Picture of the Week - 12/22/2022

 We wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas!

Love

The Bovenizers

Picture of the Week - 9/1/2022

 September already.  I continue to feel like this year is moving ever and ever faster.  It's crazy that we are already into September and right around the corner from my favorite month of the year.  The last few weeks here have been so hot and humid that I can't wait for some crisp air.  (And this from someone who is, literally, always cold!)

All is well with everyone.  No news...  is good news.

It's been a typically busy week with all our "stuff" in addition to some extra work to pull together a gigantic uniform order for the upcoming wrestling season.  We are looking like we are going to end up with around 90 kids this year.  It's been SO fun to help this program grow!  (Remind me I said that when all these boxes show up in my dining room for sorting and distribution!)

I think the promise of a 3-day weekend at the end of this week has helped make everyone's mood a bit better!  I know it's helped me!  We debated a number of things for this weekend - we have a couple of kiddos we could go visit or we could head to the N Ga Mountains for a bit of a break or we could have done a million things.  In the end, we decided a mini staycation with a focus on chilling out a bit was best for everyone.  We will be doing some household chores, some shopping, and a good bit of football watching.  Yay!

Here's our annual O H I O picture.  I had to get a bit creative with it this year because it never crossed my mind to grab a picture before Quinn left for school.  I truly love my boys for agreeing to get these college campus versions of the O and H this year.  I think it makes for a fun picture - and will be a good memory of what we were all up to in September 2022.

Go Bucks!

Picture of the Week - 5/26/2022

 May-madness is almost over...  the end of the hustle is SOOOO close!

In the past week...

- Zane played in the Black and White game.  He played center for the whole game.  He was consistent and reliable and steady.  He's not flashy, but he is a really good football player.  I really do love watching him play.

- Visited with Sharon and Karen who came down to visit from Ohio for the festivities

- Held Quinn's graduation party where we entertained a LOT of people.  My heart is truly so happy to see all the friends and family who came to wish Quinn well.  He's just such a good, likeable dude.  Celebrating him was fun - and easy! - and also a little exhausting! 

- More dinner party fun with Berber and Pappy and Jess and her family to celebrate the graduates!

- Actual graduation ceremony on Sunday and dinner (out again... who wants to cook in May???)

- Then we found out on Monday that Zane made the football team - woohoo!  I'm so happy for him - and he's SO excited about it!!

- Tuesday happened to be our 25th wedding anniversary - and we used it as an opportunity to visit one of our favorite restaurants with some great friends

- Wednesday we had a football meeting for all the players and families that made the team to pay dues and get fitted for gear and such.  We also found out that Zane will get to continue the tradition of a Bovenizer wearing #59.  The coaches know and remember Spencer - and asked if Zane wanted to be the same number.  I love that so much.

- And then here we are back to Thursday - the last day of the 2021-22 school year.

I would say we are doing a pretty darn good job of filling our days up with fun stuff!  This doesn't mean we aren't simultaneously saddened by the tragedy of the Texas school shooting.  That evil weighs heavy - but is also a good reminder not to take any of these crazy, jam-packed, family-centered days for granted.  You just never know...  

Tomorrow we will try to get through the last workday before heading to the Carolina coast for vacation.  I can't wait!

Picture of the Week - 3/17/2022

 Spencer is home for Spring Break this week.  Actually, I think it's probably more accurate to say Spencer is not in Charleston this week because he's on spring break.  LOL  I would love to say we've spent hours catching up and chatting, but I feel like I've hardly seen him!  

It's OK though - he's spent the break catching up with his friends, relaxing, and having fun.  And apparently also stocking his "sleep hours" bank.  

Yesterday he and his friend Brody drove over to Birmingham to go to a concert for a band I've never even heard of.  Ahhhh to be young.  I know they are having a blast - and should be home again (to shower and eat before heading out somewhere again, I'm sure) this afternoon.  

I've implemented a plan tomorrow for FFFF (Friday Forced Family Fun) and told all the boys we are going out for a nice dinner - a no t-shirt dinner - just the 6 of us.  Looking forward to at least a couple of hours without distractions to enjoy my boys.  :)

Spencer heads back to school on Sunday. Sigh, the time goes too fast!

