Families celebrate final days of free time ahead of the first day

By Leah Rainwater

As summer is coming to an end, families around St. Joseph are taking time to indulge in some last-minute fun activities.

A few entertainment hot-spots like B&J Skate Center, Cool Crest Garden Golf, Ricky Dean’s and Belt Entertainment have served as a few fun places to go around St. Joseph during the summer.

Oddly enough, one manager at B&J’s says summer isn’t the busiest time for them, however, they’re excited for school to start.

“I think there’s too many other options in the summer time with camping and vacations and things, so we kind of slow down in the summer,” said Dianna Meyer.

But some kids who attended B&J’s back to school skate session, say they’ve had a blast this summer.

“Ya, I went to the Lake of the Ozarks recently,” said Emily Deming, and incoming eighth grader.

Genevieve Shelton is an incoming fourth grader. She says she’s had a bit of an action-packed summer.

“(I got to) Be with my friends and ride four-wheelers,” said Shelton.

A lot of the kids said they were also ready for school to start. 

“I just wanna meet new teachers and get new friends,” said Kali Fuller, an incoming second grader.

And some of the kids are spending the next few days preparing for their first day.

“I gotta get my school schedule back,” said Deming. “Cause I’ve been sleeping in until 10 o’clock.”

Whether it’s a quick weekend getaway, hanging out with friends or checking off a few items off of your summer bucket list…there’s many ways to soak up the final days of summer.