Friday, July 31, 2026

Mama and Chase didn’t take the comforters and blankets to Helping Strays on Friday morning because it was pouring down rain. They’ll take them another time. Around noon, it had stopped raining so Mama and Chase picked up Nanaw to go to Bread Company for lunch. Mama and Chase had French onion soup, and Chase got a cookie with M&Ms on it. Nanaw had a half Caesar salad, a cinnamon crunch bagel and an orange scone. She tried to pay for her extravagant lunch but Mama wouldn’t let her. Next, they went to Target to buy high school supplies for Chase. He insisted that they call them high school supplies, not just school supplies. A while ago, Mama set up a debit card for Chase; she now deposits his $10 a week allowance in the debit card account. He stores the actual debit card behind his phone in the phone case. Chase picked out two kinds of plastic golf tees and paid for them with his debit card. It was the first time he’d actually used the debit card so he asked Nanaw to come along with him. He handled everything well, considering what went wrong. First, one of the packages of tees didn’t have a UPC barcode so Chase had to find a Target employee to help him. She was able to look up the tees and type in the barcode number. Then when Chase used the debit card, it asked for a pin number, which he didn’t think he had. The Target employee came over again and showed him what key to press to get the machine to bypass its request for a pin number. Nanaw was very proud that Chase handled all the problems so well. .On the drive home, Mama and Nanaw asked Chase if he’d ever heard anything from Amelie, and he said she texted him that she got a new phone and she sent him her new phone number. They asked if he answered her, and he said he texted okay. Then they told him he should text her something, and he sent a hello text but at first it didn’t go through so he did it again but Mama didn’t know if it went through or if she texted back, and Mama didn’t ask. Mama and Nanaw tried to explain to Chase that he had to talk to girls and people but they don’t think he understood what they were talking about: the importance of communication.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Nanaw weighed and measured Chase on Thursday, and he weighed 122.5 pounds and was still 5 foot 6 inches tall. He’s gained 3.5 pounds since last month, and Mama said it was muscle weight from all those workouts he’s doing. Uncle Mike came over today and helped Nanaw with her solar fireworks lights that weren’t working. She had put them all on the porch where there’s no sunlight. She didn’t realize that because they’re solar lights, they need to be out in the bright sunlight to get charged. Uncle Mike put them in a circle in the part of the front yard that gets lots of sunlight. And tonight they were shining brightly. Nanaw sent Uncle Mike a picture of them so he could see that the non-shining problem was solved. Chase had a workout at 2 p.m. today, and Uncle Mike was still there when they got back home. He had finished cutting the grass and trimming the grapevines. He found four cucumbers that Nanaw had no idea were there. They were on the back side of the plants where Nanaw never looks so from now on, she’ll have to look there also. When Nanaw took Chase home, Mama told her about what they were doing on Saturday. They’re going to Gibault to help with work around the campus – something to do with dirt. The students who come to help will get three hours of community service credit. Each student has to do ten hours of community service work each year so this will count for that. Mama has the day off tomorrow, and in the morning she and Chase are going to Helping Strays to donate a big pile of blankets and comforters for the dogs. Then they’re going to pick up Nanaw and they’ll all go to Bread Company for lunch. Yum!

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

On Wednesday morning, Chase texted Nanaw asking if she could come pick him up at 9 instead of 10 from the sleepover. He wanted her to bring him back to her house before they went to Gibault for the technical session so that’s what Nanaw did. Nanaw got to see Drew and Brady when she picked Chase up.  Cole had left earlier and Nanaw’s not sure whether Joey was still there or not. Chase said he’d fallen asleep about 2 a.m., which is earlier than usual at a sleepover. He said he wanted to get enough sleep for the technical session. It turned out that Nanaw didn’t have to sit with Chase during the session, so she sat in a room next to where the students were working on their laptops and talked with one of the parents waiting for his son. Joey was there and so was Nick, Evie and Cam. Those were the only ones Nanaw recognized. Chase was one of the first students to get his laptop set up, so Chase and Nanaw got to leave early. While Chase was working on his laptop, Mr. Gregson came by, and Nanaw had a nice chat with him about his granddaughter and his son who’s in the Marines in Japan. Mama and Nanaw are happy that they get to see Mr. Gregson again. It turns out that Mama didn’t realize the school was providing Word so she bought a license for Chase’s computer, and he now has two copies. They don’t know what they’re going to do about it. In the afternoon, Chase fell asleep for a little while, still tired from the sleepover.

