Picture of the Week - 7/28/2022

 How in the world did we get here?  It's the last full week before school starts.  *record screech*

It's unbelievable, really!  I got a call today from Beckett's new teacher.  His !!! 5th !!! grade teacher at his brand new elementary school.  Wowsers!

We have launched into football for both Zane and Beck - and Beckett restarted wrestling practice again this week too.  He's going to do Monday/Wednesday wrestling and Tuesday/Thursday/Friday football.  Kid's gonna be sleepy!!!

And as if the end of summer and kissing farewell to lazy evenings isn't bad enough...  there's a giant pile of stuff that's all packed up and ready to move to Statesboro next Thursday.  I'll ask again - how in the world did we get here?

(We get Spencer for a few more weeks as he doesn't have to move back until the 21st.)

Here's a funny thing...  Beckett got invited to wrestle on a duals team with his club this weekend.  This all went down last night, so we weren't really able to rearrange work and stuff to take him.  But he was so so so excited to do it...  so we called up a friend and gave him some cash and sent him on his way.  We never, ever, would have sent Spencer away with a bag full of singlets and some money when he was 10.  LOLOLOL  Yes...  our parenting style has changed a bit.  HA!

Here are a couple of pictures of the doggos.  Gable is getting so big - and his PAWS are ginormous!  He's also pretty needy because he really, really, really likes to have company at all times.  Preferably touching...  :)

Have a great week everyone!  Next week we'll be tackling open houses and dorm move ins and work and football and all. the. things!

Picture of the Week - 7/1/2021

 Poof - just like that June is gone!  I'm not sure how your June went, but our FLEW by and felt like it lasted about 5 minutes.

July seems like it's going to have a bit more of a relaxed schedule.  Still fun summer things planned, but not as many camps and not nearly as many trips.  One fun summer trip, however, launches this weekend!  We are off for our annual beach trip on Saturday.  It will be super weird that Spencer won't be with us.  I'm trying not to think about that too much.  

And before you get TOO upset about Spencer not getting to go with us next week, he has some pretty awesome plans for the weekend!  Along with his ExCEL classmates, he will get to do a tour of Fort Sumter, a bridge run over the Cooper River bridge, and a July 4th celebration at Patriot's Point.  I'm fairly confident he will be JUST fine!

In fact, if his remaining summer weeks in Charleston go like the first week, he may never want to come home.  All is well at The Citadel.  He's doing great!  (I still don't have an address for him.  He will get one on Aug 12th at the latest.  Thanks to those of you who have asked.  I'm sure he'll love mail, but for now there's no way to easily get it to him.)

The other boys have all had great weeks too!  Quinn had a great time with his Wrestling family in Orlando last week at Disney Duals.  He bounced between a couple of hotel rooms and I think probably didn't exactly hate not having parents around.  I'm not taking offense...  I know how this gradual separation thing works...  he's just prepping for his own turn to leave the nest next summer.  (gut punch)

Zane is at Woodlands this week and Beck is at Wet & Wild camp.  If you are paying attention (and not sure why you would pay THIS close attention) this is the same combo of camps we did a few weeks ago - but the kids are reversed.  LOL  I'm sure Zane is having fun - Woodlands has always been a highlight for all the boys.  It's funny really because I just registered Zane up for 6th grade retreat with his Transit church team and the leader spent a long time prepping parents who might be sending their kids away for the first overnight experience like that.  I'm glad our boys have had an opportunity to grow up with Woodlands.  In addition to a wholesome, summer week at camp - it's also given them great exposure and experience for a bunch of other stuff along the way.  I love that camp!

Here are some fun pictures of Q, Z, and B.  (Yes, that's Quinn pinning a kid!)  I don't have any pictures of Spencer.  Hoping maybe I can talk him into sharing some soon...  

Have a super happy (and safe) long holiday weekend!  Happy 4th of July - and God bless America!  (there may or may not be a POTW next week...  don't worry if you don't see one - just means I'm having too much fun to pull out a laptop!)

