Monday, May 18, 2026

Mama sent a couple of update texts about what they did on Sunday and Monday. She said she finally got Chase to shower on Sunday night. Evidently he hadn’t wanted to shower; he must have been thinking that being in the swimming pool all day meant he didn’t have to shower. LOL She said they didn’t do much on Sunday. Chase and Elias spent a lot of time in the pool on Sunday, then went for a golf cart ride Sunday night to get ice cream. They also went to the beach. When Mama was writing the text, she said Chase and Elias were inside playing on their phones and the X-Box. Nanaw reported to Mama about the thunderstorms in Columbia. She told her that the thunder scared Sylvester, and he ran into Nanaw’s bedroom and hid under the bed. Mama said she’d kept hearing about the thunderstorms in Columbia, and Daddy said it was supposed to rain most of the week. Mama said it was sunny and warm there – Yay! She said she hadn’t been to the beach yet so they walked over there and looked at it. Chase stayed back at the house playing on his phone. Later, Mama and Daddy went to dinner with Uncle Stan and Aunt Becca but Chase stayed back at the house.

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Yesterday, Nanaw said Mama would provide an update on Chase’s activities on Saturday, and Mama did. She said: “We got here around 2:30 yesterday, had a beer at Stinky’s, then came back to the house and hung out by the pool. Chase and Elias played in the pool for a long time. There is a small shuffleboard inside, and Elias has his X-box with him.” So it sounds like the boys will have lots to keep them busy and happy. Nanaw took Sylvester for a walk in the afternoon, after he’d already pooped in the dining room. The first photo shows Chase by the big swimming pool, practicing his batting. The second photo is a nighttime shot of Chase and Elias in the small pool. Sunday’s activities will probably come tomorrow.

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Mama, Daddy and Chase left for Florida about 3 in the morning. They were headed toward Santa Rosa, about a thousand miles from Columbia. Mama says Daddy will drive most of the way because he says he can’t sleep in the car so he might as well drive. Chase sent Nanaw the first picture below – a selfie. Mama sent the second picture of Chase sleeping in the car. With Mama’s new car, there’s no place to stretch out and sleep but it looks like he made himself comfortable. Chase also texted Nanaw asking her to pick up some of the guys on his bed, especially the big stuffed dog who has a hole in his head that Nanaw needs to sew. In the afternoon, Nanaw went over to Chase’s house and picked up the guys and brought in the mail but hasn’t sewn the dog’s hole in the head yet. The third picture is Chase in kindergarten on his special day, showing his favorite book, Wally Woof’s Missing Bone. He used to have Mama read it to him every night at bedtime, and he finally memorized it. Mama didn’t text Nanaw any updates about Chase’s activities in Florida today but she probably will tomorrow. Meanwhile, Nanaw is sure that Chase is having a magnificent time hanging out with cousin Elias, probably swimming, playing baseball and playing video games!

Happy Graduation Day! Friday, May 15, 2026

Today was Chase’s graduation from 8th grade! But first, Nanaw will share pictures of her two trees getting cut down. It was very exciting and fun! Nanaw was amazed that it took less than an hour and a half. It went so fast because the young man who did the work had cool equipment and tools. He had a hugely long trailer on his pickup truck, a vehicle called a dingo that he rode around and used to pull down the trees and then used to carry away the branches, and a pole saw to cut down branches. After that adventure, Nanaw went to lunch at Popeye’s with Mama and Chase. In the morning, they had packed for their Florida vacation and then went to buy snacks. In the afternoon, about 4 p.m., Mama brought Sylvester and Tyler over for their week with Nanaw. Chase had to be up at school between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m., and graduation started at 6 p.m. Their seats were in the back of the church on the left but Nanaw scooted down to the end of the pew and could see things well. The principal and the teachers all wore long black robes. Mama didn’t seem to cry as much as she did at the Confirmation. The ceremony was very serious and formal until the end when the families clapped and clapped and gave the students a standing ovation. After the ceremony, families and graduates gathered outside the front of church to chat and take pictures. Mama managed to gather members of the crew altogether, and Amelie got in some of the pictures also. All in all, it was a wonderful, fun time. Brady’s grandmother recorded Chase walking up to get his diploma and had Nanaw send the video to Mama. The first picture below is Chase’s official graduation photo, and a link to Chase's walk-up video is next.