Kitchen reno update

- We have contracts signed for countertops and backsplash and get to go pick out materials tomorrow afternoon.  I'm oddly nervous that I'm going to pick something I won't love - which is weird considering how much I hate what we have now.  LOL

- We are currently in the process of trying to track down someone who can make us a desktop (for the desk portion of the kitchen) out of reclaimed wood because I think it would be cool to break up all the countertop with something "warm".  I found a guy on Etsy that will do it - because EVERYTHING is on Etsy...  but trying to decide if his price is reasonable and I'm just out of touch with reality or if he's overpriced and we can find something better.  

- AND I found a lady who will paint the cabinets for us too...  on Facebook of all places!  I love social media.  She's pretty booked up, so we probably won't get that part done until the summer.  I'm dreading that step - to be honest - because it'll take about a week and, well, the kitchen is important when you are raising boys - especially boys doing the growth spurt thing*

- This is a fun - and expensive - project that I'm SO excited about - and also kinda dreading.  Ya know what I mean???

* Zane is in full-out growth mode.  He can't stop eating.  He's constantly hungry.  And this morning when he came in to say goodbye, I had to noticeably look UP into his eyes.  He's probably grown a full inch since Christmas.  

Picture of the Week - 3/4/2022

 Wrestling season is over for us for another year.  Bittersweet, if I'm being honest.  I love wrestling season.  I enjoy spending time with my wrestling family and as crazy and busy as our schedule is - it's a GOOD busy, ya know!  I miss it when it's gone.  (I'm pretty certain that no one reading this, with maybe the exception of Bob, feels this way...)

Last weekend we went down to Warner Robins so Zane and Beckett could compete at Kids state.  It was a very long - and mostly awesome - weekend.  

Both boys exercised some "demons" by beating kids that they had lost to (at least once) during the season.  Zane beat a kid who teched him (beat him by more than 15 points) just the weekend prior.  That was BIG.  A real clutch moment and showed us some tremendous growth in his mental ability to tackle this sport.  It was easily his best win of the season - where he won a lot.  This win put him into the medal rounds and he fought from there to get 4th place.  So proud of him and can't wait to see what's next for him on the wrestling mats.  But for now...  he's continuing to do some wrestling through the spring while his focus is definitely shifting to football.  Middle School football tryouts are just around the corner and he's determined to secure one of the coveted 7th grade spots on the team.  More (likely much more) on that later...

Beckett was able to win (with a pin) against a kid he has never beat.  This other wrestler goes to our club and will end up at our high school.  These guys will, literally, be competing with and against each other for the next 8 years.  His older brother will (hopefully, if Zane makes it) be on Zane's football team.  We will, in other words, be around these people for a long time.  They are friends.  But it was still pretty awesome to watch Beckett win this match.  It was good for him to realize he can do it when he tries.  The bracket Beck was in was STUFFED full of people we know.  He wrestled against 4 other boys that are in either our club or the West Youth program.  Some people look at the fact that we have 5 110 lb 4th graders as a problem and want them to separate out into different weight classes.  I think exactly the opposite.  Let the boys compete against each other for the next 4 years...  and when they get to high school they will be monsters.  They are all really good wrestlers and I'm thankful that Beck has them (literally) in his corner and also as solid competitors.  

We took this week off all things practice related.  Bob was traveling, so it was great timing for us to have a quiet week.  Monday, they are back to work at Morris, but it will be less intense because there won't be events every weekend.  The spring/summer is for building technique - and of course having fun - until football season launches in earnest.  

While the boys were wrestling, I decided to do some volunteering for Team Georgia, who was hosting the event.  One of the moms from our high school team is heavily involved with Team Georgia and asked me if I could help out.  If you know me at all, you know that I'm a really soft target and can't say no when someone asks me to help.  So I said yes - not really knowing what I was getting into.  

