Tyler, Cole, Joe and Jose making their music composition debut, I said "What What in the gut." A remake of a famous You Tube video, "What What in the butt."

To continue birthday month Grandma and Grandpa came up to celebrate Tyler becoming a teenager. We went out to eat at Legacy where Tyler polished off a 16oz. T-Bone, 2 sides, and a Mountain Dew. After the concert we had ice cream cake.
St. Mary's Middle School Choir

Today for Tyler's birthday he brought his favorite treats to school to share with his friends: glazed donuts from the bakery. After school he had track practice. The team ran Seiler hill. All 7 miles of it. Then it was off to the dentist. After that he made the last bit of baseball practice. Finally we ended up relaxing over a nice dinner. What a great feeling it is to know I've survived the first 13 years of my sons life...

No that's not me screaming at the thought of Tyler being a teenager. It's Tyler's gold tooth. "Just a little bling bling to catch the ladies eye."

Tyler fielding a ball at his first baseball practice of his Senior league season.

Tonight for Tyler's birthday I took him out to eat at Legacy Steakhouse. He ordered a big plate of BBQ ribs. His favorite! After dinner the owner, who we are friends with, brought Tyler a Brownie Delight for dessert, on the house.

Our family photo
Tyler and Great Uncle Merlin in his finally finished restored Model A.

4 Generations

Weekend 4 of 4 started Saturday morning with Tyler treating me to breakfast. (What a great son I have.) Then we headed to Sioux City to pick up Grandma and Grandpa for Krista and Jordan's wedding in MN. The wedding was nice and we had a great time visiting, dancing, and playing the slots. I came out $7.30 ahead. Good enough to buy Tyler Subway on the way home.

Today we headed to Holstein for the third track meet of the week. Tyler ran the second 200m leg of the Distance Medley and they got 3rd place. He also ran the 200m leg of the Sprint Medley and they did not place. Due to a teammate being academically ineligible for his events Tyler stepped in to run the third leg of the 4x100. They got 5th place.

The photo is of the boys making their victory lap and crossing the finish line as a team. Way to go boys!!!

This was their toughest competition yet and they all did great. Tyler ran the first 200m leg of the Distance Medley and they finished in 3rd place. Tyler had a personal best time of 30 sec. He also ran the 200m led of the Sprint Medley and they did not place.

Tyler starting the 1600 Distance Medley Relay. He ran the 200m leg. The team got 3rd place. He also ran a 200m in the Sprint Medley Relay. The team got 5th place. His last event he ran in was the second leg of the 4x400m Relay. The team got 4th place.
Grandpa had the "day off" from work so got to enjoy the track meet also. After all that running in the wind and cold Tyler is still smiling.

Weekend 3 of 4 in April consisted of a big family gathering. We spent the day in Salix at Kathy and Mike's house. We also got to meet Steven. He is Jennifer's boyfriend. They came back to Iowa from their home in Washington DC to visit family. After a lengthy discussion we had decided the last time I saw Jennifer was when Tyler was 2 months old at Kathy and Mike's wedding. How nice to catch up and see everyone.

Yesterday was Tyler's first junior high track meet. Tyler earned two fifth place ribbons. One in the distance medley relay running the 800 leg and the other in the sprint medley relay running the 200 leg. In the picture the boys are standing around waiting for the team results. They were only behind first place by 1.5 points.

This afternoon we headed to D & B's. After a few hours of fun we racked up 2,897 tickets! We headed home with all this stuff. Getting it in our carry ons for the ride home is another story.

Friday night swimming in the apt. pool.
Tyler entertaining Chloe in the pool.

Another Tyler and Chloe photo. We can never take to many of our 2 cute redheads.

Tyler with his 2 cakes. I think Chloe wants a bite.

Since it is his birthday month Tyler was greeted with 2 birthday cakes, singing, and a gift. He will be a teenager. YIKES!

Weekend 2 of 4 started out early this week. On Wednesday we flew to Denver to spend a long Easter weekend with the Smith's. In the Omaha airport Tyler tried to scarf down the "world's largest rice krispie bar."

For weekend 1 of 4 in April we headed to Ankeny. While I was attending a friends bachelorette party Tyler was entertained by Rich and Andrea. They took him to "All Play", Des Moines version of Dave & Buster's. They ate Cyclone pizza and played games. Tyler won the strong man contest on a game. He also hit the jackpot to win 2,492 tickets to bring home this beauty: a lava lamp. Which is proudly displayed in his room.

Tyler in front of his Greece display. A lot of people upon visiting his display shouted the words "Toga! Toga! Toga!" What 1978 movie is that chant from? Casey and Halie taking a timeout from their display to pose with Tyler.

Today St. Mary's Middle School held their annual fair day. This year they did a cultural fair. Tyler chose to explore his Greek heritage. He painted the flag, provided interesting facts about Greece, made a greek dip, and dressed in traditional male dress.