Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30, 2026

First, Nanaw will tell about Chase’s plan for not forgetting things (like a permission slip or homework or a quiz or test, all of which he’s done in the past two weeks) that Chase came up with all on his own. On the drive home from school on Friday afternoon, Chase told Nanaw how he had forgotten to have Mama sign a permission slip. On Friday, hHe was supposed to turn in the permission slip for Tuesday’s Theology retreat. The teacher gave him special permission to turn it in on Monday, but Chase was worried about forgetting things. So far, he’d forgotten to do one of his homework assignments, and he’d forgotten a quiz, plus the permission slip. He thought about making a list of things to do but was afraid he’d lose it. Then he came up with the idea of keeping track of things to do in Schoology, the school’s digital dashboard for homework, tests, quizzes, messages from the teacher and the principal, etc. Nanaw said she thought that was a great idea. He checked it out on his laptop when they got home and figured out how to do. He was surprised to find out that all of his homework and assignments were already on Schoology so that was good. On Saturday, Chase and his Bears team had two baseball games: The lost the first one 10 to 0 and lost the 2:15 game also. They got home from baseball in time for Daddy and Chase to go to mass at 5 p.m. Chase did some homework when Chase got back. Aunt Becca came over with Brogan on Saturday night for a couple of hours. She and Mama sat outside for a couple of hours and chatted, and Mama said it was nice. On Sunday morning, Chase played at 9 a.m., and the Bears lost again. When he got home, he finished his homework. Then Daddy and Chase went to the River Lakes golf course to play golf. It’s the one by the driving range, and it’s probably the least expensive golf course in Columbia. It costs about $50 for the two of them to play and to rent a golf cart. 

Thursday, August 27 and Friday, August 28, 2027

On the way to school Thursday morning, Chase and Nanaw discussed the Gibault Thursday lunch – chicken nuggets. Chase said whenever they have a chicken dish for lunch, that’s the only entrée choice instead of having two choices. They always have mashed potatoes and gravy when they have the one chicken dish. Uncle Mike came over to cut Nanaw’s grass on Thursday, plus spray for ants. He stopped at Home Depot (although Life360 always says Home Deport is Smoothie King) and bought three little bushes for the front yard that were on sale for $3 each. Home Deport is trying to get rid of all their plants and bushes. On the way home from school Chase reported that the chicken nuggets were good, better than ICS. But he said the chicken fries they had the other day weren’t good, and the ones at ICS were much better. On the Friday morning drive to school, Chase and Nanaw had a rider with them – they gave Brady a ride to school. Brady’s mom was going to the mass at Gibault with the students but she had to get Emma to ICS first so Brady needed a ride. Chase was happy about it, and the two of them laughed and talked all the way to school. It was some kind of special mass where parents and grandparents were invited, and the boys had to wear their white Oxford cloth shirts and khaki pants or shorts. Nanaw took a picture of the boys before they left, and Chase’s picture was on the school’s Facebook page. On the way home from school. Chase was very talka tive and in a good mood – quite a miracle. He said the pizza bread they had for lunch was really good, and he wants to make some next Friday for Enrichment Friday. He also said he needs two new, bigger notebooks -- a red one and a black one. He said maybe they could go to Target to get them with Mama because she’s off and then go to lunch. But they would still make the pizza bread that day as a snack. He was excited that he was going to play golf with Brady and Drew at the golf course by the driving range at 4:30. Nanaw had to have him home by 4 p.m. When they got to Chase’s house, they asked Mama about their plans for next Friday, and she said they could do it if she was only away from home for two hours. She wants to have enough time to clean the house for the day before Labor Day party at their house.  In the Days of Chase post for the weekend, Nanaw will tell about Chase’s plan for not forgetting things (like a permission slip or homework or a quiz or test, all of which he’s done in the past two weeks) that Chase came up with all on his own.

