Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Today was Chase's first day of summer vacation with Nanaw, and Nanaw was very excited about it. After breakfast, Chase wanted to do a taste test with cheese crackers against peanut butter crackers. Peanut butter won. Chase suggested that they split up the two hours of school, and Nanaw agreed. It turned out to be a really good suggestion. Chase did 30 minutes of AR / library reading program reading in the morning, which means he's really doing 2 1/2 hours of school but Nanaw isn't going to tell him that. He had a healthy lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich, broccoli and chocolate milk. The first hour of school went perfectly. Nanaw prepared schoolwork for what she thought would take Chase two hours to complete. But he got almost all of it done in one hour. They studied the multiplication flash cards, pages from his Spanish notebook, grammar workbook worksheets, a crossword puzzle using pronouns, and long division problems. Chase has had an ear ache (swimmer's ear, probably for the past couple of days, and it seemed to get worse as they were starting the second hour of school. He finally agreed to go to the doctor tomorrow so Mama is going to call and get an appointment tomorrow. Nanaw gave Chase some Tylenol for kids, and that seemed to help. But 20 minutes before the second hour of school was over, he asked if they could have early dismissal so he could go rest, and Nanaw agreed. During that first hour, he retook the math test where he got off track with the answers, putting the answers in the wrong place. This time, he got everything correct. Mama and Daddy came to pick Chase up at 4:45 to take him to his baseball game. Nanaw wasn't going because she thought it would be too hot but it turned out that it wasn't that hot after all, and she wished she had gone. 

Happy Memorial Day! Monday, May 30, 2022

Mama brought Chase over to Nanaw's house on Monday morning while she went to the grocery store. Chase and Nanaw spent lots of time out in the front yard. Chase practiced his pitching, using the strike zone they set up. Nanaw watered the plants and bushes while Chase pitched. At one point, Chase stopped pitching and went into the house. Nanaw followed behind to see what was going on. Chase was sitting at the laptop, and Nanaw asked what he was doing. He said he had to come inside to play a Roblox baseball game. LOL Nanaw showed him the two library books she checked out for him while he was on vacation: Where Is the Eiffel Tower? And Where Is the Mississippi River? Nanaw went over to Chase's house for a delicious dinner of barbecued ribs and corn on the cob. The ribs were for Daddy and Nanaw; Chase and Mama had grilled hamburgers. After dinner, Chase and Nanaw played with the Velcro catching things outside in the driveway while Mama walked the dogs. Nanaw and Chase walked up Nevada to meet Mama and the dogs. Next, Chase practiced his pitching in the back yard with Daddy while Nanaw watched. 

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Mama texted Nanaw that they left Santa Rosa Beach at about 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. She thought they'd be home around 7 p.m. She sent a picture of Chase wide awake in the back seat with her and then one of him sound asleep. She said he just put the tablet down, grabbed Creeper and fell fast asleep. LOL They got home sooner than expected -- at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. Mama texted that they were going to unpack the track and then she was going to throw some laundry in the washer, then she and Chase would be over to pick up Tyler, Sam and Sylvester and all their stuff. Nanaw was so happy to see Chase; she really missed the little fellow. Mama and Chase brought Nanaw two fancy baskets of shells -- one big and one small. Chase brought along a new Velcro catcher thing he got in Florida. He wants to keep it at Nanaw's house because she can't find the one she bought on Amazon. Mama is going to bring Chase over to Nanaw's house tomorrow morning while she goes to the grocery store. Yay! The last picture of Sam and Sylvester is from their final walk with Nanaw.

Saturday, May 28, 2022

On Saturday morning, Mama texted Nanaw that there was nothing exciting to report today. Then she and family and friends proceeded to do lots of things. Chase swam a couple of times, and Daddy and Mama walked over to get ice cream. She said they plan to walk to the beach later to take pictures. After taking pictures, Mama came back to the house with Aunt Becca and Uncle Stan. Daddy and Chase stayed at the beach. Mama went to dinner with Aunt Becca and Uncle Stan. Daddy stayed with the boys so they could swim more. Then they went for a golf cart ride in the dark. Mama said she wasn't sure what time they're leaving in the morning. She said they would be all packed up but would have to straighten up the house before leaving. She said she would text Nanaw when they were on their way. Nanaw decided not to go to the little house Sunday evening. She wanted to stay home to see Mama and Chase when they came over to get Sam, Sylvester and Tyler and all their accouterments. Mama said she told Chase to come with her to help her bring everything home, in order to earn this week's allowance. Mama knew Nanaw would like that plan so she could see Chase.

