My Aunts Service Yesterday...

Aunt Joyce's Celebration of Life service yesterday was done so well.  So many showed up for it.  It was done exactly the way one would expect a service of that sort to go.  The minister did an amazing job.  Everything was done so tastefully and so respectfully.  Everyone really loved the video that I made for the service.  I was glad that I was able to do it for them.  It was a way that I could honor her and be a blessing to my cousins at the same time.  

Here's the link to the video if you would like to watch it:  

https://youtu.be/HoYMJIAl0pk?si=4uuZAsQaZD6XD1Iz

She will always be in our hearts and missed.  My mom is the last living of her immediate family.  It's sad to think about that when she passes a huge chunk of our family is gone to only be forever remembered in our memories.  

Joyce and the rest of our family who are gone will be forever in our hearts and cherished in our memories.  So thankful for the time that we had with each and every one of them.  

After the service we went back to my cousins house and we ate and swam in her pool and just enjoyed family time together.  Here are some pics that we got:

It was such an enjoyable time with the cousins and my mom.  We have to cherish all the moments that we get because we never know when it will be our last.  

Coach's Recap...

Tim’s coach posted a recap. Take a close look 👀 at the picture and you’ll see Tim😊.  Here's the coach's recap:

"This past week the Athletic Lab Weightlifting Club made the trip to Pittsburg, PA to compete in the USAW Nationals Week.

Nationals Week consists of the top weightlifters in the USA competing head-to-head. Below are the results of each individual lifter. In total, the Athletic Lab Weightlifting team brought home 5 medals.

Team Results:

• 30/36 (88.3% successful lift rate)
• 5 medals in total. 2 Silver, 3 Bronze
• Each athlete hit a PR

Individual breakdown:

• Eva Young, 55kg (Youth) (Snatch: 65kg, CJ: 74kg Total: 139kg) 4th Place
• Tim Neal, 61kg (Youth) (Snatch: 75kg, CJ: 95kg, Total: 170kg) 4th Place
• Wakeland Branz, 67kg (Youth) (Snatch: 63kg, CJ: 80kg, 143kg) 25th Place
• Ewan McCallum (U25) (Snatch: 92kg 🥉, CJ: 109kg, Total: 201kg) 4th Place
• Chase Overpeck (U23) (Snatch: 98kg 🥈, CJ: 123kg 🥉, Total 221kg 🥈) 2nd Place
• Jacob Penner (U25) (Snatch: 117kg, CJ: 150kg🥉, Total: 267kg) 4th Place

The best part? Half of this squad has been lifting for less than a year. We’re just getting started😤."

 

RIP Aunt Joyce - June 21, 2024

My mom's sister passed away on the 21st.  She was 80 years old.  She'd been suffering with health issues for right at a year and had gotten considerably worse in the last couple of weeks prior to her death.  They are having a Celebration of Life service for her on the 29th.  Although she is gone she will never be forgotten.  I spent most of my childhood visiting and staying with her and my cousins during vacations/holidays/summer breaks from school.  And even though my family has their issues there's one thing that never changes and that's that we love one another faults, worts and all.  We may be a bunch of hicks and crazy at times but you'll never say we are boring...LOL😜😂!  RIP Aunt Joyce!!!

More Pictures from Nationals...

Take Aways From Tim's 1st Nationals...

Take aways from Tim’s 1st Weightlifting Nationals:

•He ate real good leading into the event and felt the strongest he’s ever felt.

•He was well rested.

•The environment was very encouraging and uplifting. He had people he didn’t know in the training hall telling him how good his lifts were.

•People were really nice. I mean everyone. There was no one purposely being down right ugly to anyone.

•People cheer for everyone as they are doing their lifts on the platform because they genuinely wanna see everyone do well.

•The coaches all get along really well. They all are helpful and encouraging to one another.

•The venue was very nice. The Pittsburgh Convention Center is one of the nicest venues we’ve ever been in.

•A bonus for Tim was meeting our Olympians and getting a poster signed by all of them.

All in all it was one of the absolute best Nationals experiences that we’ve ever had!!! Tim has told us multiple times I wish we had made the switch to this sport years ago. He’s found something he really loves to do and we love supporting him in doing it. The pathway for his dreams has changed but his dreams are still the same and he’s going after them full throttle.

Can’t wait to watch our Olympian’s when they perform in Paris. Go Team!!! Here’s a picture of the poster they were signing. I can’t wait to get Tim’s framed.

Let's Do Some Catching Up - 3 Tim's getting to meet his online friend...

Tim and Evan have been online friends since they were 10 years old.  They have been gaming together for the past 6 years.  Getting to meet this friend was a hug highlight while we were in PA.  They got to go Go Carting and to Dave & Busters.  A very fun day for them both.  

Let's Do Some Catching Up - 2 Visit to see our friend Wade...

 

A JFK rug wall art.

Wade is a friend in the rug industry.  We had such a good time visiting with him and talking about old times.  He got to see how much Tim had grown since he had seen him last.  This man is full of so much knowledge when it comes to rugs.  Such a fun visit.  

Let's Do Some Catching Up - 1st USA Weightlifting Nationals...

June 17,2024:

Tim had an amazing 1st experience at USA Weightlifting Youth Nationals. Only 10 months into the sport and he did Meet PR’s of Snatch 75kg + C&J 95kg = 170kg Total. That’s 6kg above his last Meet Total. 5/6 lifts on the day. He landed in 4th place missing 3rd by 9kg. We are so happy for Tim. Tim made huge gains today. So so proud of how far he’s come in this sport in such a short time. All in all it was a great 1st time out at Nationals.

75kg Snatch

95kg Clean & Jerk

June 20, 2024:

Our Team finished with 5 medals overall and we went 30/36 on lifts (83% make rate) over the USA NATIONALS 2024 week.

We had:

4th place - Eva Young (5/6 on lifts)

25th place - Wakeland Branz (who’s only been with the team a couple of months or so did a great job going 5/6 on his lifts)

4th place - Tim Neal (5/6 on lifts with PR’s)

4th place (CJ) - Ewan McCallum (5/6 on lifts)

2nd place - Chase Overpeck (6/6 on lifts)

4th place (CJ) - Jacob Penner (4/6 on lifts)

I’m not sure who else had PR’s but I’m sure there were others.

CONGRATULATIONS ALWCon your OUTSTANDING JOB!!! We look forward to seeing everyone’s improvements as they continue to grow in this sport.

Tim will be getting back to work on Monday!