Wednesday. August 26, 2026

On the way to school, Chase and Nanaw talked about the lunch choices for Wednesday: Philly Steak and Hot Ham and Cheese. Chase said he was having Hot Ham and Cheese because he didn’t know what Philly Steak was. Nanaw tried to explain it but forgot about the green peppers, which Mama reminded her of when they talked about it. Chase doesn’t like green peppers so that’s why he’s never had Philly Steaks. When Nanaw picked Chase up from school, she asked about lunch, and he said the Hot Ham and Cheese was cold but it was good anyway, and he liked it. As usual, he said he had a good day.He said he had some homework but not much. Nanaw thawed his leftover Sonic Blast for his first snack. Then he wanted another snack so Nanaw put together his usual half-healthy, half-not-healthy snack for him. He wanted some of the Sour Patch Watermelon candy but they were out of it. Nanaw promised to get some at the grocery store tomorrow. In the meantime, she bought a small bag at Dollar Tree when she was there this evening. Chase had a workout at 6 p.m. and so Nanaw had to have him home by five. He’s going to a special mass at Gibault on Friday and is supposed to wear a long-sleeved, white Oxford shirt with khaki pants. Also on Friday, his friend Brady is riding to school with them, which will make Chase very happy.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Nanaw went to Chase’s house around noon today because it was cleaning lady day. Nanaw had fun playing with Tyler and his new toy. Nanaw hopes the one she bought for her cats arrives from Amazon today. Brady’s grandma Debbie wasn’t at Gibault again today to pick up Brady because of golf. When Nanaw picked Chase up from school today, she told him that it takes 14 minutes to get to Gibault from his house and 20 minutes from Nanaw’s house. Evie’s mom was there to pick up Evie, and she had their dog with her. It was so cute to see her playing with the dog. Chase said he got a 95 on his drawing of his water bottle, which is an A. The grading scale is different at Gibault, in the students’ favor. 90 to 100 is an A; 80 to 90 is a B; 70 to 80 is a C; and 60 to 70 is a D. He also said he had a beef taco for lunch, and it was good. Nanaw asked him if there was any class he really liked, and he said he liked all of them. This made Nanaw really happy because he hadn’t said anything to anyone about how he felt about school. Nanaw was afraid he wouldn’t like school because it’s so different and difficult, and the adjustment would be too hard. But evidently not. Chase did his homework at Nanaw’s house and got it all done. The cat toy arrived at Nanaw’s in the evening, and after a lot of hit and miss efforts nanaw finally figured out how to put it together. The kitties like it!

Monday, August 24, 2026

On the Monday morning drive to school, Chase looked at the copy of the Gibault lunch menu that Nanaw keeps in the car. The entrée choices for lunch today were Parmesan Chicken and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. Nanaw said something about that being a tough choice, and Chase asked, “Don’t you know who you’re talking to?” He meant that one of his absolute favorite foods is spaghetti so there was no doubt in his mind which entrée he would choose. When Nanaw picked him up after school, he reported that the spaghetti was really good and so were the bread sticks that accompanied it. So all is well in the lunch world. He also reported that his House group wanted to play volleyball again but fortunately for Chase’s dislike of the game, there wasn’t a volleyball court available for them to play on. Out of curiosity, Nanaw looked up the House arrangements on the Gibault website. It says: “The House System helps students build meaningful connections with classmates from every grade level, creating friendships and mentorship opportunities that may not happen otherwise. Houses meet four days a week, bringing students together through competitions, service projects, faith activities, and social events, the Houses foster unity, belonging, and school spirit. Ultimately, the House System helps every student feel known, valued, and connected within Gibault.” The only homework that Chase had after school was math, which didn’t take him very long. He has a workout tonight so Nanaw had to get him home by five so he had time for dinner. At Chase’s house, Nanaw made sure to look at two of their Facebook purchases: the skeleton with a leash to a skeleton dog and a new interactive toy for Tyler, a toy which he finally likes and plays with. Nanaw really liked it and decided to buy one, which she did. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. 

Friday, August 21, Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23

Note: This is the 5,000th post of Days of Chase. The blog started a couple of months after Chase was born. Yay! 

