Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 10th Birthday, Faith!
Before we get to the birthday adventures stories-so-far; let’s cover the football news of the weekend! Our rematch against Hillcrest was a definitive statement that we are still the team to beat this season. The fifty-five to sixteen score was obvious-enough, but then that was true throughout the game from start to finish. Miles is happiest about that for his debut as Quarterback, and he played well-enough with only a few mistakes; so he has reason to be proud – though his ego is a bit larger than life! Ethan, on the other hand, is so modest that it’s amazing that anyone noticed just how well he played last night. Yes, he earned three of the seven touchdowns for our team and gained a lot of yards running after the catches, but he intentionally shares the credit with his teammates – especially the guys on the offensive and defensive lines. They deserve that credit; and they really appreciate Ethan for pointing that out very publicly. As for the team scoring, Aaron had two running touchdowns; Aiden had one passing touchdown; and we coasted to the win in the fourth quarter. Miles had two turnovers that led to ten of Hillcrest’s sixteen points, but that really just emphasized that while their defense is still pretty good; their offense did not have a good night.
While our favorite boys were having fun out on the field; we had fun with our cheer squad adventures on the sidelines and during half-time. The weather was perfect for a summer evening; so we could also throw in all of the tricks we have without needing to hold back due to rain or wet conditions. We’ll never be able to compete for skills with the big high school or college squads that have the talent and numbers for the best tricks, but we still do pretty well; and I’ll modestly mention that Naomi, Sophia, and I lead the way for the most-difficult gymnastics. Our halftime routine was a hit with the crowd, and that was entirely because Naomi, Sophia, and I put together a Raiders’ version of ‘Golden’ with our own lyrics and vocals to go along with the physical routine that included martial arts inspired dance and some very cool, if minor, aerials and throws.
Thanks to the win, the party that Ethan hosted for the team was more-fun; it is scary to see how much food an entire football team can consume; and we will not comment on the bill for the Pizzeria that Mom and Dad paid for those stacks of pizza! The campfire was great too; and that included a Naomi and the non-Holiday Harmonies doing an encore version of that Golden song along with the rest of our musical contributions to the fun. Our guests headed for their homes or elsewhere by one o’clock; and then we had some clean-up work to do before we could get around to our co-ed sofa sleepover in the lounge with our four best friends. That brings us up to today, but before we got to the start of Faith’s birthday adventures at Quarry Lake, we started the day with Tai Chi by the river and breakfast with Mom and Dad. Okay, we actually started out with a round of Magi-powered fatigue healing for all of us because we were still tired after the game and late night, but that was fun too! After the quiet start to our day, Sophia and Aaron and Aiden all moved on to help their own families at their homes or the bakery; Naomi stayed and worked on chores with Ethan and me; and we kept busy with that until we needed to switch to loading up vehicles for the trip to Quarry Lake. We were out there and had our day camp set up by eleven-thirty; and then the fun was on as we helped out with junior kid control; led some of the activities for ‘our’ group that included the rock wall and zip line; water slides and swims; and play time on Aqua Bikes and paddle boats. We were in charge of a group for lunch too; so we were on the go non-stop pretty much from arrival to departure by late-afternoon.
Faith’s party rolled on once we got back to the Everetts’ home, and we had more work to do – including helping with setting up tents for Faith’s girls-only camping night. There were other volunteers for cooking dinner, but we had next-gen kids to take care of during that meal; and then we helped with the clean-up while the back yard fun included games, swimming, and canoe rides. That brings us up to now; and Ethan and I are taking a quick break at home to get cleaned up and ready for the rest of our night. Outdoor movies will start at dusk for Faith’s party, and Naomi and I have agreed to stay and camp with the girls – mostly to help with the next-gen girls that want to do that with Faith and her friends. Ethan will miss the co-ed nap time with Naomi, but will love the earlier bedtime and getting more sleep that we’ll get tonight! That’s also all we have for now and we need to get back to the party soon; so here’s a quick world news report and then we’re out of here and back to the birthday celebration.
We do not want to get into the war stories today; since that news continues to be bad every day. There are other reports ranging from the stupid to the unbelievable. For the former, President Trump has declared that Lake Ontario is now Lake America in ‘retaliation’ for trade threats made by the Premiere of Ontario – the equivalent of a State Governor. We’re sure that change will be as-popular as the Gulf of America has been for the people crazy enough to think that this kind of playground nonsense is important! For the official journal record, no, Ethan and I never claimed ownership of the playground; and there has never been a Fort Proctor that needed defending from all enemies foreign, alien, or domestic! ;^)
The other story we’ll cover tonight is President Trump’s announcement that he’s doubled America’s oil reserves with a deal to ‘control’ sixty-five billion barrels of Venezuelan oil! We have absolutely no doubt that the Venezuelan people will not at all mind the total exploitation of their resources and stand by and do nothing – and yes, that is extreme sarcasm! Along with all of the inevitable geo-political problems; let’s also add that the oil reserves in question will also be among the most-expensive in the world to access; so that will not be a deal at all if it costs more to get out of the ground than it can be sold for on the market! When we start making those cost calculations; let’s make sure we include how much money we’re spending on the combined military forces needed to ‘protect’ those resources that we believe should be ours despite the fact that they are inconveniently located in another, not-really-sovereign country!
We really do need to run, but I can’t resist just one meme story that we find very funny. President Trump may have started an unintended consequence with his claim of the Strait of Hormuz being an American territory; since the jokes are already going viral of Iranian and Omani women claiming American citizenship for their babies born in that new territory! All Iranian pregnant women should definitely flock to the coastline to give birth so they can get in on that deal – and we couldn’t possibly have any problems in another eighteen or twenty years when those Iranian-American citizens will be old-enough to vote!
That is a fun, silly wrap-up to this update, so we’re out of here and back to the birthday fun for and with Faith and her cousins and friends!
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
