Heirs of the Magi Archives: Cassie's Journal 2013 - Part Two

By Steve Leggett

The second half of 2013 has been amazing for Cassie! She has her first boyfriend; and all of her adventures are more fun than ever before now that she's sharing them with him as well as their best friends. The fun and surprises keep coming, and Cassie's Journals are a great way to catch up if you're new to the Heirs of the Magi blog or want to find out what Cassie, her family, and friends are doing between the end of Magi Master and when Magi Ascension will continue their story beginning with Cassie's High School graduation.

Enjoy your visit to Witch Falls - it's a great place to live too!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Leggett
• Release date: Dec 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9780986753787

Steve Leggett

I've been an avid reader since my early childhood, and though I've been legally blind for around twenty years now, that love of books has continued, despite the challenges. The bug to try seriously writing books hit me in 2007, and I started with writing fan fiction stories, which was a great way to learn how to develop story lines and existing characters, as well as do research and new character creation. The feedback from readers, both positive and negative, was also a very important part of the learning process. Two million or so words, and several thousand pages later, and I was ready to start Heirs of the Magi. Fantasy epics and series are my favorite books. Whether I'm visiting the worlds created by authors like Andre Norton and Frank Herbert, or exploring the magic closer to home, like with Nora Roberts and so many other classic and contemporary writers, it's the more intimate involvement with the people and places that these books create that I love most. That's the type of story I had in mind when I began developing Heirs of the Magi, and I hope that you will love the books as much as I've loved bringing them to you!

Book preview

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie’s Journal 2013 – Part Two

By Steve Leggett

Published by Steve Leggett - Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 – Steve Leggett

Cover Image by Kayla Leggett - Copyright 2013 - Used by Permission

ISBN: 978-0-9867537-8-7

Books by Steve Leggett

Heirs of the Magi Trilogy

Magi Sanctuary

Magi Master

Magi Ascension (Forthcoming)

Heirs of the Magi Archives

Cassie's Journal 2011

Cassie's Journal 2012 - Part One

Cassie’s Journal 2012 – Part Two

Cassie’s Journal 2013 – Part One

Cassie’s Journal 2013 – Part Two

Heirs of the Magi – First Christmas

The Catalyst Chronicles

The Catalyst is Born

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

Notes

July 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013

It’s mostly been a holiday weekend and wedding work day, starting with housework and pre-cooking this morning and ending with decorating and filling gift baskets for the wedding tonight.

My jobs this morning, after Rowen went home to work around the house with her Mom and brother, included a two-hour stint as cook’s assistant; an hour taking care of the third-floor cleaning; and the rest of my time between breakfast and lunch giving Mom and Alicia some babysitting assistance with Ethan and Ehlana.

Rowen and I were both able to spend a couple of hours this afternoon practicing our bike tricks with Michael and Tim after Michael was finished helping out at the Inn during the lunch rush. We finalized the routine, and Tim and his Dad finished making the obstacles and jump ramps for the trailer on the weekend; so we were able to practice with them. They won’t get put onto the trailer until Wednesday, but Michael and Tim had them set up for us like we’ll be using them; and the only difference to what it’ll be like for the parade was the height off the ground. We’ll get to have one practice for that on Wednesday sometime, so that change shouldn’t be a problem; and it’ll just make the jumps from the trailer to the ground a bit easier.

The biking was at the top of the fun list for today, and so was the cool-off swim that we hit the river for at my house after we were done our practice. Ethan and Ehlana came with us for that; and we all had a blast until Nora tracked us down and reclaimed Tim. Michael had to get back to the Inn and I needed to get back to helping Mom by then anyway; so that was the end of our play time until after dinner.

Mom and Dad only had the twins and me home for dinner. Violet was with Dillon, and everyone else had other plans until we were meeting at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house for a wedding work evening. I helped with the cooking and cleanup tonight, and then Mom sent me off to play with Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana at the park for an hour or so before joining the gift basket work crew. I’m sure that the timing of that play break had everything to do with Michael being at the park for his team practice too; but I was okay with that – and with having him hang out with us for a while after he was finished playing baseball.

I’m going to take a little side trip for a minute because there was some teen weirdness tonight that doesn’t have anything to do with me directly; but is apparently a big deal for Jenny.

There’s a new guy in town, and though Rowen and I haven’t met him yet, he was at the park tonight too; and hanging around with some of the other teens – including Jenny and Rebecca. Michael told us that his name is Joel Alden, he’s fourteen, and will be here in Witch Falls with his Dad for about half of the summer holidays. Jenny apparently caught his eye earlier today while he was taking a first look around town after getting here last night sometime, and from what Rebecca told Michael while they were having dinner; Jenny’s definitely interested in him too.

I love Jenny a lot, but it sounds like she may have temporarily lost her mind; and flirting with Joel while still having a boyfriend is not likely going to end well for one or more of them. Thankfully, we weren’t close enough to their group for Ethan, Ehlana, or I to get hit by the empathic bombardment that usually happens in situations like that; and we were on our way to Aunt Leanne’s before passing Shane and some of the other teens when they were on their way into the park to join up with Rebecca and Jenny.

The empathic sparks were probably really flying after that, but then there were some sparks with Michael and me too – especially while we were having a little swim with Rowen, Ethan, and Ehlana before we all went inside to help with the gift baskets. I did warn Michael in advance that we’d get teased if he came along, but he was willing to risk it; and we were both happy to have the extra time together. Rowen, Michael, and I mostly decorated baskets while Ethan and Ehlana joined the assembly lines that were filling them with four different sets of mementos and treats.