Thursday, May 14, 2026

On Thursday, his second day off from school, Chase came over to Nanaw’s house again. He had a hair appointment with Brittany at 11 a.m. It’s always fun for Nanaw to listen to the conversations that Brittany and Chase have. She gets him to talk more than almost anyone does. She asked him about girls and girlfriends, and he told her a little bit about Amelie. He talked especially about the sports she’s involved in because Brittany is into sports and coaches her 11-year-old son’s baseball team. Chase and Nanaw had a major adventure planned for Thursday afternoon. Chase had been talking about wanting to cook and wanting to go to the big Schnuck’s to get the things they needed. So that’s what they did. They bought the ingredients for beef stroganoff, using the recipe Mama uses from Pawpaw’s Pride cookbook. They also bought lots of cheese, a drink for Chase and a newspaper for Nanaw. Chase liked the beef stroganoff, which he ate on big noodles. They had great fun cooking. Chase did a super job of cutting the stew meat and mushrooms into smaller pieces. He said he wants to cook every other week so they’ll see how that goes. The first picture is Chase having lots of fun cooking and the second picture is a fort that he made in his room with three blankets and two hockey nets, just like a five-year-old kid. LOL

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

On Wednesday, Chase didn’t have to go to school so Mama brought him over to Nanaw’s house in the morning. He was talking and texting with Amelie in the morning in his room. He told Nanaw that they wanted to hang out together, and he didn’t want Nanaw to tell Mama. But Nanaw said it doesn’t work that way. Mama needs to know what her boy is doing so he agreed. He had an ortho appointment at 1:30, and Nanaw said they’d arrange for him to hang out with Amelie after he was done with the appointment. For lunch, Chase had a craving for a grilled cheese sandwich so Chase and Nanaw put together two small sandwiches using the little French bread slices from Chase’s bread and some American cheese Nanaw had. He thought they tasted good but next time they’ll get some regular-sized bread and cheddar cheese. After the ortho appointment, Chase and Amelie decided to meet in the Creekside Park that’s located between their houses. Mama and Nanaw stood on Chase’s deck and watched them ride their bikes in the park, Nanaw went home and later Mama called and said that they left the park and came over to Chase’s house. A little bit later, somehow Chase skinned his leg playing. Then Brady came over and the three of them played basketball until it was time for Chase to go to baseball practice. Mama was not too happy about all the kids and all the noise while she was trying to work. So in the future maybe Chase can just have his friends over on days when Mama and Daddy are working in the office.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Tuesday was Chase’s Baccalaureate Mass but he still went to school at the regular time. Mama had the day off because she was going to the Mass so she took Chase to school. In the church at the church, Mama and Nanaw sat by the Muckensturms. The students all sat together in the two sections at the front of the church. Amelie, Joey and Lorelei sang again, and their voices are beautiful. After the Mass, everyone went downstairs to the Garden Room for a potluck lunch. There were huge amounts of delicious food available, of all different kinds, including the fried chicken the school is known for serving.  Mama brought gooey butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies as her contribution to the potluck. They sat at the table with Brady and his family. After everyone had finished eating, Mrs. H. introduced the class video she and William’s mom had worked on. It was hundreds of pictures of the 8th graders, accompanied by music. There were lots of pictures of Chase included – some that Mama had sent and some that came from the school’s Facebook page. Here is the link to the video: Class of 2026 Video Link - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/uiqgn9hpe0dzb7z24npae/2026-class-video.mp4?rlkey=i3gvz76syhtg12l3bepncoig5&st=7an38dyl&dl=0 For the students, the highlight of the day came next. It’s an ICS tradition that after the other festivities, the students “run the halls.” In groups of two, three or four, they start by the 8th grade classrooms and run down the hall. When they reach the office, they make a right turn, run down that hall, then return, slapping people’s hands as they go. They go out the front door, symbolic of being done with school!  Chase ran with Brady as his partner, and Brady ran really fast, and Chase did his best to keep up behind him.