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 - 6/17/2021

 This was a heavy camp-kinda week!  

Beckett is away at Woodlands (sleep away church camp) until tomorrow morning.  Zane did a "wet and wild" day camp through parks & rec all week.  Quinn has been away at the Jeff Jordon wrestling camp all week with his team.  They are driving home from Ohio right now!  

Spencer, thank goodness, has been home this week - although since it's his last week before heading to Charleston to start his Citadel journey, he's been out socializing most of the week.  We leave on Sunday and he starts his class/program on Tuesday.  He's participating in the Excellence in Civil Engineering program (ExCEL program) for 3 weeks with 9 other students.  This is part of a scholarship he was awarded and I'm so excited about this program!  He will take most of his freshman year classes with this group of 10 and will have access to extra support (tutoring/mentoring/etc) through both the Civil Engineering faculty and also the upper-class members of this program.  For the firs 3 weeks they will dive into Calculus and a series of Engineering seminars to help them learn about the different sub-disciplines available and a bunch of other cool topics.  I think this is a pretty awesome program and can't wait to hear all about it!  If you want to read more - Engineering ExCEL-lence at The Citadel | The Citadel Today

The following 3 weeks, he will participate with a much bigger group of kids in the Citadel Success Institute, which is an intensive orientation to the school.  It also includes coursework and special events.  More on this program when it starts mid-July!

I can't wait to get everyone back into this house tomorrow - even if it's short-lived, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of my the next couple of days before we shake things up again next week.

Here are a couple of pictures of my campers this week.  :)

Picture of the Week - 6/10/2021

 Spencer made it back from his Appalachian Trail adventure.  They did fine - no injuries, plenty of food and water, etc.  They did get soaked as this week has been super rainy and humid.  And all the boys admitted that it was harder than they expected to haul gear up and down mountains.  

They also got to make a bunch of memories and met many interesting people!  I kinda love the idea of this exclusive hiker-society out there that few people know about and fewer experience.  These folks are all in this experience together and make fast friends.  They shared food and shelter.  One guy from California was with his friend, who was going much faster than this man wanted/could, so he connected with Spencer's crew and when I picked them up, he was there too.  Not sure what his plan is since his friend connected with someone else and ditched him, but he was super friendly and I'm sure will work it out.  Spencer made some "through" hiker's day by gifting him leftover cans of corn beef hash.  LOL

Countdown is 10 days before he leaves for Charleston and 12 days before I leave him there.  

The other boys are all great and already enjoying summer!

Quinn is actually pretty busy this month!  He's working, wrestling practice, and tackling some SAT prep to get ready for senior year.  

Zane spent this week at Outdoor Adventure Camp where he's gotten to hike, climb trees, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, and today I think he's rock climbing.  Tomorrow is a rope course which he's ridiculously excited about!  He's bruised and sunburnt.  He has bug bites and scraped knees.  It's kind of a perfect 11 year old summer week!  Next week he goes to Wet & Wild camp with MORE of the same - plus lake swimming!

Beckett is at a STEM camp this week where he's gotten to build a robot and fly drones.  From we hear, his robot is the biggest and the fastest and the strongest.  No idea if that's factual, but you gotta love his confidence!

Bob leaves with Quinn on Sunday to drive a 12 passenger rental van to Ohio for a wrestling camp.  Beckett leaves Monday for his sleepaway Woodlands week, which leaves me home with Spencer and Zane next week.  That's another unique combo for the summer.  Interested to see how that dynamic works out...

If anyone is curious what *I* am doing...  it's mostly trying to keep up with laundry required for the revolving door of activities and people around here.  This weekend I get the added excitement of iron-on nametags AND get to tackle building a closet organizer in the newly painted basement bedroom.  I'm living my best life.  LOL

Picture of the Week - 5/21/2020

Let's see...  I'm not even gonna share that I think we are week 10 now...  blah!

