What a crazy month it has been! Just as I was planning my annual valentines breakfast, and gearing up to visit all the teachers for conferences, I had to quickly factor in that our KC Chiefs did it again…they won the Super Bowl! My goodness it’s so fun to be a Chiefs fan and life-long Kansas Citian! There is such a buzz around here and a victory parade was on the agenda again! Also a sweetheart dance thrown in there too!

We watched SB 57 with our neighbors and boy we really had a spread of great food and a lot of superstitions going on too! I wore the same sweatshirt and shoes that I wore in 2020 for good luck. Poor Brian went all over town trying to get those sweatshirts for me and a few friends that year. I’d say it was worth it, 2 Super Bowl wins later!!

There might have been a few whiskey shots taken, cigars and champagne drank straight from the bottle. But we won’t talk too much about that. We’re all still here to reminisce about it so it’s all fine. Everything’s just fine.

And as for that Valentine’s Day breakfast…it went great! I mean it’s a lot of work for very little eating because my children are not hungry in the morning. BUT it’s tradition and I love doing it. The one thing I can count on is they will drink up at that Shatto strawberry milk. You haven’t lived until you’ve had it! I should get paid commission if they get a spike in customers off this post. I won’t hold my breath since the only people that probably read this are my parents!

The night of Valentine’s Day, we grabbed the kids and their friends and made our way downtown to the Marriott. It was SO busy. We circled that parking garage a million times and got lucky finding a spot. It was absolutely packed with Chiefs fans ready to stake out their spots in the morning for the victory parade. We had the best view of the city from the 19th floor!

Brian got up early and saved us a spot in the 5th floor of a parking garage on the parade route. He’s the very BEST! He really takes care of all of us. We bundled up (but not as much as we did in 2020 when we were in full-on ski gear because the temps were in the teens).

We decided to watch the rally on TV from home. Trying to do both is just down right NUTS. In fact, most people I knew decided to do it all from home this time.

Somehow these balloons I made for Drew’s birthday are still looking good from a month ago so I donated them to our gym for a chiefs spirit week! I’m pretty sure Patrick Mahomes needs these in his house. I hope he calls me. I can deliver😂

So fun to have Morgan home for the celebration but it was a quick 24 hour trip and she was back to Manhattan. She had a pi phi date party to get to over the weekend anyway. Look how cute they are! She has the very best time with these sorority sisters.

Brian spent the weekend in St. Louis with Reece playing soccer with her Rush GA team. Of course he was…we have spent every weekend traveling for one sport or another.

Strangely enough, they tied all 3 games🤦🏼‍♀️ Good playing and some starts for Reece and nice weather (for February). The kids have been off school for 6 days! Between already scheduled conference days off, cancellation for the parade, and Presidents day, we could’ve gone on a legit vacation without missing any school! But sports always prevail. Even school conferences were cancelled for the chiefs celebrations. Teachers were probably doing a major happy dance for that gift!

Meanwhile, me and the boys had a very fun day on the golf course. A few bad shots here and there but mostly good. We watched the Genesis Invitational PGA event at Riviera coverage on our phones during the round – you can never have too much golf right!? Always fun to watch Tiger Woods when he plays.

Up next in the agenda, we finish up Drew’s Freshman basketball season and on to Spring sports!

Also worth noting, Jake was inducted into the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society. He was nominated by his teacher (I think he may have been surprised by this). He has good grades, applied to the society by writing a short writing piece, and completing community and civic service. Congratulations JAKE!

Signing off for now…❤️CC

The fever broke in the night. He woke up with his t-shirt completely drenched in sweat. The poor guy has been suffering and not sleeping well. I’m just doing my best to keep him comfortable and try to get him to eat a little bit.

