Look at these cuties!!  This is Helena and Frank, Brian’s parents on their wedding day 50 years ago!  To celebrate this very special occasion, we took a family trip to Branson for the weekend.  These two really never ask for much, just gathering all of their kids together makes them so happy.  We had a great time spoiling them for a couple days!  John, Dawn, and the kids were able to come and Jennifer.  It was a heat index of 110 I think, but that didn’t stop us from celebrating!  Of course this included lots of swimming at the beautiful Marriott Willow Ridge resort (our hair will never recover from the massive chlorine intake).  We had 3, 2 bedroom/2 bath suites equipped with full kitchens right by the pool.  It was perfect!

We brought plenty of food and drinks and made all of our meals with the exception of our celebration dinner in Branson Landing.  The kids also went crazy ordering slushes at the pool.  Why not…it’s vacation…fill yourself with sugar!

We made it out for a friendly game of putt putt (girls against boys)

Grandma got a hole in one!  You go girl!

and the real troopers went go-karting!  Some of us had already sweat through every inch of clothing by this point and couldn’t continue on.  These guys had FUN…

Probably the highlight for all of us was the family wiffle ball game at the property.  I am always amazed at the EXTREME competitive nature this Conley family has.  I’m not sure I fit in…but I enjoyed watching Reece amaze everybody with multiple home runs.  And only in Branson can you get away with wearing a T-shirt as a dress.

I feel a re-match coming on in the future for these die-hards!

We ended our celebrating with a nice dinner out and an hour or so at Rack Room Shoes.  An hour or so that John will never get back 😉  You had to be there to enjoy the ridiculousness of that part!  The purpose was finding shoes for the kids to wear in Aunt Jenn’s wedding and it took a few twists and turns along the way (including 3 trips to different Rack Room locations!?).  In the end, all kids had shoes, Reece managed to squeak out an additional pair of light up flip flops, Helena got some new shoes, and Frank ended up with the bags!  Thankfully he didn’t end up with the bill.  Gotta love these memories…is this going in Aunt Jenn’s wedding album or should we pretend like this never happened? 🙂

When we returned back to our resort, we had champagne and pink lemonade poured and ready for toasting and a yummy chocolate cake.

 

Jennifer made a gorgeous picture book for them and we enjoyed looking through it and going over childhood memories with them.

Morgan made a canvas art project to commemorate the milestone…

and we flagged down a guy walking back from the pool to step into our room to take a picture of our group.  That poor guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time dealing with this crew!

We ended our evening with a family game and it’s not a Conley gathering without photo booth props!

 

Happy 50 years, we love you!!

 

 

 

This is going back to the beginning of July but didn’t want to gloss over it since Brian coached Drew’s team.  Each summer this tournament is held at Stump Park in Shawnee, KS.  It’s a 1 day tourney, 3 players vs. 3 players, no goalies, and short halves.  It’s just a fun day where you can get a lot of touches on the ball, meet some Sporting KC players, and get to attend a home game at Sporting Park at the conclusion.  You also can acquire a wicked farmer’s tan.  Oh yes, this mom is sporting one of the worst out there.  I’m banned from even putting a swimsuit on because I would scare anyone and everyone that crosses my path.  This day is always BOILING hot.  We come prepared and put up a tent and camp out for the day but even when you are avoiding the sun, it still finds you!

Brian grabbed a few players to play with Drew and another dad put together a team that included Jake.  Drew’s team made it to the finals, they played there little hearts out, and took home 2nd place trophies.

This is how Jake’s day turned out…

Not so happy  for Jakey Poo, but he played hard and got to hang with his buddies.  It’s ok to not always win.  It teaches us to try harder and not everything in sports or life is always successful.  You’ll get them next time Jake!  We already have the Fall season starting and there is A LOT of soccer left to play bud and your new cleats are super cool!

Brian, you are such a saint for voluntarily coaching all day in the heat, taking all these boys to the game, tailgating, and enduring another hot game.  Thank you for being committed to these kiddos!

Best of luck this soccer season KC Fusion!

 

Well that was a short break in the non-golf blog entries.  SORRY!  This one cannot be missed.  Jake and Drew look forward to this golf tournament every summer.  They absolutely love it.  It’s a big draw in the area for youth and a HUGE tournament.  It’s a fun one because it includes all skill levels, many of their friends, and the trophies are cool.  It’s a 3 day tourney the first week of August.  At their age, they play the par 3 course at Overland Park and all the kiddos dress so cute and get the opportunity to learn the rules about tournament play.  At the conclusion of round 1 the kids are placed in flights based on their scores for the day.

I’m so pleased to announce that both Jake and Drew earned their spots in the Championship flights!  WAY TO GO BOYS!

