Ehlana and Ethan:
We’ve been busy since our last update; so let’s get to the personal news of the day from where we left off yesterday afternoon. In addition to getting our campground set up and hanging out with our family and friends; Ethan and I helped out with the work on both sides of dinner; that meal was awesome and we shared the food fun with our best friends and got a break from next-gen kid control; and then we eventually helped out with those kids while at the park and catching the co-ed ball game. ‘Our’ Witch Falls Wild lost again – this time against Palmer’s Pride; and gave up ten runs again too – though they did earn five runs instead of four; so that was a minor improvement. We had some next-gen kids to babysit after the game too while their parents went out to the pub, but they were all getting tired by then; and didn’t last through the first outdoor movie before falling asleep. We watched two movies; there was teen chat time by the river after that; and co-ed sleepovers were an option because junior campers including Brianna and Faith took on the next-gen kids that stayed with us overnight. It was past-two before we got around to some nap time; and then we were up at normal time for Tai Chi by the river this morning.
That workout was more fun with all of the extra exercise buddies and spectators; we rushed around after that with taking turns getting ready for the day; having breakfast and dealing with that work; and packing up our campground. That was needed because rain and storms were in the forecast for tonight, but we had time for that too ahead of the family ballgames of the day thanks to getting most of our chores done on Thursday and Friday. Brianna, Faith, and their Rebels team get top spot for baseball news because Brianna pitched a no-hitter against the Pizzeria Patriots while also leading the batting that earned them nine runs. Ethan and I caught the last two innings of that game; we had a family-and-friends picnic lunch while watching the first innings of the noon game; and didn’t stay for all of Leah and Hailey’s game. They helped their Med Center Mist team to a much-closer win – eleven-to-ten against the Sapphire Storm; so while they are winning too; their girls’ division is among the most-competitive this season.
The rest of our day has been comparatively-quiet. We had some play time with our friends and cousins this afternoon that only had one interruption due to showers, but we decided against any sleepover plans with our best friends; so we were home on our own for dinner with Mom and Dad. After enjoying that meal and helping with all of the work on both sides of the food; and then we did some work in the office with Mom that was mostly related to disaster support in Venezuela. Mom didn’t let us work too long; bath or Jacuzzi time followed; and now we’re getting ready to catch up on our sleep without any of our favorite distractions. For the record, our best friends do enjoy spending time with their own families and without us now and then, and we’re keeping that in mind right now because we are going to take them with us for that trip with Cassie and Michael!
On the world news front, there have been new exchanges of missile and drone strikes between the United States and Iran over the past day – including hits of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz; so the ceasefire and memorandum are both looking very shaky again tonight. The United States, Israel, and Lebanon announced another ceasefire deal, but that didn’t include Hezbollah; and they do not agree to the deal at all and are now warning that the Lebanon government will start a civil war if they keep attempting to give parts of their country away to Israel. Let’s mention that the Lebanese government is weak and on the same side with Israel because they are bought and paid for by the United States; and they do not care at all for the majority of people in their country. None of that looks good for imminent peace; and hatred and resentment continues to build in the entire region while most of the leaders of those countries only care about their own wealth and power.
The Ukraine war rolls on with little change as Russia dominates on the ground and in the air; and Ukraine dominates the western media and political ‘war’ with disgusting displays of brutality. A good example of that for today was a drone strike on a Russian World War Two monument that injured twelve civilians. Those optics ought to be horrific, but the Ukrainian military and political leaders brag about their ‘success’ while ignoring the reality that they targeted a war memorial site dedicated to lives lost in the fight against Nazi Germany. While western media continues to re-write history; having Ukrainian neo-Nazi military target civilians while trying to destroy an anti-Nazi war memorial really is a disgrace that any soldier with even a shred of humanity should be appalled by his or her own actions. We believe the same is true for every civilian attack that is intentional, but the hits keep coming; and we can only continue to hope that somewhere in the near instead of distant future we get some world leaders that will actually find a way to stop the insanity.
It is too tempting to get going on another rant against our leaders and biased media that pushes narrative over truth, but we are supposed to get the extra sleep now; so that’s all for tonight. Stay tuned, since we are expecting an awesome week ahead of us as we roll toward the holiday weekend. Ethan and I will rest up now so we can be ready for all of that fun and adventures.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
