After last years debacle of a ski trip, we decided to give it a go again this year. With a change of location to Beaver Creek and a switch to the February school conference break rather than Spring Break, we packed up (with a million sandwiches of course!) and headed to CO. We stopped in Manhattan to spend some fun time with cousins. An awesome time was had by all and we may or may not have stayed up super late with some cocktails and booked a trip to Scotland that we don’t remember booking. ha! We’re blaming Dawn on that one 😉

Watch these dance moves in the YouTube links below — they are on point!

We got up very early to get on the road to Colorado and our navigator, Brian, did an amazing job while the rest of us were snoozing and watching screens. We have to admit, the new ride is not quite as roomy and comfortable as the minivan. We were packed to the top and we had even sent a couple of totes of ski gear with my brother. Yikes!

We escaped some brutal Kansas temps and made it to the mountains where the weather was quite a bit nicer. A stop in Idaho Springs for Beau Joe’s Pizza was a big hit for everyone.

The wind was awful and I took two pictures. In the first one Morgan had her eyes closed and in this one, Drew looks ridiculous. I mean come on peeps, get with the program. After all these years of going to CO and finally stopping for a picture at this sign, and this is the best we can do!? Lesson learned: take more than 2 pics!

After arriving in Beaver Creek, we rented our equipment and then set out for a fun evening in Dillon, CO, dinner and the Ice Castles. Super cool tourist attraction!

Jake was missing a rivalry high school basketball game that we were very sad to miss but we were watching it live online (see Jake below staring at his phone). The timing of this trip did not work out in our favor on that one. Go Ravens!

It was 9pm in the evening so the lighting was not ideal for picture taking, but take my word for it, that it’s worth seeing. The ice slides are really fun (YouTube video links below) and it was snowing so beautifully but the drive back to Beaver Creek was a bit treacherous, it was slow-going and Brian was gripping the wheel tightly, but we made it without any problems. Whew!

The next morning we got up early to catch the bus up to the mountain. There was a lot of fresh powder snow and we really enjoyed our time up there. It was beautiful and a lot of nice runs. I did manage to fall off the lift at one point and completely wipe out Reece and Drew but we’re all ok! Just our pride hurt more than anything. Brian had just said…they have to keep stopping the lift for beginners that are falling off the lift. Well folks, I’m not actually a beginner, I’ve been skiing now a lot of times and some how I crossed my skis or got my pole caught. Who knows what was happening but an employee had to help me get my ski off as I was trying to grab my phone that flew out of my pocket and into the snow. I would love to have some video footage of that hot mess!

After a meal at Bob’s Place, just steps out of our hotel, we laughed at so many things. Morgan was laughing so hard at one point that her water was going everywhere and the waitress was teasing Greg about getting milkshakes at Burger King while Brian was giving her trouble for her beer pitcher filling skills. Don’t even ask. Our group is a funny one!

Day two of skiing was a success as well (minus a slight mishap in the trees by Morgan). It was Valentine’s Day so I spent half the day at the spa and it was absolutely glorious! I came back to the mountain to hook up with Reece and Collin and we did a little shopping and enjoyed the firepit at the base of the lift and some wonderful sunlight too! I enjoy skiing and love the beautiful scenery, but I’m certainly not out there to challenge myself, so I’m about to be skiing by myself. This granny likes to leisurely stroll down the slopes!

Again, everyone was exhausted on our way back to Denver to cut a few hours off our drive the next day. Some of us had a lovely valentines day dinner out while others chose to eat Raising Cane’s at the hotel. We were trying to get back for practice and school which ended up cancelling due to below zeros temps. It was brutally cold, so much so, that the inside of our car was frosting on the drive.

I should also mention I did not abandon my tradition of doing Valentines Breakfast for my kids. It’s one of my very favorite things to do. So amidst a long and yucky allergy appointment that morning; we did do our breakfast and also discovered that Drew is allergic to pretty much everything in nature! ugh! So sorry Drew!