Mom let us work until ten-thirty, though Ethan and Ehlana needed to play normal toddlers; and didn’t last nearly that long before getting bored and being set free to go watch a movie in the living room. Rowen decided to go home then, and helped Aunt Leanne and Aunt Grace tease me by getting Michael to go home with me and help put Ethan and Ehlana to bed while Mom and Dad stayed to work for another hour or so.

Michael and I didn’t have a problem with that set-up; and we had fun getting the twins ready for bed and then cuddling with them while Michael told them their bedtime story. Michael went home shortly after we finished tucking Ethan and Ehlana in for the night, but just to make sure that we didn’t totally disappoint my aunts or his mother; we practiced our goodnight kisses for a little while before he left.

Trust me; we really don’t mind making those little sacrifices for the people we love the most!

I needed to stop in and distribute some tickle hugs when I heard my adorable little brother and sister giggling at me on my way up to my room; Ehlana and I had a little girl chat; and then I hopped into my Jacuzzi for a soak. Mom and Dad were home by the time I’d finished drying my hair and getting changed, so we had a little visit in the office while Dad took care of some work; and then I came up to my room again. I wasn’t planning on staying up late tonight, but some family business work that couldn’t wait until Wednesday needed to be done; and I spent an hour doing that before getting to the rest of my usual nightly computing.

That change in plans also meant that I wasn’t sleeping when my new membership into the menstrual cycle club was re-affirmed. Yes, I did make the adjustment so I could be on the same schedule as Rowen, and I can make the experience easier for both of us; but that doesn’t make the experience any more fun for us – just a little less uncomfortable. I can tell you that I’m happier this time around, but that has everything to do with Michael, being on holidays, and the upcoming Fourth of July and wedding fun. The good news is that if Rowen’s on schedule too, we should both be done with our periods by Thursday.

I wouldn’t exactly say this is a great way to end my day – or this journal update – but it’s after one; that’s all the news I have; and getting some sleep is now at the top of my priority list, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Since I ended up getting to spend so much time with Michael yesterday, I sort of forgot that it was an all-hands-on-deck week at the Inn; and he’d just been cut some slack yesterday because of baseball practice. Since we had wanted to put in extra practice time today on our bike routine, we had to work that out around his time at the Inn – and everything else that Tim, Rowen, and I had going on too.

That meant that we needed to get together for our first practice right after breakfast, and we worked on our tricks for an hour and a half before taking Ethan and Ehlana for a swim until Michael needed to get to the Inn. Our afternoon practice ended early when it started to rain, but we still went for another swim with the twins and had a snack break at my house before Michael went back to the Inn again. We would have liked to have a bit more time to practice; but I think we’re ready for the parade anyway.

When I wasn’t on my bike or swimming; Mom always had work on her to-do list for me to help her with. That included more cooking; running a couple of errands; and keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained – especially after it started raining. Aunt Grace, Mark, and their parents had been doing their own thing for lunch, but Mom and Dad were hosting another dinner with everyone at our house again; and the wedding work evening was at our house too. I was on the cooking and clean-up crews for lunch and dinner; and I spent most of the evening working and playing with Aunt Grace, Aunt Leanne, and Mom on everything from finishing the last of the gift baskets to making some of the decorations that would be used at the church, at the reception, and on some of the cars.

Ethan and Ehlana recruited Mark and his parents to do the bedtime story with them, so while they – and Aunt Grace – did that; I kept working in the dining room with everyone else until we decided to call it a night at eleven o’clock – mostly because Aunt Leanne was totally wiped out by then. She’s almost always so fired up, I think that we all forget just how much she’s been doing – and she’s just finished a busy round of rental moves and home sale closings on top of getting ready for the Fourth of July and the wedding.

I came straight up to my room after everyone else left; got changed; and climbed into bed with Mandy and my computer. I only ran through the very basic nightly email, news, sports, and entertainment checks, and once I have this update finished; it’s going to be lights out for me. Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day with incoming family and friends converging on Witch Falls for the holiday weekend, the wedding, or both. Mom and Violet are two of the drivers heading to the airport tomorrow to pick up Mark’s family and friends, so I’ll be helping Alicia with Ethan and Ehlana while Dad’s at work; and we’ll be the welcoming committee for the early arrivals. Add in our bike practice using the trailer, the big dinner that we’re hosting again at our house, and the gang of girls I’ll be sharing my room with for the next four or five nights; and we’ve got all of the ingredients for one of those crazy-busy days, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

It’s heading toward one o’clock and I should be sleeping just as everyone else in the house probably is by now; but I’m still winding down and sitting in my window alcove with my computer while Dawn and Mandy are in bed and out for the count. Kaitlyn and Kara are asleep on the sectional sofa in the lounge too, while Ehlana got Jaimie to have a sleepover in her room instead of staying up here with us. The wind down is taking a while for me because it’s been such a great day.

Tai Chi this morning was about the only thing that was calm and relaxing through until my cousins started nodding off while we were having a little bedtime girl chat. Breakfast was a busy rush because Mom and Violet both needed to get ready and pack a few things to take along for their airport day trip – like snacks and travel entertainment options for their passengers. Dad was working a short day, but he needed to get ready too, so it was up to me to get Ethan and Ehlana fed and dressed for the day. I had to get ready to go out too, but I waited to do that until Alicia got to the house to take custody of the twins.

