Cienna - 17 Years Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 7 Month Old!

More holiday musics concerts, friend gift exchanges, Team gymnastics party, Quincenera for Leah that Kaylee got to attend, ice skating for Cienna and her friends that didn't happen but a fun get together did anyway. We even found some time to redesign the competition banners at the Y.

Meanwhile before Christmas we took the time to clean up the girls rooms, as far as full on painting walls, new blinds, and re-organizing! Next up Christmas Eve at the Snows. Delicious food, gift exchanges, cookie contests, and time together.

Christmas morning was as good as ever. Girls came to our bed, we spent time, first watching a movie together then spending the rest of the morning feeling grateful to be together. We then headed to the Ferrario's for a very exciting time with all kinds of animals, humans of all ages as well as many other species! We're so lucky to have so many great friends that welcome us as family!

More friends continued to make our holiday amazing as we headed to Greg's Cabin for the following week. It's so nice to be together with the dogs in such a beautiful place in the mountains! We played games, went for walks, and made food together. We ventured downtown for some food and sight seeing as well.

We had promised 3 days of boarding to the girls last year since it is hard to improve only going one day a year. Unfortunately there wasn't so much snow this year, but we still had such a great time with the man made snow, and were even joined by Mac and Nicki for our third day!

We loved that all the Marshalls came to join us for New Years Eve! We got to share the amazing cabin and all the fun times with them as well. Even making up new games to play in the Culdesec. Although the weather was not as expected, it was still beautiful and a great time together.

After returning home, we still had the rest of the week off work and to be together. Cienna got to celebrate with Emma for her birthday. The Three Musketeers made some mischief1 of one kind or another before the girls got back to gymnastics practice anticipating their upcoming first competition of the season in Vegas.

We headed for Vegas on a plane with the Waters Friday after school. Coach George was also on our flight! After we got settled in Paris we all went to the Wahlburgers for dinner. The Strip was interesting as always with plenty of entertainment. Then after a good night sleep and a breakfast from CVS (since everything else was way too busy and expensive) we got up early to watch KC compete before the rest of the girls were up. They had many accomplishments for the first meet of the season. Cienna stuck both her double back off bars and her front full on floor as well as her beam routine. Kaylee pulled off her full beam routine including her back hand spring back tuck and front tuck. Also got First place on floor!

Afterward we all went to ice cream at Ben & Jerry's then while the girls hung out in the Lobby Mom and Dad did some serious gambling. We went down with $10 and came back with $15!

To end the month Cienna and Dad went to the State of the City event which was very informative. Mayor Richardson talked about upcoming activities happening this year including preparing for the 2028 Olympics and bringing the music back to Long Beach. Also discussed how hard the city has worked to fundraise fire relief for all the families effected by the devastating fires that have destroyed so much of Southern California in the past weeks.

We were lucky to end the month with a visit by the Natal's! They came to spend the day with us on the way to Disney. We had so much fun talking and spending time together!

Coming next is Cienna's 17th and so much more as always.

Enjoy the pictures and videos that do so much more than the words.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JbGUzC26GKaBhz3K9

Cienna - 16 Years 11 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 6 Month Old!

Sleepover with the Water's including face paint and videos. Next got to see June play amazingly at her Softball College Showcase in Riverside. We took Grace back with us for a fun night of nails, food, fun and skateboarding. The rest of the Natal's joined the next day to visit and chill before their drive home. Cienna went for a Friendsgiving and then we followed the Natal's up North the following morning to visit more family for Thanksmas.

The roadtrips were pretty long this year. On the way up Dad had to work most of the time, but did take a different route that put us close to Stanford, so we detoured to do a self tour. Even found their gymnastics facility. We crossed the Golden Gate, and went through the rainbow tunnel.

We arrived at Grammy's first. We had a relaxing evening full of music and fun. The next day she took us on a self tour of Safari West, great lunch, and Fountain Valley views. We all had one of the best games of Jenga that night.

Following day we enjoyed the beautiful morning weather, walked the dogs and headed to hang out with Darcie. The girls all had lunch before going to the gym for a fun workout at SRGC! We always fill so welcomed and at home when we are there!