OH MY GOSH!  Y'all - you know I love this sport.  It has been the single biggest positive influence in the development of the men I am raising.  (I do not say this lightly as they are all church-going, education-minded, living-in-my-house boys).  But it's true.  I love wrestling.  But this event...  these crazy parents...  they ruin it.  There were SO MANY mean people.  Why do people - anywhere, doing anything - feel like it's OK to yell at and make demands of volunteers?  Everyone on Team Georgia volunteers their time.  Without them, there would be no event.  And yet...  I saw so many people show their asses.  

I was in charge of being a "greeter" - which meant walking the (extremely long) line of people trying to get into the event to make sure everyone knew where to go.  I understand it's a long line, I am also cold, I am sorry they have to wait.  Sigh...  And then I served as part of the team of people responsible for handing out awards.  This was - no joke - probably the most stressful thing I have done in at least 10 years.  Everyone wants to get their stuff first.  No one listens to instructions.  Everyone is out for themselves.  It was awful.  

I share this, not looking for any kind of pat on the back for how I chose to use my time last weekend, but to hopefully remind you all that kindness goes a long way.  I saw a lot of shit this weekend that makes me think society is doomed, but I refuse to believe that.  I will continue to serve others when I can.  I will look for ways to be NICE to everyone around me.  I will let the car in front of me in traffic.  I will politely wait my turn in line even if I see someone else cut in front.  I will be respectful when asking questions.  I will, never ever, assume I know more than someone in a role leading others.  We can fix this crazy world if we just focus on being KIND and worry far less about comparing what we are getting/doing to those around us.  Good grief people - we are trying to teach all our children the respect and honor that comes from the sport of wrestling, while behaving like whiny babies...  we can do better!

Soapbox over...  

This weekend we have an end-of-season event for wrestling tonight.  Zane will have to miss it because he's off to a weekend away with his small group from church.  We will be doing some small projects around the house - mailbox painting, birdhouse feeder fixing, weeding, etc.  The weather is going to be in near 80 and sunny and I honestly can't wait to just fuss around this place!  We are also in the very early stages of gearing up to redo our kitchen.  It's long overdue, let's be honest...  and I'm excited about it.  I have an itch to paint everything and freshen this whole place up.  It's like I'm nesting - but I swear there's no baby on the way!

Here's a sweet picture of my dudes after we were all done last week.  I love them!  

Picture of the Week - 1/13/2022

 The weather forecasters are saying we might get SNOW on Saturday night.  It's all anyone can talk about!  The boys are so excited!  I'm pretty excited too!  The timing of the storm means that we will all be safe and sound in the house when the rain/snow/sleet/freezing rain/whatever we get hits, so we can just sit back and relax.  It's going to happen after all our events on Saturday, so nothing will get messed up or rearranged.  And worst case scenario for Saturday night/Sunday morning icy roads is that we will have church moved online, which means service in jammies and no waumbaland volunteer time.  There are worse things than looking at some potential snow on a Saturday night in Georgia!!

But before we get to that...  we have some wrestling to do!  

Quinn's high school team is heading to a state duals preliminary qualifier after placing 2nd last weekend at regions.  We need to win this qualifier to make it to state the following weekend.  I'm excited to see what this team can do.  Quinn has dropped a weight class (which lots of the kids do this time of year) and will be wrestling the 132 spot this weekend.  Stay tuned!

Zane and Beck are also wrestling on Saturday and it's been a long time since I've seen them both so excited for a tournament.  Should be a good one up in Dawsonville.  

Here's a fun picture of my FOUR BOYS together last weekend at Quinn's tournament.  I love this picture.  A lot.  :)  My dudes.

Spencer is back in Charleston now and tackling his spring semester.  In case anyone was curious, he earned a 3.7 for Fall semester in Civil Engineering - while wrestling and dealing with being a Knob at a military school.  My boys all rocked their grades in the first half of this year...  Quinn got a 3.6, Zane got all As, and Beck doesn't really have letter grades yet, but he's not having any issues.  Proud mom stuff... 

Picture of the Week - 12/31/2021

 Wishing you the happiest of New Years!  Blessings for a fabulous 2022!

Picture of the Week - 12/23/2021

 Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!  

