Summer camp out 2024

Made possible by the Taco!

It was different loading this up as opposed to the truck… but removing the third row + folding up another chair made for a ton of cabin space. I brought practically the exact same load as normal.

Perry Lake wasn't fishing friendly but we still had fun. The kids biked a long trail. And we grilled burgers, stargazed and played Monopoly. Evey won. 

Great trip! 

Mexican Fiesta volunteers

On Saturday Adrianne, Boyd and Judy volunteered at the Mexican Fiesta... their job was to serve sodas to the people. Boyd reports that it wasn't a whole lot of fun reaching into the tubs of ice over and over to fetch the different flavors... but they got the job done.

I showed up in time to eat food and chitchat with Father John. That was my contribution to a successful Mexican Fiesta!

Introducing THE TACO!

 It's been a busy summer... I've been on the road for three straight weeks... seriously:

* One week in South Padre for family vacation

* The next week in central PA and then Cleveland for work

* The next week in North Carolina for the U.S. Open and client meetings

So! I've not been posting much at all... apologies. I'm back now and happy to be in Kansas with the family.

Big news! I got new wheels. Diana called maybe two months ago and told us that she thought Alan would like it if we had his Tahoe. I've been in that car many times over the years and I was SHOCKED to learn this... and grateful, because the truck is getting up there...

Coincidentally, the truck died about two weeks later. It needs some major work and it isn't logical to put that kind of money into the 1999 Ram.

So anyway, these are my new wheels. I call it the Taco, because it's close to Tahoe and in honor of the taco I lost somewhere in the truck in 2017. Again, grateful to inherit this from my father-in-law... what a gift! It's a 2011... has a third row... and a working speedometer, volume nob and CD player (all things the truck lacked!)

A couple more photos from First Communion

 

Don't worry; I bought Boyd new shoes on Monday!

Boyd's first communion

 Yeah, that just happened. It was impressive. Boyd was super-enthused! Total ham up there.

Congrats Boyd — good job. You're now more Catholic than your dad. But not as Catholic as your mom. (But still not as tall as your dad... but maybe as tall as your mom.)

Evey’s First Confirmation

I think that's what it's called… she just did the next level in the Catholic Church so she is super qualified as a catholic… and now she can do anything at church! She can sing in the choir or open the door, that's how qualified she is, she can now put the numbers up in the board and let people know what songs we're singing and she can escort crying babies to the crying room, if she deems them too big of crybabies, she can shut that right down.

Ok I don't really know what just happened but I'm proud of Evey and she got us all this photo with this religious figure who gets to wear red like the Imperial Royal Guard in the Star Wars films! So you know that it's a big deal! 

Congrats Evey great job! 

Eclipse 4/8/24

Don't worry, I'm gonna burn that pile on Friday!

Do worry, that cat could attack at any moment! 

Boyd’s 6th grade choir performance

Good news! He did not black out!

Bend those knees, son! I taught him well.

Oh the performance was… great. I don't think Boyd is too into choir, that's just a guess… he does have good taste in music, though.

Boyd is on the top row, fourth from far left. 

Now THAT was a party!

Evey hosted her first full-on party at the house… on a Tuesday night! The cars kept pulling in! It was crazy! I think there are… 27 girls and one dog in this photo!

PARTY IN THE HOJ!

Sweet Koko & Sweet Evey Melosa

A DQ run on a very cold day

We had Boyd's 5th/6th basketball rec league game in De Soto and we got beat pretty good, maybe 32-17 or something like that.

The weather was awful, like -1 and there was blowing snow. We decided to head to Dairy Queen to see Evey -- Bub's suggestion.

I'll admit I wanted Mexican food (because I always want Mexican food) then it occurred to me that Bub meant the DQ in Eudora, so we could see Evey. And that, suddenly, was a no-brainer. I was clearly thinking with my stomach and not my head. 

Evey cheered us all up (OK, I might have been the only one who was a little moody) and we all got some amazing 4-piece chicken strip dinners with plenty of gravy and the most well-buttered Texas toast anyone has ever served. Bravo, DQ cook.

From there we headed home and chilled out, waiting for the Chiefs game to kick off. It was a surprisingly quiet weekend, as I was expecting company in from Chicago, but their flights got canceled twice. 

The Chiefs game was good! Chili dogs were served. 

Kansas City set a record low on Monday morning, MLKJ Day... -16 out at the airport. 

Snow day!

Got about 7-8 inches early January

 

Girls got fresh cuts!

Here they are At Barbwire BBQ in Eudora… I was in Cleveland at the time. 

This post also noteworthy for another reason: first appearance of Bub Jones in his contact lenses on the blog! 

I'm at Chicago Midway waiting for my flight home. I've been in San Antonio, Orlando and Cleveland over the last three weeks. I'm ready to stay put at home for a few weeks! 

Thanksgiving 2023

 Great photo Evey!

Rod, next time we'll ask you to put the fork down so you can actually look at the camera!

Halloween 2023

You're gonna have to look hard to see Bub's costume…!

He went as a 'Gamer.'

They all had fun!