Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Chase and Nanaw ran errands before they went to Nanaw's house on Tuesday morning. Nanaw gave Chase her phone to play with, but for some odd reason, he didn't want to play with it. Instead, he listened to music on the radio. First, they went to the cemetery, then to get gas, and then to return a book to the library. They were a little late starting school so they didn't get all the work done before Room 9 started (and also the Roblox streaming event Chase wanted to watch). First, they did the reading and snuggling with the stuffed animals; the reading excerpt was about animals becoming extinct. They also did the subtraction problems, the subtraction memorization, and questions about compound and complex sentences. Chase had his favorite for lunch: fun nuggets and cauliflower. After Room 9 was over, they finished up the schoolwork they didn’t get done in the morning. They did the subtraction and addition flashcards, a reading story with questions to answer, and cursive handwriting practice. When Nanaw took Chase home, he started playing with his toy soldiers instead of asking to play with his tablet. Nanaw was happy about that.

Monday, June 29, 2020

Chase and Nanaw had a good time with the schoolwork on Monday. At his request, they did the reading and the snuggling first. He really likes the answers book and looks forward to reading the book. Chase got everything done before Room 9 started. He's getting good at the flashcards, especially because he wanted to get done before Room 9 and the Roblox streaming thing came on. It's amazing how well he does with the flashcards when he needs to get them done quickly. In the afternoon, Chase and Nanaw planted the basil seeds in the two planters that Grandma Pat's plants were in. They were on the front porch and Chase told Nanaw to make sure they got enough sun. So Nanaw moved the planters over by the grape vines. Chase created a game in the Piggy game on Roblox and showed it to Nanaw. She wants to get more involved with what he does on the computer. Mama sent Nanaw a picture of Chase from four years ago -- he's just as cute now as he was then. . Mama also sent a picture of Chase's stuffed animals all snuggled up on his bed. Chase told Nanaw he was hoping to get in his swimming pool when he got home. Daddy said he didn't have time before baseball practice but that he could get in the pool if they came home right after practice rather than Chase playing on the playground with his friends. So Chase said that's what he wanted to do.

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Daddy played golf on Sunday so Chase and Mama had a Mama and son adventure. They drove to Cliff Cave park and looked around and then they did the same thing at Suson Park. It was very hot on Sunday, and neither Mama nor Chase wanted to get out of the car. When they got home, Chase rode his scooter around the block with Mama. Mama got even hotter then. In the afternoon, Mama was taking a nap on the couch, and Chase jumped on top of her, giggling and laughing and saying he wanted to snuggle. Very funny. Later, he got in his swimming pool and played for awhile. Nanaw came over to visit Chase in the evening. She brought along the book on questions from the library. They played on Chase's bed again with the stuffed animals while Nanaw read about worms and tickling and dinosaurs from the questions book. Mama made a tater tot and hamburger casserole for dinner, and Chase really liked it.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Mama texted Nanaw on Saturday morning to tell her that Chase was sick and instead of dropping him off on her way to the grocery store, could Nanaw come over there to visit Chase. So Nanaw went to Chase's house. He seemed to be feeling better. Nanaw took along her iPad and Fire tablet so she could read some of the free Amazon books she got for him. He wanted to go snuggle on his bed with his stuffed animals so that's what they did. Chase decided he wanted Nanaw to read about sea turtles from one of the free Amazon books. But first they had to gather up all his stuffed turtles. Then he decided he also wanted his stuffed fish. Then he wanted the stingrays. When they finally had all the stuffed animals situated, Nanaw read about sea turtles to Chase. Nanaw stayed with Chase until Mama got home from the grocery store. In the afternoon, Mama texted Nanaw that Chase might need solid color masks for school. So when Nanaw went to Washington Walmart, she got four yards of navy blue cotton to make masks for Chase.