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Today was cleaning lady day so after Nanaw finished straightening up the house, she and Chase went over to his house. While Nanaw watched her soap opera and played with Tyler the kitty, Chase watched TV in his room and played on his phone. Nanaw had asked him to do his Python lesson this morning but he forgot to do it. Once again, for his lunch Chase heated up his pizza and bread sticks in the microwave, putting a cup of water in with them to make them soft. Nanaw needs to make a correction as to where the pizza and breadsticks came from. Nanaw thought Mama brought them home from her driveway adventure at Uncle Mike’s. But Chase said that was wrong. It came from Papa John’s and was left over from dinner the other night. When Chase and Nanaw came back home, they worked with Chase’s new laptop in preparation for tomorrow’s tech session at Gibault. Chase is meeting with a tech person to get his laptop set up with the school requirements. Chase and his friends have a sleepover at Drew’s house tonight. Then Nanaw is going to pick him up tomorrow morning at Drew’s to take him to Gibault for the tech session. Chase said Truman was going to sleep with Mama tonight while he was at his sleepover.

Monday, July 27, 2026

Chase did his Python course on Monday morning; he wasn’t sure what number it was but Nanaw thinks it was 16 or 17. Nanaw is ready to start Lesson 14 but doesn’t seem to find the time to do it. So she’ll have to find the time. For lunch, Chase had food Mama brought home from her driveway adventure at Uncle Mike’s house: pizza and breadsticks. There was enough food for two lunches. Chase warmed the food up himself in the microwave, and he did the trick that he learned about on YouTube. To soften up the things you’re microwaving, you put a glass of water in the microwave with the food and that softens it up. Chase said it turned out really good. Chase and Nanaw had to make a trip to his house to get the right shoes for his workout. When he packed his bag this morning, he put in the wrong shoes. On the way, Nanaw drove by the post office and mailed Mrs. Betty’s birthday card. Nanaw is having lunch with Mrs. Betty and Joyce this Sunday out in Wentzville at Stefanina’s. Nanaw thinks they haven’t had lunch since last October so Nanaw is really looking forward to it. Chase had a 4 p.m. workout, and Nanaw took him to it, and Daddy was going to pick him up. On her way home, Nanaw stopped at Chase’s house to leave his clothes bag, the bag of guys and Truman. Mama sent the last picture below of the Tyler, the cute cat. Sometimes Chase pets him and that makes Nanaw happy.

Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26, 2026

As planned, Daddy and Chase went out to Elias’s house in Silex on Saturday. From what Nanaw could tell on Life360, they got there early Saturday morning, and it looks like they spent the whole day at the golf course. Nanaw will check with Chase and Mama to get the details. Nanaw couldn’t tell what they did for lunch and dinner so she’ll have to ask about that also. (They spent six hours at the golf course, and Chase had a hot dog for lunch. They used a golf cart so they didn’t have to walk the course.) Mama went to Uncle Mike’s in the afternoon for the driveway adventure. She and Uncle Mike went to Paul’s market to get something for Daddy to grill on Sunday. Mama said they got two Italian sausages for Nanaw, who is invited to dinner on Sunday. They also bought huge hot dogs and bratwurst. Mama also sent a selfie that Chase took of himself on Saturday for Days of Chase. He was supposed to send it to Nanaw but evidently forgot to do it. Nanaw sent him pictures of Baby Truman on his way to the little house and one of him there but didn’t hear anything back from Chase. Mama got home around 11 Sunday morning from Uncle Mike’s, and Daddy and Chase got home from Silex a little later. Supposedly, they weren’t going to spend the night but evidently they did. Nanaw has so many questions to ask! Some more things Nanaw learned. Uncle Chris is going to get rid of the Knight Owl café. Chase wants to play golf with Elias next weekend but if he can’t do that, he’ll play golf with Daddy. The sleepover at Drew’s house has been moved to Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, Chase and Nanaw are going to Gibault for the technical setup of his laptop. 

