Get out of this place.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

I had a meeting after work for a freelance writing gig I recently took on, but I made it home in time to help with the bedtime routine. Gus is at acting camp the next three weeks in Argenta.

Mom and I helped him rehearse for his audition, which was yesterday. He had to sing and read some lines. I told him he was unlikely to get a speaking part because he's never done anything like this, but lo and behold, he will be playing the role of Oaken in their production of Frozen, Jr., which means he'll have a solo singing role. I am terrified for him, but he seems willing to put in the work. This is him showing me the dance steps he learned today.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

When I got downstairs this morning, Gus was taping something to a trophy he's had forever. He'd pulled it down from the top shelf in his room. I asked him what he was doing with it.

"I'm going to give it to Magnus when he comes downstairs as a late birthday present."

That's when I noticed the thing he was taping to the front was a piece of paper that said, "Magnus."

It was very sweet.

And after Gus went to acting camp, Magnus said, "Dad, look what Gus gave me."

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Mom had Magnus's birthday presents ready on the couch this morning when he woke up. We got him a Speak & Spell just like the one I had when I was a kid, and a magician's outfit to add to the costume basket. Gus started acting camp today, and Magnus went with Mom and Yiayia to Dave & Buster's to celebrate his birthday.

For dinner, Magnus wanted Mom to make salmon, corn, and cucumbers, so that's what we had, followed by rainbow ice cream with sprinkles.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

We went to the Baileys' house around 4pm to play and hangout. Negeen made Persian food, which we all enjoyed. Mom and I were proud that you two liked your gyros. Even though it was ground beef, it looked different than you were used to.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

We had Magnus's birthday party at the LRFD Central Fire Station today and it was an absolute ball. The fire fighters said they give a lot of tours, but this was their first full-blown party. They let the kids put on the gear, spray the fire hose, sit in their recliners, see where they sleep, sit in the trucks, etc. We ate the pirate cake Nene made, and we sent everyone home with fire-fighter themed goodie bags, which the station put together for us, though Mom added a fire extinguisher-shaped water gun. Great birthday. As we were leaving, Dr. Strong said, "Welp, thanks for setting the bar on birthday parties this year -- the rest of us are screwed."

We went home, opened some presents, relaxed for an hour, then went back to Walk-Ons for another Trojan Baseball watch party. (They lost in the Supers to Troy.)

Darla came over to hang with you two around dinner time. She took you on an adventure walk all the way to the snow cone stand. Meanwhile, we joined Aaron & Anna for a soft dinner service opening at Loca Luna.

Great day.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 6.6.2026 - 11.36am.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Yiayia and Nene joined us to support Gus at his reading this afternoon at UA Little Rock, where he's spent the last week at Young Writers Camp with William, among other kids. This was the same classroom in the Fine Arts Building where I had my Art Appreciation class back in 2002 (?), which was kind of an impromptu full-circle moment for me. It was also cool to realize he's just spent the last week learning to write from my friend Heather Hummel.

After the reading, we went out to Walk-Ons for the Little Rock Trojan Baseball Watch Party, but we left after the third inning to run home, throw on our pool clothes, and go to the Leawood Pool for Mere Bear's birthday party.

Big day of running every which way.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Gus went with the Calhouns to dinner at Hill Station, where they ran into Freddie Prinze, Jr. Apparently he was in town for a movie, and it wrapped today, so they were celebrating. When Gus got home, I asked if he knew who the famous guy was and he said something about him maybe playing guitar in a band.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 6.4.2026 - 8.28pm.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Gus started his post-season tournament Monday night, but it got postponed after the first inning for weather. I was kinda happy about it, so I could be at the game. We played the Pirates and didn't play great, but the season on the whole was fun. I liked this team, and I liked even more than Gus got passionate about baseball. As Gus packed up his stuff in the dugout for the last time this season, I got overwhelmed with pride and asked Coach Joe to take a picture of us.

Emerson's mom took lots of photos tonight and shared this one of Gus playing second base with us.