My first outing of the day was for the hair appointments Rowen and I had with Liz at the salon. We were booked for today because there were not enough available openings for us on Friday or Saturday. Since styling our hair wouldn’t last the day let alone until Saturday afternoon, we just went with basic cuts, and Liz and Vicky both taught us a few styling tricks that we’ll be able to use when we get ready for the wedding on Saturday. That tutorial did mean that we were still looking pretty good when we left, and that earned us some attention from Michael and Tim when we met up with them for our last bike practice this afternoon.

I’m getting ahead of the update, though, so we’ll get to that in a minute. After our appointments, Rowen was working at the store, so I went home; put a little time in on the family business; helped Alicia with the twins; and then she and I both helped Grandma and Grandma Mercy when they came over to help with making lunch. That kept us busy all morning, and the fun level kicked up a few notches when Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and the kids arrived shortly before noon. Welcoming them home and unloading their SUV took a while, and by the time we had that done, Mark’s parents, Uncle Nick, Aunt Deborah, and Leah had joined us; and we were able to sit down and have our lunch. Everyone else was either working, at the airport, or on their way there by then; so the parents and grandparents had time to relax while Alicia and I were kept busy with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Ethan, Ehlana, and Jayden.

The seven of us had a little picnic by the river, and Jaimie and Kaitlyn had time to give me the travel report and a few stories about their summer so far before I went to help with the post-lunch clean-up; and they helped Alicia keep the three toddlers busy until we could all go for a swim. Rowen came to get me when it was time to meet up with Michael and Tim for our final bike practice; and we went over to the farm equipment lot at Landry’s where the trailer was set up and ready for the parade except for some signs that would get added in the morning. We ended up bringing Jaimie and Kaitlyn along, but left Jayden and the twins at home so that Alicia wouldn’t need to try and keep up with all three of them while we were busy.

Tim was already there and practicing his tricks when we got there, and Michael was only about ten minutes behind us; so we were able to put the entire routine together – including everything we were going to be doing on the street around the trailer; like back and front tire wheelies and one-eighties. The jumps off of the trailer are going to be the coolest looking stunt, but that looks higher than it really is. The bottom of our tires will only get about four feet off the ground; and the dual-suspension makes the landings a breeze.

The entire routine takes about six minutes, but we’re doing the tricks in two teams; taking turns two at a time on the trailer and road. I didn’t mind one way or the other, so three out of four of us decided that Michael and I would pair up tomorrow while Rowen and Tim rode together instead of a boys against the girls set-up. Since we only have three minutes to fun the little course we have set up on the trailer with the big finishing jump; that half of the routine for each pair is a fast-paced blast of action while the three minutes on the road lets us catch our breath with easier tricks and one blast along the sides of the road to toss candy to the kids of all ages. Finally, Tim was just using a portable stereo today, but Michael picked out music that’ll give us a rhythm to work with on the tricks. They’re going to customize that a bit tonight so that we’ll have a track loop that will fit exactly with our tricks.

Jaimie and Kaitlyn had loved watching us, and had fun trying a few tricks on their bikes too. We took them for ice cream at the Emporium after our practice, and Michael and I had them giggling when we shared a little goodbye hug and kiss before he went back to the Inn and we headed home. We took frozen treats back with us for Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana; and Rowen and I were in charge of kid control from then on – and the welcoming committee for incoming guests – while everyone else was busy with getting ready for the major dinner meal.

The airport inbound arrivals were first, and Mom was leading the first group because she had his brother and sister-in-law; and four out of five of his nieces and nephews with her – mostly because our minivan had the built-in entertainment system that kept three of the young kids entertained after a very long travel day. We added three out of four of the kids to our play group after helping get their luggage up to two bedrooms at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house. Mark’s youngest niece, Noel, is about six months old; her big brother, Noah, turns three this month; and their two oldest cousins, Kellum and Colleen, are going on six and just turned three respectively. Noah and Colleen jumped right in to play with Jayden, Ethan, and Ehlana; and despite the fact that she was a girl, Kellum didn’t seem to mind hanging out with Kaitlyn. They are going to make a really cute flower girl and ring-bearer couple. Kellum and Colleen’s almost one-year old brother, Julian, was with their parents, and while they were in town nearly at the same time; their first stop was at the Inn to deliver luggage for all four parents – since they were members of the wedding party.

Mark’s younger brother, Matthew, looks a lot like their father. He’s a doctor too, and his wife, Candice, is a medical researcher; though she isn’t working right now so she can be home with Noah and Noel. Their older sister, Maria, specializes in women’s medicine, and her husband, Colin, is a Psychologist.

I bet he’d have a field day in Witch Falls if he knew about the Magi here!

Mark’s family really is great, and the kids are all adorable, but his father wasn’t the only guy who thinks he’s nuts to make the move. There were even some half-jokes that Mark told us about passing all of the psychological tests he’d been given by his brother-in-law – and had passed despite the worries that he’d lost his mind. I’ll take a guess that Mark’s had enough of that, and I’ll skip reporting on most of the other sanity-related humor.

