Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - June 10, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 3^rd Anniversary, May and Lee!

Cassie and Michael shared a vid-chat with their friends today, but due to the time change; they actually did that after midnight local time and breakfast-time for May and Lee in Georgia.  That’s also why they didn’t have that chat with Rowen and Tim too; since they were sleeping because Tim is well into the busy spring-summer season and starts most workdays early – and usually seven days a week.

While we weren’t having any celebrations today, we were busy with exams and studying all day.  Tai Chi was by the river this morning and we enjoyed a hot breakfast with Mom and Dad too, but then we didn’t see them again until a little while ago because Naomi hosted the study session.  We’re all glad to be three-fifths of the way through our exams, but Ethan and I don’t really have anything newsworthy to offer from all of the work.

We can report that there wasn’t much outdoor time during the studying because we got a lot of rain that rolled in around the same time that we finished our afternoon exam; and continued through to now.  There were no cool-down swims after school or this evening; and dinner got changed up too; since Naomi’s parents did not want to grill outdoors in the pouring rain and thunderstorms.  Ethan, Aiden, and I helped out with the dinner cooking and clean-up; and we do not need to comment on a scary meal where some of the guys backslid a bit on former food fun entertainment that included demolishing everything edible that we managed to put on the tables until Naomi’s parents were down to last bags of snacks and air-popped popcorn!  Okay, it wasn’t quite that bad, but it felt a bit like we’d helped to feed a zoo by the time we finished with the clean-up.

Ethan and I came home at eleven-thirty – after helping with a last round of cleaning; Mom didn’t let us do a Magi lesson or extra work because she and Dad had already wrapped up their own work and chores for the day; so we only did a quick chat with them before heading upstairs.  We got started on the twin chat and computing time; and now we’re ready to get this update done and then head for our beds.

The top world news today is the heating up of the Iran war, and after claiming imminent peace yesterday; President Trump has flipped again today and is claiming that he will need to return to bombing Iran because they refuse to surrender and do everything he tells them to do.  Here’s a novel thought for our voters, but maybe we should stop electing old, rich, and possibly insane old narcissists – though our political system would need a major overhaul before that could even be possible when all candidates are selected by the billionaires that really rule the world!  Okay, we’re technically members of that billionaire club, but we promise that we’re good billionaires! ;^)

While our armed forces are fighting with Iran again; Israel is still busy trying to take over as much of Lebanon as they can; and we can only wonder how far they can try to extend their occupied territories before they can no longer control the people they are displacing and destroying.  It is becoming obvious that Israel’s leaders do not understand history; since they are also well on the way to going broke while spending tens of billions of dollars on their wars while making new enemies every day.

As for the ‘other’ top war, we are seeing a lot of indications that Russia’s leaders and people are beyond fed up with the asymmetric and terroristic attacks from Ukraine with obvious help from NATO allies, and we could be past the point of no return; since the Russian people believe that the only way to end the war now is to impose total defeat on the Ukrainian forces.  One example of those Ukrainian attacks that got our attention tonight was a drone strike on a Crimean museum that destroyed some irreplaceable, historic art.  There is absolutely no strategic advantage to that kind of target; and the Ukrainian leaders ought to understand that damaging museums and schools will only fortify the resolve of all Russians.  The news out of the Middle East continues to get most of the media attention in the west, but we know that what is happening in Ukraine every day is far-worse with the possible exception of what Israel continues to do in Gaza and the West Bank and in southern Lebanon.

I’m tempted to keep going with a rant tonight, but we need to get some sleep; so that’s all for this report.  Compared to all of those problems in the world; we really have it easy here at home – even during exams week; so we’ll keep that in mind now as we head off to dreamland.

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

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

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 26^th Birthday, Kasey Fletcher!

Cassie and Michael had some birthday fun with their college friends – and Rowen and Tim – this morning via a breakfast vid-chat and the gifts they sent ahead for their friend.