Picture of the Week - 9/2/2021

 Happy College Football Season kick-off day!  

Also Happy September!  Where in the world did August go?  I don't know... poof and it's gone!

No big news here this week.  Everyone is settling into the school routines and doing really well.  Our football guys have practices 3 times a week - so we are super pumped that the humidity level is finally dropping.  It's been a hot and sticky month!  Zane and Beck are also wrestling once a week to keep a little fresh.  Quinn is ramping up his wrestling practices getting ready for the season start next month.  And Spencer is doing a LOT of working out with the Citadel wrestling team.  They have team lifts several times a day and have started technique practices as well.  We talk to him a few times a week and he's really doing well.  He's very busy and learning to figure out how to best deal with conflicts in his schedule, but he's good.  

Friday we get to knock-out a Class of 2022 senior milestone, when we get Quinn's yearbook senior pictures taken.  Woot!

Bob and I are going to take advantage of no football games this weekend to take the boys up to a ropes course they have been wanting to do.  The weather is going to cooperate beautifully!  Then church, a free day Monday, and back to the grind.  Countdown until we get to see Spencer is at 29 days.  Can't wait to hug that boy!!

Have a great first week of September!!

PS - It's college football season!  We had to celebrate with our traditional O-H-I-O picture!!

Picture of the Week - 8/19/2021

 I think we are finally settling into a little bit of routine around here.  There are still some rough spots in our weekly "stuff" that need a little smoothing out, but I don't think we have any "big" events happening now until Fall break.  Then our late Sept through Oct is a little cray-cray, but we will deal with that when it comes.

Beckett and Zane seem to be doing well with school so far and since we are hearing no complaints from kids or teachers, I'm going with a "no news is good news" philosophy!  They both launch their football seasons with scrimmages last Saturday and get their first real games in this weekend.  Bob is coaching Beck again, so I obviously love his team and coaches.  :)  And I am so so so happy Zane got onto the team he's on this year.  The kids are all meshing well, the coaches are awesome and I think it's going to be a really great year!

Quinn is also doing well - although he came down with a sinus infection earlier this week which had us all just waiting to see if this was a "get a covid test" kind of sickness or if it was the normal kind we have dealt with forever.  I think there's a lot of "normal sick" that causes far more stress than it really should because of the cloud of "covid concern" right now.  I'm pleased to report that after a few doses of mucinex and some ibuprophen, coupled with a day off school, he's back to healthy.  No doctor visit or covid test required...  just plain old Mom judgement and some TLC.  

Spencer - well we really don't know how he's doing.  We are a little more than halfway through Challenge week and will get to talk to him on Sunday evening.  In the meantime, I scour all the pictures people are posting to the various Facebook pages every morning like my life depends on it.  LOL  I'm not alone, there are entire groups of knob-moms out there supporting each other through this.  It's actually amazing!  It's comforting to know that there are others going through the exact same thing (or nearly) as we are - and that we will know these people for a really long time.  One of the more uplifting things that has been shared is from alumni and/or people with older kids who have graduated from The Citadel.  They have all said that there is something incredibly bonding about what these kids are going through.  It's not the normal "off to college" experience and results in lifelong bonds between classmates.  I LOVE that!  

We did get a little glimpse of him through a pretty round-about way yesterday.  All the knob (freshmen) athletes got to have lunch with their coaches yesterday.  This had to have been a pretty big deal because (for one thing) it was a break from the oversight of the cadre (the guys responsible for the training...  and discipline).  One of the coaches is friends with Charlie Morris, the guy who runs the wrestling training center our boys have gone to for years.  He sent a message (with the attached picture) to Charlie to let him know that Spencer is doing well.  Charlie, of course, because he's awesome, shared the picture with Bob.  The fact that he is smiling, coupled with the kind words about how Spence is starting to fit in with the team, meant the world to me!  And the guy doesn't even know I saw any of it...  LOL  

If I haven't said it recently, I will reiterate here that Spencer is in exactly the place he was meant to be and I think he's going to love every minute (well maybe not the running parts) of his time at The Citadel.

