I have a love/hate relationship with back to school time.  I love the cute back to school outfits, squeaky-clean new shoes, meeting new teachers, and routine.  However, I hate that it also marks the end of summer, my fave season.  This means I have to catch up on everything I throw to the side because “it’s summer.”  Summer is a sabbatical from my normal.  And when I say “throw to the side” I mean that literally.  This is Morgan’s 16th birthday party that is thrown in the corner of the basement STILL!

And I still haven’t downloaded pictures from Reece’s 9th birthday party in MAY.

This summer was quite different than the past.  Mostly because the kids were busy and gone a lot!

Morgan spent her summer being a nanny for 2 families – 3 adorable girls and life-guarding at the Lenexa Rec Center.  She rocked it and worked her little heart out but we missed her smile around here very much!

Jake spent every day on the golf course.  If he wasn’t playing, he was practicing, and also competed in multiple KCJT (Kansas City Junior Tour) events and on the PGA Jr team representing Lake Quivira.  His passion and commitment for the sport of golf is awesome!  He also played some great baseball and spent some time in the basement gaming – I mean he is a 13 year old boy!My dad (Papa) has pretty much turned into Jake’s full time caddie and Jake LOVES it.  They are quite a pair!  The only thing missing is Papa wearing one of those weird caddie bibs.  Papa, you need to step up your professional caddie attire!

So many memories being built on the golf course.  And my absolute favorite part of watching Jake this summer was seeing him in his element, teaching young aspiring golfers with such patience.  He could come in dead last in every tournament for the rest of his life, and I will never be more proud of this.  THIS is so much more important than a low golf score.  Keep it up JAKE!

Drew played a lot of golf, took some intense basketball lessons, and finished out his last season of baseball.  So sad to see him moving on from a sport that he’s so good at (best 2nd baseman around!)  but he has a passion for basketball right now and when he sets his mind on something, that’s it!

Reece moved up to Level 4 in gymnastics which means she has doubled her time in the gym to 13.5 hours a week.  Yikes!  She also tried competitive dive this summer and really excelled, making it to All City with a 2nd place medal around her neck.  WAY TO GO REECE!

Some other “firsts” for Reece this summer — competing in the Drive, Chip, & Putt sub regional competition and making money being a range attendant for the Lake Quivira member guest tournament.

Awww…there are so many more memories I would love to share about the summer but I would literally be here all night reminiscing!

BACK TO SCHOOL…

School registration occurs online, but there is a day at the end of July that the middle schoolers can get their schedule and get into their lockers.  For the 2nd year in a row, I have strolled into the school BY MYSELF to pick up schedules, while everyone else has their kids in tow, walking schedules, decorating lockers, & taking pictures….

I never did get Jake to come to school before the 1st day so I left him a little locker note and school supplies.  By the end of the 1st school day, he had already been to the counselor and changed his entire schedule around!

Drew did finally get some practice using a locker and walked his route a few times.  Thank you Drew for appeasing your mom and acting a little more excited about the upcoming school year!  First year of middle school…this is BIG!

In elementary school, you find out your teacher by looking on an app the Saturday before school starts.  As soon as I woke up, I  checked it, and sure enough it did not have the name listed that she was expecting.  In tears of panic she called me saying “what if I don’t learn anything and I’m not ready for 5th grade!?”  She always wants the teachers that her siblings have had and true to her elementary school career, she did not get a Conley teacher from the past.  She never has.  Pave your own way, Reecie, you’ve got this!

Meet Mrs. Miller!  She has a perfectly organized and colorful room with a couch, cute pillows, fuzzy blanket, and she’s a K-Stater.  What’s not to love!?  She is described from past students as “chill” and “laid back”, all the kids adore her, and loves math.  These adjectives are quite opposite of how I would describe Reece, which is where her concern lies.  In Reece’s world, she likes to stick to the rules, no funny business, and every student should be on task.  Love that she has these visions of perfection, but seriously…that is just not realistic in ANY classroom.  I think Reece is going to have a GREAT year in Mrs. Miller’s class, she seems wonderful!

Each year I write the kids a letter about the upcoming school year (a lost art in this day and age) accompanied by a small gift.  Each year it changes, sometimes each kid gets the same thing or type of thing and sometimes it’s just whatever I can get pulled together as my summer sabbatical comes to an end (ie scrambling around like a crazy lady).  This year my theme was cleanliness and essentials.  So – deodorant, cologne, toothpaste, shower supplies, essential oils, and underwear.  Come on – they’re getting older – they need to understand the importance of that stuff!

On the first day(s) of school we always gather in our driveway with neighbors for breakfast and pictures.  For some reason, the actual “first day” is never the same day for my crew, so we get to do it twice.  It makes Drew really happy to get dressed up two days in a row and smile for the camera super early in the morning.

Look at this adorable crowd!

The Dearmore family has 2 seniors in the house now!!  I cannot believe it!

Morgan gets an extra shout out for setting her alarm to get up and watch Drew and Reece get on the bus for their first days as 4th & 6th graders (she didn’t start school until the following day) BEST BIG SISTER!

And take a look at my darling nieces and nephews on their first days of school!  They are all growing up so fast.  Ethan, Alyssa, Collin, Audrey, Eli, and Zach…I’m excited to see the amazing things you do this school year!

Cheers to the 2019-2020 school year!

The Conley’s are not stellar bike riders.  Period.  When I was little, all I did was ride bikes-EVERYWHERE!  Around the neighborhood, to Kerr’s pharmacy to get candy and Icee’s and when Hardee’s opened in south Olathe, you better believe we rode up there to get french fries!  We were pros.

In preparation for our annual back to school donut ride to Price Chopper with the neighborhood, I had the tires aired up and trial runs completed around the block.  This was going to be our most successful ride yet!  In the past, it’s been an absolute disaster most of the time.  Either the kids can’t make it up the hills or their chain falls off or they aren’t experienced enough so they take a scooter or walk instead.  The one year Reece got enough courage to ride a bike, she slammed into a pole just yards from our house and we had to ditch the bike along the path and walk the rest of the way.  And when Morgan was going into 8th grade, she flipped over the handlebars and broke her wrist and skinned up her face.  That one was REALLY SCARY!

Honestly, I’ve made it my lifelong motherhood quest to make this bike ride work.  I never give up.

I am so pleased to report that we DID IT!  All 4 of my kiddos made it to Price Chopper and back and there were absolutely no incidences!!  I have such a feeling of PRIDE today…GO CONLEY KIDS GO!  It’s going to be a great school year, I can feel it!

And a sidenote….getting your kids up at 7:30 a.m. to ride bikes when you still have one last day to sleep in before summer ends is not easy!