We don’t have time for breakfast so we hit the McDonald’s drive-thru. Thankfully we didn’t spend a bunch of money because he ate about 2 bites max. In the meantime, I’ve reached out to Brian to see if we can get home to sleep in our own beds tonight. Thankfully I did call him because he reminded us that we were booked in a different hotel near the airport. We would’ve left all of our stuff in our current hotel room and wondered why we were kicked out when we returned! We managed to get are cars packed up and to the course right on time for warm up. I skipped the golf shop and went right to my cart guy for a scorecard. Im not up for any weirdness today and I didn’t want to encounter that crabby golf shop gal!

We had an earlier tee time today which was puzzling since he was high up on the leaderboard.

Jake’s stomach feels queasy but we’re going to power through. It’s a gorgeous sunny day but a bit windy. on the first hole which seems to be his nemesis, his tee ball goes in the water by an inch. Matthew went deep in the water and Alex is in the fairway.

He proceeds to try to hit it out and it goes 5 ft and he’s soaked and splattered a bit with mud but we’re on dry land at least. He comes out of it with a bogey so I’m feeling pretty good about that. My mom brain wonders if he will be ok to make it through this round. It’s much warmer and he hasn’t eaten much or slept well for days but again, he really is good about rallying on a golf course.

The scores are kept electronically on a device provided by the tournament and already on the 3rd tee box the golfer from FL is asking Jake to lie about his score and give him pars. What!? We are in a competitive tournament here. This proceeds to go on all day long and Jake is not going to put in inaccurate scores for him. This is not a fun friendly round out on a Sunday with your buds, this matters to most of these players out here. Plus, how about just the lack of integrity?

At the turn, Jake is +2 just as he was in round one but he’s had some birdie opportunities that have not panned out. Those are always frustrating!

By now we have figured out this golfer from Florida does not seem to know the rules or etiquette of golf. He asks Jake a lot of questions, some are just friendly conversation, and others are more puzzling. He has made a few questionable drops and definitely not making them correctly. I am certainly no expert in this sport, actually not even remotely close, but I have learned a few things being out here at these tournaments and I knew something was off.

However, we keep going along and I know Jake and Alex will handle it the best they can. It’s just hard to focus when you’re playing with someone that is asking you to cheat and also having a hard day so you are trying to keep track of his strokes and keep your head in your own game. Morgan had that struggle many times in her high school seasons. I would say it’s been rare for Jake to be in this situation. A friendly, nice guy nonetheless. He’s even told me how much he admires Jake’s swing and consistency. He declared Jake would go D1 for sure☺️

Jake is now sitting at +1 going into the last few holes after making a great birdie after his tee shot landed in the marsh. He made a beautiful shot out of it

He’s sitting in a great spot for a top 5 finish but the last few holes are this course are really hard. The par 3 #17 is over water and a tough green. His tee shot is on the green but a long way from the hole but anywhere on the green on this one, you’re feeling good about it. I’m thinking we’re home free here and one track for a top round. He proceeds to 4-putt and I’m just just bewildered. In my head I’ve decided that at the very most it will be a bogey. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him 4-putt! He bounced back and pars the last hole and of course has realized at this point that double 17 has cost him dramatically.

I was so proud of him regardless because it’s hard to function when you don’t feel well and he handled everything so well. He made some amazing golf shots this weekend and he still made a top 10 finish in a large field of good players.

By the way, he and Alex both told the tournament staff about the issues with Matthew. I don’t know if that does anything or not, but golf is a game of integrity and skill. There’s no room for cheating.

After a phone call to Brian and lots of rehashing of the round and relaxing in the car for bit, we head to our actual ‘scheduled’ hotel near the airport. We are wanting Mexican food but had a few changes in that plan and ended up in the downtown area of West Palm Beach-so cute and fun and just bustling with people! We weren’t sure why it was this crazy and fun on a Sunday night, and here we are in our golf attire not fitting in at all!

Jake declared these were the best waffles he’s ever had (the chicken was bland). His appetite still not great so he ate the remaining waffles back the hotel later in the night while cheering in the Chiefs!

Oh my gosh the Chiefs have done it again! The AFC champs! My kids have been so darn lucky to experience all of this KC success in their lifetimes.

