Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - June 17, 2019

Ethan:

We were up early this morning to see Dad off on his way to Crystal Springs.  Ehlana, Silkie, and I had some cuddle time with Mom after that; and then we got up for Tai Chi and breakfast at normal time – even though we didn’t have to hurry to get ready for school.  Ehlana and I were planning on a morning at the lab, though; and we were there at about the same time we’d have normally been to school instead.  Our play time in lab or archives was great; we went home for lunch with Mom; and then met up with Naomi and Aiden for biking and park play time that included a swim in the river and visit to the Emporium for our snack break.

Ehlana and I needed to be home early so that I could grab a shower before we headed for the city and our appointments for dinner with Dad and the tux fittings for the guys.  We didn’t have a gang with us in the minivan because we’re staying at the hotel tonight.  We got to the city earlier than needed; stopped for some shopping that was mostly to pick up some summer clothes for me because I’m not going on the annual shopping trip on Friday; and then we checked into the hotel; met up with Dad; and then headed out for dinner with the gang doing the tux fittings with us tonight.

The meal was great; I only had to try on one tux and then get the fitting done because the girls used other guys for the tux models before making their choice for us – though Michael did technically get to have a bit of input on the final selection and pictures were also sent to Cassie; though she couldn’t respond to those messages while busy in her English class.  Michael and I were first for those fittings, so we wandered the mall for a while; and he was first to get the news that I’m going to invite Naomi to be my official date for the wedding.  That’s entirely because I got razzed by Aunt Leanne and some of the other Moms while in my tux; and Michael agreed that I might prefer to get razzed by the guys about having a date for the wedding over matchmaking from Aunt Leanne and others over the next month and change.  Ehlana knows now too, but she’ll keep that quiet until I get the chance to talk to Naomi after we’re home again.

We’re back at the hotel now; in the room next to Dad’s; and we’ve also already finished the bedtime snack and visit that Anna-Marie was with us for because she and Dad have some work to go over to get ready for their meetings and court appointments tomorrow.  That seems a bit weird, but Anna-Marie is going to be Dad’s future partner and successor for the law practice; so we just need to get used to the fact that she will be working with him more often as she gets through college and earns her law degree – and it will be great when she can share the workload with Dad and he’ll have the chances to take more time off or at least have shorter work weeks.

Ehlana and I are on our own in this room, but we’ve had a long day; and plan on crashing and getting to sleep soon.  We’ll be here for most of tomorrow too and have more shopping and play plans before we’ll head home in time for Ehlana’s ball practice.  I had to miss mine tonight, which might not be good for the team when we have a game on Saturday morning, but that’ll also be our birthday; so maybe some good luck will go my way and we’ll get our first win of the season.

That’s all I have for today; so I’ll wrap this up and leave any extra details to Ehlana.

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

Ethan did look really great in that tux, so Aunt Leanne had reason to tease him; and Naomi will be impressed – and very happy about getting invited to be his date for the wedding.  Sure, she had an invitation anyway, but that isn’t the same – and Ethan’s choice makes it easy for me to invite Aiden to be my date while making sure that both boys will have it a bit easier with their buddies than they would if only one of them had a ‘real’ date already at our age.

As for the rest of our day, I loved the lab time this morning; the play time with our friends was a bit short because of our need to head for the city; and shopping and dinner was a blast – even when the tux search was all about the guys and the shopping was more for Ethan than Mom and me.  I get to have Mom for shopping on Friday while Ethan and Aiden will pretend to be too cool to go along on the annual trip this year; so that works out for all of us.

Our plans for tomorrow are a bit fluid, so I’ll keep you posted on that; and Anna-Marie might come home with us instead of staying in the city all week and heading home with Dad on Friday.  We’ll miss a chance for lab play time tomorrow, and that won’t be an option for me on Friday either; but I’ll try to work that into my schedule a bit better for Wednesday and Thursday – even if that means giving up a bit of play time with our friends.

I’ll have to keep you posted on how that goes for me too, but that’s all of the news I have for today too; so it’s time to wrap it up; and move on to the napping part of our adventure in the city.

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!

Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - June 16, 2019

Happy Father’s Day to all of our favorite Dads!

Ethan:

Dad’s special day started with Tai Chi for four by the river; a special breakfast; and video chat with Cassie.  Church was fun and short – the annual service that is intentionally-short for the fathers – and Pastor Martha still leads that service while her favorite fathers get the day off.  Our Dad didn’t get today off because he still needed to get ready for his week in the city, but we had another special meal and no work for him – and some of our other favorite fathers – at lunchtime; and then Ehlana and I got out of his way and went out to play for the afternoon.  We biked the trails, played with some available friends; and did a visit to the lab before heading home in time for the buffet dinner at the Inn.  We were just part of a large gang of family and friends for that meal; had a blast with yet another, special, Father’s Day meal; and then it was time to wrap up the weekend with a bit of wrap-up work, chores, or lessons before we headed for our pre-bedtime baths or other activities.

No details on that are required for the parents; I had a short bath; and Ehlana’s still in her tub.  We have a busy week of summertime fun and adventure ahead of us; so I’m going to wrap this up and get some sleep while I can.