School's officially done tomorrow, but to be honest, my kids quit last week.  We finished up all the stuff that was gonna be graded and basically said "DUN" and moved on.  

This week we've occupied them with a brand new chore system that Bob and I implemented.  So far, so good.  The oldest and youngest are apparently very motivated by money!  Spencer has claimed all outside tasks and our yard has never been better.  Beckett is working on taking over the kitchen.  He organized our Tupperware cabinet today!!!  

We took care of a number of postponed appointments over the last few days.  Zane had a cavity filled and a broken tooth pulled.  Then he had a check-up on his eye from the great Christmas Nerf event (which feels like it was YEARS ago...) and we are all so happy to report that his pressures are "awesome" even after being off the drops for the last 6 weeks or so.  And I've finally decided to tackle my frozen shoulder.  Got the MRI and have a surgery date.  I still have to wait a while to clear out the backlog of people who have been waiting for elective ortho procedures, but I'm excited to have a plan.

We also got a fire pit.  Fun stuff that we've wanted for a while and now is the perfect time to make some s'mores.  

OH - and we found out that our beach vacation is ON now that Florida has reopened short term rental houses and the beaches.  It's so good to have something to look forward to!

Bob and I have been super busy with work.  It's not lost on us to be grateful to have the work, but we are both slammed.  The boys rotate through my office all day and the most common sentence is "you're STILL on the phone???"  Yup!  This weekend is a big one for us.  We celebrate our 23rd anniversary on Sunday.  We are going to try hard to find a table out (for 2) somewhere to celebrate.  No luck so far, but we have time - and worst case, we now know all the good take out spots and can find a picnic table!

Have a happy and safe long weekend everyone!  

Picture of the Week - 7/11/2019

Well - this was a pretty weird week - even by our weird standards!

Bob and Spencer have been gone all week.  Spencer's in the Ohio State Intensive wrestling camp.  I have gotten a few short texts (proof of life) from him every day, but don't have many details.  From the sounds of it, the camp has had some really stellar coaches and the participants have put in a ton of work.  While he's been at camp, Bob stayed up in Ohio to visit his mom and sisters/family.  They come home on Saturday.  Just in time for me to take off to Scotland on Monday.  (Actually the only reason I'm not leaving tomorrow like I normally do is that it would be awkward to leave the other boys home alone all weekend - hahaha!)

I had a bunch of work events and stuff I needed to do down in Buckhead.  That meant that it would have been REALLY hard to handle Zane and Beck camp drop-offs/pick-ups.  Thank goodness for my parents - who stepped up big this week to help!

Quinn was home with me (well for the wee bit of time I was actually in the house this week) and managed to keep himself pretty busy - and knocked out a number of (but NOT all) of the chores I gave him for the week.  Speaking of Quinn...  his MRI came back normal, which is great news.  He's got an EEG scheduled for next Monday and then he can resume normal activities - with more fluids and more salt in his diet.  Here's a fun selfie of us from the other night.  He let me take him out to dinner, no cell phones, and then we went shopping and grabbed milkshakes on the way home.  It's pretty rare that I get 1:1 time with any of them, so that was a special night for me!

The dogs aren't home either - I don't think the house knows what to do between being empty last week while we were at the beach and the UTTER lack of chaos this week.  It's just been so...  unsettling!  Brutus and Ozzie have spent the last 2 weeks at "Board and Train" camp at Rucker training.  I get them back on Saturday.  I'm really anxious to see how they are and what they've learned.  Here's a cute picture of them that the trainer sent.  I really cuddling with those guys at night.  

Mostly, I need my house filled back up with loud and crazy and cuddly.  This quiet and empty is NOT for me!!!

Picture of the Week - 6/20/2019

Feels a little weird to be all tied up with wrestling stuff in June, but we are definitely knee deep in wrestling stuff this week.  