On Friday, Gibault had the lunch Chase was looking forward to. Last year, when Chase went there for his Shadow Day, for lunch they had something called Bosco Sticks. Those were breadsticks stuffed with cheese, and Chase told Nanaw they were delicious. Nanaw thinks they may have had a role to play in Chase’s decision that he wanted to go to Gibault. This year, Chase said the Bosco Sticks were really good again, so success! When Chase came out of school, he was not happy. He told Nanaw his House played volleyball at the end of the day, and Chase does not like volleyball. It may be the only sport he doesn’t like. He just doesn’t see the point of it. Fortunately, he had something really special to look forward to on Friday evening, so that helped with his mood. His friend Tucker and Tucker’s parents had invited Chase to a Savannah Bananas baseball game. They took pictures of the boys, and Mama forwarded them to Nanaw. On Saturday, Chase had two Bears baseball games. Unfortunately, the team lost both games, and Mama said they didn’t play well at all. Mama sent the baseball picture below to Nanaw. Then on Sunday, the team played much better and won one of their two games. Mama again sent a baseball picture. When they got home from baseball, Amazon had made a delivery to them. First, Daddy ordered another toy for Tyler, and this one Tyler seems to like. Then Mama had ordered note paper entitled Catitude, which is what she and Chase say Truman has. She also ordered note paper for Nanaw that’s entitled Life Is Better with Cats. But the most important arrival was a skeleton holding the leash of a skeleton dog – picture below. Nanaw can’t wait to see it! On Sunday Uncle Mike and cousing Robbie went fishing out at the little house, and Robbie posted pictures of their catch – lots of huge fish!

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Thursday was a much quieter, less complicated day than Wednesday for Nanaw. Things are going well with getting Chase to school on time. They leave the house at 7:25 a.m. and get to Gibault by 7:45. That gives Chase a few minutes before he has to be in Home Room at 7:55 a.m. Funnily enough, the biggest thing about school to Chase so far is lunch. He’s very interested in what they have for lunch each day, and he’s very happy with the meals. Today they had chicken strips, and Chase said they were good. He said he ate the fruit for a change, and it was a pear, and it was good. On the drive home from school, Nanaw asked again if Chase would agree to let her view his Schoology dashboard. Nanaw would like to see what he’s learning and learn along with him. There was a silence before Chase answered Nanaw. Then he said, “I would prefer not.” Maybe Nanaw will try again, and she’ll tell him she wants to learn along with him, and she won’t bug him or nag him about anything. When he got home from school, he put the finishing touches on his drawing of a container for art class. He drew a picture of his Blues water bottle, and Nanaw thinks he did an excellent job. He’s not an artist but he did his best, and Nanaw thinks it’s great. Nanaw took a picture of Chase’s drawing, and it’s the second picture below. Chase also studied for a Driver’s Ed quiz that’s tomorrow. When Nanaw took Chase home, Daddy showed her the squiggly, animated mouse he bought for Tyler. Unfortunately Tyler didn’t like the mouse and left the room whenever Daddy tried to get him to play with it. So Daddy gave it to Nanaw for her cats. Mamaw’s cats really liked the mouse toy and play with it whenever Nanaw puts it out for them. In the evening, Chase had hitting practice and then baseball practice. He didn’t get home until after 10 p.m. so he was late getting to bed. But it’s only one night a week. 