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

The work this afternoon and evening didn’t keep Dad from having a good Father’s Day – and so did we; though we didn’t get to spend as much time with our best friends as we’d have liked while they were busy with their own fathers and families.  Our vid-chat with Cassie this morning was good; though I wish she could have been here today too instead of spending her afternoon studying with her new friends and then being on her own for the rest of the day.

Ethan’s covered most of the news for today, but we had cards and gifts for Dad at breakfast – and at least a card for all of our favorite fathers; Ethan and I cooked breakfast for Dad with some help from Mom; and the Moms and Grandmothers took care of the lunch work while Ethan and I were on younger cousin kid control duty instead.  We didn’t get to talk to Michael very much while we were at the Inn because he was too busy, but we did see him; and he’s both happy to have spent most of the week with Cassie and sad about being home again.  He needs to be here for work and wedding plans duties that include going to the city for tux fittings tomorrow night, but at least Cassie will be home next weekend; so it won’t be much longer before we can spend a bit of time with her in person again.

We’ll keep you posted on the summer and wedding adventures that are just getting started for us now, but I’ve been soaking in the Jacuzzi a bit too-long; it’s time to get out; and then get my hair dried before I head for bed.  Ethan may be ready to sleep, but I’ll need a bit of reading time first – in part because I’ll want to be caught up on the work progress at the lab before going to spend time there this week.

That’s all for now, though; so I’m out of here and back to the ‘real’ world.

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!

Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - June 15, 2019

Ethan:

Here’s the promised double update from the top of Friday morning.

Our last day of school started out with Tai Chi by the river and a semi-special breakfast.  The school time was all play time and no work through until the pizza day lunch and class parties that wrapped up our day earlier than normal because even the teachers want to get started on their summer holidays early – even when they don’t actually get to do that and still have another week of work to do before they’ll be set free until mid-to-late August.  Our house was kid central for our friends once they’d checked in with their parents at home or elsewhere; we had time for the special after-school snack with Mom that we didn’t really need after all of the treats at school; and then it was time to play.  That mostly meant biking at the park, but there was some swimming in the river and back yard fun too – especially before and after the family and friends barbeque dinner that was also based at our house.

Naomi and Aiden stayed with us for a sleepover – in part because we had to pick tonight for that first sleepover of the summer because we need to be home with our own parents for Father’s Day on Sunday.  That worked for us, though before we got to the sleepover; we had a blast with that dinner; more play time and biking; swimming; and even short canoe rides for some of us.  We wrapped up the family and friends time with a short campfire before the parents wanted to get their kids home; and then it was time for movies in the lounge for four while Mom and Dad opted for an early bedtime.  We watched the new Dumbo movie; there was cuddling involved for Naomi and me; and then we were good and headed for our beds because Ehlana and Naomi had their first ball game on Saturday morning.

Having our best friends with us for Tai Chi this morning was great; we had a pancakes and eggs breakfast; and then Aiden and I took care of the clean-up while Ehlana and Naomi got ready for and then headed to the park for their ball game.  Aiden and I caught up with them – along with Mom, Dad, and the rest of the supporters for both teams.  The Panthers won that game thanks in large part to Ehlana and Naomi.  We all play these games against our friends, so we have mixed feelings whether winning or losing, but after a bad start to the season for our family last weekend; It’s a bit easier to be happier about the win than sad for our disappointed friends.

We had chores to get to after the ball game – even though the main grass cutting and a few other lawn chores are done by Ryan Bassett and a couple of his friends this year.  Naomi and Aiden left us while we were busy with that work; we had a late lunch; and then they me up with us for some afternoon biking, swimming, and park play time while Dad worked in the office to get ready for his week in the city.  Naomi and Aiden eventually went home in time for dinner with their own families; Ehlana and I had an easy dinner with Mom and Dad; and then a quiet evening that included some outdoor time, a show, and an early bath and bedtime.

That’s all I have for tonight, and I’m ready to get some sleep so that I’ll be ready for the Father’s Day fun tomorrow.  Stay tuned – the summer holiday adventures are just getting started!

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

Well, Ethan’s pretty much covered the news of the past two days, so instead of adding more of the details; I’ll just mention that it’s been the family and friends time that means most to us; so the ‘what’ we do doesn’t really matter very much.

We do have some Cassie news – if not the actual details.  Michael has to come home tomorrow, so she took the day off; and they’re spending the day at Eagle Gorge with two of their new friends – Xia and Marcus.  In their case, the ‘what’ they’re doing is awesome; since they’re going to be rock climbing, doing some extreme trail biking, and probably spending some time swimming too.  Cassie will have the details for us with the Father’s Day chat tomorrow morning, but I’m glad she’s getting the play time; since she is working very hard this summer.

She does also get to marry Michael and go on a two-week honeymoon between the summer and fall sessions of school, though; so I think that Cassie will still manage to have a best-ever kind of summer! ;^)

Okay, it’s time for me to get some sleep, so I’ll only add that I love my Jacuzzi – in case anyone reading our journals doesn’t know that for sure already; call it a night; and go get some sleep.

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!

Ethan's and Ehlana's Journals - June 14, 2019

Ethan:

School’s out for the summer; it’s near dinnertime; and this is a micro-update because I’m not using my computer again tonight while having fun with our family and friends.

Look for a double report tomorrow night.

Ethan – out!

***

Ehlana:

That sounds like a plan – I’ll go with it too! ;^)

This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live from what is now my past!