While they weren’t in the first group back to town, Mark and Grace weren’t far behind; and they had his best friends from back home with them. They’d needed to go over to the Inn first too, but then they finally got to do the tour of their new home with Uncle Blaine, Aunt Alison, and both sets of parents. Kids were not allowed along on that first tour, but we did get to go over there after dinner so we could see the house too. The new house earned quick approval from Mark’s family, and while I’m thinking about it, that didn’t happen when Mark showed his parents the clinic on Monday. I’m sure they’ll have a different impression of the new medical center when it’s completed in a couple of years. Compared to what they’re used to in Seattle, our little clinic probably does seem fifty years out of date.

While I’m still on the subject of construction and houses, one of the reasons why Uncle Blaine took the day off and came here early was so that he could have a meeting this afternoon with the construction contractors. They normally do their meetings by conference call or video, and the occasional meet at Uncle Blaine’s office; but this gave him a chance to tour the lab construction site. He did that while we were biking, and seems to be happy with everything so far.

Getting back to the action, while Rowen and I played with the younger kids, the incoming family and friends arrivals continued. We didn’t have everyone at the house right away, but everyone who was spending the weekend with us was here by five o’clock. Uncle Rick, Aunt Melissa, and the kids were first, and we just had time to get their luggage up to three bedrooms before Uncle Adam’s cousins, Scott, Melanie, Kara, and Eddie pulled into the crowded driveway. I know that sounds like a lot now that we only have five guest bedrooms, and we are going to be a bit crowded; but since all of the girl cousins, except Violet, will be staying in my room, the lounge, or with Ehlana; the only change from the normal we had to make this time was to have Chris and Martin bunk together until Sunday night when the parents head home.

Rowen was able to stay for dinner, and we were on kid control until the food was ready; and then we supervised the kid tables with help from Violet, Chrissy, Dawn, Chris, Martin, and Jonathan – though the boys were reluctant draftees. It wasn’t until after dinner, when we were sent to the park for some playground time, that I stepped out of my little world to see that this was going to be a big home-visits weekend thanks to having a lot of people taking a four-day weekend or vacation time around the Fourth. Rowen needed to go home to help with her own incoming family, but Dawn, Violet, and Chrissy came to the park with me; and we had some grandparent support too with so many kids. We didn’t have Chris, Martin, or Jonathan with us – they grabbed bikes and went in search of their friends about a minute after they finished second or third plates of food; and took desserts to go.

As I think about it now, the entire evening was just a fun, action-packed blur. While my main job was to entertain my cousins and the other ‘kid’ guests, I still managed to at least meet all of Mark’s family, the closest friends he and his parents had invited, and the group of Aunt Grace’s friends who had come early so they could spend the Fourth of July with us. After playing at the park, there was a round of short canoe rides for the younger kids, and then we went for a swim while the parents and grandparents were busy with the babies and youngest kids; getting the campfire ready; or just continuing the meet and greet around the tables we’d used at dinnertime.

The campfire was mostly for the benefit of the kids who wouldn’t be staying with us for the next week or two, and they’re all younger; so Mom and Dad planned on a two-hour time limit so we could all get to bed in decent time – though that hasn’t worked out for me. My favorite part of the campfire was when Michael stopped in with Dillon after they were done at the Inn. He had a house full of family too, and couldn’t stay long, but we had fun for the half hour he could stay, and getting to share a goodnight kiss was pretty good too – even though that meant getting teased some more by my family.

I was on kid control again when it was time to call it a night, and Dawn and I had our own group of girls to help get changed, take turns in the bathrooms, and then tuck them in for the night. Just doing the rounds of goodnight hugs and kisses with everyone heading to other houses or the Inn, and with our own parents, aunts, and uncles and getting all of the younger kids into bed took an hour. Our little girl chat wound down fast because it was so late by the time we had Kaitlyn and Kara settled on the sofa in the lounge; and I’m mostly re-processing everything from today – going over all of the details that I heard and saw but hadn’t been able to really think much about while I was busy.

That’s probably what it’s going to be like for the next four days – non-stop action; and not much time to appreciate everything until later. I’ve been working while trying to wind down, and took care of some family business in between writing this update and the usual nightly computer checks. There were only work-related email, since most of my regular email buddies are here in town tonight. There was one pep talk message from Carolyn Landry, but I didn’t dare answer that – especially since part of her pep talk was a request for all of us to get to bed early so we’d be well-rested for the three o’clock game.

It’s too late to take that advice, but I really should at least try to get to sleep, so...

...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Fourth of July! (Happy Un-Independence Day, Mom!)

This holiday has been one of my favorites since moving to Witch Falls; and today definitely qualifies as the best-on-ever so far!

We had a bit of rain roll through off and on overnight and early this morning, but that didn’t even get in the way of our Tai Chi; and the weather has been great since about eight-thirty or nine. Breakfast was a wild event. With the Inn closed for the day, all of our visiting wedding guests needed to be fed; and we had a total of thirty-six at our house for the meal. Add in the work that needed to be done for our contributions to the food booths and to get everything ready for a day at the park; and the usual holiday crazy was several notches above anything I’ve experienced here so far.

Being in the parade this year changed a few things too, the biggest being that I needed to be at the school early enough to help with the last bit of work that needed to be done on the trailer and truck we were using; including loading the large baskets of candy we’d be dipping into as we went along the parade route and tossed the treats to the spectators.

