulations, Sally, Joshua, and the Parker’ and Reynolds’ families!

Cassie and Michael have been involved in the baby adventures for their friends, but we don’t expect to meet Reyna until Sunday at church.

Our day has been busy enough between school and our music practices.  We’re prepping for final exams and wrapping up projects if needed; and the music has transitioned to getting ready for the next holiday weekend.  Ethan and Naomi will be with the teen praise team for the next parade; Aiden and I will play with the school band; and we’ll all be helping with the holiday weekend church service.  We had fun with all of that – and the rest of our adventures from Tai Chi by the river to now, but we don’t actually have any specific news of interest to add to that part of our story.  We had another Pizzeria pizza dinner between our practices by the river behind the pizza shop; and we missed out on the ball practices that kept our cousins and others in the family busy while we were keeping entertained with our music play time.

We met up with Mom and Dad at home after we were done at the church; Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and we did a bit of charity and family business work in the office before coming upstairs for bath or Jacuzzi time.  It was already getting late by then, but I really wanted the tub time; so Ethan went along with my plan and started in on the nightly computer checks while waiting for me to join him for the twin chat wrap-up.  I’ve done that, and now I’m running out of steam fast; so let’s get to the world news of the day and then call it a night.

The top two wars remain the focal points for world leaders and media.  In Ukraine, everyone is still waiting to find out what the Russian military will do for their imminent attacks on Kiev whenever they’ve decided that they have given enough time for evacuations after their warnings.  There have likely been some people leaving the city, but the warnings don’t seem to have been taken as-seriously as we think appropriate.  While we wait for those strikes; the situation in the Middle East remains stressed and chaotic.  Peace claims continue with no real action or even agreement on both sides.  While that talk rolls on, Israel is breaking their deal with Lebanon again; they continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank; and they continue to threaten renewed attacks on Iran.  For ‘our’ part, the American navy attacked an Iranian port and some of their small naval attack boats, and while claims are made of those attacks being retaliatory; no details or proof has been offered to support those claims.  On the Iranian side; they have promised to retaliate; so we are waiting to see what form that response will take.  Media reports are also claiming that our navy is going to protect ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz; so we can expect more fighting if they actually try to do that and Iran fights back – or decides to totally close the strait using mines and missiles against all ships.  Finally for tonight, we want to point out that even if our leaders could bring both of these conflicts to an end tomorrow, the problems are not all solved; and there would be a lot more work to do before we can even get a serious start of recovery and rebuilding.

That’s enough for tonight.  Ethan and I need to get some sleep while we can; so we are going to get started on that nap time right now.

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