Friday, June 26, 2020

Chase and Nanaw had a busy morning on Friday. Nanaw wanted to transplant the pumpkins and green beans to the garden area Uncle Mike made for her before it got too hot. She had Chase put on his swimming trunks and come outside with her to play in the water while she transplanted. He was excited about the new sprayer for the hose. Uncle Mike broke the other one so he bought one at Home Depot on Thursday. It's a long wand and has lots of settings like the other one. Chase tested out the settings and liked them all. He went around the yard spraying everything. He also spent time running through the sprinkler. Nanaw transplanted the pumpkins and green beans and watered them. They started looking droopy in the sun (there's lots of sun on the side of the house). So Nanaw propped Chase's two swimming pools up against the house to protect the plants from the sun. And it worked. The plants stopped looking droopy and perked right up. When the sun went down, Nanaw took down the pools. She'll put them up again tomorrow morning and maybe leave them overnight while she's at the little house. Chase got most of his school work done. They'll finish up a couple of pages on Monday.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Chase and Nanaw had a busy and exciting day on Thursday. Nanaw had Mama bring Chase over to her house at 7 because Nanaw was getting the house ready for the cleaning lady, who was coming at 8:15 -- much too early. At eight, Chase and Nanaw went downstairs and had school. Chase saw the bassinet, and Nanaw told him he'd slept in it when he was a baby. So of course he had to get in the basement, and Nanaw took pictures. Nanaw was very happy that Chase got everything done. The cleaning lady left just before Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky arrived -- perfect timing. They were coming to finish the drainage trench that Uncle Mike dug a couple of weeks ago. They wee also going to plant grass seed on the big bare space from where Nanaw's sewer pipe was repaired. Uncle Mike also prepared a little garden area on the side of the house where Nanaw could transplant her green beans and pumpkins. Chase came out and watched them work but kept his distance from Cheyenne and Apache. Aunt Becky tied them up to the back of the truck with long ropes so they could wander around. They're cute but scary to Nanaw and probably to Chase because they're so big and ferocious looking. After Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky left, Chase and Nanaw went to the Telegraph Road library to pick up books for Mama and a CD book for Nanaw. They wore their masks inside and didn't stay very long. The library looked different, with a lot of the chairs gone, a room dedicated to quarantining the books for 72 hours, etc. When Nanaw took Chase home, there was a surprise waiting for him in the back yard. Mama had bought him a blow-up pool eBay and Daddy was filling it with water. Chase was very excited and immediately got his swimming trunks and shirt on and jumped in the pool. He was a happy camper.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Chase and Nanaw got all the schoolwork done today. Yay! Just in time for Room 9. Once again, Nanaw had Chase do a variety of things and that seemed to work out well. The other day when he was doing morning work, he said it was boring. So maybe doing the same type of thing every day isn’t good. Or maybe the work is too easy for him. The only things Nanaw wants to make sure he does every day are subtraction flashcards and addition flashcards. It's very important that he learns those. His favorite thing to do is reading. He likes the answers book, and he likes snuggling with his stuffed animals. Nanaw put a book on request from the library that's similar to the answers book, and Chase is looking forward to it. Nanaw fixed the rice cauliflower Mama bought at the grocery store but Chase didn't like. He took one bite, made a face, and said he didn't want to eat it. Nanaw tasted it, liked it and will eat it so it won't go to waste. In the evening, Nanaw knocked a flower arrangement off the coffee table and the lost Easter egg popped out of it. Nanaw texted Mama and she told Chase about it. He wanted to know if Nanaw ate the candy in the Easter egg. She texted back that no, of course she didn't. She was saving it for Chase.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Chase and Nanaw didn't get all of the school work done today so they'll work on it tomorrow. Chase really likes the reading part of schoolwork, reading out of the Answers book. Nana is going to try to find more books like that at the library. The library is open again, on a limited basis - -fewer hours, limited to 15 patrons and not all services are available. But at least it's open again -- yay! Chase hasn't been spending much of his half birthday Robux yet, which is a good thing. Nanaw likes him to stretch things out. Chase watched all of the Room 9 programs again today and was engrossed in them. He'll be sorry when it's over at the end of July. Tomorrow Nanaw will have Chase help her water the plants outside. The weather was cool today and will be tomorrow so no playing in the water and wading pool for Chase. Nanaw's nephew and niece and their sons bought a cabin cruiser and are up in Michigan bringing it home. Nanaw has to remember to show Chase the Facebook pictures of the boat and their trip. It's very exciting. They ran into rough weather and hunkered down in Charlevoix, Michigan. They said they're dry in their cozy cabin, listening to the rain on the hull, playing cards. Nanaw thinks that  sounds wonderful.

Monday, June 22, 2020

Chase and Nanaw had a good school time. They were able to get everything done in time for Chase to watch Room 9. He really likes the programs and pays close attention. Room 9 runs until July 31, and Chase will miss it when it's over. But hopefully, there will only be a couple of weeks before he goes back to school. The school is working on a plan for the students to return, and Chase will be happy about that. Nanaw is giving Chase some different assignments for school, to mix things up. He seems to like the variety. He's doing a bit better with the addition and subtraction flashcards; Nanaw has a plan that he'll demonstrate how well he does the flashcards to Mama and Daddy right before he goes back to school. In the afternoon, much to Chase's distress, Nanaw had to run some errands. Chase, of course, was sad because he wanted to play on the laptop. On the drive, Nanaw gave Chase her phone to play with, which helped a little. In the evening, Chase was supposed to have baseball practice but it was rained out.