Even with everything I’d been doing at home for the nearly three hours since I’d gotten up, I was still ready to go before Rowen was; though that was mostly because she was having second and third thoughts about wearing one of her new biking shorts and top sets during the parade. Owen looked like he was having second thoughts too, but for a completely different reason. It only took me five minutes to convince Rowen to stick with plan ‘A’, and five more for some hair enhancements that Patricia helped me with; and then we were on our way to the school to meet up with Michael and Tim. They were already working around the trailer, and I may need to transfer that photographic memory moment to digital file some day; because the expressions on their faces were priceless when they saw us.

I can also assure you that Michael had a fairly strong reaction to my outfit when we shared a little good morning hug and kiss too.

We all needed to finish getting everything ready, and we had time to run through our trick repertoire once before it was time for Tim’s Dad to get the truck and trailer lined up and in the spot we’d been placed for the parade between one of the VIP classic cars and a fashion show float that Palmers was sponsoring. That gave us time to visit with some of our friends, and take a look around at the other parade elements that we wouldn’t get to see or listen to this year.

That seemed strange, and I missed getting to share all of the fun with my family; but being in the parade and sharing the experience with Rowen, Michael, and Tim was a blast too – especially once we found out right from the start that we were a hit with everyone watching us – or almost everyone. We had Tim and Rowen start out on the trailer while Michael and I were on the road; and Tim’s Dad turned on the music as soon as he had the trailer straightened out behind the truck and on the road.

Our ‘street’ obstacle course was fairly simple. There were two rows down the middle of the trailer for each rider to navigate the length of; we switched lanes for the return trip; and then there were two ramps on each side of the trailer near the back that we used for our big, tandem, three-sixty jump to the ground. The obstacles included a balance beam, boxes of varying sizes to bunny hop on and off, and a couple of things to jump over along the way. We each had some variations of the tricks, so there was some variety too; and we all seem to have a knack for showing off.

We’d been sure that the jumps would get the biggest reaction from the crowds, and they did, but they weren’t actually the hardest tricks to do – especially while the trailer was moving. While doing the ‘road’ part of our routine, by the time we finished a candy-tossing run there really wasn’t all that much time for wheelies and one-eighties; but Michael and I – and Tim and Rowen, when it was their turn – managed to fit in three passes along the truck and trailer in the minute and a half we had before needing to hop on the trailer again.

There was a little extra showing off each time we were passing members of our own families – and all of the extra guests that were home for Aunt Grace and Mark’s wedding. I didn’t get to hand out candy to my brother, sister, and cousins; but Michael and I did pull off one of our best sets of tricks of the day for them while it was our turn on the trailer. By then, we were almost to the park, so we only had time to run through our routine three more times before Tim’s father turned right onto River Road after crossing the bridge instead of going into the park and trying to turn around there.

He parked the trailer at the lab construction site, and we got to work on packing everything up while waiting for the roads to clear. Rowen and I dealt with the signs, decorations, and candy while Michael and Tim helped Martin with quickly disassembling everything on the trailer and loading it all into the back of the truck. Once that was done, Martin set us free so we could bike home once the parade was over, but he needed to wait until the crowds heading into the park along Quarry Road cleared before he could get back across the river too.

Getting home took us a while, mostly because we needed to stop regularly to spend a few minutes with our respective families and some friends. I didn’t really think about it until then, but this was really the first time that I’ve gotten that kind of public attention in my life. Michael had his music, and he and Tim both get attention when they play sports, but this was new for Rowen too. We had fun, but there is still a little part of me that was cringing and worried about the dangers of getting noticed like that.

Old habits and fears are hard to get over; but then new things – like spending a lot of my time with Michael today – can be very easy to get used to; and like a lot!

My first order of business after getting home was to grab a quick shower, and then get dressed for baseball; though I wore a swimsuit too in case we wanted to cool off in the river before or after the game. I met up with Rowen and Michael for the walk back to the park, but Tim had already hooked up with Nora and the gang they were going to hang out with for the afternoon by then; so we didn’t see him much until our baseball game started at three.

Mom and Dad were taking a turn this year working a food booth – mostly because the Fix-it Uppers weren’t playing a noon game. Grandma and Grandpa were officially watching Ethan and Ehlana while they were busy, but Michael, Rowen, Dawn, and I all joined in to help with kid control while we had lunch; and then we played with the mid-aged kids – like Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, and Eddie – for an hour and a half or so until Rowen and I needed to get to our warm-ups.

That was another wild blast of non-stop action, with a blur of little cameo visits that were all fun, while not really giving us much time to spend with anyone other than the kids we were helping to entertain. One thing that was really different this year was not having a cheerleading competition with – or against – Miranda at the noon co-ed ball game. I wasn’t the only person missing that today; and there were noticeably fewer spectators watching the Gas Guzzlers play the Big Shots. We checked in with Miranda and Jacob a couple of times, and Miranda seemed particularly happy to see us spending the afternoon together – even though that meant that Michael wasn’t spending much time at all with his grandparents, uncle, aunt, or cousins.

We managed to play quite a few games with the kids before our ball game, and though the games continued for my cousins and the other kids while Rowen and I were busy with our team warm-ups; quite a few of them came to watch the game and join the cheerleading squad that Dawn led with some lawn chair support from Aunt Leanne.