And my baby girl attended her last grade school valentines party! One I was unable to attend due to Covid. It’s really hard to have these “lasts” and not be able to be there. And although she is growing up and not fascinated by cute little valentines anymore, I still love it and tried my best 🙂 and also thankful for a couple pictures and videos from her teacher.

Hoping we get to explore another mountain again in the future and share fun times with our loved ones. Maybe we can also shed the masks and see peoples facial expressions again and go to school like normal! I’m hopeful! Come on Spring…we’re ready for you!

The start to 2021 has been a tough one. As we said goodbye to someone very dear to us, and struggled with quarantining, we were not going to forgo celebrating Drew turning 13! He’s a TEEN! And he’s one of the best thirteen year old’s out there! To know him is to love him. I promise that. He has a heart of gold, a love of sports and cheeseburgers, rattles off stats, checks fantasy football, plays PS4 with his buddies, and still makes time for snuggles. He makes friends with young to old and we adore him!

His expectations for a birthday celebration are never large demands. He will gladly take what is offered to him among time constraints, a birthday just following a big holiday, and smack dab in the middle of Winter. This year we decided to try Axe-Throwing! Without gathering too many people and trying to be covid-responsible, we grabbed a few friends and some lumberjack decorations, and had the best time! Party tip: you can make any inexpensive, plain cake super cute and festive with your own decorations. I found these fake deer antlers in a 75% off Christmas bin at the craft store. I snatched them up without hesitation and knew I could find a use for them. Along with some buffalo plaid and little wood logs….party theme complete!

Time was short with everything we had going on, so we dropped invitations off with plaid cloth masks of course! We had to match…I mean come on!? If we must wear them, lets stick with the party theme and dress the part!

The kids had an absolute blast and in fact, the next day, Drew’s friend Carter was so inspired, he created an axe-throwing station in his basement! Way to go Carter!

We love you Drewy and celebrating your birthday was just the thing we needed to brighten our month! Can’t wait to see the awesome things you do this year!!

One of his besties and fellow KU Jayhawks fan, Uncle Scott, decided to schedule a work meeting during the party so he was in big trouble, but we were able to get Brian’s dad there and all of the kids were so sweet to him! He took a strong liking to the cheese curds on the menu and we may or may not have cleaned out the kitchen of curds! It was so cute!

His big gift was a set of AirPods but I think he was more excited about the clock radio and socks he received (he’s a bit of a grandpa, ha!) Love you to the moon DREW BOO!

And if you have 20 minutes, here is a link to his ‘Year in Review’ Birthday Video!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/286wvof8c17wo6w/Drew%2013%20Bday%20Video.mp4?dl=0

No rest for the weary. Among a pandemic, college visits, an unexpected passing in the family, a big “teen” birthday, and upcoming middle school basketball tryouts, Reece and I flew to Dallas for her first in-person USAG Tumbling & Trampoline competition. We’ve got this. Just keep piling it on and we’ll see what the breaking point is soon enough.

Having an out of town competition is always something my kids love and look forward to and this was no exception. I’m just happy that it didn’t cancel due to Covid concerns because that conversation would have been an extremely difficult one with Reece. She’s a competitor through and through. She’s trying a different spin on gymnastics, new gym, new people, and new ways of training. There’s a growing number of gym apparatus appearing in our family room. She’s always flipping around and doing what seems to be, very unsafe things.

Right after school on Friday, we set out for the airport and off we went!

Once we arrived, we got our first Uber with quite a bit of reservation from Reece. She was checking my phone every 30 seconds to see when we would arrive at our hotel. If we started veering off course, you better believe she was going to alert me!

Our room was a giant executive suite, thanks to Papagiorgio (this is what we call Brian sometimes when we travel – a reference to Rusty, the character in the Vegas Vacation movie). Pool was closed which made all the little girl athletes very upset and the weather was cloudy and rainy. However, Reece only wanted to immerse herself in the atmosphere of the arena next door anyway, food was in walking distance, and I had a book to read. All good!