I thought I'd also share the family pictures we had taken just before Spencer left.  I haven't shared them yet because it took us a while to decide which ones to get printed and gift to others.  I didn't want to ruin any surprises.  I love them...  

Have a great week everyone! 

Picture of the Week - 8/5/2021

 Today is Back to School Day!!  

It's a big one for us!  Beck is starting 4th grade and is solo for the first time ever at Whitlow.  I hope this is an amazing year for him!  His teach has a pet bearded dragon in the classroom, so they have already bonded over reptiles.  LOL  Fun fact - this is our 14th straight year with at least one kid at Whitlow...

Zane is starting middle school at Vickery Creek this year.  It was pretty weird to be back in that building for open house.  I haven't been in there in a long time.  He seems appropriately anxious, but I know he's going to love some extra freedom and meeting a bunch of new friends.  And he has the locker-thing down pat already, so #winning.

Quinn is a senior at West this year and mostly self-managing already.  He's such an easy kid!!!  I can't wait to celebrate all the senior things with him.  It is going to be so much fun!

Spencer doesn't officially matriculate until next Saturday - and his classes don't start until August 23rd, but I made him get in the picture too.  I actually bent the "rules" a little and took this picture last night so I didn't have to get the big guys out of bed early this morning.  Isn't motherhood mostly just a series of "figure out how to make it happen" moments anyway?

Spence got home Tuesday evening and has spent most of his time with his buddies.  I don't blame him.  They are more fun than we are. :)  Tomorrow Bob and Quinn head to Pigeon Forge for a wrestling tournament and we have football practices and such to do through the weekend.  I'm also starting in my "official" 3 year old room as a volunteer at church on Sunday.  Quinn and I started volunteering together at the start of the summer and have been serving as floaters, but now we are officially assigned to a room.  I'm excited to start getting to know a group of wee kiddos.  3-year-olds are super fun when you know you give them back in 90 minutes.  :)

Crazy week - as always - around here, but I am feeling so blessed and happy that the boys are all off doing their thing and we are here to watch them!

Picture of the Week - 7/29/2021

 These 2 boys...  I am so happy they have each other!

It's not news to anyone reading this that we have our 4 boys in 2 pairs with a bit of a gap in between.  I've shared in the past how much I love this arrangement.  It just works for OUR family!  

The difference between the first pair and the second is that Zane and Beck still spend nearly every day together and have pretty much the exact same activities and interests at least 80% of the time.  They have what I have always assumed is a more typical "brother" relationship than Spencer and Quinn (who also have a great relationship - not taking anything away from them...)  They play and they fight and they imagine together.  They support each other - and make each other SO mad!  They know exactly which buttons to push to get a rise out of the other.  It's impressive, really!

They have, of course, spent time apart (camps and such) but over the course of their lives, I would say they have EASILY spent 90% of their days together - and sleeping in the same room.  This week, that all changed.  We moved Beckett out of their shared room and for the first time since we have lived in this house, that bedroom over the garage houses only 1 Bovy boy.  

Once I got over the amount of trash under the bed and we finished transporting far too many t-shirts across the hall, it set in that this little home-improvement project had some pretty BIG implications.  

My boys are growing up...  

And they are so excited about all the changes.  I am so proud to watch them go through all this amazing growth and change.  I know they are all ready for all the stuff about to come their way with the start of a brand new school year this week.  More on Back-to-School next week...  and you'd better believe I'm over-the-moon excited that Spencer is going to be home for a new, obligatory First Day of School picture!  LOL  

This week we started football practice.  Next week Spencer comes home (for 9 days) and we start school and fall wrestling.  Oh and Bob is taking Quinn to Pigeon Forge for a wrestling tournament too.  Pretty wild week!

PS: It's been less than a week since Beck moved out of Zane's room and he's already spent a night on the floor in there having a "slumber party" after they watched a creepy movie.  I just love them!

PPS: We MADE my goal of getting this bedroom thing done before school started!  Woot!!  We still have bookshelves to clean out and some stuff to hang up, but the fact that there is a universal paint shortage happening right now (serious, so over covid...) meant that we couldn't paint either Beckett or Zane's rooms just now - which significantly sped the process up.  Painting will have to wait...

