Every time school registration comes around at the end of July, I always get a stomach ache.  It means that summer is almost over and my babies are 1 school grade older! Thankfully, I still have one more year before I have one in high school.  My stomach ache will be turning into balling my eyes out at that point and then when she goes to college, I will be checking myself into counseling for sure!

Typically on registration day you get your schedule for the school year so you can walk the route and assess if you have time to stop by your locker between classes or not.  This year, the schedules are not ready so we had to settle for only getting her locker number and some time to decorate.

She got a bottom locker which NOBODY WANTS.  It’s funny that their stresses at this age consist of whether or not they get assigned a top or bottom locker for the school year!  Actually there are many stresses at this age, so the fact that I get to spend this day hanging out with Morgan, helping with her locker, and just being there for her…I’m all over it.  I will always remember these days with my kids!  As you get into your last year of middle school, kids aren’t as interested in decorating lockers so we went with a more eclectic look this year.  Basically we used what we had from years past and mashed it all together and I think it looks awesome (thank you Ava Dearmore for your wallpaper)!  Last year we ditched the chandelier and frilly stuff and we learned that most of that falls off anyway (especially on a bottom locker).  However, I know when Reece goes to 6th grade she will want all that stuff again so we will save it.

I took my sweet girl to get her braces tightened, a few more school clothes, a new bigger backpack has already arrived, and school supplies are purchased and organized by child.  She’s in full-on closet and drawer clean-out mode now and soon we will have full trashbags of clothes that no longer fit or more likely just not her style anymore.  Someday, I may actually get to my closet and drawers and perhaps I may get in style at some point in my adult life.

MoMo, I am so excited for your 8th grade year.  You are going to rock it!!  Please stay your sweet, kind, and smart self and enjoy your last year of middle school!!  I hope I always get to take you to school registration (stomach ache and all) and you aren’t embarrassed to be seen with me in my old and not-so-stylish clothes 😉  Love you to pieces!

It’s official…Jake made more money in the last 4 days than I did in the last 5 years combined.  He made a grand total of $353!!  He was so stinkin’ cute out there on that driving range.  Brian talked him into bringing his own bucket so he could be one step ahead of the other range workers.  He was even asking us to wake him up earlier each day so he could be the first one out there.

Working hard in the early morning dew…

It must have worked because he got lot’s of tips and Brian received many comments that he was a really great kid out there.  Way to go Jake…love your work ethic and love your drive and determination.  Keep it up buddy, those qualities will take you far in life, I promise!

Day 1 $85

Day 2 $106

Day 3 $113 and Day 4 $49 (he was not originally scheduled to work on Saturday but when he realized his earning potential he decided to work a couple more hours).  Greg was giving him an aggressive goal of $500…sorry Greg, we came up short on that.  How about next time we keep it realistic. 😉

Grand total of $353

And the best news of the week is Jake opened his first Savings Account!!  You have to know Jake to understand the magnitude of this accomplishment…this guy has not proved to be a “saver” so far in his 10 years of life.  In fact, he decided to spend a ridiculous amount of money on these new soccer cleats recently…

He is so proud of these cleats, I catch him looking them over in great detail sometimes…so cute!  They are super shiny and metallic on the bottom which will likely be dull by the end of the season by some major stellar soccer moves (right Jake!?).

Drew was inspired by his brother and opened his 1st savings account too!  He is good about saving his money and had some mowing cash in his wallet and miscellaneous birthday/holiday money which was enough to get an account too.  I’m so happy you are learning the importance of saving money!  Keep up the great work boys!

Look how cute you are holding your little account booklets!!

I’m so proud of these little cuties!  Tonight we attended the Burning Tree DeSoto Golf Academy awards picnic and these guys brought home some bling (and probably some bug bites and sweaty clothing too–it was HOT!)  Reece earned a 2nd place medal in the girls 6-8 age group, Collin 2nd place in the 9-10 boys group, Jake 1st place in the 9-10 age group, and Morgan 1st in the 11-13 group.  These medals recognize their play in the kid tournament which spanned the last two days of the academy practices last week.  These kiddos endured some super hot weather and still had lot’s of fun, learned a lot, and smiles on their faces.  Drew probably has the biggest smile because he beat everybody…WAY TO GO DREW BOO…you’re the man…1st place baby!!  Jake still claims the reigning title of “Mini Rickie”… you always look sharp buddy and give it your all.