We did feel a little bad for Bengals 58 because they kept showing him weeping in his hands. Jake and I prefer to see the happy celebrating and less of the sad parts! Travis Kelce crashing into Mahimes interview was hilarious “Woo! ‘Burrowhead’ my a–, It’s Mahomes’ house” and then calling out the Cinci mayor – “know your role and shut your mouth you jabroni”😂 You just never know what might come out of his mouth! Since he’s a stud tight end, I suppose he can get away with saying a lot! And more wise words from Travis, “you gotta fight for your right to paaarty!” Let’s go win the Super Bowl, Chiefs!

We were up at 4:40am and had a long travel day home on Monday from West Palm to NYC to KC and yet another missed day of school. Ugh! On the positive side, Jake can now say he’s had his first bagel in NYC! I think it counts even if you’re in LaGuardia airport.

Love you Jakers beyond words and I will ride this golf train with you as long as you’ll have me—

Love, mom❤️

It warmed up a bit for round 1 (no coat necessary) and it’s already been a weird day. It was a rough night for Jake. At one point early in the morning I think he was taking a bath to help with body chills proceeded by getting getting sick. He had complained of a horrible headache on our travel day and I assumed it was just the altitude pressure since this was his first flight post-sinus surgery in December. By now, he’s definitely running a fever and not well. No appetite, not wanting to hit the gym, and dozing in and out of sleep.

I even contemplated pulling him out of the tournament but we’ve traveled all the way here and he can usually rally when it involves golf. Honestly, I thought getting outside on the course would be the cure.

The course is full. The practice area and range are crawling with aspiring golfers and their coaches from prestigious sports academies in FL and Albany Bahamas. I’m kicking myself for not getting a picture of some of them doing their stretching routines on the range – I’m talking face down in the grass twisting and contorting their bodies within a few feet of people hitting. It was quite strange and already these academy kids are driving me nuts. They hang around and hit a billion balls and Jake can barely get in a spot to do his warmup.

In the meantime, I head inside to get a scorecard so I can keep stats for Jake and the gal working in the pro shop says she doesn’t have them. What!? It’s a golf shop, how do you not have any? I thought she was kidding but I walked out empty handed. Weird. I proceeded to get one from the cart guy who was much nicer!

His warmup apparently was his worst ever. I don’t usually ask but sometimes he’ll offer up the info. The first hole is already giving him trouble and makes a double bogey right out of the start. Crap. Maybe I should’ve pulled him out. Hole 2 is a birdie. Ok never mind, we’re fine. These are the rambling thoughts going through my head. The ups and downs of golf.

Sometime in the next few holes, weird occurrence #4 happens. Jake was out in someone’s yard helping to find Daniel’s ball and discovers a dead cat with flies all over it. Gross! Another first. I expected iguanas and alligators here but certainly not dead cats! Someone just tossed their cat in the yard? At least bury it (which makes me think of Brian’s aunt JoAnn😆she would probably be upset that we continued on with our round and didn’t do anything about it). We’re in a tournament here folks, we must stick to the task at hand.

Jake proceeds to play well and is sitting at +2 at the turn. Really proud of him for keeping his composure while feeling poorly and having what he described as a terrible warmup.

The gold course is a bit harder (especially the last 3 holes) and he’s wearing down a bit. In fact it is getting dark and not sure how the groups behind us can even finish. But it’s been an enjoyable day walking along and watching him play. He amazes me often with his talent, knowledge, and stamina on the course.

He had 4 bogeys on the back 9 which put him at a 78 for the round and in 9th place. This course is difficult and there is water on every hole so he’s feeling decent about his round. Of course he always wants to be better but they all do! I was pleased.

We decided to head out to Delray Beach from the course and eat at a cute place on the waterfront called Deck 84 and watch the KState game. The food and atmosphere was awesome and a cute beach town!

Back to the Boynton Beach Courtyard Marriott we go and it’s time to relax! He’s still coughing and feverish and he has a t shirt on and then a sweatshirt and this rotated throughout the night. We need this fever to break!

