The Magic Helicopter

When Taran got up the next morning, he knew what he wanted to do with his birthday wish. He told Mummy and Daddy, and they both agreed that it was a particularly fine and appropriate idea. He thought about the wording for a couple of minutes, then went ahead - since this was a perfectly friendly wish, freely given, there was no real worry about dangerous consequences. And so Mummy packed Taran and Morrow each a picnic lunch, and Taran wished: he said, "I wish I had a magic helicopter-spaceship, with controls in front just the right size for me, and space in the back for Mummy and Daddy, and doors and a special navigation system and everything.
There was a brief moment of sparkle in the air, and sure enough, there was a magic helicopter-spaceship. It looked much like a helicopter, though a bit smaller than usual; the front seats were Taran and Morrow sized, while the back seats were grownup sized, with a space underneath when you lifted the seats for storing things like picnics and camping bags.
There were two sets of controls, both Taran and Morrow sized, and a lovely big navigation screen and a voice pick-up in between - the helicopter-spaceship was voice operated! There was a long set of instructions taped to the dash, mostly reassuring Mummy and Daddy that this was a safety patented helicopter-spaceship, and that any children (or others) riding in it were guaranteed protection by the special magical bubble which surrounded it, and which would prevent any injury coming to anyone inside of it, even to bumps and bruises from rough landings- land as hard as they would, nobody would be even scratched.
Well, it was a Saturday, so as soon as their chores were done they all climbed in and took off - they had a lovely outing; they went up to a little pool in the mountains, and picnicked beside it. They hiked around and splashed in the water, and generally had a wonderful time. Just before sunset, they all packed up and flew up to just the right spot - and watched the sunset. Then they set the controls to auto-pilot, as Taran and Morrow were getting very sleepy, and Mummy and Daddy each carried one of them, and they headed home. Just before they went to bed, Taran said, "Mummy, that was a good idea, wasn't it?"
"Yes, darling, that was an absolutely marvelous idea."

The birthday wishes

One day, when Taran and Morrow were 4 1/2 and 2 3/4, respectively, they were out digging in the garden and they found a package. It was wrapped in bright paper - which was very strange, since they had, as I said, just unearthed it; it was entirely undamaged, a cheery yellow with a sparkly orange ribbon, not even ripped a little. In fact, it looked just like a birthday present - Taran was especially aware of this, since Morrow's birthday had just been a few weeks before, and he was eagerly looking forward to his own. Tied to the ribbon, tucked under the bow, was a note, which read: "For Taran, Morrow, and any others. With much love, from Grandma Weathercolor."
So Taran and Morrow brushed the rest of the dirt off of the package (which hardly seemed to have any on it at all) and took it in to Mummy.
"Well, children, it looks like your Grandma Weathercolor was quite serious when she said she'd make it up to you for not being able to come to either of your birthdays this year," Mummy said, hopping up and down. "You take one side, Taran, and you take the other side, Morrow," she said - and she had them each pull on one side of the ribbon. Then she lifted off the lid, and inside, just fitting the bottom of the box, were two cards. The first one said, "Good for one wish, for Taran Weathercolor, with love, for his birthday." The second one said, "Good for one wish, for Morrow Weathercolor, with love, for her birthday."
"What does it mean, 'and any others'?" asked Taran.
"I suspect it means in case you have any brothers or sisters," Mummy answered. And she put the box up on a shelf in the kitchen. "So, are you going to make your wish, or do you want to wait and think about it?"
Taran and Morrow both opted to think about it, so they handed their cards back to Mummy, who put them up in the box for until they were ready. The rest of the day, as they were playing, they discussed various options; but when they went to bed that night, neither had yet decided what to wish for.

How the Taran and Morrow stories got started

One day, I was speaking to my children - the two who were verbal at that point - and I decided to make up a magic story about them - so I asked them to choose 'adventuring names.' We had recently read Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, and even more recently read Natalie Babbit's wonderful Search For Delicious, and so the names they chose were Taran and Morrow, respectively. Each successive child has had their adventuring names chosen for them by a council of the older siblings, with final veto power held by the parents (Mummy and Daddy Weathercolor). Other characters (who correspond mostly, though not exactly, to real-life relatives) have been added as convenient. Mummy's maiden name is Starflower; hence Auntie Cornelia (Mummy's closest sister, both in geography and in chronology) is Cornelia Starflower.
Because this is an ongoing story, with episodes generally being produced on the spot for various occasions, plot discrepencies will sometimes arise. They will be corrected or ignored, depending on the mood of the author at the time.

Oh, yes. The children, from oldest to youngest, are: Taran, Morrow, Quarksrune ('Srune for short), Quarto, Nenya, Folio, and the baby. The family lives in a magical house, only a couple of rooms big from the outside, but with a set of magical doors such that a bit of work creates as many rooms as they wish, all opening off of the living room. They have a small garden, a play yard, and a tool shed out the back, near the garden. Their home is set in the middle of some fields, close to the magic forest, which covers most of the land to the west, and through it lies the house of Grandma Weathercolor, a formiddable lady with many skills and a wonderful sense of humour; the source of many adventures for the children, as well as some of the most facinating (magical) gifts they recieve for birthays and other occasions.
To the north are some foothills; a short hike through these takes one to Auntie Cornelia's door - she is often away on quests of her own, so it's best to call first, though.