Off to Poppa's we went. Again, after hearing about all the rain which we were expecting, we saw none of it. We did get a wonderful frost field in the morning and were ready for the first Thanksmas. The Marty's and Grammy arrived to join us, Poppa, and Heather. We already had a spread going and it only grew with more food, fun activities, and decorations! It was so great that we got to enjoy the day in the Cabana all together. We also made good use of the new Pickle Ball court. The dogs had a great time together with Duke, and Maxwell. We were spoiled with gifts, but mostly enjoyed being together.

Following morning we were on the road again to the Natal's with the McFarland's. The second Thanksmas was underway. Unfortunately Auntie Carrie didn't get to join. They have finished their backyard which looks amazing and has such a relaxing feel. More Pickle Ball in the front court followed by a flag football game. So much more delicious food of all sorts, including bountiful deserts! We all got in the batting cages, which was a first, or a first in a long time for all. There was a dance off, gift opening, and backyard basketball before an all cousin sleepover. The next morning Grammy came back and we had a nice walk and chilled a bit before the treacherous drive home.

No fun stops this time, but were re-routed through a path that we've never done before. Over long winded roads we finally peaked back up near Magic Mountain and were very happy to be done with the drive and back home.

The rest of the month had plenty of Chorus performances. The first was Cienna's Chamber and Vocal Point singing at the Forest Lawn Cemetery helping to remember those who have passed. She also joined the Brief family for their very long tradition of leading the Seal Beach parade with their Kazzo band. Next was singing in the Belmont Shore parade where the rest of the family took Nicki to watch. We all went to Legends for dinner before the parade began. It was the 40th anniversary, and was so much fun to watch. Afterward, Mom and Dad were invited to the Adams family for a fun time with friends.

We finally got a break to start figuring out Christmas decorations. We started with outside. Then more Chorus concerts. The girls had many rehearsals, and many performances. They had great time management and actually fit in extra gymnastics for the times that they were missing for chorus. They are preparing for the upcoming season starting early January.

Dad and Mom took an adventure for one date night to Old World Village with Step and Roman for some German food. Mom had fun at the anual Y Staff party. Cienna had her first monthly Long Beach Youth Leadership meeting. We continued Christmas prep by getting a tree and the living room prepared for inside decorations. Girls invited all Optional Team over to work on the "Holiday Show" and have fun roaming the neighborhood making videos.

Then the final week of school began before the two week Christmas break!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zt9KgtEukKRnHTtJA

Cienna - 16 Years 10 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 5 Months Old!

So many trips apart but were always together and loved sharing the experiences! First weekend... Mom left for Santa Rosa for her 30th High School Reunion. Dad drove her to Burbank for an easy Uber to Grammy's house from Santa Rosa Airport.

Meanwhile Cienna got a ride to the bus heading to Camp Oaks in Big Bear (Her first out of two this month). She was headed to an amazing retreat with her Chamber Choir Group. They even stopped on the way to the Integratran near Joshua Tree and were guided to sing along with the toning bowls. That was one of the many times the got learning experiences not only through singing but team building as a choir has to learn to sing together! She also made friends with Chef Mike because the food was delicious, and they got to be there for his Birthday, so they got to sing their famous Happy Birthday song to him.

From Grammy's, mom met up with Jenna and Vera to head down to 3rd St. to meet up with almost everyone the was going to be at the reunion. We called it a rehearsal. It was really good to see everyone, and it was so easy for all of us to be together again! Gosh we are lucky to have those kinds of friendships.

Then Saturday Dad and Kaylee made a trip of their own up to Big Bear for a day in down town and enjoying Greg's cabin with the birds and ice cream. They made the most of their trip which meant an early morning since the main reason for them being there was because Cienna had to be picked up bright and early on Sunday morning to get back to a Youth and Leadership of Long Beach Orientation that was mandatory.....

Saturday, Mom had so much fun with amazing girl friends at Jenna's parents’ home. More friends joined before we all headed down the street to the reunion @ the Flamingo. Not even funny how much we all got along and enjoyed the fun, music, and dancing!

Cienna was still singing at Camp Oaks and learning some Archery, Choir bonding, and team building with ropes courses, making up skits, and enjoying the scenery!