Picture of the Week - 6/24/2021

 So this was the week.  We dropped Spencer off at The Citadel in Charleston on Tuesday and drove home.  

How's he doing?  Honestly, I'm not really sure.  He is not the best communicator and I don't want to press too much for information.  I think he's good.  I hope he's good.  He's supposed to call tonight - fingers crossed!

It was so weird.  We aren't allowed in the barracks - so I don't know what his room looks like.  I didn't get to help him make his bed or organize his unpacking.  He's on his own... 

How am I doing?  Well, I'm good, if I'm being honest.  I had moments of being sad and melancholy before I left him, but so far, I just feel like "WE DID IT"!  I'm sure I will miss him and there will be times when his absence is huge here, but right now my whole house feels a little weird, so it's not hit me yet.

Right now Quinn is in Orlando getting ready to wrestle in the Disney Duals.  This is the first tournament in a LONG time that either Bob or I haven't gone, but we just couldn't make this one work.  He's in good hands - and we will get to watch the matches online.  

Zane and Beck have a week off camps and are getting to spend some time with Berber and Pappy today at Camp Berber.  They are excited for an endless stream of donuts and Sunny-D and will be spoiled rotten when we get them back tomorrow.

Zane leaves for sleepaway at Woodlands on Monday and Beckett is doing the Wet & Wild camp next week as we lead up to vacation week!  I can't wait!  Not having Spencer there will be hard...  not looking forward to that part!

Here are a couple of pictures of Spencer with his brothers from this week.  Enjoy!

Picture of the Week - 5/27/2021

 It's a little hard to wrap my head around everything that has happened since last Thursday.  There are so many memories crammed into 7 days!  I did learn one thing about myself, however, and that is that I take terrible graduation pictures!  (When I remember to take them at all...)  That's definitely something to work on before Quinn's graduation next year!

Spencer officially graduated on Sunday.  Leading up to the big day, was a Friday night dinner with Bob's mom and sister.  Then a Saturday full of perfect weather and a super fun party packed with friends and family AND a big celebratory dinner!  It was a really special weekend.  

Monday Bob and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary.  I love May 24th because it not only gives us an excuse to remember that special day, but it is also an obvious opportunity to stop and think about the amazing life we have built together.  It's a special thing that I am grateful for every day.  I don't take this marriage and our relationship for granted because I know how amazing it is!  To celebrate, we had a photo shoot for some updated family portraits.  It was fun!  We've been using this photographer for at least 12 years - which is pretty crazy to think about!  I can't wait to see the results!

Then Tuesday we got to celebrate Zane's transition from elementary to middle school.  (I hesitate to call that a graduation because, honestly, it's expected... but it IS a big transition!)  Zane is ready to put Whitlow into his rear view mirror and tackle Vickery Middle School.  He's done the school tours and met some of the teachers - and has the distinct benefit of a recognizable last night.  I think he's gonna thrive there!

Last night Bob and I sent the boys off to wrestling practice and had a super fun date night - with wine.  And today the boys are all up at the pool celebrating the last day of school with their neighborhood buddies.  

There aren't many weeks like this last one.  My emotions have been more stable than I would have guessed given the extraordinary level of change we are all going through right now.  I have had some moments - like when Zane joined the middle school church group alongside his 5th grade peers (forgot to mention that one) on Sunday.  Spencer's graduation was not a sad event for me, but watching his wrestling team turn out at his party to wish him well choked me up.  

I'm guessing that those little moments will continue to hit me when they want to over the coming months, which I will gladly accept because my dominant feeling this past week is one of happiness and pride of all the things my boys are accomplishing.  I love the people they are becoming and can't wait to see what's next for them!

Speaking of what's next...  tomorrow morning Bob is packing Spencer and Zane into the car and heading to Virginia Beach for a wrestling Duals competition.  Some say this is the biggest Duals competition in the country each year.  There will be people from all over the states.  It will be tough for sure!  