Friday, May 27, 2022

On Friday, Mama sent Nanaw a picture of relatives and friends in the swimming pool, saying they had sun at last. It had been raining most of the week, and Mama was happy that the sun was finally out.  Mama also sent a picture of Chase with his tablet, his favorite thing in the world to play with. Mama said they'd been having a lot fun with the Bob Ross bobblehead that she got for Aunt Becca and Uncle Stan. Nanaw had no idea what a Bob Ross bobblehead was so she looked it up online. Google says Bob Ross was an American artist known for The Joy of Painting. Nanaw will have to follow up with Mama to see if that's the right one and why she bought a bobblehead for Aunt Becca and Uncle Stan. In the afternoon, Mama sent a picture of her and Chase in the pool; she said she made him pose with her. The picture has the Bob Ross bobblehead in it.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Mama and Chase called Nanaw on Thursday morning. Nanaw thought it was so great to talk to them. Later, Chase and Elias fed the turtles by the beach but because of the storms, the turtles didn't eat too much. Chase loved the turtles, and Mama said the food will be there later for them to eat. They had lunch at Stinky's. After lunch, Chase and Elias played Xbox and played with Elias's baseball cards back at the house. In the late afternoon, everybody went to a happy hour at an Irish bar. For dinner at the bar, Mama had pizza, and Chase and Elias had tater tots and pretzels. They took the golf cart to the bar and to the beach. Then the boys swam for a while. In the evening, Mama sat in Chase and Elias's room reading a book. Then Mama was going to bed. She said the rainy weather made her tired today but that it's supposed to be sunny tomorrow, finally. 

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Mama texted on Wednesday morning to say they had a tornado warning. Mama told Chase to come downstairs. But first, he moved his stuffed animals to the lower bunk so they’d be safe. Fortunately, they didn’t have a tornado. Mama said they were going to take a golf cart ride for breakfast but decided not to go because it was pouring down rain and the restaurant didn’t have much indoor seating. The second picture below is one that Nanaw took of some of Chase's stuffed animals who are spending the week with Nanaw along with two of Chase's library books. Mama, Daddy, Chase and everyone else tried to go to Stinky’s for lunch but it would have been a 40-minute wait. So they went back to the house but not before buying a stuffed seahorse for Chase. They named him Samson, Sam for short. The last picture below is of the seahorse. Chase and Elias went swimming in the pool and said it was still chilly even though it’s heated. For dinner, they were having seafood, with chicken for Mama and Chase. In between rain showers, Nanaw took Sam and Sylvester for their walk.

Wednesday, May 24, 2022

Today the cleaning lady was coming so Nanaw took Sam and Sylvester over to their house. She put their beds in the back seat of the car, which meant that it was too high for them to jump in. So Nanaw had to lift them up inside. Unfortunately, Merry Maids postponed the cleaning till tomorrow, and now Nanaw has to do it all over again tomorrow. Mama said the pool is now heated, so the boys will really like that. She said Chase spent a lot of time in the pool today. They went to a happy hour at a taco place. Then they went for a long golf cart ride, followed by a visit to a shake place. The first picture below is of Sam and Sylvester in the back seat of Nanaw's car on the way to their house. The second picture is Sam and Sylvester on their walk. Chase's report card came out today -- for the final grade, he got a B+ in reading because he kept reading the same books over again, which meant he didn't get any credit for them. The rest of his grades were As and A+s -- Yay for Chase!

Monday, May 23, 2022

Mama said Chase and Elias went swimming in the house pool Monday morning, then went down to the beach. But they couldn't go in the ocean because of the two red flags. Nanaw didn't know what the red flags meant, and Mama sent her a web page that showed what all the various flags mean. Two red flags mean that the water is closed to the public. Mama called Nanaw in the afternoon, and Nanaw got to talk to Chase. They went to dinner early at a place named Elmo's. Chase said he had cheese curds. Mama said Chase sat at a table with Elias and his family. Nanaw told Mama it sounded like she and Daddy had lost their son. Mama agreed and said Chase really loves his cousin.  Uncle Mike came over today to cut Nanaw's grass. She also had a list of things for him to do or fix. He put on Nanaw's new Cardinals license plate holders that Mama gave her for her birthday, changed two light bulbs, fixed the weather stripping on the garage door, and fixed one of the burners on Nanaw's stove. The first picture below is of Nanaw's new license plate holder. The second picture is of Sam and Sylvester on their walk with Nanaw.