Even Dad and Kaylee got up way too early and saw one of so many beautiful sunsets this month to make sure Cienna got to the Orientation, trust me it was all worth it. They made it in time and were all super tired. But they each got to be involved in the beginning and Cienna had her first great time meeting with the kids that were accepted into this leadership group!

We were all back together after mom made it back from the airport and then it was spirit week at school. The girls were prepared with the clothes they wanted to wear!  Mom was then headed for another plane for a work trip the whole next week which she had just learned about right before her first flight to SR. It was a successful trip for work and the girls had great outfits all week leading up to the 80's themed homecoming dance.

After a big work week, Mom got to join Dad and make it home to watch Cienna and her friends sing/do an amazing performance for the half time show of the Home Coming game!

I think Halloween was up next. The girls were ready. They had both school and Halloween night costumes ready. But first we supported the little team gymnasts for some games and fun at the gym. Mom and Dad went out for dinner with Marshall's and Knobe's own little Oktoberfest. Then Cienna and Kaylee went to the Pa's Pumpkin Patch with Clara and Paige to get some pumpkins and apparently a bunch of pictures..... When they got back the girls did a fantastic job carving pumpkins.

At school Cienna went as "When Life Gives You Lemons", and Kaylee was a "Frat" boy with a bunch of friends. Then for Halloween, Cienna was "Lemon Drop" from Strawberry Shortcake with a bunch of buddies, and Kaylee was ALVIN from Alvin and the Chipmunks with Nicki and Adi.

Most of us minus Cienna went to Marshall's and loved the bonfire and handing out candy as the crazy ones walked about the neighborhood. Cienna made her own crazy in the next neighborhood.

Pretty cool that there is an entire half of a month to go. Good for you for reading further. (For you MR your trip is coming up)

Both girls had some picture days for Music. Mom had an amazing time meeting the rest of Coach Betsy's family at her baby Shower. So many great games and food! Excited to meet both the Gonzalez's newborns soon! (Best wishes Betsy and Gloria)

Then Cienna had another retreat to Camp Oaks in Big Bear. This time with Youth Leadership Long Beach. She said it was an amazing experience. It was more about being you and a leader, with team bonding that pushed you to limits. Right up her alley! She made so many friends… as she does, going in knowing few and coming out being great friends with all!

Before she got home Dad got another opportunity to go up North for work to meet with his new work force! He went for a longer trip than originally planned but made the most out each day he was there. There were rewarding interactions with groups that he is close with and some that he had just met. They had other team-building experiences that didn't involve a trust fall but were still thought provoking and a Meta Ray Ban glasses scavenger hunt. Which his team won! Also, some inspirational speeches and experiences. Included nice accommodation and good food!

We were all happy to have Dad back last weekend. We made plenty of great food... Of course, including Ribs, and we had a great time enjoying each other! We even got the girls’ school pictures done to pass out as we headed up North for Thanksgiving week.

We look forward to the quieter time of the holidays 😄

Lucky to have so many friends and family to love and enjoy!

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Cienna - 16 Years 9 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 4 Months Old!

Here we go again! Always good! Dad was off at his onboarding experience for his new position at Meta in Menlo Park while Mom took the girls optional team to the Gold Over America Tour with Simone Biles at the Crypto Center VIP style. Mom then took Kaylee and Nicki to watch Adi in her first Choir Concert of the year at Los Alamitos. It was so well done and Adi shined as always. When Mark got back home, we installed some white boards for college planning, squeezed in a LA Force soccer game with the Marshalls, and went to celebrate Erin's Birthday with good friends for an adult dinner out.

Only a few days later Mark was on another adventure to celebrate Uncle B's 50th Birthday. He set of to Nashville first and got to see Brandon's beautiful home and family of 4. Brandon toured him around town, and then they were off to Germany for Octoberfest! A world traveler! A load of food, fun, and activities all packed in to a couple of amazing days later they came back with experiences that will last a lifetime!

Meanwhile us girls did some bike rides, made food and crafts together as we navigated the weekly life of work, school, and gym! Kaylee was also invited as Emery's only invitee for her first time getting her nails done at the salon for her 11th Birthday. 

