It’s hard to believe that my little Jakers is not my little Jakers anymore!  He’s actually quite tall now and he has his driving permit!  Gasp!  You blink your eyes and they are suddenly 14.  We had an amazing birthday celebration for him, by the way, but that will be another post.  Has anyone noticed that I still haven’t posted from Reece’s birthday party in May?  Gasp, again!!

Jake is a huge lover of the sport of golf and he was on the course all summer long.  He’s driven, he’s focused, he’s always “all in,” and he’s an absolute blast to watch.  I love seeing his expressions, I love seeing how he interacts with other players, and let’s just face it, he’s looking sharp in his golf clothes.  As summer came to an end and Fall sports began, we realized his club soccer team is comprised of 99% high school students.  What this means for Jake is, he has no team in the Fall while those teammates are playing for their high schools.  At first I was a little freaked out by this.  For so many years we do our normal crazy life of 18 million soccer games.  And change is hard for me!  In hindsight, this has been perfect.  This freed up his weekends to play the US Kids Golf circuit.

Jake has played every weekend at numerous golf courses in the KC area and played some excellent rounds of golf!!  I couldn’t be more proud of him!  Although I don’t get to be at most of the tournaments because I’m not his normal caddie, and it’s my job to get the rest of the kids to their activities, I am always up to date on just about every stroke he takes- thanks to the normal caddies – Brian and my dad.

This is “Papa Bear” as Jake has appropriately named him and they will talk about golf and watch golf 24-7.  They love spending time together and are always having a good laugh about who knows what!?  They always seem like they’re ‘up to no good,’ as they say.  Papa Bear is always out for the thrill of getting something free – so he picks up tons of golf balls along the way as he watches his grandkids play.  Check his pockets…they are always full!

And he always has this advice….LOOK AT YOUR PUTTS BOTH WAYS!  I bet I’ve heard this a billion times and it makes me smile every time.  However, this fetish he has with finding free golf balls is getting ridiculous!

Jake ended up in 3rd place for the Fall season among some very talented golfers and that’s an amazing accomplishment!  He of course wants to be in 1st and qualify to go play at Pinehurst, but a very solid season, nonetheless.  It’s been ups, downs, torrential downpours, it’s been a wild and fun ride!  I have no doubt there are many more tournaments in his future.  This kid has his sights set on playing college golf.  GO JAKE!