Below are the YouTube videos of their acceptance speeches this evening…

Here are a few pics from Day 2 of the kid tourney…and you’ll notice I did end up bribing Reece with a new outfit.  As I mentioned in my previous entry, sometimes desperate measures come into play and it worked because she really had a lot of fun on Day 2!  She rode in a cart with a partner and his dad that she didn’t know and I even witnessed her talking to them willingly and smiling…this is definitely a step in the right direction!

I’ve had a lot of fun bringing these kids to Burning Tree every Tues/Thurs this summer. They are cute to watch and this academy is all about helping the kids in the community with great volunteers.  To top it off, the cousins get to spend time together and I get to catch up with my brother.  Love it!

This past Sunday night 7.17.16 we competed in our first parent-kid tournament at Burning Tree!  Jake came up with the teams (and appropriately named his team the “Mini Rickie’s” and forced Nanny into scouring her drawers for Puma golf attire) – Jake/Nanny, Drew/Papa, Reece/Brian, Morgan/Mommy.  I must admit I was very nervous about my pairing!  Since Morgan and I are still learning what clubs to use and I’ve never actually played a real hole of golf in my life, I was hoping for an experienced partner!

Well I’m here to tell you that I couldn’t be happier with my pairing.  This young lady absolutely rocks.  She’s so fun to be with and anytime I would make a comment about my bad shots she would say “that’s ok” in the most precious and encouraging voice ever. Morgan-I’ll be your partner any day, I had an absolute blast with you!

And this was Brian’s partner…so maybe I definitely scored on my pairing.  Perhaps someone should coach her on golf etiquette…

(you shouldn’t stick your tongue out at the group behind you)

Just kidding Reecie cups, you were so cute and as patient as possible on a very hot evening.  9 holes can be a little long for a 6 year old and you rocked it…singing along to dad’s music and everything.

And of course a little post-tourney stretch in the clubhouse is always appropriate (only if you’re 6 and cute)

I hope we get out to the course as a family again soon because it was a lot of fun!  I’m calling it a success because Morgan ended up with a 2nd place medal around her neck, Reece 2nd place, Jake 3rd place, and once again Drew took 1st, and some really great memories were made!  Thanks to all of you for making my 1st golf outing & tournament so much fun.  XOXO

My brother lives in DeSoto and has introduced us to this little 9-hole course called Burning Tree.  For the last two summers, they have had a golf academy for kids which is an affordable way for kids to get exposed to the game and learn for about 6 weeks out of the summer.  It is also a laid back atmosphere which I think makes learning a somewhat intimidating game, a little easier.  Last year, I signed Jake and Drew up for it – it’s two afternoons a week for an hour with a two day tournament at the end.  Quickly, Jake became known as “Little Rickie” a little look-alike of Rickie Fowler, the pro-golfer.  Jake likes to dress the part.  He does not mess around when it comes to golf attire!  With any luck, he might actually read this blog in the future and chances are he will probably critique his look.  You think I’m kidding but I’m actually serious.  Here’s a few pics from last year…look Drew has teeth!!

This year, Reece was old enough to join the academy so I decided to sign all 4 of them up.  I have to drive there anyway, I might as well have all of them entertained for an hour right!? We have completed day 1 of the tourney and already Jake and Drew are determined to beat each other.  Neither is going down without a fight!  Drew got an eagle on a hole and finished only one over par for the day.  This makes Jake super mad and lots of smack-talking was going down on that course!  I hope we don’t get kicked out of the academy 😉

Something scared Reece on her 1st tourney day so she only finished two holes (even with Brian as her caddy).  Each group only gets through a few holes each day anyway because there are a lot of groups.  We are hoping she will pull it together on Thursday’s final round.  I’ve already bribed her with a new golf outfit.  Sometimes desperate measures come into play.

I witnessed Morgan get a par on a hole…you go girl…yep that’s my golf lesson partner!  And by the way, look how cute she did her hair!  She’s already a winner in my book just because of that alone.

She was paired up with Stephanie, the leader of the academy, and that’s enough to throw your game into a tailspin or at least make you want to drive your cart wildly through the course (she’s a talker!).  Maybe this is why MoMo got a 9 and a 7 on the other two holes she played.  I’m just joking, Stephanie only wants the best for the kids and she is super passionate about the game of golf.  However, sometimes you have to pretend like you have other business to attend to or you’ll find yourself signed up for things you didn’t actually sign up for (right, Greg!?) and learn more about her family than you really need to know.