Dad came back, we did some habanero dehydrating since we got more than expected, but love it. Girls had fun watching their football team win some games on Friday nights after gym. Cienna is running the show down on the field with her ASB buddies, and Mom and Dad went to their first game against the most challenging opponent...Poly (which is the school that two of their gym teammates go too...also went to the game) Millikan won for the first time in 50 years!

On a separate note, Cienna enjoyed Shawna's 17th Birthday party on another boat excursion in the bay. As well as a beautiful fall theme birthday for Lily. She applied for Youth Leadership Long Beach, filled out an extensive application, did interviews, and got accepted!

Dad headed back up to MPK for another work trip where he had planning meetings with his team and got to play with kittens in the mall (a fun suggestion from his manager, Manal). Mom had a great time representing the gymnastics family at Betsy's Baby shower. Excited for both her and Gloria's little girls to arrive soon. Nacho cheese on hot Cheetos and all : )

Loved watching and listening to the girls very first concert of the year. Kaylee nailed her first high school performance and Cienna was the finishing act. Even had a duet as the second highest Soprano some how (she has many vocal ranges)! With Francesca also in both Cienna's vocal classes, they almost make up half of their gym team, and so of course the rest of their team showed up to support!

Cienna showed up to take her PSAT, but the Wi-Fi wasn't cooperating...postponed. Really early the morning of the 18th, Dad took mom to the airport to head up north for her 30th High School Reunion while Cienna went of to Camp Oaks for a retreat with her Concert Choir! Kaylee went to school, and Dad came back to work for the beginning of a very busy weekend for all.

Mom cruised into SR, took an Uber to Grammy's, exercised before bothering Jenna and V. We all then went downtown to meet up with AMAZING people and friends that it's been to long since we've seen! More on that next next month!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9D6e5Cexs6KEuipY6

Cienna - 16 Years 8 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 3 Month Old!

Time passes quickly. Didn't even realize we were late, but we'll pretend like it was 4 days ago. With the summer nearing the end we heard of a pretzel festival in HB that we were excited to go together as a family. The line was out the door so we opted for going to BJ's since they have a great pretzel anyway. Because next was the inevitable start to the school year. Cienna had her Junior orientation then Kaylee with her Freshman introduction to High School! We weren't ready to take is seriously quite yet, so the girls packed in one last sleepover with the Waters, and we planned an amazing Staycation for just the four of us!

We booked the weekend at a fantastic resort in Dana Point. We spent the first day relaxing at the pool, eating great food, playing corn hole and ping pong, doing scheduled crafts and being together. The next morning we ventured to RJ's Cafe at the Marina, all walking distance, before our family parasailing adventure. The guides and captain were all part of a family and made it an even better experience. We finished that day at the beach and of course with ice cream. We went back to the Marina in the morning for breakfast on our way back to the reality of home and the start of the school year.

A little nerves, but mostly just the excited kind for the first day of school! Although back at the same school together, different start times leads to more trips back and forth. We almost bought a car, still in the market, to lessen the commuting since we do have that extra driver. Kaylee went through the process of getting in to Gymnastics for PE at school since her original schedule had her in regular PE, and that didn't sound as appealing to her : )

Since there seems to be a three day weekend just a couple of day after school starts given the proximity to Labor Day, we even made some time to work on the Bronco together. We finally figured out how to fix our Summer Time air horn tune. It was just a couple of mixed up hoses. We also Had the Marshalls over for dinner and a nighttime bike ride to Handels. Cienna even came up with a cool idea for her friends to do at the beach. She brought a bunch of Canvas and paint supplies for them to enjoy some art on the beach along with the sunshine and each others company.

Millikan has a pretty great Football student section, think they're rated pretty high on the awesome scale. Cienna enjoys being in ASB and get to hype up the crowd from the track around the field. They had they're black out game, Kaylee's first as an actual Millikan Ram! We also got to puppy sit Lacy for the evening, and then another sleepover happened, at Julia's this time. Always ending in free Crispy Cream doughnuts. The following Friday was another football game which they did white out since it was supposed to be an away game but the other team came to us due to fires in their area.

