Friday, April 24, 2026

Nanaw hadn’t even thought about getting a Confirmation gift for Chase but when Mama and Daddy and Auntie LaLa gave him gifts, she ordered a gift for him from Amazon and bought a card for him at Schnuck’s. When she picked him up from school on Friday, she had the gift and the card with $20 in it waiting in the car for him. The gift was a Jesus Squishmallow like Mama bought for Auntie LaLa for being Chase’s Confirmation sponsor. He was delighted with his gifts and decided that Truman had bonded with Jesus Squishmallow. Nanaw took a picture of the three of them and sent it to Mama. She texted back that she hoped Jesus Squishmallow was coming home with Chase. Uncle Mike had come down to visit Mama today. They went to lunch and then Uncle Mike spent the evening and stayed overnight. Nanaw came to visit in the evening also, and they had delicious beef for dinner. After dinner they watched the baseball game but unfortunately the Cardinals lost to the Mariners 3 to 2. Daddy built a fire in the firepit and when it got dark, he put something in the fire that made the flames different colors. 

Thursday, April 23, 2026

On Thursday, Chase was in a good mood, which always makes Nanaw happy, When Nanaw picked him up from school, he told her that he’d finished reading his AR book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess, and took the test and only got one question wrong. He said he needed another AR book, and he wanted it to be The Zucchini Warriors by Gordon Korman from the AR books Nanaw bought. It’s 200 pages long and worth 8 points so it might be the last AR book he reads at ICS, He and Nanaw are hoping Gibault doesn’t have AR reading because it’s difficult to keep up with. Chase didn’t have any new homework assignments that were due on Friday so he got to play on his phone and his laptop and in his room. He said he’d turned in The Hobbit chapter 14 worksheet Thursday morning. His vocabulary chapter 30 packet was due Friday but he had already done it and would turn it in tomorrow. When Nanaw took Chase home, she had him look through his bookcase to see if he had any Wimpy Kid books that he hadn’t read for AR. He found one, The Long Haul, and Nanaw took it home with her in case he finished The Zucchini Warriors and needed another book. 

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

On Wednesday morning, Chase didn't have any tests to study for or homework to check. He had a big afternoon and evening coming up. Today was his class's Confirmation. Mama wanted him home by 4:30 for an early Domino's dinner with Auntie LaLa, Uncle Chris, Phoebe, Nanaw. It was so great to visit with them. They're definitely Mama's most interesting friends. Mama ordered a Domino's gluten free pizza for Nanaw, and it was really good. . Daddy took Chase up to church at about five because the class was getting pictures taken. Nanaw and Mama took the pictures below before Chase left for church. The second picture is Auntie LaLa and Chase with the Jesus Squishmallow that Mama gave Auntie LaLa in a gift basket with Veggie Straws, candy, and a People crossword puzzle book. Auntie LaLa was Chase's Confirmation sponsor and sat with him during the mass. Mama, Daddy, Uncle Chris, Phoebe, Auntie LaLa and Nanaw went up to church at about 6 p.m. The mass didn't start till 7 so they had a while to wait. The church was full, with spillover chairs in the lobby. Nanaw was surprised at how many people were there. Chase's friend Cole's Mama Tanya came over to talk to Mama and Nanaw -- it was nice to see her. Chase looked handsome in his dress shirt and tie. It was interesting to see all the students in Chase's class. Everybody looks so grown-up and so tall. There was a reception downstairs in the Garden Room after the Confirmation mass but Chase didn't want to go. 

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

On Tuesday morning before school, Chase and Nanaw had a negotiation. There were two things Nanaw wanted Chase to do, and he didn’t want to do either one. The two things were to study some more for Tuesday’s history test and to take out the garbage. Nanaw said she would take out the garbage if Chase agreed to study. And he did. Nanaw took out the garbage and then came back to study. First, they went through all the material in the study guide Mrs. H. provided. Then Chase went through the online Blookit Mrs. H. made. Chase seemed to know all the material. And when Nanaw picked him up from school he said he thought he got a 100. Nanaw bought a long loaf of soft French bread for Chase at Schnuck’s today. She brought some for him as his car snack and then cut up the rest for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then froze the rest for next week. Chase said he had a headache and asked for Tylenol so Nanaw gave him some. He also drank a lot of water. Instead of doing his math homework, he fell asleep and slept for over an hour. He threw up before his workout and then again when he got home. He thinks maybe the sloppy joe at lunch made him sick. He didn't have any dinner but said he felt better after throwing up the second time.