Nene & Rick came down, and Yiayia & Errol were there as well. After the game, Yiayia & Errol joined us at Buffalo Grill for dinner.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Andrea gave a great speech at the Board of Directors meeting. She talked about working together to move the association forward, etc. She also announced that she's promoting Joale to Education Director, which I'm so happy about. Joale has been crucial in helping me with my professional development duties. I'm excited for her.

The meeting ended around lunchtime, I picked up Chick-fil-a on my way out of town, stopped to pick Mom some flowers off the side of the road, and then got home earlier than expected. I missed you three. I'm not used to being gone like that any more -- even for relatively quick trips.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

This is a photo from my GRLA class that I'm facilitating. They are deep into working on their legacy project, which will help REALTORS know who to call -- the association vs the commission vs anyone else -- with various real estate issues. The highlight of my day was giving a communications report I built to the Communications Committee, which gave me a chance to really dig into the progress I've made since taking this job. I didn't realize how successful our communications have been. My proudest stats were that our Facebook views are up 49% in 2026, and that 49.9 percent of our views came from people who are not already following us, which means we're expanding our audience and engaging them with our content. (And, honestly, I don't like most of things I'm posting because I'm not even getting close to the quality of content I'd be able to post if I had Bryan, Darla, and a graphic designer on staff.)

I sat in on the Diversity Committee meeting and had a very real conversation about the topic. I had multiple people I respect tell me afterward that I was responsible for steering the conversation where it needed to go, which made me feel good.

It was a long day, but I did my job well today. Board meeting in the morning, then heading home.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

I left this morning for El Dorado for our Summer Meetings over the next couple of days. I think it's the first time I've ever been to El Dorado.

I had dinner with the ARA Executive Committee at the Country Club, where the Arkansas Razorback baseball team was losing on the big screen and everyone was pouty. I spent the whole dinner telling everyone they were welcome to get on the Little Rock Trojan bandwagon. "Game starts at 8!"

I rushed back to the hotel to catch the Trojan baseball team in their NCAA regional final. It didn't end until nearly midnight, but we won! So we're headed to the Super Regionals for the first time in program history.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

This morning you two and I took Tutu to the Hillcrest Farmer's Market, then Mom took them to the hardware store to grab supplies to make some planter boxes. I mowed and fought back against the vines on the back fence when I noticed some poison oak amongst the Virginia creeper.

The Calhouns joined us for a fried catfish dinner -- G&T brought us a fryer. The Trojan baseball team played in the regional finals and ultimately won, so we're headed to the super regional for the first time in program history. Go Trojans.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Grandpa & Tutu wanted to go estate sale'ing today, so you two and Mom went with them to Hot Springs. I spent my lunch break at the Little Rock Trojan Baseball Watch Party at Waldo's. The team is rocking and rolling in the Hattiesburg Regional. They're only the 11th four-seed to start 2-0 since 1999, when this format started. It's exhilarating.

When I got home from work, Gus said, "Dad! We went to an estate sale and I spent $48!" I asked what he spent his money on and he said, "Come upstairs and I'll show you." When I got up there, he showed me this.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Grandpa & Tutu came in this afternoon for a few days. They brought some additions to the costume closet. And lots of carbs.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Yiayia and Nene are alternating days with you two this week while Mom and I are working. This afternoon she took you to a kids tennis day at Rebsamen. I didn't get much of a recap because I stayed late at the office to work and didn't get home until after bedtime.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Gus experimented with hairstyles after getting out of the bath tonight. Not in a silly way, but in an exploratory way. He's becoming much more aware of the image he's projecting. His favorite outfits these days involve matching a clothing brand head to toe -- Adidas shirt, Adidas shorts, Adidas socks, Adidas shoes.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

The Calhouns invited us over to their house for brats. It was good to catch up with them. Sonny is wearing a cone of shame because something was wrong with his ear. The vet was certain it was a hematoma until they investigated further and realized that while Meredith was playing dress up with Sonny, she put a hair-tie around his ear and nearly castrated it overnight.

Dad.