Last but not least we celebrated Nicki's 15th birthday. She had all her buddies meet at the beach for fun and a sunset, Mark and I helped pick them all up and drop them off at the Marshall's for firepit, tramp, and hot tub time. We then had both Adi and Nicki over at our place for a Three Musketeer sleepover! They were excited to have so much time together the following day. Cienna also went that day on a boat ride in Naples which Shawna invited her and some other close friends for a special day out on her Uncle's boat.

Then Daddy was of on an adventure for his new hire orientation in Menlo Park! We are so proud of him and are happy that he is now part of the Meta team. He is such a hard worker in everything he does and deserves everything that comes to him. They are lucky to have him, just like us...well we're more lucky. The beginning of the trip was a success, and Cienna took on more driving responsibilities while Mom was at work.

Bring on What's next!

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Cienna - 16 Years 7 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 2 Month Old!

After the amazing vacations, we figured relaxing and doing nothing was the way to go.... didn't happen so much. Maybe a little. The final showcase for the girls Acting Out Camp started it all off. They had such a great time and are now the old timers in the camp even though Kaylee originally was let in before meeting the minimum age! Sadie came to town which warranted a "all in" one gym and sibling sleepover at our house! Lots of games, smores, food and fun. Some sleep.... Next day of course, Cienna had another sleepover with best buds from school. She even got layers in her hair, curliness is amazing. Of course free doughnuts, and Local Grinds in the morning.

Cienna had her first of two weeks of ASB workshops, in the middle of which we all went to San Diego for a Level 9/10 Region 1 Gymnastics camp. Also took that opportunity to hang out with the Sklenicka's! They were awesome enough to put us up for the night as well as feed us! We had so much fun catching up and the camp was a great opportunity to learn and win the dance competition! Cienna stood up her double full and Kaylee made her front full/front full. They both did their release moves on bars after a while of not practicing those skills.

Mom got to go to work a couple days at 3am during the weekend, but it was pretty fun and a good experience. Learned more about astronomy and got to solve problems. Clara came over for some painting. The end result of what Cienna and her accomplished was remarkable.

Cienna went to Irvine for a team building ASB camp. Ropes course, hikes, camp fire plays, and good food. Kaylee got her nails done by Ashley as we are learning to do are own while accumulating all the stuff to make it happen. Way less expensive and more fun than the nail salon.

Gym sleepover started the girls next weekend with no sleep before heading to San Diego again. Mom brought them half way to meet up with Shirly (Marshall's Grandma) who brought them to their home in Del Mar Heights for a weekend of pool time, good food, San Diego Zoo, sunsets, hikes, and so much more. They're already planning on the same trip together next summer.

Next preparation for upcoming school orientations and spirit wear sales. The Optionals also convinced Coach George to bring them onto the very high YMCA gymnastics center roof to watch the sunset all together. There were some good pictures, some questionable ladder climbing, and of course some handstand pictures involved!

The annual team gymnastics award ceremony and following dinner and pool party was the next hit. The girls and their team got their All American jackets, personalized rings, and matching Nike shoes to wear to competitions along with their awards for the other accomplishments of the season!

We wanted to end the blog month with a pretzel festival in Huntington Beach, but when we arrived it seemed as if there was no end in sight of the entry line. So we made our own pretzel excursion to BJ's. It was delicious and fun to all be together for the afternoon!

Photos and videos are pretty good with animal and sunset shots as well as one of Mark in lederhosen.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4mukT4FvA8x4HTV67

Cienna - 16 Years 6 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 14 Years 1 Month Old!

Didn't think it could be more than last month. Let's go! Pre Nationals gym good luck practice. More time with Grammy, including a trip to Altar Society with Mark. She bid us farewell and we took of down the street for first stop from LGB to Chicago. Enjoyed each other in the airport for hours then got to Philly! We were quite later than expected, but got a blue Jeep for the week. After a couple hours of sleep the girls had their first equipment touch in the morning. This was followed by a fun opening ceremony including Dance party, great speakers, and Coach George entering the Dad's dance competition in front of everyone and WON!

Next day was the girls All around competition. They had a great time and both qualified in all four events the following day.  We spent the time before the event finals in downtown with Water's and Donlon's. Rocky Steps, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, then Reading Terminal for food. Full of history and good food. The Event finals went great, the Champion level that the girls competed got first place team award, both girls got titled All American for being in the top 8 All around of their division. We celebrated with an ice cream party with all teammates in the hotel lobby! Off to NY! 