I was immediately mesmerized watching some of the elites who were doing absolutely insane things, followed by a sense of terror and second-guessing. Why was I putting my daughter in this sport? This is utter craziness. Is this safe? Why would anyone do this? Typical thoughts that run through my head. Meanwhile Reece is mesmerized and reciting the term for every skill, some nerves, but mostly excited to have her turn later in the day. I’d been told that all of these TX and OK athletes practice 20ish hours a week and Reece practices 4. Yikes, what in the world are we doing here!?! I’m throwing my 10 year old to the wolves!

It’s an exciting atmosphere for sure and watching the athletes do their walk in is fun to see. I would likely be curled up in the corner if someone asked me to do anything of the sort in this giant arena in Texas, with all eyes on me.

Her first event was Level 6 Double Mini age 11-12. Admittedly not her favorite event, but she always seems to do well. It’s two passes and for her first time ever doing this in front of a crowd in a USAG sanctioned event, she rocked it!

OH MY WORD SHE’S HIGH IN THE AIR! My heart was beating out of my chest as it has always done in previous gymnastics meets. Not only from the fear of getting hurt, but also the fear of possibly dealing with Reece when she is upset with a performance. She’s a tough one. I seriously think I was having a heart attack. This can’t be good for my health!

A very impressive 2nd place finish!

Next event was Level 6 Trampoline age 11-12. Some of these girls were amazing and Reece knew it. She did well – had a little bobble that could’ve thrown her way off her routine or off the tramp! It doesn’t seem quite uncommon for athletes to forget their routine or a skill in the routine or even fall into a mat. I can only imagine what is going through their little heads!

A few pics I snapped during warm ups–

She placed 6th in this event. I thought her routine looked GREAT!

Finally, she did her favorite event, Level 7 Tumbling age 11-12. Adjusting to the equipment is never easy. The tramps can either be super bouncy or not and the tumbling floor can have some give or be too firm. You have very little time to warm up, sometimes just 1 or 2 passes, so you just figure out how to adjust quickly!

She took 3rd place! So good!

There are so many flips in these passes, it’s not uncommon to see them get a little off balance at the end. Undoubtedly reorienting themselves, some look like they’ve just gotten off a merry-go-round going full speed. They do two passes and you are supposed to land in the yellow mat at the end (so I hear). Don’t even ask me how this is judged and all of the rules – I’ll leave that kind of detail to Reece! I’m just trying to situate myself in the right spot and not get completely annoyed with the spectator commentary and get videos of course to show my family and friends!

All of the videos of her passes can be found on my YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTZ_DCY0z7w2x9VSnBogF4g

If you have a minute, it really is very fun to watch after the fact. While it’s happening, I feel like I could jump out of my skin, but I calm down considerably once she’s done!

A little bit of dinner in the the room ended our evening, some tired early Sunday morning eyes, a much more-relaxed 2nd Uber ride, and we were home to cheer on our Chiefs by early afternoon.

Congrats Reecie on such a successful weekend. Really proud of my little KS girl among all of these intense competitors! She was the only one in her age group in these levels that made the trip from KS and she missed an overall medal in DM by 2 spots. Everything’s bigger in Texas, as they say, including the overall medals – they were the size of small plates and she really wanted one. She was so close!

Way to rise to the occasion Reece…loved spending the weekend with you!

and….GO CHIEFS! Going to the Super Bowl in back to back years – can’t believe my kids are getting to witness all of this home town success!

If I had to choose a quality in Morgan that needs a little improvement, it would be decision-making. She can’t make a decision to save her life! However, I give her full credit for being very thorough. Potentially she over-thinks things. hmmm…I wonder where she gets that from!? She put together a wonderful power point presentation of the pros and cons of the universities she was deciding between. I love this!

We gave her a deadline of noon today to have her decision made or we would be dragging on forever! It’s certainly not a decision to be taken lightly so we appreciate the thought and research she has put forth (and perhaps a touch of agony).

She chose K-State! We are thrilled! She’s going to fit right in and do amazing things, I am so confident!

Congratulations MoMo! It’s great to have another wildcat in the family (much to Drew’s dismay).