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

The sleepover worked out very well, and both Chase and Nanaw had a good time. Chase woke up all on his own at 6:45. He got himself dressed in his purple House shirt, then ate his breakfast. Nanaw had a jam-packed date today. First, she took Chase to school, then she picked Mama up from St. Clare, where Mama had her procedure. Nanaw brought a Pepsi and a bag of marshmallows for Mama to snack on. Next, Nanaw had a teeth cleaning appointment with Teresa at the dentist’s office and then she had the church meeting. Next, she went to pick Chase up from school. They were supposed to take Brady to the Columbia library for a tutoring session but it turned out that he had to play golf with the golf team. So they didn’t take Brady to the library. On the drive home and at Nanaw’s house, Chase told Nanaw about his day. For lunch, Chase had a bratwurst. The other choice was ribs but Chase doesn’t like barbecue. For homework, he had a sketchbook assignment for Art and a biology assignment. He finished the biology assignment at Nanaw’s house. His sketchbook assignment isn’t due till Friday so he’s going to work on it at school tomorrow and then if it isn’t done, he’ll work on it after school. The assignment is to draw a container, and he’s going to draw his Blues water bottle. Chase had a workout session at 6 p.m. today, and he’s happy that Tucker and Connor will be there. Nanaw isn’t sure who Connor is so she’ll ask Chase tomorrow and report back.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Chase’s second day of high school went well. He had chicken crispito for lunch and said it was good. Interestingly enough, they list two entrees on the menu but Chase says they usually have three, so you have a bigger choice. Mama sent an email about a mass tomorrow when everybody is going to wear their House shirts. Chase’s House is named Justice and his shirt is purple – lavender actually. The Houses are groups of students who gather together for various things. Chase will provide additional information when he has it. So far, the thing Chase is most interested in is lunch. LOL Nanaw asked him about the popular kids at Gibault, and he said there aren’t any. He said everybody gets along with everybody else. Tonight is Chase’s sleepover at Nanaw’s. Chase had Sonic, and Nanaw had a Crunch Wrap Surpreme from Taco Bell. After that, they went to Chase’s house to pick up his clothes for tomorrow (the purple shirt and uniform pants) and have Mama sign a paper about a syllabus. Then they came home and built a fire in the fire pit to toast marshmallows. Nanaw put up chairs and a table for them to sit and look at the fire in the firepit and at the fireworks solar lights in Nanaw’s front yard. It was fun! Then Chase took his shower and went to bed, followed soon by Nanaw. 

 

Monday, August 17, 2026

Today was Chase’s first official day of high school. He seemed ready for it and not nervous or anxious. He didn’t show any anxiety about the two orientation days or the first official day, which made Nanaw happy. When Nanaw went to pick Chase up from school, she had a nice chat about soap operas with Brady’s grandma, Debbie. They’re both driving Broncos, and they park them together in the waiting area while they chat and wait. On the ride home, Nanaw learned a little about Chase’s first day of high school. He said the day was all right. He ate lunch with Joey and Brady, plus a guy named Oliver that he didn’t know but who was in some of his classes. He said Joey is in all of his classes except Art because Joey is in Band. His math teacher is also his homeroom teacher and the baseball coach, and Chase says he likes him. For some reason, Chase said he liked that Gibault gives them plastic utensils, napkins, and salt and pepper. He said the toasted ravioli for lunch was good. Chase had some homework – a Spanish assignment and about 20 math problems about the order of operations. Both assignments were pencil and paper homework, and Nanaw asked Chase about that. He said Gibault was digital but they also did pencil and paper assignments. Mama said to have Chase home by five so he could have dinner before his workout at 6 p.m. Mama, Daddy and Nanaw all talKed with Chase about his day when Nanaw brought him home. That was fun!

Saturday, August 15, and Sunday, August 16. 2026

Bears baseball started up again with practice on Thursday evening and a tournament on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Mama texted that unfortunately, the tournament didn’t go well for Chase and Tucker’s Bears team. They lost two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday. But the boys had fun, and that’s what’s important. On Saturday, Mama, Daddy and Chase had Dairy Queen for dinner. Then Daddy and Chase went to the driving range. Nanaw sent a text to Mama asking what she thought of Chase’s interest in golf. Mama had an interesting take on it, saying she thinks he enjoys it because there’s no practice and no pressure to be good on a team. Nanaw replied that she hadn’t thought of that, and she thought Mama was right. On Sunday afternoon, when they were finished with baseball, Tucker, his dad Brent, Chase and Daddy went golfing. Mama texted Nanaw a photo of Tucker and Chase that Brent took. Mama says Brent is good with photos. For dinner, Chase, Mama and Daddy had Mama’s chicken pasta, at Chase’s request, which Nanaw thought was cool.

