When your great uncle accidentally starts himself on fire, your great Grandma turns 95 years old, and your Florida besties announce a last minute trip to Wisconsin, you rearrange your schedule to figure out how to see all the people at once, because family matters.

So, after driving to Madison to pick up Cha Cha and Ernest from the airport, we swung by the UW Health University Hospital to check on Uncle Norman in the Burn Unit and to convince him to stop playing with matches and gasoline.

Then we looked for a cure for our hangrytitus and found some delicious Mediterranean food and cute outdoor seating at Banzo, before finding a place to rest our heads in the Dells.

Of course, we needed Ernest to get a little taste of the Dells before heading to Waukesha, since he was a first-timer, so we waved down the next amphibious truck we could find and took a wet and wild Duck tour of the Wisconsin River, Dell Creek, and Lake Delton!

And since there likely wouldn’t be time to visit the Milwaukee Zoo, which was on our summer bucket list, we got our animal fix by walking through Timbavati Wildlife Park to feed the giraffes and pet the kangaroos.

Finally, we arrived in Waukesha to give Great Grandma Garcia hugs, kisses, and birthday wishes before heading back across the state (with a midpoint wardrobe change at a gas station bathroom) to get mom to an important wedding that her presence was requested at.

It was a whirlwind of miles, emotions, and love that I wouldn’t trade for anything, because we don’t often get to see my Florence and Garcia family (especially in the same weekend) and these special reunions are always so good for my soul. Turns out, it was good for my tummy, too, since we got sent home with churros and tamales!

Well, look who joined me at basketball camp this year!

For a girl who has hardly picked up a basketball, I must say that my sister’s tenacity impressed me. She was often seen running across the court, chasing the ball that she inadvertently dribbled on her foot, but she never got frustrated, never gave up, and never took a shortcut. She was focused, determined, and smiley, and already asked mom if she can attend camp again next year!

I, on the other hand, get frustrated very easily, so it’s a good thing I’m a natural athlete because I don’t have the determination of my sister – yet. But you know what I do have? Bragging rights. Because with all the odds against me, as a 4th grader in the 4th-8th grade camp, and as last year’s reigning MVP, mom did everything she could to prepare me to accept the reality that I would likely not receive the MVP/Camper of the Week for a second consecutive year. And even though it doesn’t happen very often, sometimes mom is wrong. Because the 2023 Jordan Kappen Camper of the Week award was presented to yours truly: Jaeger Amari Goodenough! And the crowd goes wild!!!

I tried not to smile as I was crowned the camp king, just to play it cool. But when nobody was looking, you know your boy was cheesin’ because I’ve got a brand new Point 3 Backpack and an outdoor Veniceball to remind me of not just my greatness, but also mom’s wrongness.

Whoever said leaf blowers aren’t any fun must not be using them properly.

Since mom is on The Board of Directors for The Pump House Regional Arts Center, and because we love the arts, we attended this year’s Artspire event! With live performances, food trucks, chalk art, and interactive art stations, we had an absolute blast!

Art is healing. Art makes the world more beautiful. Art brings people together.

If Dr. Bee and Lynette weren’t already some of my favorite people, this pizza/pool party (that we invited ourselves to) surely would have bumped them up a few notches.

With a playground of hammock swings in their house and the Mississippi sunset in their backyard, they are living the good life. So good, in fact, that Genesee cried as we had to eventually end the party and head back to our life. “I’m gonna miss my best friends,” she said.

But, I’ve concluded, if we are so lucky to call Dr. Bee and Lynette our best friends, we must be living the good life, too!

From the first day to the last, some of us matured….

…and some of us did not.

But hey, we’re all on our own journey, so who am I to judge my weirdo sister?!

Nonetheless, we both successfully completed another grade level and are officially ready to PLAY. OUR. HEARTS. OUT!!!

But first, we let our hearts sleep in.

Because I’m such a sweetheart, I invited my Queen on a mother/son date aboard the La Crosse Queen, followed by a peaceful dinner at the local movie theatre.

Some people called it “we need parents to chaperone.”