Morgan, you are so loved and have the support of all of us (even Drew). Can’t wait for you to start this journey and also allow me to visit and agree to come home from time to time 😉

K-State just gained a great one!!

We’re getting closer and closer to our first born leaving the nest. I’ve been cleaning out stuffed animals and selling all of my girls’ hair bows. Insert lots of tears right here!! These are the little things that get me. For most, it’s a relief to be rid of old things, but for this sentimental mom, it’s a reminder that they’re one step closer to adulthood. I clearly had a hair accessory buying addiction by the way…HOLY COW!

Morgan has already received some college prep gifts for Christmas…a laundry bag and other coordinating bags that I can already envision being stuffed to the max and dropped in the kitchen floor on her breaks from college. Might as well make them cute bags, I figure. We’ve done a lot of work in the basement making her a space perfect for her time at home. Some would say that is a little backwards. I mean she will be here less and less but in my mom brain it just makes sense for her to have a place she wants to come back to for visits! She will have some privacy, her own bathroom, and a window well that’s adorable and we’ve finally got it decorated wonderfully “MoMo.” She’s one lucky almost-college girl, I’d say!

How cute is her bathroom!?!

Her goal was to get this heart picture wall done before the end of winter break. So at the very final hours, with help from the rest of the fam, it’s complete! 171 pictures. 13% of them, Drew is in (he counted of course)…he’s a stats man!

Most college visits have been postponed, admission requirements changed, and college students are navigating online classes and closed residence/dining halls. All of this due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ongoing nuisance that we’re all wondering if it will ever go away. Nuisance is actually the understatement of the century, it’s been an absolute abomination of evil. But, we are plugging along here and doing what we can to keep our lives on track for our kids and our community. Some have received the vaccine, including front line workers and those in assisted living facilities (including my Grammy and my Father-in-Law). My parents are clamoring to get theirs. And some of us in the family have had the virus and recovered.

We’ve gotten to finally do some campus tours with Morgan and it’s been so fun to experience this with her! She has two really solid universities in mind, the University of Arkansas and Kansas State University. Both of them have their pros and cons and the choice is a hard one! With her fantastic grades, she has qualified for 90% in-state tuition at Arkansas and qualifies for the Honors College. Actually, our mailbox is full of every day of schools wanting her — who wouldn’t!? Any university would be lucky to have this gem on their campus. She’s bright, beautiful, fun, courageous, out going, kind, and so many other things. My dad is still hoping she goes somewhere to play golf, which she absolutely could do, but the one decision she has made is she does not want to pursue college athletics. She just wants to focus on being a normal college student. Sorry Papa!

While we were at Arkansas we spent the evening driving around and exploring. We luckily got a tour of the Pi Phi house and all of our jaws were on the floor. What an incredible sight! I would move in there tomorrow if I was a college girl. Actually, one of them thought I was a senior, so maybe I could sneak in!? I loved my college days! We ate at a recommended dinner spot, Hugo’s, and it reminded us of our underground tour in Seattle (could that be a sign!?) The next day we had a campus tour with wonderful student guides. One of them a business major and ironically knew that we had knocked on the door of her sorority the night before and were turned down for a tour due to Covid. We loved the campus and I know MoMo would fit right in. Before leaving town, we ate tacos at Torchy’s and made the 3.5 hr drive home. The drive is a “con” by the way!

This past Tuesday we visited K-State for an official campus visit. We have been to Manhattan many times for fun and family and even Sophomore Day. However, we’ve never done a student-led tour or toured the new college of business building. Wow – it’s impressive! Brian and I met at K-State, have tons of memories and stories to tell but my hope is for Morgan to create her own stories whether that be at our Alma Mater or venturing off to do her own thing.

We had some interesting kids in our group – one declared that he was very into ping pong and “takes it very seriously” and the other decided to tell the guide that he couldn’t hear him and we were nearly done with the tour at that point. As Morgan said, why didn’t he move forward…I mean, let’s problem solve here people! Gotta love this girl! I have no doubt that she will be successfully navigating everything here in no time. And sorry dad, we didn’t have time to find your “St. Patrick Award” in the engineering building…another time! After peanut butter tacos for lunch at Taco Lucha (yes, that’s a thing…you should try it!). I’m sensing a theme here…tacos after campus visits are a must!

