Picture of the Week - 4/25/2013

We're getting a Puppy, yall!

 

My sister says we are 50 shades of crazy.  She's probably right.  My mom rolls her eyes and clearly disagrees with this decision, but I'm still hopeful she'll come around.  Bob and I have even had moments when we question the sanity of the decision to sprinkle a little more chaos onto our already overflowing chaos soup. 

 

BUT - you guys!  We. Are. So. Excited!!!

 

We will be picking up our puppy on Memorial Day weekend.  It'll be like a Happy 16th Anniversary present for us!  Just like Sloopy was a 2nd Anniversary present to ourselves.  The parallels with Sloopy are a little spooky - these pups were born on April 1st.  Just like she was.  I like to think this little dude was meant to be ours!

 

We're getting a Brittany.  They are medium sized bird dogs and from what we have read and heard from others, pretty awesome family pets.  We love our lazy Willow, but really wanted a dog we could take with us to the parks every night and do things like take walks and play catch.  We don't have any intention of using him as a hunting companion!  :)

 

I know we're getting a male, but not sure which one yet.  The breeder we are working with takes this SO seriously - which I TOTALLY love.  She knows what our lifestyle is and understands what we want to do with the dog.  She is the best judge of the puppy's personalities and will literally go through a matching process to set up the best combos of families and puppies.  We even have to go do a home visit so we can meet the puppies in person - and I'm assuming she will treat it as a bit of a personality interview for us.  I'm just looking forward to some smelly puppy kisses!  We get weekly updates from her sharing lots of pictures and telling us what the puppies are up to.  They have just recently started opening their eyes and getting on all 4 feet. 

 

The boys are so excited!  They talk about the new puppy all the time.  We are getting him at a PERFECT time because our pick up is scheduled for the day after the last day of school.  So the BBs will get to hang out with him for a whole week before we head off to vacation.  We are taking the pup with us to the beach.  Gotta admit I'm a bit nervous about how that will work out, but I'm excited to get to spend some bonding time with him while relaxing (as only a family with 4 boys can relax - aka not much) in a dog friendly home on a dog friendly island.  We went shopping for new toys and some supplies the other day.  It's very cool to see how anxious the boys are to meet the new family member.  Spencer especially - who rarely shows excitement for stuff like this!

 

Here are some pictures.  Like I said, no idea which one is going to be ours, but it will be one of the fat little dudes in the picture.  Of the litter of 9, 8 of the babies were boys.  I feel a kind of kinship with the mama!  :)  All that testosterone will fit right in at Casa de Bovy.

 

BTW - We haven't settled on a name yet.  We do have a short list and most of the family has a favorite, but if you want to share some ideas, we are all ears!

 

We might be 50 shades of crazy, but I think it's the very best kind of crazy! 

 

 

Picture of the Week - 4/18/2013

Boys will be boys!

 

So to anyone out there with boys of your own, I am not going to tell you anything in the next few paragraphs that you don't already know.  To those of you without kids or in girl-only families or maybe with itty bitty boys - I envy your laundry schedule...

 

 

 

Boys are gross!

They do gross things and talk about gross stuff.  I am LONG past the point of being even slightly embarrassed by farts or burps or potty talk or giggles when someone says "but".  I DO, however, draw the line when someone just stinks!  We have a certain child (who will remain nameless, but if you are around us for any period of time, you will KNOW) who is smelly!  He has stinky pits.  I'm not talking about some mild body odor.  I'm talking full on, gasping for fresh air, please-get-away-from-me STINK. 

 

There may also be a boy in my house who can't seem to remember the reason we supply toilet paper in every bathroom.  Let's just say that sometimes this child leaves evidence that he's bypassed what I (and I'm sure many of you will agree with me) consider to be a critical step in the bathroom process.  And let's also imagine that said boy was getting some help with some homework one day and just happened to REEK.  And then I will leave it to your imaginations as to what the mom of this boy gets to launder.  O M G - please child!  WIPE!!!  Boys are gross!

 

 

 

Boys are dirty!