Happy Father's Day! Sunday, June 21, 2020

Nanaw was so happy to see everybody who came for Father's Day dinner on Sunday. Attending were Mama, Daddy, Chase, Uncle Mike, Aunt Becky, and cousins Joe, Robbie Lindsey and Nichole -- just at the number 10. Nanaw had trouble with the Italian beef and had to finish cooking it in the pressure cooker. It eventually turned out all right. Nanaw thinks that because her crock pots are old, they didn't heat up enough to cook the roast beef on low for six hours. The first picture below is of the Italian seasoning used for the beef. All of the stores Nanaw went to (three Schnuck's and two Walmarts) were out of the seasoning. So Nanaw ordered four packets from Amazon and borrowed two from Mama. The second picture is the Italian been cooking in the crock pots, being watched over by photos of Chase on the refrigerator. The rest of the dinner included: mostacciolli, dinner rolls, Caesar salad, and fruit salad. Mama brought two delicious desserts: peach dump cake and chocolate pudding layer cookie cake. Everybody seemed to enjoy dinner and have a good time. Cousin Mike face timed from Okinawa, and everybody got to say Hi to him. It's been three years since we saw him in person. After dinner, Mama, Chase and Nanaw went for a walk. Nanaw asked Chase if he wanted to go for a walk, and she was shocked when he said yes. He never says yes to a walk. Mama asked if the walk was exclusive or if she could go along, and Chase said she could come. On the way back, they took a shortcut home over the dam and saw people fishing.

Saturday. June 20, 2020

Mama dropped Chase off at Nanaw's house on Saturday morning on her way to the grocery store. Today was Chase's half birthday -- he's 8 and 1/2! Nanaw had promised him some Robux for his half birthday. She ordered $20.00 worth from Amazon yesterday. When Chase got there, he and Nanaw figured out how to redeem the Robux gift cards on Roblox. The first thing Chase bought was a black mask with green coding figures on it. Then he bought a set of various fancy antlers. He showed everything to Nanaw and was very excited about his purchases. He only spent 87 Robux so he still has 1,513 left. It's so cute to watch him spending the Robux. He's very good with the computer and with the games and Nanaw is hoping that so much time on the computer is not bad for him. Mama had Chase sign Daddy's Father's Day card, and for some reason, he wrote everything very close to the right margin. Mama and Nanaw didn't know what that was all about. In the evening, Mama was going out to dinner with some friends. Daddy and Chase were staying at home. Daddy was grilling hamburgers and cauliflower. Nanaw will be anxious to hear what Chase thought of the grilled cauliflower. Nanaw forgot to take pictures of Chase today so she asked Mama to take one, and wonderful Mama did so.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Chase and Nanaw had another good day. Nanaw got out some different workbook pages for Chase to do, and he seemed to like having new things to work on. They didn't get the flash cards or the problems done so Nanaw plans for Chase to do them when he comes over to her house on Saturday morning. Chase did well with the new pages. He also is doing very well with his cursive handwriting practice. Nanaw likes doing the two hours of school with him each day. It gives their days a focus and a purpose. Of course, if Chase had his way, he'd sit at the computer all day and play games but Nanaw needs to make sure that doesn't happen. Chase had Mama's spaghetti and meatballs for lunch; he really likes it. Tomorrow is Chase's half-birthday so Nanaw bought him $20.00 worth of Robux. They'll load them onto the laptop when Mama drops Chase off at Nanaw's on her way to the grocery store. When Nanaw took Chase home, Mama and Daddy were trying to decide what to order for dinner. Chase said he wanted Pizza Hut -- and so  that's what they had. They were sitting outside in the evening and Mama sent Nanaw a picture of Chase playing with his tablet and then one of Sylvester posing on the outdoor couch.

Thursday, June 18, 2020

When Nanaw got to Chase's house on Thursday morning, Mama, Daddy and Chase were in Chase's room looking for mad-face Jack and bag Jack but they couldn't find them. When Chase and Nanaw got to Nanaw's house, Nanaw looked in her bag of stuffed animals and there they were. Nanaw sent a picture of them to Mama so she wouldn't worry. For summer school work, Chase did the same thing today that he did yesterday: a page on telling time, morning work, subtraction problems, subtraction memorization, subtraction flashcards, addition flashcards, reading from the answers book and cursive handwriting practice. The only difference was that Mama sent along Cutie Bernie (the Christmas Elf dog) and his book, and after Chase did his reading, Nanaw read the book to him. Also, they forgot to do the subtraction flash cards so Chase did them on the drive home. Again, he really liked the Room 9 program with Mrs. Forth, and he said he has to wait three weeks to see her again. (The teachers rotate on a three-week basis.) In the afternoon, Chase played with the wading pool and seemed to have a good time with his water pistol and the hose.