Bob took Spencer and Quinn down to New Orleans last weekend to compete with the rest of their summer team in a Dual.  The team went last year too.  It's tough competition and a really great learning experience.  Spencer went undefeated with a couple of pins and a major decision.  He had a great time and is really pumped up for the rest of the summer season - and getting ready for the "real" season this winter.  Quinn had kind of a rough time.  He wrestled great, but saw some really good opposition.  And he's dealing with some health stuff that has him sidelined for a bit now.  He'll get back on the mat soon.

Tomorrow West is hosting a tournament - which means we get to go play in the gym all day instead of working.  Woot!

Here's a couple of pictures of the boys from last weekend doing their thing.  Quinn's the one up on his knees and Spencer's the one shoving his opponents head into the mat with his forearm - ouch.  

Zane and Beck tried out a new camp this week.  This one is run by a local parks & rec group, but is pretty small.  They only take 20 kids/week, so I've never gotten them in before.  They start each day doing some kind of sport or activity.  They played kickball, soccer, baseball, hiked Sawnee Mt, basketball, etc.  All kinds of stuff.  Then they eat lunch and watch a movie before heading to Cumming Aquatic Center where they get to swim and go on the slides for nearly 3 hours.  They come home exhausted, slightly sunburned, and very very happy.  They had a blast - and I'm so glad I signed them up for the same camp next week.  It's always a little nerve wracking to do a camp for multiple weeks in a row, because if they don't like it, we hear about it often!!!  LOL

5 more days of work before vacation too!  I'm SO excited for the beach - and some down time - and some GOOD family time.  Can't wait!

Have a great, hot June week everyone!

Picture of the Week - 6/13/2019

While I was away last week, I had several conversations with people who I either don't talk to often or whom I'd never really talked to about my kids.  A few times I pulled out my phone to show off pictures of my family - something that I'm sure LOTS of people who are kinda homesick and like talking about their kids like to do.  Unfortunately, I didn't really have many pictures of all 4 boys together - and none that were very recent.  This made me kinda sad...

So today, noticing that they were all home at the same time (which is kind of rare these days) - I asked them to oblige me in getting an updated "brother picture".  They are good kids and made their way to the back porch - aka our picture place.  Someday we will move and have to find another backdrop and somehow that makes me kind of sad...

Anyway - here's the result.  This is what my kids look like right now.  A couple of them have fresh haircuts.  None of them are particularly clean.  2 are wearing wrestling t shirts and 2 are wearing lacrosse t shirts.  They are mostly happy, but maybe not really super thrilled about being asked to stand so close together.  This is them.  And I love every bit of it!

Tomorrow Spencer and Quinn (and Bob) are heading to New Orleans for a wrestling tournament.  I've got Zane and Beck to myself this weekend.  I'm not sure what all we will get into, but I've already promised a trip for IHOP pancakes - and I'm kind of a pushover...  so I'm sure there will be pool time and ice cream involved at some point.  I can't wait to see how the team does against some good wrestlers at this tournament.  Spencer is wrestling the 220 weight class and Quinn's got the 120.  I think they both will have a great time - and learn a LOT!

Picture of the Week - 5/30/2019

Tonight we were a family of four.  Zane is still at camp and Beck is hanging with my parents.  The rest of us enjoyed a nice dinner at a Korean BBQ place.  It was lovely.  It was disconcerting to ask for a table of four.

I'm heading back to Scotland tomorrow.  There's a lot of travel in my summer...  which sucks for summer, but should pay dividends with far fewer trips this fall.  Fingers crossed!

I'm more than a little bummed that I won't get to talk to Zane (in person) after he comes home from camp tomorrow.  I can't wait to hear about his week.  If it's anything like Beckett's, the rest of the summer will be dull in comparison - no matter what we do.

Summer camps are a funny thing...  there's a different camp (and schedule) pretty much every week for us this year.  A variety of sports and sorta-educational and general summer fun stuff.  They all require lunches and of course they all have different requirements for bringing a water bottle or a beach towel or an art shirt or 2-3 snacks.  Whoever said summer was full of lazy days clearly wasn't trying to manage the summer camp rodeo.  