Here at home, our top news of the day was the weather as the high hit triple digits and we had some rain to deal with off-and-on – mostly this morning and again tonight.  That didn’t get in the way of Tai Chi by the river or the ball practices that went ahead this afternoon and evening.  Ethan and I weren’t involved in any of the baseball or the Pizzeria pizza picnic – we were at the study session that Caroline Carter hosted tonight for our usual gang of friends.  Her brother hosted his friends too, but other than dinnertime; his gang was segregated in the family room while our group was split between the dining room and kitchen.  We had fun with the studying and the work we helped with on both sides of that meal; we went for two swims while there when we wanted the breaks from the facts and figures; and we kept working until around eleven o’clock – mostly because a handful of our friends needed the support for one or both of our Wednesday exams.

It was going on eleven-thirty by the time we got home so Mom didn’t do a Magi lesson with us and we didn’t do any family business or charity work.  Bath or Jacuzzi time was still needed; so it is late and we need to get started on our nap time soon.  That’s why we’re going to keep our world news update short – though we do know that future Magi readers of our journals don’t actually need to have detailed current updates from us when this is all history for them! ;^)

War is supposedly off and peace is on in the Middle East today, but while that is the political talk from President Trump and others, Israel continues attacks in Lebanon and simply changed primary targets to another part of the country and continuing to ignore the ceasefire without consequences.  Iran isn’t even talking with our country or Israel; and tensions on the ground remain high.  While all of that is going on, the real problems that are continuing to build include dwindling energy reserves; and there are more reports of shortages and reduced production as local prices rise and business and personal behaviors adapt.  That will not be good for the summer season that is so important to the hospitality industries worldwide if vacations and travel contracts significantly, but we’ll wait to see what happens with that story as we head into our own summer break.

The Ukraine war rolls along on two fronts – the fake political and media battles; and the actual, physical conflicts.  We’ve pretty much come to think of the media war as fiction because it mostly is; and that allows too many world leaders to pretend that the continuing horrors and destruction happening in Ukraine aren’t reducing the country to rubble that the Ukrainian and western leaders claim to be saving for freedom and democracy.  We aren’t going to start another rant about that war tonight, but we will continue to note that hundreds of people are dying every day along with hundreds or thousands more being injured while the leaders that could stop this insane war choose holding on to power and wealth without regard for what is best for the Ukrainian and Russian people.

That’s all for tonight.  Ethan and I really do need to get some sleep now; so we’re going to wrap this up right now.

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

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

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Happy 42^nd Birthday, Aunt Grace!

We – and most of the family-and-friends’ kids – didn’t get to help out very much with the birthday celebration due to our exams studying, but we know that Aunt Grace has had a good day; and she is getting a kid-free night that we are not going to write about here!  Ethan and I made a cameo visit to the Everett’s house, but we were too busy for more while studying with our friends.

Sophia hosted our study session tonight and dinner for the group too, but other than that; we really don’t have anything newsworthy to offer from that work.  Our exams went perfectly; we took one break for a swim in the river during the afternoon and evening studying; and we multi-tasked the dinner and studying – though Ethan and I helped a bit with the grilled burgers and hot dogs and the cold salads and snacks sides that the guys devoured in scary quantities!  After getting home tonight, Mom did a Magi lesson with us; we didn’t do any office work; and needed bath or Jacuzzi time because we spent a lot of that study time outdoors while enjoying the hot weather.  Let’s also report that we did not have ball practices tonight – they were cancelled due to exams week; and that’s going to be true for our usual Tuesday music practices tomorrow.  Some of the ball practices for our cousins will be on for tomorrow, but we’ll be busy studying again; and won’t be involved in any of that action.

That brings us up to now; so let’s finish up with the world news of the day.  The news from the Middle East is mixed after the exchanges of missile strikes between Iran and Israel.  They seem to have paused those exchanges, but Lebanon is still under attack; and the Houthis in Yemen have declared a partial blockade of the strait along their coast to all ships connected with Israel.  They also joined in on the attack on Israel; and there are several groups in the region declaring their support for Lebanon and the Palestinian people.  We have no idea whether there will actually be any de-escalation on any front; and will wait to see what actually happens on the ground in the region.

Ditto that sentiment for the Ukraine war.  The talk of ceasefires and peace have already dissipated; the Ukrainian leaders appear to be preparing for the inevitable westward move of the frontlines as they build up defenses in Odessa and elsewhere; and Russia is continuing their methodical push toward the Dnieper River and possibly beyond if Ukraine does not accept a diplomatic agreement that would mostly need to be on Russia’s terms.  Western leaders and media can’t even accept the idea that Ukraine is losing the war; so that isn’t going to happen and the war will continue.  We’ll continue to hope for better – and that the war won’t expand beyond Russia and Ukraine.