I mentioned earlier that not quite everyone was thrilled with our biking demonstration, and you probably guessed correctly that it was Vanessa and Nora who were not impressed. The reason I bring that up now is because there were some tweeird zone moments for me to go along with the baseball highlights. First up for that was when I picked Michael for my good luck hug and kiss partner before the game. That earned me another loud scolding from Coach Sarah; whistles from Miranda and Aunt Leanne; and the full-out fire-and-ice glare from Vanessa. All of that helped to motivate me, and Michael didn’t seem to mind helping me out with that little change in recent tradition; so I didn’t have a problem with being teased about it – or having Vanessa mad at me. Dad needed a hug after the game, and seemed just a little disappointed to find out that he was out of a job as a baseball good luck charm; but I think he’ll be okay.

We were the home team today, so the Cheetahs were at bat first. They didn’t get off to a great start, and I have to wonder if that was because of getting some bad information about our team – and Rowen and me specifically. As I think about the scenes from the game now, there were definitely some smirks being directed my way in the lead-up to nearly every hit belted toward me during the first few innings; and Rowen was tested a half-dozen times too. Unfortunately for the Cheetahs, that didn’t work out very well. In the first inning alone, I caught a fly ball for an out; Rowen held the second batter to a single; and Rebecca and Carolyn helped me turn the double play that I started by letting the hit from their fourth batter bounce in front of me to force the surprised base runner to try to get to second base even though it was already too late by then.

I’ll admit that my first base hit of the game was intentionally directed at Vanessa, but it was also placed so she had no chance of catching it anyway; and getting that double was the only time I picked on her during the game. It was satisfying getting to score the first run of the game when Carolyn dropped a hit in for a single that let me get home from third after advancing there on a sacrifice fly.

Nobody was surprised that Carolyn was the best player on the field today, but even she was a bit surprised to see Rowen and I playing a best game of the season so far. Thanks to Carolyn, Rebecca, and Jenny; Rowen and I scored six of our ten runs. We also were in on eleven of the defensive outs. The Cheetahs managed to score seven runs, but five of them came on two home runs; including the three runs they scored in the top of the last inning that came just before Rowen earned the last out with a fairly impressive, on-the-run, pop-fly catch.

I really do love winning, but this is the first time I’ve gone through a post-game scene where there were anyone was actually mad at me; and Vanessa and Nora were both throwing off some very unpleasant empathic vibes. Trying to deal with that silent anger while doing the post-game team handshakes – and offering support to other friends on the Cheetahs’ team who were genuinely disappointed – wasn’t easy. Fortunately, we needed to vacate the field for the dinnertime match for the men’s division game; so that tweeird zone moment didn’t last long. We weren’t doing a post-game celebration because it was dinnertime; and Rowen and I rejoined our family to help out with kid control while parents and grandparents did the food booth runs.

Michael spent that next couple of hours with his family, and after having dinner, Rowen and I ran home to grab showers again and get into more comfortable clothes for the evening dance and fireworks. We met up with Michael at the park again about a half-hour before the dance started, and while Rowen attempted to make an escape and leave us alone, we added Dawn to the group instead; and the four of us played a couple of games before going to the dance.

What a difference a year makes! Getting set up to dance together for just one song last year was a lot different than how it felt to dance with Michael tonight. There was a big difference between being pushed together and having people cut in and split us up – including once when my giggling sister and brother wanted to dance with Michael and me. It may have been Aunt Leanne’s suggestion, but they were enthusiastic about their mission.

It wasn’t as if I danced exclusively with Michael anyway – I went for a spin with Dad and Grandpa; and we were out on the dance area in groups for all of the up-tempo songs. Michael could dance just fine last year, but I think he’s been practicing for the wedding; because he’s learned some line dancing and was a lot more confident leading tonight. Rowen and Dawn weren’t matchmaking victims, but they did both get asked to dance by some non-relative boys – one for Dawn; and two for Rowen. We’ll have to find time to talk about it in more detail, but Rowen didn’t notice the effect those dance offers had on ‘Tommy’ tonight until I pointed it out to her when we met up after the two-song set she’d spent dancing with the first of the guys. He wasn’t being too obvious about it, since he was dancing with his girlfriend; but he did keep an eye on Rowen for the rest of the night while looking slightly perplexed – as if he was trying to figure out why what he was seeing was bugging him.

I’d help him out with that, but he wouldn’t believe me right now anyway.

That news flash made Rowen very happy, and her brighter smiles and laughs had as much impact on ‘Tommy’ as on the guys who were dancing with her. She didn’t spend any serious time off of the dance floor with either guy because she didn’t want to start anything with guys she wasn’t interested in; but it was fun to see her step away from the usual shyness around guys even that little bit.

Tweeirdness alert!

Rowen wasn’t the only person getting some attention from members of the opposite sex. Chris, Martin, and Jonathan were even more popular than last summer, and things started getting tweeird when Vanessa invited Martin to dance with her – and then pulled him into the group that she was hanging out with – including Tim and Nora.

And I thought that it was weird last year when Jenny and Rebecca were spending so much time with Martin and Jonathan!

Speaking of Jenny, she was still technically dating Shane this morning, but they broke up sometime today; and she was with Joel every time I saw her at the park – and he was watching most of our ballgame today too. I’m sure that was hard on Shane, and I hope he had friends helping him deal with it. Jenny should have tried to handle that better, but as I mentioned earlier this week; she’s temporarily lost her mind. Maybe it’s my own history that affects how I feel about relationships, but even if I didn’t know what I do about my future; I can’t imagine a scenario where Michael would just be the first of a string of boyfriends for me the way that Jenny has been going through boyfriends since crossing over.

I’m like Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne – I want the fairytale!