More to come on the conclusion of the tournament and the awards picnic next week…

Wow that title sounds a little dramatic doesn’t it!?  Sort of like the front page of the KC Star sports section sometimes sounds when our precious Royals lose an important game.  You’ve probably seen this in previous posts, but just to reiterate, these Bulldogs are like family to us.  Brian absolutely adores these boys and puts every ounce of energy he can into coaching them.  We are not affiliated with a club, we are just a group of great boys and great families that love to play together.  Brian adores the game of baseball so we are sad to report that tonight was our last game of the season.

This week we have been competing in our last tournament and tonight it was a win or go home situation.  Ironically, we were matched up against Brian’s childhood buddy, Nate Porras’ team, the Stealers.  Coincidentally, this is the same team we beat at the beginning of the season to take home a championship trophy.  We  did not have our normal roster due to vacation, illness, and injury, and this was the last game for Evan who is moving out of state next month.  We are sad to see him go and sad to see his dad, Coach Rodney, go too!  We were hoping to make it to the championship game for them…it would have been a great way to send them off!

Here’s a picture of Aidan watching the game on iScore from his couch suffering from pneumonia wishing he was able to play with us!  We were doing our best to win this one for you Aidan!  Get better buddy!

We lost this one 18-17 in extra time…see the final iscore posting below.  Jake was our closing pitcher and needless to say when we couldn’t pull this one out, tears were flowing. This is super hard for a mom to watch.  Those of you who know Jake can attest to his absolute drive to win at all sports but I know he wanted to win this one for Brian which makes it much harder.  Likewise, Brian wanted this win for this group of kiddos so badly that it was even hard for him to keep his composure at the post-game talk.

I would have loved nothing more than to drive on over to 3and2 for the ten millionth time again tomorrow night to see these kiddos play.  And I’m 100% certain that Brian would drop anything and everything for the opportunity to coach them.

Keep throwing strikes and making plays buddy.  You will win some and lose some and either way, we are so proud of you because you give it all you have EVERY SINGLE GAME.

Bulldogs, thank you for making this baseball season an absolute blast to watch and I can’t wait to watch you again next season.  Coach Brian…you rock…thank you for being so passionate about the game of baseball and caring so much about these little athletes.

As I sign off for this baseball season, I’m personally doing a little happy dance that I have a break from scrubbing on these bad boys for a few months…

GO BULLDOGS!

Jake was recommended for a volunteer position this week working as a range caddy for the member-guest golf tournament at Lake Quivira.  This 10 year old aspiring golfer just made $85 in tips today!  His responsibilities were to welcome players on the driving range, clean their clubs after they get done hitting balls on the range, and wish them good luck in the tournament.  There was quite a bit of rain delay today so a lot of the time he was shooting the breeze in the club house.  He is proud to report that he ordered his own cheeseburger for lunch, signed his own ticket, and gave the waitress a $3 tip.  I love that he is learning all of these little lessons.  I guess you have to learn about signing a restaurant receipt and tipping sometime right!?  And being respectful, courteous, and helpful to your elders is also a great lesson.  Jake, great job today!  I hope you get lots of tips the rest of this week and enjoy your time at the golf course either playing or being a caddy.  I could never resist this face, I would tip you big time!  Love you.

Oh no…the snaggletooth is getting worse!  Drew lost his 6th tooth last night.  I think this might be the most funny grin I’ve ever seen (next to my sister’s when we were growing up!)  I would like to insert a picture of her here but I don’t have one handy and she might slap me!  So for now, you’ll just have to envision it and admire this little cutie…

This actually happened several months ago but I was inspired to write about it today.  Most of you know that it’s very hard for me to admit that my kids are growing up!  It’s particularly hard for me to accept that my baby is no longer a baby.  I’m one of those weird people who actually likes all the baby gear…the strollers, the pack-n-plays, baby swings, carseats, and cribs.  The fact that I no longer heave around one of those awkward infant seats into stores and ball games and throwing my back out in the process, makes me super sad.  Ask my kids…every time I see a newborn in public I am immediately staring and wishing I had one.  Ugh…what is wrong with me!?  Don’t worry, there are no more babies coming in this household but I may have a future in volunteering to hold babies at a hospital sometime (thank you Jamie B. for your advice on that!).  This was Reece’s room when she came home from the hospital in May 2010…

This is a picture of Reece when we turned her crib into a toddler bed in July 2013 (look at her sweet face!)