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Mama, Daddy and Chase left on vacation at three a.m. Sunday morning. Chase asked Mama to wake him up at 2:45 so he could do his “routine.” Mama and Nanaw assumed by “routine,” he meant going to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and getting dressed. What a funny kid that boy is! Mama sent the address of the house where they’re going to be staying. Nanaw looked it up and saw the bunk bedroom where Chase and Elias will be sleeping. It’s the first picture below. Mama sent photos from their stop at an Alabama test center that had a huge rocket-looking thing. She also sent a picture of Chase in the back seat of the truck, taking a nap. Mama said the nap didn’t last very long. Mama said they got to the $4 million dollar Santa Rosa house about 3 p.m. The next picture Mama sent was of Chase and Elias in the house’s swimming pool. Mama said that after they swam, Chase and Elias went to their room to play with the x-box. She said they might never see them again.

Saturday, May 21, 2022

On Saturday morning, Chase went to his special hockey training with the ice treadmill. Nanaw came to visit after he got home from training, and he told Nanaw the ice treadmill was pretty good. While Nanaw was there, Mama went to Schnuck's to pick up a few last-minute things for the vacation visit to Florida. Nanaw was happy to see Chase's haircut -- she loves when his hair is short and snappy. For a long while, Chase and Nanaw played baseball with Chase's keyring collection. Then Chase wanted to play on his bed with stuffed animals. But there were piles of his clothes ready to be packed for the vacation on his bed so they couldn't play there. He found a place on Mama and Daddy's bed between the stacks of clothes also ready to be packed for vacation, and he played there for a while. When Mama came home from Schnuck's, Chase and Nanaw played with the catcher things in the hall. Later in the afternoon, Mama brought Sam, Sylvester and Tyler over to Nanaw's house. Nanaw was pet sitting while Mama, Daddy and Chase were on vacation. Mama is going to miss her puppies while she's gone.

Friday, May 20, 2022

For his last day of school, Chase wore his Mo Crush baseball team tee shirt. The school was supposed to get out at 11:45 but they let the kids out at 11:40, and it was a madhouse. Nanaw hurried to the pickup place but Chase was already out there and upset because Nanaw wasn’t there. He came up behind her and slapped her on the back. Parents were wandering around the parking lot, looking for their kids. Traffic was lined up halfway down the school road. It was quite the mess. Chase told Nanaw he was sad about school being over. That was very different than what he said earlier in the week when he said only three and a half more days of this nonsense. He told Nanaw he didn’t want to check out books arc the library and didn’t want to go to Dollar Tree -- he didn't want to do any of their afternoon adventure plans. They went to McDonald’s to get lunch for Chase and Mama. After lunch, they went to the library and Chase decided to check out a book, and he also put two books on request. Then Chase decided he would go to Dollar Tree. They bought lots of ice cream and candy for Chase and Tootsie Rolls for Mama. So the afternoon adventure turned out wonderfully after all. 

Thursday, May 19, 2022

On Thursday morning Chase played a concert on his clarinet for Nanaw. Then they had to hurry to get ready for school. Chase wore his Molina jersey and Cardinals hat to school. It was Cardinals day in honor of Father Carl who is retiring. After school, it thundered and lightninged and there were tornado warnings and severe storm warnings. Chase brought home lots of fun papers, including one of fourth grade memories. He’s going to take it back to school on Friday to get signatures from his friends. Chase changed into other clothes for hockey practice. It started to pour down rain and Nanaw was afraid Daddy would get wet when he came to pick Chase up for hockey practice. So Nanaw opened the garage door and brought Chase’s bags out to the garage. Fortunately, the downpour slowed down to a sprinkle so Daddy and Chase didn’t get too wet going out to Daddy’s truck.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

On Wednesday morning, Nanaw asked Chase what he wanted for lunch on Friday, his last day of school. He said a Lunchable. Nanaw asked if he wanted Sonic, and he said no but he'd like Sonic when he got back from vacation. Nanaw texted Mama to see if she had a Lunchable, and she said she'd hoped to send Chase and Nanaw to McDonald's to bring back lunch to her house. Nanaw asked Chase about that and he liked that idea. Then he started talking about Nanaw and Chase going out to lunch one day a week, Wednesday maybe, during the summer. He said after Sonic, they could Olive Garden because of its bread sticks. Nanaw had talked about doing that a couple of weeks ago, and evidently Chase remembered all about it. Today was hat day at ICS. Chase wore his Cardinals hat; the principal wore a Santa hat. One of Chase's friends had on a hat with a wig attached. Chase brought his clarinet home from school and said the thought he might be able to keep it over the summer. Mama said she got an email confirming that students who rent the instruments can keep them over the summer. Chase and Nanaw played a concert together, and it was great fun. Chase said he would play the concert for Daddy when they got back from vacation. Chase and Nanaw had a good time watching Jeopardy together.