Spencer and Quinn are into summer sports season in earnest starting on Monday.  Spence has football 4 days/week and they are both doing wrestling 3 days/week.  The first wrestling tournament of the summer is scheduled for the Saturday after I get back from this trip.  I can't wait to see them back on the mats this summer!

Speaking of wrestling - if anyone would like to sponsor our wrestling team with a donation - or golf in our tournament this summer - we sure would appreciate it!  www.westforsythwrestling.com for all the details.

Here's a quick picture of our "party of four" from dinner tonight.  These days may not be lazy, but they are fun!

Picture of the Week - 5/23/2019

We dropped Beckett off today - solo - for camp.  I guarantee it feels weirder for us here without him than it does for him there without all of us!  Upon drop-off, his counselor (who we instantly loved) had the kids fill out a little info sheet.  It was questions like "what are your hobbies, what are you looking forward to, what subject do you like best, etc.  One of the questions was "are you nervous about coming to camp"?  If so, what are you nervous about.  He was like "nope.  I pressed a bit and asked "Is there anything you are uncomfortable about?"  He looked at me like I was crazy and was like "nope".  Then, "when are you leaving?"  

Safe to say he's going to have a blast!  We pick him back up on Saturday.

The other boys are all finishing up school tomorrow.  Spencer and Quinn have had a super weird schedule this week.  The basically only had to be at school when they had actual exams.  Quinn exempted out of almost all of his, so he's mostly just been lounging at home all week.  

Safe to say I don't understand how high school works!!!  In any case, they both have a final tomorrow and then they are finished for the year and we will officially have a Sophomore and a Junior.  Weird.

Zane gets to have a special night tomorrow flying solo at my mom's house after finishing up his last day of 3rd grade.  He had a really great year.  Zane goes up to camp on Monday and spends next week up there.  I imagine he will be slightly more reserved than Beck was.  Fingers crossed that he bonds with his counselor as fast as Beck did!

Tomorrow is our 22nd wedding anniversary.  I'm so excited to get to celebrate with Bob.  He's got date plans all worked out and it will be a really great way to end a really tough week.  Nothing earth shattering or wrong - just too busy and too much going on - same story everyone has in May.

Next week - we start the craziness of a different schedule every week.  Spencer is right into summer football and both he and Quinn kick off the summer wrestling season.  No rest for the weary.  I leave next Friday for another week in Scotland.  At least the weather doesn't look too bad for this one...

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Picture of the Week - 5/16/2019

I spent the week in a meeting at a hotel in Atlanta.  As much as I travel, it will always feel weird to not be home, but to be watching our normal morning news show...  

As always, it's good to be back and tonight was absolutely perfect weather.  The boys have been begging to go to the pool since it opened last weekend and we took them up there tonight.  They had a blast.  We had a blast watching them.  It was SUCH a nice, relaxing evening.  

We are quickly winding down this school year (6 days left, but really the learning stopped 3 weeks ago...) and gearing up for summer.  Spencer has a job at a pizza place and will be busy with football and wrestling.  Quinn's doing the summer wrestling season too - and I'm sure will be looking for excuses to hang out with his new friend, who happens to be a girl.  ;)  Zane and Beck have a wide variety of summer camps.  Beckett starts the summer next Thursday at Woodlands and from there it will be a non-stop, crazy (and hopefully fun), whirlwind summer.  Stay tuned for stories of their antics and hopefully lots of summer fun photos.

Here's a picture from the pool to kick things off.  Side note - it became obvious as soon as they were in the water how much both of them have grown!!!  Like CRAZY weeds...  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Picture of the Week - 6/7/2018

Summertime and the living is...  chaotic

I'm trying to embrace summer.  I am.  But this week the combo of summer camps, work emergencies, and the constant need to feed someone have left me longing for the days of the school bus!

