Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 24th Birthday, Denise Burroughs!
We’ve been very busy since our last update, and the fun is continuing as we are taking the break to write this; so let’s get right to our news of the day-so-far.
The family-and-friends’ dinner at the Ayres’ home was awesome with quite a mix of added and different guests because of the connections that Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and their kids have and invited to join in on the adventure. Ethan and I also helped with some of the work on either side of the meal; we joined in on the kid control duties that included getting the younger kids fed and then cleaned up; and then our top entertainment highlights included back yard games, swimming, and the campfire before we – the kids and teens – eventually moved on to our camping plans. We provided a lot of the music at the campfire; there was dancing and scary stories; and we are going to skip commenting on the snacks because that got a bit weird thanks to Zack, Eli, and some of the other boys. We had extra kids for the camping – including some new toddlers; so there weren’t any co-ed tents last night. We got a bit more sleep too, but only a little; since we traded off staying up even later than we did for middle-of-the-night wake-up calls with three of the toddlers. Naomi will want me to report that Ethan had more fun with those moments than I did, and yes, that is entirely because Naomi made sure that they were both happier by the time we split up again and returned to our tents! ;^)
Moving along, Tai Chi by the river was awesome with the extra exercise buddies and spectators. Breakfast was a partly-scary and busy adventure; and then it was time to get busy again – whether that was with ball games or other activities. With Faith away, we didn’t need to send a gang to the park for her team’s early game, but some of us made an appearance in support of her friends. They lost the game without Faith, and we’ll continue to find it amusing that so many people seem surprised to discover that Faith is a sports force while also being one of the quietest and sweetest of our cousins! Zack, Eli, Sebastian, and their team had a larger cheer squad and family support for their game, but that didn’t help them out with a win. Zack and Eli were happy to lead the jokes about their loss being Caleb’s fault for being away, but that isn’t really a good excuse for the boys; since some of us know that they lost because Zack in particular was more-interested in entertaining and goofing off than in playing to win.
We haven’t had any afternoon games, but instead of going out to the ranch or elsewhere, the adults in the family chose a quieter play afternoon around our back yard and town. Another barbeque dinner is going to be at our house soon; and then our evening entertainment will be a co-ed ball game at the park. Ethan and I will then be among the teens on-duty for babysitting after the game while some of the adults head over to the pub for some kid-free play time; and we’ll probably get the kids to wind down with an outdoor movie before we put them to bed in tents – either for the night or until the youngest kids get picked up by parents or designated grandparents, aunts, uncles, or others. We need to get back to the fun soon, so all we have left to write about is Cassie and Michael’s last full day in Germany. They ended up spending parts of their sightseeing day with new friends they’ve met through work. They always love that because they also get to do things that locals know about that might not make the sightseeing highlights lists. They are currently still enjoying a night out with those friends; so they might not get a lot of sleep before moving on to Austria tomorrow.
It’s time for us to move on, so that’s all for today; and we’ll have the rest of our news from today with our next report.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
