Need a drink to go with your book?

Then get on your bike,

ride to the library,

and then stop by Sonic.

Done.

 

A night on the town

After a Saturday full of ball games,

we needed a night full of fun.

So we called our friends the Welch's

and headed for downtown LS

Aren't these some cool art murals around town?

We headed for Arcade Alley

Because who doesn't love pinball, arcade machines,

skeeball, air hockey, and pop-a-shot?

Then we decided to try out the new

Iron Horse BBQ.

We got a kids' table

(which did not thrill Jack)

and an adults' table

(which DID thrill Mom)

It was a heck of a night!

Nothing like partying with friends.

Happy birthday, Grandma P!

It's not every day Grandma Phyllis turns 71!

That calls for a pool party and cheesecake

And maybe a family picture

Here's to many more!

 

Some Brother Time

When Uncle Adam gets a day off

and asks if Dad wants to go golfing,

what else is there to say but "yes!"

 

The First Day of School...at THREE Schools

New school year, here we come!

Jackson is off to Lee's Summit North High School.

Mom and Dad can't believe

they have a Freshman

Just two guys,

waiting for a bus

It's just Beck and I left at Highland Park

(This is the 10th year there's been a Reed here!)

Beckett, all ready for 4th grade

in Mrs. Harmon's class

Me, a 2nd grader in Mr. McVay's class

For posterity--

it's been a dramatic morning.

For some reason, I can't wear dirty, stained shorts

on the first day (or any day) of school

Just 2 Huskies,

ready for the year!

Don't worry--

once I got to school

with all my Thunderchicken teammates,

things were alright.

And the last to roll out in the morning:

Weston, strolling into 7th grade

at the brand new East Trails Middle School

Weird to loose these two kids

from the HPE bus

They're on the middle school bus

and banned parents from getting any closer

than this to the bus stop

But other parents got closer!

Just to be sure the middle schoolers knew how much they were loved

AND be sure they were embarrassed as possible,

after waiting for the kids to climb on the bus,

all the parents (now 20+ strong) broke out in waves

and cheers and shouts of "I love you!" and

"Make a new friend!" and "Have a great day!"

Yep.

Gonna be a crazy but great school year.

 

Lots of Firsts

Jackson started middle school during Covid,

so he had to miss out on a lot of milestone events.

But 2 years later,

we all got caught up!

Today was Transition Day for 7th graders

(when we ride the bus, walk through our classes,

and meet our teachers)

It was also Transition Day for Freshman--

Jackson didn't miss out on this one!

Another big First--

my flag football team

decided to tryout for the middle school team...

tackle football, here I come!

All these firsts,

you know what that means...

Thanks for reminding us, Beck

 

Wrapping up summer

The last few weeks of summer 

were packed full of fun.

Tuck and I went to Zoo Camp for the first time

(with my BFF Colby)

We got to help break in Austin and Kayla's new backyard pool

I went to Art Camp.

And we tried out a new brewery

Dad spotted while driving me to Art Camp

It was a rainy night,

but it was fun sitting under the tent,

playing games and drinking beer/rootbeer

Man! 

Summer FLEW by!

 

Uuuuuuuuugh

When your soccer socks come

and you don't like what your parents' picked out:

#thunderchickens

#doesntwanttowearthechickensocks

#theparentsthinktheyareawesome

#itshardtobeseven

 

Squeezing it all in

While Mom and Dad had to had back to KC today,

Mema and Pappo "happily" agreed to "watch us" at the lake.

However, this quickly turned in to 

discussions of payment for babysitting/"shore excursions."

Despite being fully potty trained,

packing our own lunches,

and carrying our own bags,

Mom and Dad still took a beating

over leaving us behind.

We did our best to earn our keep.

We ate lunch over the side of the boat

so we left no crumbs.

We entertained our cousins

by teaching him to evacuate the ship

Let's go, Coop!

I think it all turned out ok.

Mom and Dad haven't paid up yet though.

They did get back in time

to enjoy an evening swim

and some chill time with the Klusmeyers

It was hard to tear ourselves away from this gorgeous evening

so we did some boating

I'm getting better at driving

maybe soon Dad can really just relax

and enjoy the view

In addition to lot of lake time to make up, 

we need to catch up on Father's Day.

We gathered for Joe with Pappo on the deck

because we had to give him his overdue shirt!

(but apparently forgot to take a picture of the front...)

Lots of craziness this weekend!

It was a good time!

The Faces of Jack...reprise

Back in 2015, Mom blogged about me when

she found these pictures of me on her phone:

Good to know 

some things never change:

Hey Mom--

Don't leave your phone unattended.

(And thanks for the braces.

I guess I'm ok with you "changing me")