When they return Spencer will be down to 21 days at home before he has to report to The Citadel.  3 weeks.  Excuse me while I have a little moment...

Picture of the Week - 5/20/2021

 Last week was such a weird week for me to skip a POTW message because so much happened.  And yet, it was also so perfectly busy and fun and happy that I'm not even going to apologize for staying in the moment and not thinking about sending out an email.  I didn't even think about the POTW until mid-day Saturday and then by the time we were home and settled... well I'm not sure we will actually be settled until July...

Anyway - a LOT has happened in the last 2 weeks - and all of it is really good stuff.  And most of it is wrestling-related.

Last weekend we went to Myrtle Beach for a tournament in the middle of a gasoline shortage.  The entire trip was in jeopardy for a while and even as we packed up the car and left for the coast we weren't really sure if we were making the right decision.  Turns out everything was fine and we had a blast - and Spencer had an amazing tournament.

On Friday Spence and Quinn wrestled in a duals tourney.  Quinn was, obviously, with our high school team and Spence was picked up as a "free agent" to fill a spot on a team in Ohio.  Neither team did particularly well in the tournament, but in these big national tourneys a high school team is really never going to be able to compete with a club team full of recruited wrestlers.  We don't go to these things to bring home trophies.  It's really all about experience and bonding with the team (and each other).  

Spencer, however, had an amazing day on Friday and went 5-0 with 4 pins and one forfeit.  He was named an All American and was SO FUN to watch.  

Saturday all 4 boys participated in the individual tournament.  This was the first and only tournament that all 4 boys will ever wrestle in together.  I don't imagine there are too many other families out there who can claim 4 wrestlers in a single event.  It was pretty special.  So of course I had to get matching t-shirts!!    The 3 younger brothers had a rough go, but Spencer killed it again on Saturday going 3-0 w 2 more pins and a win on points.  He only gave up 5 points total all weekend.  It was a dominant performance.  He won the 220 lb high school weight class and is ready to get after it again next weekend in his last high school match.  He's dropping to the 195 lb spot for another duals team competing at Virginia Beach.  This one is another national tournament - with even more wrestlers attending.  The competition should be even better than what we saw in Myrtle, so it'll be a good test.  Zane is also making that trip to wrestle as the elementary team's 120.  Bob is taking on chauffeur and snack duties while I hold down the fort at home. 

But before we can get to that trip next week, we have this small event going on this weekend - Spencer's graduation!!!  He finished up classes and exams last week.  Had senior breakfast on Tuesday.  (Thank you to everyone who sent a letter to him for his Blue Envelope!)  And now we are gearing up for his party and dinner on Saturday and then the actual graduation on Sunday evening.  I have definitely had moments where I'm in utter disbelief that this day is here, but I'm also just so excited to see where he goes from here that it's impossible to be sad.  It's a big milestone, to be sure!  But it's also the opening of a door to a path that will be uniquely Spencer's.  I can't wait to see where it goes.

Oh yeah - and just for icing on the crazy-May cake...  last night at wrestling practice J'den Cox (world/Olympic wrestler) showed up.  He wrestled with everyone in the room - how awesome.  Here's a picture of him with the boys.  

OK - next week I promise I won't flake and forget to send a POTW.  It will be full of graduation memories that I can't wait to capture!

Picture of the Week - 4/22/2021

 It's been "top down" kinda weather here recently.  Pollen aside (which has been really bad this year) it's been gorgeous and sunny and just enough chill in the air to need a jacket in the evenings.  Quinn has taken advantage by removing the doors and taking the top off his Jeep.  This makes Zane and Beckett practically vibrate with excitement because he drives them to wrestling practice in that Jeep on the weekends.  Can you think of anything cooler than having your big brother drive you around in a cool old Jeep while blaring music that I probably wouldn't let them listen to?  I think not...

There's not too much new news going on down here right now.  The boys are all gearing up for milestone testing and finals.  Learning is ramping down and reviewing (aka cramming) is ramping up.  