The boys have had a great week!  The littles got to go to both a lacrosse camp AND a wrestling camp.  They loved both of them!  The bigs are busy with lacrosse and football and wrestling and have lifted a LOT of weights.  Poor Quinn.  I don't think he's ever been this sore!  

This weekend we have a double-lacrosse tournament for Zane and Quinn (6 games on Saturday and ??? on Sunday) and Spencer is doing another wrestling tournament.  So much for chillin' by the pool!

Speaking of pool - we ARE squeezing in pool time where/when we can.  Here's Zane and Beck from one evening this week.  I really love the relationship between those two right now.  They do everything together - and 95% of the time they are best buds.  I can't tell you how often we walk into the toy room and see them sitting (touching) beside each other on the couch watching TV or playing some odd game on their devices.  They are literally connected most of the time they are awake!  Pretty adorable...

Have a great Summer Week!  Enjoy all the summer stuff - and think of us this weekend dodging thunderstorms and slathering on sunscreen under the team tent.  Fingers crossed for a good concession stand...

Picture of the Week - 5/31/2018

This week - pictures of all my boys!

The picture of Quinn is from last Thursday night while he was all dressed up for 8th grade honors night.  He won an award for highest GPA in math.  :)  The next day he finished 8th grade - and middle school - and is now officially a Freshman in high school.  Goodness...  

The little boys got their hair cut last week and this silly picture of them is just after seeing the barber.  Shortly after this I gave Zane a buzz cut to get rid of the rest of the nits from the Great Lice Incident of 2018.  Happy to report that both boys are clean and free of unwanted "friends".  

And Spencer's picture is from the national wrestling tournament he went to in Virginia Beach last weekend.  (He's the one in the black shoes if you can't tell.)  He ran into some stiff competition - which we expected - but learned a ton, gained more confidence (which comes with experience) and came home ready to get into summer wrestling season.

Love my handsome boys!

This week the little boys are doing a camp at Forsyth County Parks & Rec.  Spencer and Quinn have kicked off summer conditioning.  Spencer is doing football and wrestling - most days he has both - and Quinn is doing wrestling and lacrosse.  It's pretty funny because Spencer's all obsessed with his "job" for the summer - which is to work out, get stronger, get ready...  and Quinn is just sore!  I'm proud of both of them for putting in the work this summer!

This weekend Quinn goes to a lacrosse tournament and Spencer is doing a Wrestling dual tournament.  (Get ready to hear that for the next 3 weekends in a row...)  We finally look like we might be breaking out of the weird, wet weather pattern we've been stuck in too!  

Happy Summer!

Picture of the Week - 7/27/2017

"I have a lot of excitement in my life.  I used to call it tension, but I feel much better now that I call it excitement."  ~Madeleine Costigan

We are in a pretty significant transition period right now.  Like MAJOR stuff is changing in MAJOR ways.  

Unlike the transition from school year to summer, we aren't winding things down.  Instead we are adding events to our calendar almost faster than the color-coded ink can dry.  Going from Summer-slow to Back-to-School chaos is hard.  And daunting.  My calendar kinda makes me break out into a sweat just looking at it.  And chaos is nothing new to us...

This transition into school stuff is bigger than most of the others we've been through.  Maybe the first time we put Spencer on a school bus was emotional comparable, but then we didn't have eleventy million other things going on.  And there was just that ONE big change.  

This year we have a starting Freshman and a starting Kindergartner.  When you say that to people in conversation it gets almost as many exclamations as telling people you have 4 boys.  I suppose there aren't too many people out there with that kind if spread.  And honestly, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.  So. Much. Change.  And all at once.

We have no idea what we're doing with high school.  Everything seems foreign and murky.  I think our high school has done a great job communicating what the kids need to do.  And I think we've done it all.  But I have no idea if we've done it RIGHT.  I guess we'll find out.  I know we will navigate around all of the uncertainty and by the time we get to our last rising Freshman, this will feel warm and comfortable.  But this first time through is, well, it's just daunting.  For me...  Spencer, of course, is totally, 100% fine and ready to go.  He's not worried.  And can't wait for next Thursdays.  He says he's reached the point of the summer where he's "kinda bored".  (Glad someone is...)