Stay tuned for her official decision!

We built our home and moved in in November 2002. It was exciting and stressful and wonderful all at the same time. One thing that was a non-negotiable for me in our master bath was having separate bathroom sinks. I wanted my own space to get ready for work in the mornings. And I really mean separate!! Not just two sinks on the same vanity with space in between. I mean TWO separate areas. I’ve decided over the years that boys are just gross. They don’t clean their sinks and they leave stuff laying out everywhere and I like things to be tidy. Well, come to find out, girls are also gross because my two daughters’ sinks are not very clean either! Between the bottles of hair and face products, and brushes, and hair ties, and headbands, and toothpaste remnants in the sink. It’s all there, whether it’s my boys or my girls. Which brings me back to the design of my bathroom! We took the space in the model floorplan and redesigned it so we could have two separate vanities and a walk in shower. In doing this, the closet had to become smaller but it was worth it to me. Over the years, the shower has leaked and the design probably was somewhat flawed, but it has functioned for us and we have been happily getting ready in our own areas. However, this year we decided it was time to take care of the leaking shower once and for all. It had been patched in the past, mold had been found in the wall, you know…the not so glamorous part of home ownership.

We got numerous bids and I started selecting tile and parts and pieces needed. We pivoted and changed and made adjustments and at the end of the day, the design is still great. I still have my separate vanity and we no longer have a giant corner tub. I bathed a lot of adorable kiddos in that tub and I will cherish all of that time I leaned over the side trying to grab slippery kiddos to get them clean. On special nights, they got to fill it all the way up and use the jacuzzi jets! I will always have those memories, but since my babies have grown up, they really don’t need me to give them a bath — so out the door it went — and it sat in our front yard for a time. Morgan took her last picture in it and eventually it was hauled off to someone nearby that wanted it. Jake, in his typical laid back fashion, swooped by and said “wait, you’re getting rid of the tub? I love that tub, I need that for my sore muscles.” Somewhere along the line, after all the discussion and people here working, he never got the memo that it was no longer in the bathroom. Love you Jakey, but sometimes you are just not tuned in!!

The bathroom looks great, but it’s still not complete and there were some challenges along the way (as is the case with most home projects). To address the problem of our smaller closet, I decided to add some custom cabinetry to the old shower space for clothing storage. We hired someone and he showed up with the most gigantic cabinet that was in one piece! With multiple neighbors, we managed to get it up the stairs and in the space. Ultimately, it didn’t fit properly, it wasn’t the look I wanted, and it just wasn’t right! We gave him a chance to fix it, but even that was too much of a task. After a huge leak occurred in my family room, and the work that had already been done being compromised, we decided to cut our losses and let him go. It was a lot of stress, a lot of tears shed, and quite a bit of money down the drain, but he was truly not a cabinet maker and we had correct the issue. So, we are still waiting for a finished cabinet, and hoping and praying it will be just what we want. Lesson learned.

All the while, we were also expanding our basement bathroom and adding a shower. In preparation for Morgan going to college, we knew we would need a place for her to come home to on college breaks that would have a little privacy and also not have to come up two flights of stairs to take a shower. Plus, as the kids get older, sharing a room is apparently less desirable!? I call this our quarantine project. It started out closing off our open floorplan playroom and making it into a bedroom for MoMo. We added a small closet and a door and she painted it perfectly. We grabbed a new bed from Ikea and some baskets to hold her clothing and it’s an adorable space for her! The bathroom is also complete and the construction went just fine. Morgan and I became buddies with, Andrew, our contractor and it’s actually been a little sad to not have him around! Apparently remodeling two bathrooms at once is a very big project! And we also discovered a cracked window on the front of our house and mold in our entry coat closet, so there you have it, A LOT was going on around here and it became my full-time job to manage all of it. I’m going to admit, I really just prefer the design part and the rest of the details are not in my wheelhouse. We all have our strengths and weaknesses I suppose.