Jake woke up with butterflies in his stomach and teed off around 9:40 this morning and for some reason it was chilly as you can see he was wearing a jacket (in August…what!??).  He played very well and shot a 31 which is 4 over par.  His best round on this course is 29.  He had a few birdie opportunities that didn’t pan out but overall he had a blast and had a smile on his face most of the time.

 

Drew teed off at 12:40pm and was looking the part.  I absolutely love the look of these little golfers, they are stinkin’ CUTE.  Unfortunately, I cannot say that Drew was having a blast.  In fact, most of the time his little head was drooping down in disgust.  He’s so hard on himself!  We keep trying to work on his ability to shake it off and move on to the next shot but it’s very difficult…even for adults in this sport.  Individual sports are an entirely different animal.  He had a few putts that just barely missed and that can be discouraging.

 

This is his demeanor on the final hole…I think he is in disbelief and  just wanted to be done at this point!

But then….he sank a 30 foot putt!!!  WHAT!?  who does that!?  Well Drew Boo did and Papa got it on his video cam!  Woo hoo!  Thank goodness that ending happened or we would’ve all been running for the hills.  So proud of you buddy for persevering!  He shot a 44.  You go out there tomorrow and play hard and we will always support you.

On the way into the clubhouse he was  happily telling us he was going to get himself some donuts.  You deserve those donuts Drewy and this post-golf snack is all he needed to perk right back up.  You have to love that…

Thank you Nanny and Papa for being golf super fans!  We love having you there.  We cannot wait to watch you boys play tomorrow.  Hope you have so much fun!

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

 

Ok I have to break up the journal with something other than golf!  It’s getting a little out of control.  So let’s talk about mermaid tails!  Around Falcon Valley, there are a lot of little girls that have mermaid tails that you can put on and swim around in.  They are actually quite beautiful and come in a variety of colors so I can see why the girls are enamored with them.  However, they have to be ordered online and they are pricey!   Somehow I got talked into getting one for Reece and I have to admit its been a great purchase!  Once it was on order she was stalking the mailbox!!  She LOVES it and takes it to the pool every chance she gets!  It’s a little bit cumbersome to put on and you couldn’t pay me a million dollars to stuff my legs into that tight squeeze…but she gets it on and slithers through the water like a pro mermaid!  Due to the cost, you definitely don’t want to leave it at the pool by mistake.  There’s been a few neighborhood email postings floating about this summer looking for lost mermaid tails!  I actually think it’s probably really good exercise and if I was her size I’d put that on and show off too!  Have fun Reece…you are rocking that mermaid tail!

As you have seen by now, this summer is jam-packed with a ton of golf!  Since our family joined LQ, Brian has the kids signed up for everything and anything golf that is included with our membership to the club.  The wrap up to the summer season at LQ is a Junior Golf Tournament on 7.22.16.  I actually missed most of it as I was still packing to leave for Branson.  This is not a mom moment I’m proud of because both of my boys played very well and I do not like missing ANYTHING.

Jake was 1st in his age group and Drew was 2nd!  Jake took down Andrew who has won the tourney 4 years in a row I heard.  I rushed out to LQ hoping to catch at least a hole or two and realized Drew was already done and Jake had two swings left.  Shoot!  At least I would see an awards ceremony.  Well no, that actually doesn’t happen until the next week.  Double shoot!  Oh well, on the bright side this is going to start our weekend getaway to Branson on the right foot…boys played great, car is packed, and we are hitting the road and escaping our chaotic life for a couple days.

Jake and Drew, I can’t tell you enough how proud I am of you.  As I’ve taken a couple golf lessons this summer, I’ve learned the amount of skill involved in this sport and what the two of you do at your age is so impressive.  Keep working at it and having fun!  I can’t wait to watch you, discuss every detail of your rounds, and just be a part of this sport with you.

On July 29th, LQ had the twilight family golf night, putting contest, and awards dinner.  Drew raked it in and it was well deserved…look at all of these golf balls he won!

Drew and Brian won the twilight family golf tourney with their score, they won the putting contest, and Drew got his medal for 2nd place in the Jr. Tourney.  Along with some yummy pizza, breadsticks, cookies, and brownies…this guy is living the high life!

 

Jake very proudly accepted his 1st place medal and you can tell by his smile that he’s hungry to get another one next year!

For the family tourney, I was paired up with Jake and Beau Reves (Drew’s school buddy) and Brian was paired up with the girls.  We had a ton of fun but I have to admit…poor Jake and Beau were at a disadvantage with me on their team.  I played terrible…sorry Chris (my golf instructor in the pink shirt), I promise to play better next time!  But this was only the 2nd time I’ve stepped foot on a golf course to play so I’m going to cut myself some slack for now.

I love all of my little golfers to pieces!

 

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!