I've attached a copy of his schedule for this year.  I swear it took me 20 minutes to decipher what he would actually be doing from one day to the next.  (I may have charted day-by-day, which is a WAY easier way to read this thing...)  This is way more complicated than the schedule I had in high school!!!

Quinn is going into 8th grade.  I can handle 8th grade.  Been there/done that.  He is getting an almost entirely new management team at his school, but given he doesn't need special services and doesn't (knock on wood) spend any time in the principal's office, that's not even a big deal.  We know the school.  We know the people.  We're good!  (Quinn is easily the most bummed of all the boys that summer is over.  He's really enjoyed his summer of lazy luxury!)

Zane is going into 2nd grade.  Again, been there.  We don't find out his teacher until next Tuesday, but it doesn't really matter.  He will be fine.  He'll still be going to the same Horizons teacher and walking the same hallways.  He's ready and excited - despite not getting a new backpack...

And then Beckett.  If there was ever a child ready for the next phase, it's Beck.  I think sending he and Zane to summer camp at the elementary school has probably given him a bit of a false sense of confidence.  He's pretty sure he knows exactly what school is going to be like.  And he's pretty sure he's going to be awesome at it.  (Actually so am I... I just also feel the need to apologize to his teacher in advance for the added challenges coming her way!)  My hope for Beckett this year is that he figures out how to decide when it's time to listen and behave!  We will tackle our very last "School bus Round up" next Tuesday.  So hard to believe...

All of that is just the SCHOOL part of the Back-to-School craziness.  The other half is all sports related - and honestly the part that has me nearly immobilized with anxiety.  Spencer, Zane and Beckett are all playing football.  Their practices kick off in earnest tonight.  Spencer will go every day after school (4-6) and the little boys each have 2 weekday and 1 weekend practice every week until games start.  I guess I was oddly naive in thinking that the little guys would have practice at the same time/same place.  In hindsight, I am WAY more seasoned than that...  and I really should have expected what happened.  They are in different parks at the same time twice a week.  That alone would be fine, except that Spencer is going to need to somehow get home in the middle of that.  So - we'll be begging rides ALL season.  I am gonna owe a bunch of people a bunch of stuff come November!  

Did I mention that the little boys have fallen in LOVE with jiu jitsu and it's been so good for them in SO many ways that we signed them up again.  I mean that's logical right?  They have football on Tuesday and Thursday and jiu jitsu is Monday/Wednesday/Friday.  Seems like fate wants them to do both.  Right?!?!?

Quinn is playing lacrosse this fall.  He's got practice 3 times a week too.  And, of course, 2 of those dates are the non-football days.  It's good because it helps logistics.  It's bad because we don't have any days off.  Ever.  From now until fall break.  (Excuse me while I breathe into a paper bag for a second...)

I kid.  I know it'll be busy.  I know we will get tired.  I know I'll see far less of my husband than I like as we pass in the drive, each following our logistical plan before collapsing in bed at night.  

I also know we'll get through it.  I know we'll have a blast along the way.  I know the boys will all grow in so so so many different ways.  And I know that this time of utter craziness is only a phase - and one I will likely miss a great deal.  Next fall Spencer can drive himself around.  And act as a 3rd driver to get through all the other activities.  In the blink of an eye, my weekly calendar logistic gymnastics will be a distant memory.  Before we know it we'll be down to 2 schools instead of 3.  Then 1...  

Time flies.  And with a schedule like ours, it'll be over before we even realize it's kinda hard.  

I know all of this...  it's just the suspense is killing me!

Have a great week everyone!  And if you come for a visit, expect to play chauffeur!  