Friday, July 24, 2026

Chase had a workout session at 10 a.m. on Friday morning. On the drive there, Chase told Nanaw that he’s going to have a sleepover at Drew’s house next Monday night, he thinks with the rest of the guys of the crew. He asked Nanaw if she remembered where Drew’s house was, and then asked if she’d be able to come pick him up on Tuesday morning. Nanaw told him yes, she remembered where Drew lives – you make a right turn at the street where you turn left for the workout. Then she said yes, of course, she’d be able to pick him up on Tuesday morning. Nanaw is so glad he’s getting together with the crew before school starts. She thinks the only one he’s seen this summer is Brady so this will be fun for him. Tonight is the Demo Derby in Waterloo, and usually Chase, Mama and Daddy go with Brady’s family. But they weren‘t going this year because both Mama and Chase said they weren’t feeling it. Also, Chase said he’s golfing with Elias tomorrow, and Nanaw assumes that means he didn’t want to stay out late. He’s really looking forward to seeing Elias. Chase didn’t do his Python course this afternoon but Nanaw will see if she can get him to do it every day next week. She’ll make sure to do her lessons with him when he’s doing his; that will help keep him on track. Nanaw isn’t going out to the little house till Saturday morning. She was tired and didn’t feel like doing the long drive on Friday evening. 

Thursday, July 23, 2026

This morning, Nanaw asked Chase where he and Brady went to play miniature golf last night, and Chase said it was the course by the driving range. Uncle Mike came over today and did lots of chores for Nanaw. He glued some brackets on a chair; straightened out the counter stools that Papaw made for the new house in 1998; put up one of the blinds in the vertical blinds; put together the sparkly lawn decorations Nanaw got from Amazon; and stored a lot of boxes in the basement up on the shelves. Nanaw was very grateful for all that he did. For lunch, Chase had the Ramen Noodle soup thing. Uncle Mike said he eats them too, and likes them. In the afternoon, Chase did his Python programming course just like he promised yesterday that he would. He’s doing well with learning the coding, and that makes Nanaw happy. Maybe it would never be a career he would be interested in but at least he’s learning something new this summer instead of just watching YouTube videos and playing games on his phone and computer. And Nanaw is having fun learning Python. Chase and Daddy won’t be spending the night at Elias’s house over the weekend because there’s not enough room for them but at least Chase will get to play golf with Elias and do other things together. The last two pictures are of the sparkly things Nanaw bought from Amazon for the front of the house.

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

For lunch, Chase had a new Lunchable – a nachos one. He said he liked it, and Nanaw thought it looked good. He had a workout in the afternoon and didn’t get so hot and sweaty like he usually does. The weather has cooled down, and it’s really nice after the hot weather we’ve had the past few weeks. Once again, on the way home from the workout, Chase talked a lot to Nanaw. They talked about golf and how Chase likes it. He says the only sport he doesn’t like is volleyball. Again, he said he thinks he’ll play baseball for the Gibault team. They talked about the trip they took several years ago to the Smokey Mountains, and how they played so much mini golf and went on those things that swung around in the air. Chase said it was a good trip, and he really liked it. He said that if Florida didn’t work out sometime, they could go there again. Nanaw’s going to see if she can find some streaming golf tournaments for Chase to watch because he seems to like golf so much. Mama texted Nanaw that Chase and Brady played miniature golf this evening after Chase got home from Nanaw’s. She didn’t say where so Nanaw will have to find out. 

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Chase had an interesting morning, afternoon and evening. He ended up saying it was a really good day. Then he said maybe it was going to be a good week, especially if he got to have a sleepover with Elias this weekend . In the morning, he told Nanaw that Brady couldn’t play golf today but he wanted to come over and visit him today. So they arranged for Brady to come at 11. Chase wanted to go to Walmart to get some practice golf balls so Chase and Nanaw went Telegraph Road Walmart. Chase got his golf balls, plus some Baked Lays potato chips. Nanaw got lots of Lactaid cottage cheese. Telegraph Road Walmart carries it now. Nanaw took Chase over to his house at 11 to see Brady, and told him she’d be back at 3 p.m. to get him. At 3, she went to get him so he could have his turkey soup for lunch. They dropped Brady at the ICS church, where his Mama works as the church secretary. After eating his turkey soup, he did his Python computer-coding class. He’s being really good about doing it, with little complaining, making Nanaw happy. Before Nanaw took him home, he told her he had texted Daddy to see if they could go to the driving range tonight and take Brady with them. Daddy said yes, and Chase was very happy about that. Mama was having dinner with a friend so they were on their own. 