My baby had been trapped in a toddler bed probably for too long because I couldn’t face up to the fact that she needed to be in a big girl bed.  So, we completely redesigned her bedroom and she is now in an appropriately sized bed!  She is also a complete disaster.  She does not clean up, she keeps every little treasure she finds, and stashes stuff in every crevice and corner.  Oh how this completely drives a person like me absolutely INSANE!  And she may be a little spoiled because she’s the baby!  This means she has A LOT of stuff.  Check out this picture and you will see how she likes to live vs. how I like to live…

And I just had to throw these pictures in because it cracks me up!  Who can sleep with this much stuff!?!?

And all of this STUFF came out of that room!  WHAT!?  How is it possible?

With the amazing help of my friend Jen and my mom, we transformed this tiny room into a beach-themed  paradise. I absolutely love it and I love the beach!  Probably more than Reece does.  I think she prefers a pig pen!  The road sign includes locations that she has been super lucky enough to visit in her 6 years.  Reecie, I hope you enjoy this new space to call your own and you let me hang out in there with you…love you to bits!

Thank you dad for finding those old fence posts for her sign!!  And I had some great painters helping me…

I totally agonized over the perfect color of coral!  Oh shoot…and the gray.  I think the painters actually had to paint the gray twice because I changed it after they painted it the first time.  oops!

I agonized over the perfect color of Coral!!

This is a rendering sketch that our friend Jen did of the room and it is precious to Reece.  She loves it.  She even took it to Kindergarten to show her class and teacher.  She’s too funny!

This was her first night in her new bed…now she looks so small!  It won’t be long and she will fill up that bigger bed (most likely with stuffed animals!)

Sleep tight Reecie Cups…

If you see these two girls heading in your direction, you might want to hide or at least pretend like you’re on a phone call or something.  Ha!  I’m just kidding, they are pretty cute and hilarious but very strong personalities.  I caught these two girls playing office in the corner of our living room, brightly colored hair extensions and all.  I’m pretty sure no one would hire either one of them but they sure have a serious business going.  I can’t even begin to tell you what exactly the business is, but the customers sure are getting a mouthful from these two ladies!  And of course there is a plush animal stuffed in a giant slinky on their desk.  Everyone has to have their own personal office decor don’t they?

This totally brings me back to my childhood where I would play for HOURS and HOURS with my best friend Lisa.  We played office, dentist, school (Pawnee Learning Center), fabric store, city & gift store, legos, and I’m sure even more things.  We had so much fun.  I loved being a kid and I’m glad that my little Reecie is enjoying playing similar things when she has some free time.  Keep having fun Reece!

We never really seem to have definite plans on the 4th of July weekend.  It’s so close to Morgan’s birthday (she was due to arrive on the 4th but came a little early) and generally the baseball state tourney is around this time, so we just sort of wing it!

We usually spend some time at Brian’s parents house sometime during the weekend to shoot fireworks since it’s legal there in KCK.  The kids love it…they are turning into pyro’s which is quite scary to me!  They are learning this from Brian for sure.  Grandma & Grandpa love watching the grand-kids’ fireworks show and the high-light always seems to be catching the parachutes.  Everything is a competition with these kids…

Drew was playing baseball through mid-afternoon so we were only able to fit in a little bit of neighborhood pool time.  School/neighborhood friends of ours usually gather there with food and drinks and the kids go nuts in the pool.  Drew apparently didn’t have enough baseball in the morning so he took in a little pitching practice with dad in the front yard.  I was a total distraction of course trying to get pictures and videos and I’m pretty sure I was almost run down standing in the middle of the street.  I need to stop risking my life to try to document everything I suppose.

That evening the kids wanted to go to Freddy’s for dinner and this may be the one and only time I have not seen that place busy!

and Drew was trying to learn how to take selfies…we have some work to do here…

We made our way to Lake Quivira for their fireworks show.  The beach is full of families and teens (yikes!), docks are lined with people, and tons of boats on the water waiting to watch the fireworks that are set off on the dam.  We had so much fun, playing on the playground, throwing the frisbee and football, and swinging.  Reece became an expert at the monkey bars and probably did it 20 times.  This little 6 yr old is strong (and maybe a bit of a show-off)!

When it got dark there were bunches of kids decorated in glowsticks from head to toe running around the beach…it was so fun to watch!  Aunt Jenn & Bob joined us for the fireworks show and they were AWESOME…what a show!! Hope we get to come back next year!  And they brought us bug spray which we desperately needed.  From now on, I’m just keeping some in my van for summer activities!  Happy 4th of July…oh no…we are already half way through 2016!?!!