We definitely made the most out of our time on the East Coast with help from others that have been there since it was our first time. We got there Mon. evening and walked to Central Park, met up with gym friends, got halfway through and came back to hotel in Manhattan with view of Time Square, then all went to Juniors for dinner for the best Cheesecake. Ventured Time Square for a Messi birthday parade and some break dancing. Ended at the M&M factory before bed and a big next day.

Subway to Stanton Island Ferry for view of Statue of Liberty, walk to World Trade Center via Wall Street with Water's and had lunch at Stage Door Pizza, World Trade Center guided Tour! Highly recommended. Subway back up to Empire States Building all the way up to the 102nd floor. Saw Maddison Square Garden, cruised through Rockefeller Center, and Radio City, then happen to catch a Broadway show "Wicked" a hop skip and a jump from our hotel! It was beautifully done and so much fun. Ended the evening with Time Square and ice cream at Carvels before heading back to Philadelphia to catch a plane ride home. Was fun to have the Water's with us on the first half of the flight.

Home for a day, love on the puppies, and lots of laundry. Kaylee also somehow got her nails redone. While Cienna was embarking on a full year of Spanish in one month of summer school during all that was to come. Back to LGB heading to Texas this time. We were all super excited to see Auntie Bridget who brought us to a delicious dinner, then to her Houston home, and the NASA Space Center the next day getting to witness and explore exciting space history before heading out to her other property/home in San Leon. There, we were greeted by Cousin Lexi and Rene. Luckily they were vacationing as well and we all got to hang out together for the evening which we cruised the cute little town in Bridget's' golf cart and tour via Troy.

Next morning we were off to Port of Galveston for our departure on The Harmony of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruise with Poppa and the Marty's for another 8 days of incredible adventure! We got a little sidetracked from the plan, so no Honduras due to hurricane Beryl. Headed straight to Cozumel. After meeting up with the fam, an incredible Ice performance, and late night welcome party. We had an unexpected party at an upstairs restaurant overlooking the ocean, before the excursion, but there were margaritas for Poppa and we got to walk down and see iguanas. The Glass Bottom boat excursion was incredible! Star fish, fun, and snorkeling! Finishing with the boys at Senior Frogs.

Can't explain how many things happened. Volley Ball, Pickle Ball, Zip Lining, Rock Climbing, 8 story dry slide, water slides, more incredible shows such as Greece musical, slack line aquatics show with tight rope. Family time at dinner was a big highlight as well! It was great being all together. The servers were super personal and even did magic tricks.

Continuing through the adventure, we then went to Costa Maya and learned a lot about the Mayan Ruins. Great tour guide and experience. More on the boat was Flow Rider Wake boarding, dancing, parades, celebrating, a silent dance party was a first for most of us, astonishing performances every night, chilling by the pool, belly flop contests, and exercise classes. We entered in a scavenger pool hunt as a family and won! We'll keep that trophy for sure. We earned it and had the other passengers on board to help.

Back in Galveston we docked in the morning and got picked up by Auntie Bridget. It was a beautiful day we cruise around San Leon again and had delicious Tex Mex while deciding whether to stay there or head back to Houston since our flight the next morning was delayed due to Hurricane Beryl. It was the calm before the storm for sure. Apparently we didn't have enough excitement over the month. We all had a first experience of a full blown hurricane! Thanks to Bridget, we were all safe and headed back to the airport in the evening.

After all the unforgettable experiences we were ready for a little time at home. Due to the weather, there were a few more complications before getting back home such as boarding and de-boarding and re-boarding because of one thing or another, but then we got back to LBG, walked home and got a little sleep.

We were all happy to get to have Lula the next week, and of course the girls scheduled a sleepover with the Water's that weekend. Week following Cienna got her cartilage pierced, and Kaylee got her second phase of braces. Dad went to a Galaxy game with the Bakx, mom looked at stars with a huge telescope at work and the last week the girls got to go to Acting Out camp for the 8th year in a row!

Exhausted....

Lots of great pictures and thanks to all for helping with such an incredible month!

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