Monday, July 20, 2026

This morning, when Chase got to Nanaw’s house, he showed her the medal he got yesterday at the Bears baseball tournament. Chase’s team won second place. Nanaw took the picture below of Chase and his medal. Later in the day, there was a mishap involving candy powder and Nanaw’s laptop. Somehow,, Chase spilled candy powder all over the keyboard of Nanaw’s laptop and the dining room table. They got it cleaned up but both Chase and Nanaw were worried that it messed up the laptop. But so far, it seems okay. Nanaw may have Chase eat his meals and snacks at the kitchen counter so something like this doesn’t happen again. Chase said he had a good time at his workout this afternoon. On the drive home, he told Nanaw he will probably play baseball at Gibault this year because he’s not playing golf. He also said that he’s excited about seeing Elias this weekend, and he hopes that he and Daddy are spending the night out there. Mama is spending the night at Uncle Mike’s house, after the driveway adventure. Chase said that thinking about spending time at Elias’s reminds him of the time he had the best week ever. Unfortunately, he can’t remember when that week was or anything about it except that maybe Elias was involved. Later in the afternoon, Chase did his Python computer coding, which made Nanaw happy.

Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, 2026

No baseball rainouts this weekend! Chase played shortstop this weekend instead of second base or pitching. I think he doesn’t like pitching anymore because of the pressure. After the two games on Saturday, Mama wanted them all to go to Wally’s with Tucker and his family but Chase didn’t want to go despite always wanting to go before. Mama said he was hot and tired, and they came home instead. Nanaw was there when they returned home, bringing back Chase’s shoes. He’d left them at her house on Friday, under the dining room table so they weren’t easy to see. He had texted Nanaw Saturday morning about them, and she told him she would get them and take them to his house when she got home from the little house. He hadn’t told Mama about the shoes so she was surprised to find out they hadn’t made it home. Nanaw was happy to see Chase unexpectedly on Saturday. Chase had four baseball games this weekend; unfortunately, they only won one game and that was on Sunday but they came in second in the tournament and got medals.  For Chase’s Monday lunch, Nanaw got turkey soup out of the freezer. Nanaw also put lunches on the weekly calendar. Plus, she texted Mama that the sunflowers are blooming in North County and did she want to take Travis (her Traverse) on a road trip to see them. They  haven't had much luck seeing the sunflowers these past few years so Mama isn't sure she wants to try again.

Thursday, July 16 and Friday, July 17, 2026

On Thursday morning, Chase had an ortho appointment, and the tech said everything thing was fine and to come back in 6 weeks. Fortunately, Nanaw was able to make a 3:15 p.m. appointment on September 15 so Chase didn’t have to leave school early. Chase said on the way out, he saw Jackson P. And they both nodded to each other. Uncle Mike came over to cut the grass and work on the basement. He and Nanaw loaded up all the trash they wanted to put in Nichole’s dumpster. Then while Uncle Mike put the trash in his truck, Chase and Nanaw moved the boxes of holiday decorations from one part of the basement to the shelves on the other side. Chase was absolutely wonderful helping. He carried about 20 boxes, two at a time. Nanaw was so happy and proud of him. On Thursday afternoon, he willingly did his Python lesson. He thinks it was lesson 15. Chase had a workout on Friday morning. He really seems to like the workouts. On the drive home, Chase did something unusual for him. He talked a lot to Nanaw about the workout, saying his goal is to be able to lift weights in the amount of his weight, 119 pounds, He said he did 90 pounds today so he’s getting close.  He told Nanaw he thinks the workout sessions are really making him a lot stronger. On the way home, they stopped at Walgreen’s so Chase could get some of the special candy he likes -- $17 worth of special candy – LOL! In the afternoon, Chase once again did his Python lesson, lesson 16, Nanaw thinks. Nanaw is way behind him on her lessons. She thinks she’s on lesson 11 or 12. But she hopes to get caught up this weekend at the little house.

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Chase and Nanaw had a busy, mixed-up day on Wednesday. In the morning, after Chase’s sleepover, they went over to Chase’s house for him to get clean clothes. At first he had wanted to stay there for awhile to play with his Virtual Reality Device but changed his mind. He decided he wanted to take it back to Nanaw’s house and play with it there. Nanaw had a meeting at church from 1 to 3 p.m. so she fixed Chase’s lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich, yogurt and French fries before she left. She promised to be back home by 3:20, in plenty of time to take him to his workout session. When Nanaw dropped him off, she saw his friend Tucker arriving also, and both boys seemed so happy to see one another. Chase had been concerned that Daddy didn’t know he was supposed to pick Chase up from the workout, but Nanaw reassured him that Daddy definitely knew because it was Daddy’s idea. Nanaw went to Waterloo Walmart to do her grocery shopping and then stopped by Chase’s house on her way home to drop off his clothes bag and the guys. Chase and Daddy arrived home while Nanaw was there so Nanaw got to take a picture of Chase for Days and to get a good-bye hug and kiss. 