Either way, mom said yes!

And so there we were, sailing the Mississippi and exploring the haunted bathrooms of the Rivoli with 55 of my closest, not-so-quiet classmates. In my defense, I said “pizza dinner,” but for some reason, mom heard me say “peaceful.”

She’s a sucker for spending time with her sweetheart, no matter the quality. And I love her for that!

Dear Future Genesee,

You belong to the class of 2035, and you (like me) are part of Generation Alpha – the largest generation in the history of the world. I know you will forge your own path, but currently, predictions say that people in our generation are 1) focused on family and friends, 2) advocate for the planet, 3) care about inclusivity, and 4) spend more time online. And look at that… as a 5 year old, you’ve already nailed 3 out of the 4… you just need to work on that environmental activism a bit.

I’m not sure how the world will look different in 12 years, but technology sure is a game changer. From air fryers, Apple watches, and self-driving cars (like Tesla), to virtual reality headsets, social media (Tik Tok is the thing today), and artificial intelligence (like the new Chat GPT), you are heading for a world that is hard to even imagine. And I, for one, cannot wait to see how you help to influence and shape that world!

As I write this, you are a fierce kindergarten graduate, who loves animals deeply, and I sure hope you finally got that dog you’ve been waiting for!? (Did we name it Artimus?) I mean, Bluey was a good starter pet, but it’s time to move on from a fish. You are also starting to dabble in sports and I think you probably turned out to be quite the athlete, am I right? But you LOVE the arts too, so I hope you hung on to both of those talents.

Currently, your favorite Mel-Min friend is Barron and I hope that friendship stood the test of time. Beyond Melrose, you also love to hang out with Chloe and Analia, so with any luck, school boundaries didn’t change that. Either way, you make friends to effortlessly and so I imagine your list has grown exponentially. And even though we bicker sometimes, I hope you looked up from that iPad once in a while to see a brother who adores you and will always root you on. In fact, I probably earned a spot on the top of your best friend list by now.

Anyway, congratulations on successfully completing kindergarten! Here’s to hoping you had much less homework in the years that followed.

Love your favorite brother,
Jaeger

This year’s tournament in Sioux Falls was a bit of a bust, but since we made a camping trip of it (because that’s how we roll), not all was lost for us.

It was a different story for those who attended the soccer games without the comfort of their kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom in the backseat of their vehicle.

Our first game was delayed due to lightning, which threw my team off a little and caused us to lose that match 0-2. But we redeemed ourselves that afternoon, when we beat the Interstate U12 Boys 9-0 on a new (soggy) turf field, which put us back on track to potentially play in the championship game. I even scored a sweet goal and may or may not have accidentally fell over when performing my celebration dance.

But then, with more wind and rain in the forecast, the tournament was abruptly called off on Sunday morning, which was a real bummer for my teammates that made the 4.5 hour trip just for those games.

We, on the other hand, didn’t mind getting home early and we also weren’t mad about that Scheels shopping spree we snuck in.

Canceled tournaments have their perks, I guess! But I sure would have preferred a trophy.

On April 16, I leveled up to nine years old.

I’m still your favorite rule-following, worrywart dude, but with improved cursive writing skills (thanks, Grandma!) and a love for solving math problems. However, I’ve also transformed into an up-and-coming microwave chef and an avid Xbox player.

At 9, I can impress you with my electric scooter riding skills and my Prime Hydration consumption abilities. But most days, you’ll find me dribbling a soccer or basketball, throwing the football around, snuggling with blankets, or drinking kiddie cocktails.

A couple of this year’s favorite gifts were my Air Jordan shoes and my Google Chromebook! But the gift I wished really hard for, didn’t come until 24 hours later…

…A SNOW DAY!!!

On April 17, we got to stay home from school because we saw an unprecedented 24+ inches of snow! It was a winter wonderland in April, and although magical, the heavy snowfall knocked over lots of trees and caused power outages across the region. It was a beautiful mess. Luckily, our house was spared from any major damage, so I was free to go about my wish-come-true snow day with pure joy.