The group:Gustavo, Cindy, Tyler, Azucena, Anabel, and Roman

Tyler and Azucena

Tonight was SLHS winter formal. Azucena is a Junior, Varsity basketball cheerleader, and loves turtles. Roman's parents hosted the pre party at their house in Lakeside. They had snacks and drinks for the kids, the kids took turns having Pebbles, the dog, do tricks for treats, and loved watching Roman's 2 turtles. Thanks Chrischilles' for hosting!

I was so busy taking pictures of the weekend with Hollie's camera I forgot to take any of my own. We always have a magnificent weekend in Ankeny when we visit The Kneifl's and Smith's. It is so fun to have them close so we can visit and stay whenever we need a break.
On a more sad note, I had to do one of the hardest things in my life. No parenting book or years of Hospice work can prepare you for what it's like to comfort your child when he is attending a fellow school mates funeral visitation.

A wonderful quote was said to me that seems appropriate on this difficult day: "Just because somebody doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with everything they got."

The silver lining of today was we counted our many blessings. They included all of you:)

Getting ready to inbound the ball.

Last night was Tyler's last game of the season. The team started off slow but eventually came back to cut the lead. In the end, it wasn't quite enough for the "W."

Yesterday, Tyler's friend, Jaci, lost her twin sister, Alex, to an unknown disease. She had been on a ventilator for 2 years. The parents made the difficult decision to shut it off. She was only 16.

Friday afternoon Mom, Dad, Hollie, and Chloe came to Storm Lake to celebrate my birthday with me. While waiting for Tyler to get home from practice we dug into the cake. It was so funny because Chloe kept taking her finger and scooping the frosting off the back. Then for supper we went to King's Pointe for their seafood buffet. It was delicious!
Friday night I got to have a girls night out with Hollie and my friend Rachel. We met at Lake Ave Lounge for a drink, where we got carded! That was so priceless when you're celebrating your 36th birthday. Afterwards, we went to the late movie, "Just Go With It."
To continue the birthday festivities, Saturday afternoon for lunch, Mom and Dad treated us to Mexican. It was so good! In this picture I'm sporting my new ISU jacket that Rich and Andrea gave me for my birthday. It didn't bring much luck to the game though. The boys got whallopped by Kansas:(
Tyler and Chloe in front of the "princess" as Chloe called it at Mi Azteca Mexican restaurant.

Thank you everyone for the great birthday weekend. I've had such a great time celebrating my 36 years of life. I'm so blessed to have all of you in it. The phone calls, the texts, and all the wishes are so fun to hear.

Tyler did a great job coming off the bench and running the point. He had 1 rebound and 2 points. He was 2 for 2 from the free throw line. He once again showed remarkable vision and ball handling skills getting the ball down the court and into the post.
The JV coach is Noah Wilson. Tyler has had him as a coach before for tournament team. Tyler will finish out the basketball season with the JV team practicing with them for the rest of the week and then suiting up for the game next Monday.

Trying to set something up and make a play.
Going for the ball after a free throw.

This was the last freshman basketball game of the season. Tyler has really developed into quite the basketball player. He has learned to be more aggressive and take it to the hoop and has great vision on the floor which lead to some fantastic assists. Coach Jason Spooner did a great job with the boys. He by far, has been Tyler's favorite coach.

Charlie setting a screen for Tyler. They executed the play perfectly! It ended with a bucket.
Coach Spooner talking to the boys after the game.

Grandma and Grandpa came up to watch the ball game yesterday. They treated us for supper at Subway. It's always a treat when I don't have to cook;) Grandpa commented that this game was Tyler's best game of basketball yet. Working out with the JV squad has really improved Tyler's game. That's so nice to hear. Tyler's been working really hard juggling school work, student council, church, freshman ball, jv ball, and a terrible flu bug. He's done a great job and it's paid off. I'm so proud of him!