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Today was cleaning lady day so Nanaw did her rushing around the house putting things away and straightening up. At noon, they went over to Chase’s house to wait till the cleaning was done. Nanaw had packed up things for Chase’s and her lunch. She fixed Chase’s lunch right away and he finished it just as Brady came over to visit. Brady stayed for about three hours; it sounded like they had a good time, and Chase said he did. The cleaning lady had a family emergency and was late getting to Nanaw’s house. She didn’t finish till 3; Chase and Nanaw went back to Nanaw’s house then. Mama and Daddy were going to dinner at Syberg’s to say goodbye to it because it’s closing in its current location. They’re going to try to find another place to open it up again. At 6 p.m., Nanaw took Chase to Sonic, as she’d promised. Chase got two pretzel twists with cheese, an order of onion rings, and a Sonic Blast. On the drive home from Sonic, Chase said he was going to ask Mama and Daddy if he could have a sleepover at Nanaw’s. Nanaw was surprised and pleased about that. Mama said yes but that she would miss her bug and Tee Tee.

Monday, July 13, 2026

Nanaw had a doctor’s appointment on Monday morning, and Chase was sweet enough to remind her that it was time to leave; he didn’t want her to be late. She left a huge snack for him before she left: 2 bags of Skinny Pop, his Red Vines red licorice, a yogurt packet, an applesauce packet, a cheese stick, Cheez-Its and Tootsie Rolls. When Nanaw got home, half of the snack was still there. Chase said Nanaw gave him too much! That was a first. So Nanaw put everything that he didn’t eat away.For lunch he had a ham sandwich and Cheetos Mac and Cheese, which hew couldn’t eat because he was still full from the snack. He’ll have the Cheetos tomorrow, he says. In the afternoon, he had a workout. When he came back to the car when it was over, he said he wanted to take a shower. So that’s what he did when he got back to Nanaw’s house. At the end of the day, he had another snack of Red Vines red licorice and Skinny Pop. When Chase and Nanaw got to his house, Nanaw went through the cheese draw in the fridge to get 8 slices of cheese for Chase’s four ham and cheese sandwiches for the rest of the week. Nanaw forgot to ask Mama to get Swiss cheese. Chase went to find his Chromebook so he and Nanaw could put his games on it and his calculator so Mama could determine if it’s the correct one for school. 

Friday, July 10, Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, 2026

Chase had a busy, active, fun three days. Daddy was off work on Friday, so he took Chase to his workout in the morning. After that, Chase and Daddy went golfing for a couple of hours. Mama said they golfed at their regular place but Nanaw is not quite sure where that is so she’ll have to investigate.  Mama reported that Chase’s friend Hunter and his family were down in southern Missouri and got evacuated because of the flooding there. Thank goodness they’re all right. It stormed in Columbia and at the little house on Friday night, and Mama thought Chase’s baseball might be rained out, and it was. Mama sent a picture of Truman and Tee Tee hiding in her office while Chase was taking a shower. After his shower he rescued them. On Saturday, Mama had a plan for her and Chase to clean out the bookcase in the living room. She said it was boring but necessary. They’re getting new flooring so everything will be moved around. Mama said Chase did a great job in cleaning off the shelf and didn’t complain, which Nanaw is sure made Mama happy. They went to dinner at La Fiesta, and Mama said that’s all she had to report about Chase’s Saturday. On Sunday, baseball was rained out again, and Daddy and Chase went to mass at their regular time. After church, he and Daddy played mini golf in South County, and then they went to Dick’s where Chase bought a soccer ball. In the afternoon, Chase and some of his Bears teammates had a baseball adventure. They went to the Bud Dome in South County in the afternoon to play baseball. Mama sent pictures of mini golf and baseball in the Bud Dome. She’s a very good reporter and photographer for Days of Chase. 