Spencer and Quinn (really Zane and Beck too...  but lesser a bit) are both really busy.  They regularly go from school to work to gym to sleep.  Or school to wrestling to gym to sleep.  Or occasionally they squeeze in dinner with a friend or hang out somewhere working on a project.  I have a list of things that need to be discussed (not deep dark things, more like "are you gonna go with us to graduation?" kinda stuff) that I have to write on a piece of paper so I can pepper them with questions during the 5 minutes a day I see them.  It's pretty wild...

This week we have some folks in our basement building a closet into one of the rooms down there.  This closet is kinda massive.  It's going to be really nice!  Quinn has decided he wants to move down there this summer so he can have some privacy (currently he shares a bathroom with both Zane and Beck).  So we are working through some home improvement type things to make it a little more feasible for him to live down there.  After the closet guys leave, we paint and then some minor electrical stuff (this massive closet is going to need lights) and installation of a closet organizer and then we can start the process of moving boys all around.  Quinn's stuff is going downstairs, then his current room is getting a fresh coat of paint before Beckett moves in.  Finally we are going to spruce up the room Zane and Beck currently share.  It's a lot of small projects that will - realistically - take us all summer.  But it's fun kind of stuff that I'm excited to tackle.

Hope you are all having a great April!  Next week is a fun week for us with Prom (x2) and a weekend away for Bob and I which I've been looking forward to for ages.  More later...

Picture of the Week - 4/8/2021

 This week is Spring Break and we took advantage!

Bob and I grabbed Berber and Pappy, Zane and Beck and headed for the Smoky Mountains.  We could not have had better weather.  It was amazing!  We stayed in a cabin perched atop a mountain, which made for slightly nerve-wracking drives in exchange for breathtaking views.  We ate a picnic lunch halfway through the National Park.  We visited Dollywood, saw the Dixie Stampede Dinner Show, and ate dinner-plate sized cinnamon rolls.  We played cards, pool, chilled in a hot tub, enjoyed drinks on the back porch.  We laughed and really just enjoyed.  It was a perfect mini trip!  (That also left me wanting more travel and less staring-at-my-computer-screen!)  Good thing we have lots of stuff planned for the coming months... stay tuned!

I've had regular contact with both Spencer, who is in NC at a cabin with his buddies, and Quinn, who is in Orlando doing the theme park circuit with a friend of his.  They both seem to be having a great time and enjoying the break from work and school.  Spencer comes home tomorrow and Quinn is expected sometime Sunday.

This trip was a bit of a preview into what things will be like in the not-distant future as we transition from a family of 6 down to 5 and finally settle at 4 for a few years.  It's...  bittersweet.  I know we have done our jobs and they are ready to fly.  I can't wait to watch them spread their wings and GO!  But I am going to miss them.  It feels funny without all those faces around the table.  

A week or so ago the high school compiled a list of all the upcoming important dates for the seniors.  It was kind of daunting!  There is a lot of stuff crammed into the next 5 weeks or so.  Spencer will be having an in-person graduation.  We are pretty excited that we will get to watch him "walk" even if it is via limited tickets which means we can't take everyone we want to - including all our kids...  He's got finals, AP exams, Senior breakfast, graduation, parties, etc. etc. etc.  

On top of all of that, he's about kick wrestling preparation back into gear.  Spence has earned a tryout with the Citadel wrestling team and he wants to give it a go.  We aren't really sure what that means yet, but he's going to start hitting the mats again a few times a week to prep for whatever comes.  He's also participating in a couple of wrestling tournaments this May (which is part of the the "stuff planned" I referred to above.)  It's going to be a busy couple of months...  and then he will be off to Charleston.  WOW!

If we are connected on Facebook, you may have already seen my request for you to send Spencer a note that he will receive as part of the high school's "blue envelope" tradition.  Anyone can send him a note of congratulations or wish him well.  All you have to do is send a letter to the school with his name on it - Spencer Bovenizer, c/o West Forsyth High School, 4155 Drew Rd, Cumming, GA 30040.  The letters are being collected from Monday through the end of the month.  He would LOVE to hear from you!

Enjoy some pictures from our trip!  I miss that mountain view already!