So in the throws of my first born’s senior year, a world wide pandemic, kids schooling at home, and Brian working at home, doing a double bathroom remodel is really not advised!! I wanted to document it here because years from now, we won’t remember all the stress surrounding it, but we will be enjoying our new spaces. Our house has grown right along with us and it has served us well! We have made it work in all the situations our family has needed it for, and after all, it is our home, it is the place I brought home all 4 of my babies, and it is the place where so many memories have been made! I haven’t, even one time, had the desire to move and upgrade. I guess you can say that I’m quite attached to this place!!

I’m finally able to write this post! After being out of school since March due to the Covid pandemic. We have been anxiously awaiting the return to any kind of normal. Our normal now is Reece going to 5th grade in person two days a week and the other 3 are completely online for school and it was all pushed back to after Labor Day. This is not really the start back that anyone was hoping for but I guess we’ll take anything we can get at this point.

On a sidenote, upon our return from Pinehurst, we managed to kill our pets, Milo and Buttercup. Drew went to feed them and they were not in their habitat. So, my guess is that an animal came and ate the poor little things! Ugh…we are not fit to be pet owners I guess. So now we have these cute little gravestones for them. We loved you Milo and Buttercup (even though you were smelly)

2020 was going to be BIG year for our family. Several vacations were planned, Brian and I celebrating 20 years of marriage, and 3 of our 4 kids were heading into school milestones. Morgan, her senior year, Jake starting high school, and Reece completing her final year of elementary school.

I’m hoping to get a rain check on all of these vacations I was going to take this year! Most especially the trip to St. John we were taking with my best friend, Lisa, and her crew. We did manage to get a last minute booking at Camp Long Creek, a part of Big Cedar Lodge, in Branson, MO. We loaded up my new fancy ride to the very tip top, split up into two ADORABLE cabins overlooking Table Rock Lake and had the BEST time! Jake declared himself a “country boy,” we cooked a million pounds of bacon in two tiny microwaves, jumped off cliffs, and threw kids flying off tubes. We laughed so much our stomachs hurt and it was a great end to the 6 month spring break/summer.

We held off on buying school supplies and nice back to school clothes because we knew this school year was going to start off differently but we still gathered with our normal neighborhood crew for pictures and breakfast. We HAD to–it’s tradition. We even made the back to school donut ride happen!

So there she goes…our little one…off to be the big girl on campus and she actually gets to go into a school building 2 days a week!! She’s one heck of a strong-willed girl and she will follow every rule and make sure they are followed by others. This is the first year I haven’t put any kids on a bus! I decided to drive this year so that no one would have to wear a mask longer than needed. It’s kind of a way of life now actually, but we all need a break!

Look at our neighborhood SENIORS!!

We are so proud! We know they are going on to do great things and we will make this the best senior year possible.

I just knew the start of school would spark every single emotion. Our Morgan is simply the best and I have been wandering down memory lane a lot as I prepare to send her off to experience her senior year. I have no worries actually, only hopes and dreams for this fabulous daughter that I get to call mine.

I would like to share what our home school is looking like here at the Conley house! It’s not perfect. You can’t buy a desk right now to save your life because they are all snatched up by every kid and parent in the universe working from home right now. We’re making due. You’ll see Drew is making time for Recess in the garage with a basketball and working on his putting between zoom calls. We think he MUST be an expert by the end of the semester. Jake is surviving on party pizzas and PS4 and occasional trip to the driving range between classes (it’s pretty much a glorified frat house around here) and Morgan is working really hard.

Reece is home 3 days a week and we’re trying out different locations

Her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Petty, sent us this picture of her at her desk on her first day of school and I am so happy to have it!

There are no parent volunteers allowed any more, no field trips, and many traditions will not occur this year. Everything looks and feels different and I’m so proud of her for persevering on this crazy journey. The teachers are AMAZING for what they are doing to try to educate our kids. We have discovered we can do hard things but it hasn’t been without a LOT of struggle along the way. And if Brian hears that the WIFI isn’t working one more time he might send us all to a hotel!