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Chase and Nanaw had a good day today. Nanaw has given up on the idea of school with Chase. He complained so much about it and found excuse after excuse not to do it. So today, Nanaw told him that they were not going to do school anymore. The only thing she wanted him to do was the Python programming. Chase said he would do that, and he said they could also listen to books on CD or from Alexa. In the morning, Chase had an appointment with Brittany for a haircut. She always talks to him and gets him to talk a little. After the appointment, Chase and Nanaw went to Walgreen’s to buy two mood rings, one for Chase and one for Mama. They also bought some Red Vines (red licorice) for Chase and two other things of candy.) In the afternoon, Chase did his Python programming, and then he and Nanaw listened to Alexa read The Fort by one of Chase’s favorite authors, Gordon Korman. It all went well, and Nanaw has high hopes for a happy rest of the summer.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Once again, Chase had a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich and French fries for lunch on Wednesday. But he didn’t eat the French fries because he was too full. He had a workout in the afternoon between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. He was especially excited about this workout because his friend Tucker was going to be there. School with Chase hasn’t been going well this summer, and Nanaw is ready to stop doing school.  Chase has been complaining about school all the time and kept finding excuses for not having school. Nanaw is a little disappointed because she had fun with school but evidently Chase didn’t. They could do two things: 1. Chase doing the Python computer programming courses with ChatGPT. 2. Listening to books, which Chase had mentioned that he liked doing and wanted do. They would listen either on CDs or from Alexa. Nanaw just realized she could also get a book for them to listen to from Audible. Nanaw briefly mentioned that plan this afternoon to Chase, and he seemed to be in favor of it. Then this evening she asked Mama’s opinion, and her opinion was that it might be better than trying to force him to do something he didn’t want to do.Today, Uncle Mike came over to cut the grass, and then he helped Nanaw with the shelves down in the basement. Nanaw was very grateful for his help.

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Chase spent most of the day on the phone and computer with Tucker and some of Tucker’s friends. They were playing Roblox, and Chase was laughing constantly. So Chase and Nanaw didn’t have school again today. Yesterday he only did the Python coding and the touch-typing. Nanaw promises herself that tomorrow, they will do their full hour of school, no matter what. They didn’t go to Walgreen’s either. Nanaw told Mama about the mood ring she bought and that they were going to get one for Chase, along with some special candy he likes. Mama said she wants a mood ring also so they’ll get one for her, too, whenever they go. Nanaw asked Chase if he wanted to bring his Chromebook over to her house, and she would put all the Steam games and other games that are on her laptop on the Chromebook. Chase said an emphatic no several times. Nanaw asked him why but he didn’t give her an answer. Later, Nanaw told Mama about that. Mama asked Chase why he didn’t want to put games on the Chromebook, especially after she went through so much to get the Chromebook disconnected from the ICS network. He finally told her it was because he didn’t want to have to ask her permission every time he wanted to get a new game. So Nanaw told Mama she would put her credit card on the Chromebook so Chase can buy games (although most of them are free) and then pay Nanaw for them. Mama liked that idea so she’s bringing the Chromebook over to Nanaw’s tomorrow. Also, Mama said Chase said the clothes Nanaw has at her house are too small so Nanaw got them out and spread them on the sofa. They don’t look too small but she’ll have Chase look at them tomorrow. There’s also a uniform shirt and pants that Mama can give to Elias.

Monday, July 6, 2026

For lunch, Chase had a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich and really liked it. He also had some of the frozen crinkle fries he picked out at Schnuck’s a couple of weeks ago. He bought a computer game on Steam, using Nanaw’s credit card but he gave her the $7 it cost – it was so sweet. In the afternoon, Chase had a workout and said it went well. He sweated a lot, so Nanaw dried his shirt in the dryer. Dobb’s told Daddy that the transmission went out on his Chevrolet Colorado truck. It was expensive but Daddy got it fixed rather than buying a new truck yet. The Colorado is supposed to be for Chase in a year and a half when he’s driving. Daddy will buy a new truck for himself then. Daddy is driving Nanaw’s Escape to work tomorrow. Today, he and Mama carpooled. Mama sent the last picture of the cutie pie to Nanaw.

Sunday, July 5, 2026

On Sunday, Daddy and Chase went to a place in O’Fallon, Illinois named Play It Again. It’s a store that sells gently used sports equipment. Chase got a cool-looking blue metal bat. Daddy said he’ll be able to use it for years, even at college. Unfortunately, on the way home, Daddy’s truck stopped running, and he had to have it towed to Dobb’s. Mama went to pick them up and was so happy they were okay. In the evening, Daddy grilled chicken and Nanaw was invited. She had delicious wings and Suddenly Salad. Nanaw has given up her gluten-free diet; she decided she’s probably not gluten intolerant. Chase put on a fireworks demonstration in the backyard for Mama, Daddy, and Nanaw after dinner. He absolutely loves fireworks and loved do it. He had snakes, firecrackers, a dog that pooped, a poop emoji, (Mama selected those two, of course), sparklers and fountains that shot out sparks. He had a big paper bag filled with fireworks, and he saved some to take to Elias’s house at the end of the month.