On a side note here, I’d like to share a few pictures from our room. Notice my side vs. Jake’s side. I don’t know how in the world he lives like this😂

Jake and I did have quite a few laughs about my backpack I was carrying on the course. I should probably invest in a cuter one! And I have lots of other little interesting bags inside of it holding snacks, chargers, meds, bandaids etc. Take note of my “Whataburger” sunglasses case. I should probably step up my game if I’m going to be out here with all these golf coaches. I’m just a mom out here getting a ton of steps in and watching my boy. Where are all the parents? I hardly see any at all!

That’s it on day 1 of the tourney and let me recap the weirdness real quick:

1. Jake is sick and throwing up

2. The golf shop has no scorecards

3. There’s golfers doing stretches and yoga poses on the range

4. There’s a dead cat in a yard on the course

Hoping for much less weirdness tomorrow!

This is the current state of affairs at the Conley’s…

Every time I turn around, I find Jake in a different spot (generally jammed in a corner somewhere). The poor guy is suffering terribly with a Mono diagnosis. And by the looks of my personal laundry load this week, I’ve been affected as well-clearly not feeling the need to put a lot of effort into my outfits! I wear a lot of black, but this might be a bit extreme!

I tend to get quite anxious when my kids are sick, so my focus directs 100% toward them and if I could take this nasty virus out of him and give it to myself, I would. In a heartbeat. It’s a terrible thing to deal with, particularly in the beginning of his favorite sports season (golf). So I’m going to reach back into my vault of more fun times – Basketball season!

Jake went out for the Olathe Northwest basketball team. He had a good tryout and, although it’s not his most practiced sport, he hoped to make JV. He was on the cusp of making it but ended up on the sophomore team. In the end, it was definitely for the best. The practices are shorter, less intense, and all-around more fun. Fun coach, fun kids, fun season to watch, a ton of playing time and leadership opportunities. He hustles on that court like no one else. And no masks had to be worn on the court this season. Hallelujah!

The banquet was a nice one and catered by none other than Chicken Mary’s from Pittsburg, KS. Of course my parents (super fans) were in attendance. Our coach was unable to make the banquet so Jake was asked to read his remarks (about 5 minutes before he was supposed to do it-no pressure!) He rose to the challenge and did a great job in front of a large crowd and just a few smirks from his teammates (boys will be boys). Sadly, my video footage is terrible – of course I was having phone problems when it really matters. UGH!

Drew’s 8th grade middle school season, although a little more compact, was going on at the same time as high school. In many instances, the games were at the same time, so we divided up our spectating. His season was a super fun one as well. He had a great season, lots of laughs, and lots of 3 pointers for the Prairie Trail B team. They won a majority of their games – way to go guys!! I wish I could mimic the way Drew’s Blazers coach, Scott Burnett, would shout out “DREEEEWWWW” and “shooters shoot.” You have to be there for the full effect. He was always a big supporter of Drew and we had a lot of fun times with that transitional season Blazers team.

Middle school team basketball tryouts can be a little bit stressful but if there’s anyone that knows the game of basketball, it’s Drew. He’s small but mighty and we love to watch him play.

And as I close this update out, I’m reminded that Drew is headed to High School in the Fall at Olathe Northwest! It’s hard to believe that’s possible but I guess the time has to come. He attended a walk-through day and as much as I wish that sweet Andie would be there to look out for him – she’s a senior, so she’s outta there soon! I guess we’ll leave the ‘looking out’ in Jake’s hands.