I’m doing my very best to not let go of traditions during this time. The first week of September is always celebrated with grandparent lunch at school and we decided to make our own at home.

Grandma and Grandpa Conley cannot have visitors in their facility right now and have struggled with numerous health complications since the lock down. But we are trying our best to keep them happy and healthy! They recently celebrated 54 years of marriage!

So as we finish up our 2nd week of school, we are reflecting on what a crazy time this has been! Our saving grace has been our sports! There was a time this fall that high school sports were not going to happen but the community has been rallying and pushing for them for the well-being of our kids. The Conley’s were in attendance and also rallying to get these kids back into a school building safely. I told my kids…wherever you go, put masks in your pocket so you’re prepared for anything and hope for the best! And oh by the way…you’ve now experienced the Royals winning the World Series, the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl, a community rally, and a pandemic. Unbelievable.

We’ve also experienced drive through Picture day, drive through school materials and device pick up. Unprecedented times for sure.

It’s our final day here in Pinehurst and we have an earlier tee time and a chance of catching a 5pm flight back home if the round flows in a timely fashion.

Today, he is paired up with Stefan Daley from FL and Tyler Brewer from VA.  Initially, we weren’t exactly sure how this was going to go because Stefan and his dad do A LOT of discussion of each shot but we have quite a bit of waiting today, so it’s all good.  Very nice people.  The goal today is to get through the first three holes without a lot of damage to the scorecard!Poor Tyler is getting a lot of negative feedback from his dad spectating from a cart so I was feeling badly for him.  His caddie was a family friend. It’s very hot and humid today but the beauty of this course and the opportunity to be here is so worth it!  I’ve got the layout down, I know where to find shade, and if I would’ve brought an extra suitcase, I would’ve filled it with pine cones 😉Jake had multiple very makeable birdie opportunities today and it just wasn’t meant to be.  Ugh.  I happened to capture one on video. 

Jake hit almost every fairway today and somehow ended with an 82.  It wasn’t what he set out to do and was disappointed.  He truly had some amazing golf shots today!  His score very easily would have been a 79 if the short game would have worked in his favor a little more.  Not to mention, at some point exhaustion has to play a factor.

I’m so proud of these kids for what they do out here.  It is mentally and physically taxing on the body.  I’m thinking I might have walked about 16-17 miles in the last 3 days and Brian did more.  In the heat.  Pushing a cart of clubs.  Brian is a wonderful caddie!  He is always encouraging and helpful and we are lucky to have him available to do this for Jake.  THANK YOU!

After scoring is compete, the boys took a quick shower and a change of clothes and we head back to Raleigh to eat quickly and get to the airport.

I know Jake didn’t score the way he wanted this week but I couldn’t be more proud!  If we could just substitute his practice round score in for Round 1, we would be right in there close to where he wanted to be.  But I guess that’s not how life works sometimes.

Look where Cornell and Jaxon ended up (the boys we were paired with for Round 1 & 2).  Top 5 and 8!

We all decided that this was an amazing experience and if we could come back, we would!

So proud of you, Jake.  Keeping working hard!

Love, Mom

We had a very somber evening last night. Jake took a break from practicing and just chilled and also constantly refreshed the tourney standings on his phone.  It’s hard to describe this experience fully.  It is physically and mentally grueling and it is also awesome at the same time.

We decided to change things up this morning and try a new breakfast spot right next door to the Pine Scone Cafe.  They serve clean juices and smoothies.  Brian also drove out of his way to find Jake a chocolate long john donut.  He loves them! They were sold out but he was able to find another comparable donut and a smoothie.  Jake struggles getting breakfast down but he also struggles eating on the course, which means he doesn’t eat for roughly 6 hours.  This is why I’m also receiving emails from my dad with links to protein shakes that would be good for him and even locations I can get them here in Pinehurst! Apparently he does not trust me to feed my child adequately. Oh I love you, Dad!  And Jake loves you to pieces.  If Covid wasn’t an issue, of all people, he would want you here without question.  Wish you were here, dad/papa!