Moving on, even while having breakfast and dinner, I didn’t actually get to spend much time with Mom and Dad today, and while hanging out with the other tweens and teens for the fireworks had been an option; Michael was okay with the idea when I suggested that we watch the fireworks with my family. That meant that we had Rowen, Dawn, Ethan, Ehlana, and all of my younger cousins around us, so it was far from a romantic end to our Fourth of July; but it was really fun and special to get to share that family time with him. We sat on a blanket in front of Mom and Dad, and Ethan and Ehlana sat in our laps most of the time during the fireworks display. Rowen and Dawn were next to us, and had Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara, and most of the other girls with them. Michael and Ethan got teased a bit about being the only guys; but Ethan thought that was hilarious, and Michael was happy to put up with the teasing in exchange for cuddling with Ehlana and me; and sharing the occasional kiss with me.

We had to settle for a fairly short goodnight hug and kiss after the fireworks show ended because he needed to go help his parents haul their day camp gear home; and I needed to do the same with my family. He was home before I was, so I didn’t see him again during the walk from the park; and I’ve been busy since then helping with the work and getting the younger kids into bed for the night.

Ehlana got to have Kaitlyn with her tonight, so Dawn and I have Jaimie and Kara with us; and all three girls – and Mandy – are sleeping now while I’m again sitting in the window alcove with my computer. It’s after one-thirty, and we have another busy day ahead tomorrow; but I needed the wind down time again, and there’s always more work I can do when I can’t sleep and need to think.

One note that I should add from today that Violet told us about tonight is that Chrissy McEwan and Josiah Palmer found out that they are going to the same college. That isn’t a surprise for Ethan, Ehlana, and me, since they’re both important enough to our future plans for us to see parts of what’s meant to be for their future; and it’s going to be fun watching that develop between now and when all of our favorite freshmen leave on their college adventures in August.

There were some other stories being passed around tonight too, but I’m sure there was a lot that I missed out on today; and it may even take a few days before I hear all of the stories – especially since we’ll be in wedding mode for the next three days. We have more incoming guests tomorrow, and a lot of work will be going on; but the only thing going through my mind right now in association with ‘wedding’ is ‘first date with Michael’. He’s going to be busy between the Inn and his own family guests for the next two days, and now that the parade is over; we won’t have the daily bike practices either. Add in a holiday weekend buffet day on Sunday; and the only times we may even see each other will be at the wedding and at church on Sunday.

I’m still obstinately sticking to the notion that we need to have that first ‘official’ date before we can use boyfriend or girlfriend labels, but after today, and thinking about how not seeing Michael much is making me feel right now; that’s pretty much just semantics at this point – even though I’ll still wait until Saturday night to publicly concede the obvious.

Right now, though, I need to go to bed. I’ll be lucky to get four hours of sleep, and while the Inn will be open for breakfast so we don’t have extra guests to feed; we do still have twenty people to feed, and seven younger kids to help and keep entertained while the parents are busy, so I really need to wrap this up and have that little nap.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Friday, July 5, 2013

My day is ending the same way it did the last two nights – with me sitting in the window alcove with my computer while three of my cousins are sleeping in my bed or on the sectional sofa in the lounge. I was crazy-busy all day again too, though the work and fun were both a lot different than it was for the holiday.

After Tai Chi and breakfast, one of my first jobs was supposed to be cutting the lawn, but Aunt Melissa drafted Chris and Martin to do that; and I worked in the gardens with Dawn, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Kara instead. Dawn, Jaimie, and Kara all had to go for hair appointments first before helping me to plant some new flowers, but Kaitlyn was in the wedding party; so her appointment isn’t until late tomorrow morning.

We went swimming a couple of times to cool off and get rid of some of the dirt from the gardening – especially right before lunch; and then my job for the afternoon was to keep my younger cousins, brother, and sister entertained while the adults and teens were all busy with other things. Rowen and Dawn helped me with that, and it was fun getting to play even while it kept all three of us running to keep up with the gang we were watching.

There were two trips to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house to see the pavilion tent. Our first visit ended because a couple of the boys were a little too enthusiastic, and were getting in the way of the men and women who were raising the pavilion. We didn’t return until the work was done, and then we still had to be careful while the younger kids raced and chased each other around the tables, chairs, and poles. After doing that with them, spending an hour running around at the park, doing a major ice cream run to the Emporium, and going for two more swims; Rowen, Dawn, and I were definitely ready for the little break that the parents gave us before dinner.

While I’m at that brief pause in the action, let’s go over some of the things that were going on today that I wasn’t involved in at all. Our house – and Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s – were where most of the final wedding preparations were happening. There was also a crew at the church this morning to decorate the sanctuary, and a handful of shopping volunteers dealing with the errands to re-stock food and supplies; and pick up everything from dry cleaning to bakery orders.

On the tweeird side, Martin spent some time this afternoon with Vanessa. I strongly suspect that she has revised the game plan for Michael, based on a couple of smirks that were directed my way this afternoon; but she may actually like Martin too. Martin was enjoying the attention, and definitely likes her if the vibe he was giving off at dinnertime was any indication. If they’re going to hook up while he’s here for the next two weeks, there is sure to be more than a little tweeird in my life. Chris and Jonathan haven’t made any love connections yet that I’m aware of, but we’ll see if that lasts through the weekend – there are going to be a lot of people at the wedding.