Friday, August 14, 2026

Friday was Chase’s second day of orientation at Gibault. For lunch, he had chili crispitos, which he said were sort of like taquitos. Chase said they went over many of the same things they did yesterday – the classes and the location of the classrooms. He brought home a copy of the school map, which will be helpful in finding his classes. They worked on the Schoology dashboard to learn how to use it. That’s the way they’ll get their homework assignments and turn in their assignments. They’ll also get reminders and messages through the dashboard. Chase said they’d still have some pencil and paper homework assignments and that Gibault isn’t totally digital. Chase said both days were decent and that seemed to mean he liked the school. Nanaw asked Chase to tell her who from ICS was going to Gibault, and they counted 16 students. In the evening, there was a pot luck dinner in the school cafeteria for the families of the students new to Gibault. Daddy didn’t go so it was just Mama, Chase and Nanaw. Chase went to sit at the table of students and not with Mama and Nanaw. Mama and Nanaw sat at a table with Brady’s mom and dad but at a different end. They sat with one of the Gibault staff and learned a lot of interesting things about the school. The food was delicious, with so many different choices. The meat was pulled pork that was yummy. For dessert, there was cake from a bakery in Columbia, and Nanaw loved the white cake with white icing. After dinner, the students disappeared. Chase went off with Brady, Joey and Drew – the three friends from the crew who now go to Gibault. The other two, Cole and Hunter, are going to Columbia High School. When it was time to leave, Mama and Nanaw went searching for Chase. When they found him, he reluctantly agreed to give them a tour and show them where his classes were, which was a great ending to a great evening.

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Today was Chase’s first day of orientation at Gibault, and he was supposed to be there at 7:55 a.m. Chase and Nanaw left home in plenty of time to get there by then. Nanaw took pictures of Chase before they left and sent two to Mama. Then the Gibault principal took pictures of the Gibault freshman with the Gibault mascot, including the picture of Chase below. Then Chase showed up in a photo on Gibault’s Facebook page with several other students. For lunch, they had chicken patties, green beans, and a fruit drink.  Chase now has a map of the Gibault classrooms and common rooms so he knows where to go for classes – always important! He promised to show Nanaw all the things he’ll be doing and learning, starting Monday. They have a digital classroom called Schoology where they do all their class work. They have e-books for text books and all assignments and work are done online. It’s a whole new world for Chase, and Nanaw is excited to learn about it. Uncle Mike came over today to visit, cut the grass, and put a new taillight in Nanaw’s Bronco. He’s the best! It’s unbearably hot outside, and poor Uncle Mike got really hot so he took a cool shower. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

For lunch on Wednesday, Chase had his second Lunchable. He had a workout in the afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.  It was really hot outside again, and he was sweating a lot when he came out from the workout. Nanaw had to put his shirt in the dryer when they got home. He’s been sporadic about doing his Python lessons. Nanaw said maybe when he’s back in school, he could do one after school on Fridays when he doesn’t have to get his homework done. He said he could also do a lesson or two on his Enrichment Fridays. When it was time to take Chase home, Nanaw had him pack up Tyler to return home. The steps were done and could be walked on so the cat was going home. Nanaw was happy to discover when they got to Chase’s house that Chase had packed Tyler’s dangling toy in the pet taxi with Tyler. So Nanaw didn’t have to go back home to get it. The excitement for the evening was Chase’s back to school ice cream treat at Marie’s. Mama and Nanaw had hot fudge sundaes (and Nanaw pronounced it like it’s pronounced these days but the man at Marie’s pronounced it Nanaw’s way – Yay!)  Daddy had chocolate ice cream and Chase had his favorite that he always gets -- Superman ice cream in a waffle cone. His cone was a dark blue – very interesting. There’s a new store next to Marie’s that has sports cards and other memorabilia. Nobody except Nanaw wanted to go in and check it out, so Nanaw will have to do it some other time.