Monday, April 20, 2026

Chase was in a good mood on Monday morning. He was smiling and teasing Nanaw, which made her happy.  His only school homework assignment due today was a map for geography. He has two assignments due tomorrow, plus a history test on the Great Depression. The assignments are the Hobbit chapter 13 worksheet and the chapter 29 vocabulary packet. He said he would work on them at school today and then after school. He studied some for the history test at school and then after school. He said Mrs. H. made one of those study programs, a Blookit, for the test, plus giving the class a study guide. He and Nanaw went through the Blookit together, and Chase gave Nanaw the study guide to read. She'll use the study guide tomorrow morning to quiz Chase. He finished the Hobbit worksheet and the vocab packet. Chase was still in a good mood after he finished all his homework and the studying. He and Nanaw went to his room for him to play pencil hockey and Nanaw to read through his history study guide. Nanaw had a nice surprise visitor just before she was going to take Chase home: her former next-door neighbor Dan. He had some business here and he stopped to see another neighbor, Steve from up the street, and then came to see Nanaw. It was great to see him, and Nanaw misses him as a neighbor. 

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Chase and Daddy went to mass on Sunday morning. Then Mama, Daddy and Chase went on a shopping adventure to Dick's at South County Mall to spend some of Chase's many Dick's gift cards. He bought a fun baseball bat and a new, regulation size basketball. Chase has gotten more interested in basketball and the ball he had was smallish, and he wanted a regulation one. He said he plays basketball at school recess with Cole and Brady, who are both really good at the game. Nanaw remembers when the three of them played on the basketball court at the library park. They were just little guys having a lot of fun. After Dick's, they went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, and everybody had leftovers. Mama sent Chase's home to Nanaw's for Chase's after-school snack on Monday. Daddy and Chase spent the afternoon doing baseball stuff out in the back yard. It must have tired Chase out because Mama said he slept for a long while after that, something je never does. When Nanaw came over for dinner at 5:30, he was still asleep, and Mama said she should wake him up. Dinner was good -- ham and party potatoes. Mama sent ham home with Nanaw. After dinner, Chase showed Nanaw his new basketball and shot some baskets for her. He's really getting good -- fun thing. Once Mama had cleaned up after dinner, she took Nanaw for a ride in Travis the Traverse. First, they went to Nanaw's house with Chase's groceries. Then they drove to the Columbia library to return a book of Nanaw's. Then they drove to Dupo to get on the highway  so they could go really fast. When they got home, Nanaw decided to try out the third row of seats in Travis. Unfortunately, she got trapped back there, and she had to do a phone call to Mama, asking her to come move one of the seats to rescue her. LOL

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Chase's baseball games on Saturday were rained out. So Chase, Daddy and Mama went to the Zoo with Daddy's family as a memorial to Grandma Pat. Mama sent Nanaw a picture of Chase and pictures of some of the animals they saw: a ring-tailed lemur, a black money that made noises at them, a beautiful tiger that's related to Truman, and a gorgeous elephant -- Mama's favorite. Nanaw asked Mama if Wesley was there with the group. Wesley is Chase's cousin who's a year or two younger than Chase. Mama said he was, and that made Nanaw happy because she knows Chase likes having other kids with him. Nanaw also asked Mama if any stuffed animals were purchased at the Zoo, and Mama sent a sad face and said there were no gift shop visits. Later, Mama texted Nanaw that Sunday's baseball games were also rained out, and she was going to fix ham and party potatoes for dinner tomorrow. She invited Nanaw to come and said that after dinner, she would take Nanaw for her first ride in Travis the Traverse. How exciting!