That’s enough for tonight.  Ethan and I need to get some sleep ahead of day two of our exams; so we’re out of here and off to dreamland right now.

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

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

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

Our personal top news of the day is that we’ve spent most of it studying with our friends; and we’re as ready as possible for our first exams tomorrow.  Ethan and I hosted again and everyone came over after lunch – just as the rain and thunderstorms moved into town; and we kept everyone through a Pizzeria pizza and sides dinner until we wrapped up at around ten-thirty.  Mom and Dad helped with rounding up the food, but then they went to the Inn for the late buffet with Cassie, Michael, and some of the other parents and friends that were teen-free while we had our gang of friends here with us.  Let’s add in that we had a good morning too from Tai Chi by the river and breakfast through church and Sunday school that was more fun thanks to doing that with our four best friends after our co-ed sleepover number two of the weekend.

As for the rest of our news from last night, Zack, Eli, and their team lost their first game ten-to-four and there was no sign of even an attempt at a comeback attempt.  Naomi, Sophia, and I led our team to a close ten-to-eight win for our Glacier team over the Sapphire Ice; and that battle was competitive right to the end.  The barbeque dinner was a blast of work and eat-on-the-fly for Mom and Dad’s helpers, but we also got out of most of the kid control help; and didn’t get asked to do any babysitting last night either.  We did stay up too-late again last night with the co-ed cuddle time, teen chat, and movies; so we used some Magi powered fatigue healing for everyone in the house this morning before that Tai Chi workout by the river.

Other than the post-studying clean-up, a bit of chat time with Mom and Dad, and the bath or Jacuzzi breaks; that’s pretty much all we have for our news through to now.  We need to get some sleep to be ready for those first exams; so let’s wrap this up with our world news weekend update and then call it a night.

The top story of the day comes out of the Middle East as Iran launched new missile strikes on Israel in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon that were supposed to stop for the ceasefire but never did end.  Israeli retaliation is certain; so the ceasefire is likely officially over now; and we’ll see whether the United States joins in on more attacks against Iran.  Peace talks are definitely off again, but you wouldn’t know that from how insulated world markets continue to be despite all of the bad news.

There is no peace in sight for Ukraine, and nobody believes the nonsense about another round of demands for ceasefires and requests for ‘secret’ talks with Russia.  What we see from the sporadic reports from the frontlines is bad news for the Ukrainian forces; since there are now several key defensive positions at risk of collapsing any day.  We’ve written about this several times now, and can’t predict when those cities and towns will fall, but it will happen, and the longer it takes; the more Ukrainian soldiers will be lost.  There are also new reports of Ukrainian drones over other Baltic countries while western leaders and media try to blame Russia for any crashes or damage; and we expect that attempts are being made to create one or more false flag events to draw NATO into direct conflict with Russia.

Finally for tonight, the elections in Armenia are getting a lot of media attention because it is a battleground between Europe and Russia.  Armenia is another country that the United States and Europe wants to control to surround Russia; and they could end up being another pawn that gets destroyed if their leaders follow Ukraine and turn away from Russia.  That really would be dumb, since Armenia relies on Russia for a large majority of both trade and energy needs; and they will lose both if they move toward the European Union and NATO.

That’s all we’re going to cover tonight.  Exams start in the morning, and even Magi Masters need to be rested up to write them coherently; so we’re out of here and off to dreamland right now.

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

Ehlana's and Ethan's Journals - June 6, 2026

 

Ehlana and Ethan:

***RESTRICTED UPDATE***

Philippe Montagne and Pamela Briggs are getting married today in her home town of New Orleans, and while that isn’t necessarily restricted news; Gwyneth has been there for the week; and we know that she isn’t the only Dark Magi Master there because she invited Rafael Thorne to be her date.  Mom and Cassie and keeping more of a mental eye on that story than we are, but we’ll also mention that Rafael is sixteen now; Gwyneth just turned fifteen; and they are both working for their respective family businesses as heir-apparent executives.  Cassie has advised us that Philippe and Pamela have some common college friends at the wedding too, but most of their new friendships have developed through Gwyneth and work.  They are having a major event because Philippe’s family in particular has some real regional power out of Indiana, but Gwyneth is helping a lot too; and taking care of her favorite interpreters with everything from wedding upgrades to an exotic honeymoon gift.  We’re all hoping that the big event will happen without any Dark Magi fireworks, but Gwyneth and Rafael are playing with fire having their frenemies relationship – especially when we are sure that Rafael’s great-grandfather wants to use Rafael to defeat the Hathornes.  Finally, Cassie and Michael want to be happy for their former college friends, but don’t expect that to really be possible while working for and being used by Gwyneth.  That’s all for this story so far; and if we learn more that needs to be reported; we’ll share that with you during our weekend update tomorrow night.

***END OF RESTRICTED UPDATE***

Let’s begin this report with the baseball news of the weekend that we have so far.  Ethan, Aiden, and Aaron are members of Landry’s Locusts this season; and they won convincingly last night over the Witch Falls Wasps by a score of ten-to-five.  The game wrapped up with time to spare before the rain rolled into town; and the boys had a big turnout for their cheer squad – including Cassie, Naomi, Sophia, and me!  We had fun with the biking, park play, and swimming yesterday afternoon; the barbeque dinner was just with some friends and a few aunts, uncles, and cousins; and then our co-ed sleepover was with our four best friends after the game.  We stayed up too-late; watched two movies; and enjoyed lots of co-ed cuddle time and teen chat along with the movies.

The rain we had overnight didn’t get in the way of Tai Chi by the river this morning or the chores we worked on all morning, but we did get a blast of rain roll through around lunchtime that wasn’t enough to even cause any baseball delays for the late morning or early afternoon games.  We did most of the chores with Naomi and Aiden and multiple homes; had a quick lunch with Mom and Dad by noon; and took our studying with our friends to the park so that we could also watch the ball games and enjoy the great weather.  We’re home from doing that right now because we’re booked to help Mom and Dad with the barbeque dinner they’re hosting between ball games; and I needed to get ready for my game tonight too.

While we’re doing that, Zack, Eli, Caleb, Sebastian, and their team is still playing their first game of the season.  We didn’t abandon them, but their Bakery Brigade team wasn’t doing very well through the first four innings against Connor’s Commandos; and we didn’t see any signs that ‘our’ team was going to change that trend while down by four runs when we needed to come home.  Zack and Eli could help to change that, but they have been too-busy showing off and entertaining the spectators; and would need to take the game more-seriously and actually start playing to win before it will be too-late for any comebacks.

Ethan and I are hosting another co-ed sleepover after the game tonight; so we’ll save my first game results for our next update.  Naomi, Sophia, and I are on the Grocery Glacier team this season; and we’re playing against Sapphire Ice tonight.  The barbeque we need to get to helping with now isn’t going to be a major event, but it might get drawn out a bit since some of us need to eat before our game while half of the guests won’t get here until after Zack’s game and any post-game fun they have with their team whether they win or lose.

We do need to wrap this up; so here’s just a micro world news report.  There have been more skirmishes between the United States and Iran with exchanges of missile and drone attacks; the fighting in Lebanon rolls on; and Gaza and the West Bank continue to get little coverage for the horrors happening there at the hands of the Israeli military as the Palestinian genocide continues.  Israel is taking that scorched earth policy into southern Lebanon; and we can only be amazed that the leaders and people in the rest of the world continue to ignore the atrocities and let Israel get away with what they are doing every day.  There certainly isn’t any serious talk of peace with all of that going on; so there is also no end in sight to the death and destruction in the region.

That’s true in Ukraine – though peace talks are supposedly on the table again this weekend.  Unfortunately, the premise for those talks haven’t changed at all for ‘our’ side of that war; and Russia will not agree to the terms being discussed in the west that are exactly the same as they have been since the start of the conflict.  The western leaders just can’t admit that Ukraine is losing the actual war on the ground; so we expect that Ukraine will fight until they are forced to surrender – however long that takes.  That’s very bad news for the Ukrainian soldiers; since they are generally being forced to fight to the death; and they are doing that for a lost cause and a country that will never be the same even if some parts of it survive beyond the war.

That’s enough for today and we really do need to go now; so we’re out of here and back to living our weekend adventures.

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