I’m struggling to believe that our first kiddo in college has already completed a semester. I’m way too young to have a child in college and it’s winter break already! It sure was an interesting end. For weeks, Morgan’s final exams and projects have been on the books. Her final two exams were early morning Wednesday, December 15th, and 6:30p.m. that evening. Macroeconomics and Business Calculus. UGH that’s just cruel and unusual punishment. The plan shifted a few times between coming home Wednesday night after she was done or wait until Thursday morning to avoid driving brain-fried and in the dark. Suddenly a storm enters the forecast and brutal winds were expected so we all decided probably would be safest to wait until Thursday. As my family often hears me say, I HATE WIND. Right guys!? And it was brutally windy and 75 degrees in the middle of December in Kansas. I had to bring in all of my Christmas planters, wreaths, anything that wasn’t super secure, and hope for the best. Is the world coming to an end because, last I checked, I’ve never experienced these weird weather patterns. Covid is back on the rise with variants, kids are sick at school, games are canceling left and right, teachers are totally exhausted and there are not enough subs, arguing over wearing masks and vaccinations…basically the world seems to be in total disarray. Aside from all that, I was super excited to have Morgan back in the house for a decent period of time so we press on!

Morgan and Holly are at the Library on campus studying their little hearts out for Calc. And let’s just be very clear here, these girls have struggled with this class all semester. It’s a beast.

Soon after I receive this adorable picture and they’ve apparently made some significant breakthroughs in their studying, I receive a text from her saying there are reports of tornados near campus and they need to pack up and go to the basement of the Library. So, what do they do? Of course they decide to make a run for it to the dorm which is not super close. Apparently their brains are fried from Calc or maybe an ice cream brain freeze? Why would they do that!? Soon I get another call that they are in the basement of the dorm and she doesn’t have a charger for her computer or phone and it’s about to die. GREAT. Feeling really at ease at this point.

Finally she is able to get back to her room and Ava, her roommate, has already been home a week with the Flu. And Morgan’s final has now been canceled/postponed. WHAT? This has to be a first. Final exams are being canceled due to tornados…in December!? There are so many questions about this and not a lot of answers are coming in.

Students are scrambling around trying to figure out what to do with their previous travel arrangements because it’s clear they will need to take the exam the next day, either online, or in person. The teachers are being flooded with emails and the University is trying to assemble a plan.

These are some of the emails Morgan is receiving from her teacher:

That same evening, she STILL doesn’t know when she is supposed to take this final. You know when you’re just ready to take the exam, be done, and go home? That was her. Her car was packed and dorm room was prepared for winter break. Instead, she’s just waiting in her room, alone, trying to figure out what to do. Uncle John to the rescue – he picked her up and took her to their house to get some rest and not have to drive in the storm. No power.

By noon on Thursday, they still don’t know what they are to do. Do they stay on campus? Do they go home? What’s the plan? I’m canceling a 1pm appointment at home that Morgan had for sure.

So to make a long story shorter, Morgan elected not to take the final because, well, her grade was between a B and a C and test-taking is not her strong suit. What a terrible position to be in. Take the exam and potentially improve your grade, or potentially make it worse, or don’t take it at all and never know the outcome. Just add it to the list of weirdness going on right now.

By the time I arrived home with my middle schoolers, Morgan is home, in the office with Brian, and they are on the phone with Department head of Mathematics at K-State. All students are panicked if they should take the final (video proctored online), or just not take it and live with their grade. Her Professor can’t possibly respond to the hundreds of emails he’s getting about how this could impact their grades and he’s had a pre-scheduled appointment requiring dilation of his eyes too so he can’t even read or respond to them anyway. MESS.

She opted out of taking the final, we don’t know if she’s getting a B or C in this class but we are happy she’s home safe and we are prepping for the holidays! We are honoring our two precious loved ones we lost in 2021 and attempting their recipes and doing lots of other little gift exchanges with friends and teams and we might get to our cookie decorating and gingerbread houses. A little bit of basketball has been going on as well and we are enjoying watching without masks this year and I’m sure Jake is loving that he doesn’t have to play in one! Cheers to the season and to the kids home with their families for the holidays!

Getting festive in the window well!!

I missed my holiday planter day with my friends at the local nursery, so I had to do my own. Turned out pretty good!

More to come. I’m hosting Christmas with the Conleys tomorrow so I need to get off of this computer and get to work! XOXO