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Chase was really helpful to Nanaw on Tuesday. He took the garbage can out to the curb in the morning, and then in the afternoon brought it back to the garage after the garbage company emptied it. He took a really heavy bag filled with books out to the trunk of Nanaw’s Bronco and put it with the rest of the things there intended for Goodwill. At noon, Chase and Nanaw went to Goodwill. Chase took the bags and boxes out of the trunk and put them in the wheeled bin one of the Goodwill workers brought out. The workers can no longer take things out of donors’ vehicles. The donors have to take them out and put them in the bins. Nanaw thinks that maybe sometimes the workers accidentally removed items that the donors didn’t intend to donate so that might be why they changed the process. Nanaw was glad she had Chase there to remove the items from her trunk. After Goodwill, Chase and Nanaw went to the Cliff Cave Library to wait there till the cleaning lady was finished at Nanaw’s house. Later in the afternoon, Mama texted Nanaw to tell her the steps were done but they couldn’t walk on them for 24 hours. So to get into the house everybody had to use the back steps. Mama also asked if Tyler could spend another night, and Nanaw said definitely. 

Monday, August 10, 2026

For lunch on Monday, Chase had his leftover homemade pizza from last night’s dinner. Nanaw heated it up in her little toaster oven that’s also an air fryer that Mama gave her for her birthday. It works better than the microwave for pizza and other things that are better crispy. Chase had a workout in the afternoon scheduled for 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Daddy called Chase as he and Nanaw were driving to the workout to tell them that Zach (the man who leads the workouts) would be about 20 minutes late. Later Daddy told Chase and Nanaw that Zach works at the Catholic high school in Belleville and had a meeting there so that’s why he was late. Tucker wasn’t at the workout so that was a bit disappointing to Chase. Tucker starts school this Thursday at Columbia High School. When Nanaw took Chase home, Mama said the floor people were coming Tuesday to do the steps. She asked if Tyler could come spend another night. Nanaw said yes, of course. She asked Chase and Mama if Chase could carry Tyler out to her car and ride home with her to get him into Nanaw’s house. Tyler’s really heavy, and Nanaw would have had trouble carrying him. Mama said she’d give Chae $10.00 if he would do it, and that sealed the deal. 

Sunday, August 9, 2026

Chase and Daddy were having a big golf get-together on Sunday. Their tee time was 10 a.m. at the Columbia Golf Club. Joining them were Elias, Uncle Chris, Uncle Will-Bill, Uncle Chuck, Uncle George, and Uncle Stan. Mama and Nanaw think that Chase was especially happy to play golf with cousin Elias. After church, Nanaw went out to Wentzville to have lunch with her friends Joyce and Betty. Nanaw invited Mama to join them for lunch but she declined because she had a lot of work to do. She has to get the house back in order after the mess of the floor laying. Nanaw has known Joyce and Betty for many years but hasn’t seen them since last October. On Sunday evening, Mama sent Nanaw the photo below of Chase in the kitchen looking like he’s cooking. Nanaw texted Mama to find out exactly what he’s doing, and Mama said they had homemade pizza for dinner. Chase was putting his together. Mama said Daddy and Chase seemed to have fun golfing today. Mama said she was really tired from all the work she did today.

Saturday, August 8, 2026

On Saturday morning, Nanaw discovered that Easter Sam had had an unexpected sleepover at Nanaw’s house so she sent a picture of him to Chase and Mama. Also on Saturday morning, Mama, Daddy and Chase went to Gibault to do some community service. Mr. G. wanted some dirt moved to the patio so people came with shovels, wheelbarrows, and one guy brought a tractor. They were there for three hours in the heat, and Mama said it was really hot. Chase will get three hours of community service toward his Gibault requirement of ten hours. Daddy and Chase went to five o’clock mass because they have a big golf game tomorrow. While they were at church, Mama took Travis the Traverse to the car wash and then came over to Nanaw’s house to pick up Tyler. Nanaw had told her she thought Tyler was depressed, and Mama should bring him home for a while. They still have to have the steps done but the man who does them is on vacation so they don’t know when he’ll be back to do their steps. Tyler will come back to Nanaw’s when the man does the steps. Mama texted Nanaw photos of Chase working at Gibault and of Tyler. Nanaw pointed out to Mama that from the pictures, it looks like their new floor goes well with their fireplace brick. For dinner, Mama went to McDonald’s.