Getting back to the main story, while Rowen, Dawn, and I had a little break before we had the little snack dinner that would tie us over until the rehearsal party later; we were back in charge of the kids’ tables again while we ate. We followed that up by leading the evening entertainment for all of the kids except babies, Kellum, and Kaitlyn while the members of the wedding party were at the church for the rehearsal. Our play time included another visit to the park, an optional swim in the river, and some back yard action that included some little canoe rides that Rowen and Dawn led while I was in charge of the lawn games. We needed to move the gang down to Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s when it was time for the party to start.

There had been more guests arriving right through until then, so there were a whole new group of friends of the bride, groom, and their families to meet. Every room at the Inn was full, and so was every guest bedroom that Aunt Leanne and Grandma could arrange. Most of the incoming today were from the Granite Park area, though there was one more group from Seattle too.

I especially loved getting to meet all of Aunt Grace’s and Mark’s best friends, and their long-time family friends, but since I was also still helping out with the younger kids; there wasn’t time for more than little cameo chats and a handful of favorite stories. It was a little strange to find out that Aunt Leanne and I were both known by all of those friends while the jokes and teasing were fun too. I even had two girls want to watch a movie and cuddle with me just in case it’d work for them too!

Moving along, there was too big a gang to feed to do that indoors, so we used the pavilion instead. There was just too much going on to cover here, but the highlights included an open house next door for anyone who wanted to check out Aunt Grace and Mark’s new home; the food was great; and though Chris, Martin, and Jonathan had a group of video gamers with them in the third-floor game room; there were also more lawn games to play too. That’s what Rowen, Dawn, and I were doing a lot of the time, though our group started shrinking by ten-thirty when the youngest kids started running out of steam. A group of Dads and Grandfathers put an end to our fun at eleven-thirty when they were drafted to get all kids and most teens heading back to their assigned homes and off to bed.

Rowen went home then, while Dawn and I helped Dad and our uncles with getting the younger cousins ready for bed and tucked in for the night. That was delayed a bit when Aunt Grace and Aunt Leanne came home with Mom at midnight because Jaimie and Kaitlyn needed a little extra time with Aunt Grace before they were ready to settle in for the night on the sofa in the lounge. That reminded me again of just how big a deal Aunt Grace’s move to Witch Falls is for her nieces. She’s lived close to them their entire lives, and it’s going to be very different for them to not see her several times a week like they have until now. It’s probably a good thing that they’ll be with us for a week so they’ll be too busy having fun to miss their aunt after the wedding.

Ehlana has Kara with her tonight; and Violet is bunking with Chrissy so that Aunt Grace and Aunt Leanne could us her room. Jaimie and Kaitlyn fell asleep fairly soon after being tucked in by Aunt Grace, but Dawn and I talked for another half hour before she nodded off. I waited until then to kick my computing into a higher gear, but there really isn’t that much for me to do tonight while in the middle of a four-day weekend.

That’s giving me a bit too much time to think about Michael and me; and our first date. I wouldn’t say that I’m scared, but there are equal parts of excitement and nervousness. You may be thinking that because I have the Sight there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, but knowing what parts of the bigger picture are supposed to be like doesn’t mean that there won’t be good and bad surprises along the way; and I can’t help but wonder whether having a first date at something as big as a wedding is a good or bad idea. When you think about it, I don’t have much control over anything; and we’ll have my entire family and a lot of our friends and neighbors there to witness the event – whether it goes great or bombs spectacularly.

I wonder if anyone would notice if we skipped the reception and went with a pizza and a movie night in instead? Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.

That would be a terrible waste of shopping effort too after going through all the trouble of finding the perfect dress and shoes; so I guess I’m committed. Then again, some of the younger girls probably think I should be committed – though they do at least concede that Michael is different, and nicer, than most of the boys our age.

Been there recently enough to relate. ;^)

It really is past-time when I should be sleeping, so I’m going to wrap this up now and try to do that. There’s only about thirteen hours to go before the wedding ceremony, and even I’m going to eventually run out of steam if I put too many nights together with only four or five hours of sleep.

Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging out!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Congratulations, Aunt Grace and Uncle Mark!

I know they’re technically my cousins, but I’ve really been looking forward to having an ‘Uncle’ Mark.

It’s time to confirm that I also officially have a boyfriend too. I’ll get to the details of that later in the update.

Mom, Dad, and I had Aunt Leanne with us this morning for Tai Chi, and then we jumped straight from the calm of our exercising into the breakfast and morning routine. Having Aunt Grace and Aunt Leanne with us for breakfast was fun – especially watching Aunt Grace and Uncle Blaine together. The banter was entertaining, and the love was palpable and touching.

There wasn’t actually all that much time available for having breakfast, and while almost all of the women in our house had to make visits to the salon and other things to do around the house before getting ready for the wedding, Dawn and I had to juggle keeping our cousins and the other kids entertained with helping out with the car wash and pavilion decorating going on at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s. Uncle Adam had lots of help for both jobs, and though Dawn and I had extra girls with us while we were decorating, there was parental support for the rest of the kids; with most of the jobs meant to keep us busy and out of trouble until lunchtime.

That meal was at our house, and Grandpa led the grilling; offering hotdogs and burgers from eleven-thirty until one o’clock to go along with the rest of the buffet options that were available with everyone eating whenever they could make the time to do that. I ate early, and then helped some of my cousins to get ready for the wedding while waiting for my turn to grab a shower. My bedroom and lounge was where Mom and Aunt Melissa had set up hair and make-up stations, so my