This probably goes along with the gross for many, but to me being covered in mud (or dirt or yellow pollen or rainwater or grass or mulch or turf pellets or ...) isn't really gross - it just means someone was having fun.  It doesn't bother me when the boys are dirty.  Quite the opposite - I LOVE to see a dirty, tired worn-out boy!  It means a few moments of peace in the evenings and a good night's sleep!  My washing machine, however, could use a little less "fun".

 

In this past week alone we have had:

- Soaking wet boys who refused to stay under cover during a double-header lacrosse game in the rain.  (Picture attached so you can all admire the pollen river that Zane is playing in.  Yes, that yellow stuff on the ground is pollen.  Pollen is gross!)

- Mud covered boys who found some new "path" on bikes and went on the path while spraying mud up and over their bike tires to land all up and down their back - and each other - before dismounting and playing in said mud and then one of them (aka the stinky one) managed to FALL in it covering his backside with a solid sheet of sticky red mud/clay.  Pure awesomeness

- Beckett has learned that when his hands get dirty, he should bring them to someone to clean off.  The other day I was at the park with him and he got some mud/dirt on his hand.  I told him to wipe it on his pants - which he thought was hysterical.  So he disappears again and then reappears with a handful of dirt.  He says "uh oh" and then promptly rubs the whole handful across the leg of his shorts.  Then he did it 3 more times before he lost interest and decided to play with a bug for a while.  (Guess this one is kinda my fault!)

 

 

 

Boys are GOOFY!

Bob and I have had some really good laughs lately.  We have to step back from the swirling chaos every now and then and just chuckle.  The boys come up with some very entertaining things!

 

Spencer has decided that his favorite way to show affection these days is to give "mustache kisses".  This basically involves holding your hands up to your mouth with fingers pointed out and wiggling around the fingers while making goofy noises as the other party does the same thing until the wiggling fingers of each party make contact.  It's very bizarre!  It's also pretty funny.  It's even more entertaining that Beck does it too - and giggles like a maniac the whole time!

 

Quinn is still our singer/dancer.  The other day we were coming home from practice and he made us sit in the van in the driveway until he could finish the song that was on the radio.  I don't remember exactly what the song was, but his favorite these days is probably Brantley Gilbert.  Although he easily switches between Country and Pop - or even an advertising jiggle with a good beat.  He's not picky.

 

Zane has decided that it's time to hone his imagination.  He makes up some of the most awesome stories ever!  They are usually VERY far fetched and constantly make me wish I had a tape recorder or some way to capture the awesomeness.  Most of his stories include Quinn as a trusty sidekick.  In one of the latest, he and Q were working with Superman to save Spence from some kind of terrible peril!

 

Oh yeah - Zane still sleeps under his bed too.  Not on it...  but under it.  And every night when he crawls under there we have to barricade him in with a wall of stuffed friends and blankets.  Very goofy!

 

 

 

Boys wear you out!

These boys, and this schedule, is wearing us out!  But we're also having a TON of fun with them this spring.  It's really fun to watch their personalities come out more and more.  The biggest change is probably Beckett.  This time last year he was just an infant.  I vividly remember referring to him, often, as the most laid back baby ever.  He just sat there and took it all in.  That Is No Longer The Case!!!  That child is BUSY.  He's fearless.  He loves to be thrown in the air.  He loves to be held upside down.  He throws balls.  He shoots nerf guns.  He wrestles and tackles.  He has no issue with walking into the middle of a group of 9 year olds like he belongs there. 

 

The other day he showed us that he knows how to climb a chain link fence.  Oy Vey!  He'll be 18 months old tomorrow.  (I think he's gonna kills us!)

 

Have a great week everyone!  Those of you who are fortunate enough to have boys in your life - I hope you are enjoying them as much as we are!  Dirt and Mud and Stink and All!

 

 

Picture of the Week - 4/11/2013

Happy SPRING!!!

 

It seemed like Mother Nature took her sweet time with Spring this year.  So far though, it's been worth the wait!  We've had beautiful weather for the past week or so with another "Chamber of Commerce" weekend in the forecast.  It's a good thing too - because we also have lacrosse games all weekend!