We had a little issue with Jake’s shirt being wrinkled so Brian was doing a last minute steam to try to correct it.I’m happy to report that I finally got a picture of this “watch for turtles” sign that we have now passed numerous times to and from the course.  It has made me think of our turtles at home, Buttercup and Milo 🙂I really hope someone is actually cleaning their cage while we are gone because it has an awful smell when it hasn’t been cleaned!  Similar to our clothes here in Pinehurst.  I always say I don’t sweat or smell and apparently I am incorrect! We are a literally a HOT mess here!  We had to pick up some laundry detergent and do a load this evening.

As we arrived for Round 2, we were full of hope.  To overcome the mental distress of round 1 was going to be tough for Jake but I’ve seen my kids overcome adversity before and if anyone can do it, It’s Jake.  He loves the sport of golf.  I have thought multiple times about him saying to me last week when we had a 2.5 hour HS baseball game and he said it was just too long.  This baffles me.  A golf round literally takes the entire day!  By the time you drive there, practice, and play your round, you’re nearly 6-7 hours in!I’m trying to redeem myself here and I got the entire introduction by arriving at the first tee very early!  Due to the storm that rolled in yesterday, all tee times and groups remained the same today (group is Jaxson Brown from FL, and Cornell Beans from NC).  These kids are VERY solid players.  I know Jake would like to prove to them that he is a legit player even being from Kansas, which is clearly not a state that you can play year round. 

We started out with a solid Par and proceeded to have some seriously wicked pin placement on #2 and #3.  To the point where a few of us were actually walking off to the next hole thinking it was over.  NOPE.  As Jake went to mark his ball by the flag, it proceeded to roll completely off the green and for Jackson too.  If a golf course marshall had been near by, I think Cornell’s caddie was going to absolutely light him up.  “it’s not even golf” he says.  I have to admit, I was a little dumbfounded myself!  We were going to have to rebound from a quadruple bogey already! OMG.He rebounded by all pars and a birdie the rest of the front 9.  Love that!I swear it was hotter today than it was yesterday and I was pretty sure then that it couldn’t get any worse, but with the amount of rain yesterday afternoon and through the evening, it was very humid.  These kids make it seem easy.  It’s incredible. Jake ended up finishing the round with a very solid 79.  His opponents both ended with 75.  One had to take a stroke penalty after admitting to the rules official that he lifted, cleaned, and placed a ball in what he thought was a bunker but it actually was a waste area.  What a stand up guy to bring that to the attention of the staff.  These kids are top notch!

And these two kiddos are actually in the top 15 of the tournament!  WOW, so cool that Jake got to play with them for two days!Immediately after the round, we went to grab a bite to eat at Pinehurst Brewing Co. on a recommendation by Cornell’s mom.  It did not disappoint!  Jake ordered pretzels and cheese of course (this is a staple favorite of Jake’s!) and Brian and I shared one of the best cheeseburgers we’ve ever had.  We’re hoping we might be able to come back in the future.

Then we stopped by the grocery store to try to find my dads magical protein shakes (which they did not have) and then off to Pinehurst 2 for practice and to watch his buddy, Gavin in the 15-18 group come in.

I just knew that my Jake had it in him.  I’ve seen him do it!  I even wore my stinky practice round outfit again to bring good vibes. I hope he never stops trying.  This is truly a grueling sport (which makes me wonder daily why anyone even likes it!?).  But I love that he has found this passion.  What an experience we have had here in Pinehurst.  Jake, you are LOVED!

Even when you look at me like you want to chop my head off…I don’t care!  I’ve got this annoying mom thing down to a science and I love your cute face.  Always.Hoping to get a final update out tomorrow as we get on our way back to KC.  This has been absolute HEAVEN for Jake so we are thrilled we were able to be here this week!  If for some reason I don’t document our last day here, and I will be super mad if I don’t, I just want to say what an amazing experience this has been!  I almost didn’t come due to childcare concerns and COVID and I’m so glad I changed my mind!

Jake, you are a stud.  Love you.  Mom.