PS - for anyone interested, Spencer will play his games on Thursday nights.  The little boys will have games on Saturdays.  Quinn's season is a bit different than seasons past and is focused on development over games, so if you are looking for some lacrosse action, check back in the spring when all 4 will be back on a lacrosse field.    

Picture of the Week - 7/20/2017

I'm back again from another week away from home.  This summer is kicking my butt!  Monday I'm off to Dallas...  at least that trip is just a one-nighter.  

I missed football evaluations this week.  (I missed a lot more than that...  but I'm not gonna dwell...)  

Here's a fun picture from the evals.  Don't tell anyone, but I'm pretty sure Spencer is proud of his little brothers.  It's so crazy that my LITTLE boys are both playing football this year.  It's also a pretty obvious reminder that we're sending Beck to REAL school on a REAL yellow bus exactly 2 weeks from today.  Super crazy!

I'm exhausted.  I'm gonna go crash.  Then, after a good night's sleep, I'm going to work hard to cram as much summer fun as possible into this weekend.  GO!

Picture of the Week - 6/29/2017

Holy cow - June is over.  How did that happen?  

This past week has been a whirlwind of company and business travel and kids going a million different directions.  I guess that's what you get when you try to fit in ALL the things that go along with summertime!

Here are a couple of pretty low quality pictures from Bob's cell phone.  I don't know that I took a single picture all week.  Oops!

The little boys have started Jiu Jitsu.  If you've ever heard me talk about Jocko Willink, that's why.  He wrote a book called "The Way of the Warrior Kid" and now Zane and Beck are throwing themselves into learning Jiu Jitsu.  Know what...  I kind of love it!  There's definitely something different you get out of participating in an individual sport that you don't get out of team sports.  Both have valuable lessons and I love that the little dudes are so willing to work on this.  Also, they are actually pretty good at it.  Zane is a rule follower - which fits very nicely with the discipline of martial arts - and he's relatively athletic for his age.  He pays very close attention to learning new moves and once he gets some direction from the coaches, he remembers all of it.  Beckett is less about the discipline and actually spends a fair amount of time with his nose on the mat in the Jiu Jitsu version of "time out".  But he's also very strong for a 5 year old and when you combine that with the fact that he's very aggressive and kind of nasty and absolutely fearless...  he's got the right stuff to be really good.

One of the pictures is Beck showing off his muscles in the pool.  While we were at the beach, my mom taught the boys to snorkel.  So I got them some snorkel gear for our pool and they love it!  Pretty cool to see them and it has REALLY improved their swimming ability too!  Win win!

The last picture is Beck and Quinn playing video games.  Yes, they've played a LOT of games this summer.  Probably more than they should, but they enjoy it and sometimes you just need to let them do something that will keep them happy and quiet for a while.  (Remember we are often working from home before any judging occurs!)  One of the things I love about this picture is that it so accurately captures this relationship between #2 and #4 that's really blossomed this summer.  Those two are buddies.  Quinn takes care of Beck.  Beck adores Quinn.  They almost never argue.  It's (at least at this moment in time) the best relationship between any of the boys.  I'm sure things will morph and change (because they have before...) but for now I'm really enjoying watching those 2 together.  

If you might be wondering why Spencer isn't in any pictures it's because he's been gone pretty much since last Saturday morning.  He went away on a church trip with 900 other high school kids (ouch...  just referred to one of my kids as a high schooler...) to Panama City Beach.  They stayed in a resort with their small groups and seem to have had a great time.  It's impossible to get any kind of details from a 14 year old boy, but he said he'd go back next year, so it must have been good.  He got home last night and then turned around at 5:30 this morning to go to a football camp over in Rome, GA.  This is the last of the planned trips he's got for the summer and my guess is that he'll now be singularly focused on getting ready for the football season.  I imagine the weight bench in the basement is about to get a workout...

Have a very safe and happy 4th of July everyone!  Happy early birthday to my sister.  We aren't really sure WHAT we are going to get into over the weekend or for the holiday, but I'm sure it'll be full of summer fun!