 

(I'm sure you guys are all sick of hearing me talk about lacrosse, but right now we are basically either at work, at a lacrosse field, or asleep!)

 

We might get lucky tonight and get an evening off if the weather produces the storms that are in the forecast.  I'm hoping the rain starts by 4 so we can get practice cancelled and move on!  Also looking forward to the rain to wash away some of this pollen.  For anyone not in ATL - when the pollen count gets to 1500 it is considered extreme.  For people with allergies (like Bob), he starts to feel bad when the pollen count gets above around 200-300.  The count today was over 8000.  EIGHT THOUSAND.  Everything is yellow.  On my way in to work this morning I saw tire tracks in the pollen on the street.  Pollen is such a weird Georgia thing.  As long as we've lived here, it still shocks me every spring.  It's also a topic of conversation on EVERY news cast.  This morning there was video footage of a pollen CLOUD moving across one of the holes on the golf course at the Masters.  Good stuff...

 

Another sign of spring?  BASEBALL!  The Braves are on a roll so far this season!  It's been pretty fun to watch the Upton brothers.  I'm sure we will get to a game later this year when we get past our spring sports and school schedule.  Here's a picture of Zane sporting a Braves shirt having fun at a lacrosse practice on a pollen-covered bleacher.  That pretty much sums up life around here lately!

 

Have a great week everyone!

 

 

Picture of the Week - 4/4/2013

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter!

 

We had a nice relaxing holiday weekend.  My mom held her yearly egg hunt and made dinner for everyone.  It was a fun day!  Here's a new picture of my boys.  Love!!

 

The holidays are a special reminder to me of how blessed we are to have the little boys.  Don't get me wrong, the big boys are awesome and they love celebrations.  Just take a look at Spencer who has been carrying around the stuffed pig he found in his basket since Sunday!  I think he's doing it partly as a joke and partly because it's a REALLY soft pig!!!  But watching the little boys experience holidays (and many, many other things) is like a second chance.  They give us the chance to revel in all the special little moments just a little longer.  Zane and Beckett are prolonging our parenting experience in all the best ways.  Someday I hope they understand how much I love that!!!  Zane, especially, was so into Easter this year.  The egg hunts and the basket and the chocolates.  He had a blast!

 

 

 

I'm feeling a little bad that we haven't made any extravagant plans for Spring Break this year.  No trips or vacations or anything like that.  It would have been lovely to hit a beach for a few days! 

 

But it's also been really nice to just have some down time and a chance to chill out a little bit.  The big boys spent the first 2 days of their break in their PJs.  (We did make them shower!)  While this might not be the ideal break for lots of people, I think they were pretty content!  They got to spend some of their savings at Gamestop and have had plenty of time to watch movies and ride bikes and wrestle and shoot each other with nerf darts.  Pretty much the perfect kind of day for 9 and 10 year olds!

 

Zane hasn't even had a break.  Thankfully our daycare stays open through most of the holidays for those of us short on vacation time.  He doesn't seem phased.  In fact, I think he's enjoying a little extra attention from the teachers with fewer kids there than normal.  His stories about what they do every day are so very entertaining!  (And they make me want to break my "no playdoh" rule!)

 

Beckett has been sick-ish again.  He got sent home on Monday (again) (3rd time in 4 weeks...) with a fever.  We thought maybe his ears were messed up since he hardly slept on Monday night.  Nope...  ears clear.  Nothing really the matter with him except the weird mystery fever.  I'm blaming teeth. 

 

The weather this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous.  Sunny and low-mid 70s.  We may pack up the chaos and head out for a picnic or maybe go buy some flowers for the yard or maybe just open up all the windows, plop on the couch, and soak in every last chill out worthy minute before we hit the treadmill at 100 mph again next week.  We are full-on crazy busy from Monday through Mother's Day weekend.  Hardly a day on the calendar without a practice or a game or two.  The calendar is daunting!  (I also really HAVE to do the dreaded semi-annual closet clean out and clothes swap.  HATE HATE HATE that job!  Think of me...)

 

Have a great week everyone!