This weekend we traveled to MN to see Grandma for her 86th birthday. Sherry and Merlin hosted a wonderful weekend of food, cards, and laughter. Here is our 4 generations.
Tyler is officially taller than Great Grandma (even with her big hair.)
Tyler and Maggie playing.

Tonight we went to the football game for Homecoming. Here's Tyler with his friends Chris and Roman. He didn't want me to take any pictures of him. So I didn't. I had a friends daughter do the dirty work. He said that was "SOLO" of me. That's the new term for kids when they talk about there parents "so low". Yeah, that's ok. Someday he'll have kids...

Tyler and his Physical Therapist, Russ. Russ also is a family friend. His son, Roman, is a friend of Tyler's. Tyler enjoyed the summer boating and tubing with them.
After his 45 minutes of therapy Tyler sits in the chair with an ice gel pack on his knee for 15 minutes. It helps with the inflammation that happens with his intense therapy. He also gets a bottle of water and an apple to replenish himself afterwards.

Today Tyler had his first physical therapy appointment. He did a great job performing his exercises. The therapist even commented on his "good form." There were a few exercises he had trouble performing and couldn't do. That will come as his knee heels and becomes stronger. Overall, he did a great job.
He has no restrictions so he went back to work for Joyce today. She is glad to have him back and he is glad to be back. I am especially glad to have him back working. I've been filling in for him the last 3 weeks. I told him his "short term disability" was all used up.

No crutches!!! No immobilizer!!! No surgery!!! His meniscus is torn and he has cartilage damage to his knee but the blood flow is good. He's got rehab to do for the next 3 weeks. He should be fully recovered by then. He will need to wear a knee brace for organized sports from now on. We also found out this week he's anemic. So he's started iron and vit c pills. He also got strict doctors orders to get plenty of red meat in his diet. Grandpa and Uncle Rich will be glad to help Tyler comply with those doctors orders.

Even though Tyler can't play football he still goes to practice everyday. He also travels with the team to games. He's #11. He said tonight, "He wanted to be out there so bad." He did a good job supporting his teammates with pats on the back and words of encouragement. That's an all around good team player.

This weekend Rich and Andrea came to Storm Lake to camp for their 8th wedding anniversary. Grandma, Grandpa, Tyler, and I went to the campgrounds on Saturday to "hang out." We had such a great day talking, laughing, and of course eating. Tyler is doing alot of that in the above picture. He went to the Dr. on Friday. He is scheduled for a MRI and a talk with the orthopeadic surgeon this next week. He will most likely require arthroscopic surgery to his knee for a torn ligament and cartilage. We will know more later and keep everyone updated. Please keep Tyler in your prayers.

Scott and Tyler with their crutches. Justin feels left out. The boys came over tonight to cheer Tyler up and play Halo with him. That was better than any pain medicine I could give him.:)

Yesterday I got a call from Tyler at football practice saying he hurt his knee. I took him to ER where they took x-rays of his knee nothing was broken. Now the hard part. Wearing a knee immobilizer, using crutches, and waiting until Friday to find out if he torn his Lateral Meniscus. For those of you interested, before his knee went sideways he did in fact make the tackle and stop the run.

Today we headed to Sioux City to spend the day with our family. First off, we went to a Briar Cliff Chargers game where our cousin Jeremy plays a defensive lineman. Afterwards, we went to see Great Grandma and brought her her favorite treat, a DQ hot fudge sundae. She ate it all. Then, we went to Mass at St. Boniface with the Reinert's, Johnson's, and Schindler's. Lastly, we were invited over for a home cooked supper at the Johnson's. Tyler got to "play with the boys" while I visited. It was a great day. We loved spending it with our extended family.

Today was Tyler's first day of school and football practice. Practice for this week will be at 7:00am. Tyler, Cole, and Adam were pumped to get to practice. At school Tyler will be taking high school Algebra 1 which he has homework in tonight. He also will be taking Religion which he has already said will be his favorite class.

We had another fabulous weekend at the Kneifl hacienda in Ankeny. Friday evening Tyler played poker with the "big boys." He got to the final table once and was pretty excited. Saturday we went to Farmer's Market where I bought a fresh Strawberry Rhubarb pie. Tyler ate almost all of it. He let me eat one slice. In the afternoon we enjoyed a WII marathon. All of our shoulders were sore Sunday morning. Then Saturday evening we went to All Play for pizza and games. Tyler won 580 tickets. In the picture he's holding his winnings: 160 tops and 200 fake redneck teeth. Thank you Rich and Andrea for the great weekend. We always enjoy our stay with you.:)

Tyler and Chris had fun "scoopin' the loop" tonight in Tyler's new ride!

...and Tyler did. Today ended his camp session. It was the best day so far. The high school football coach, Coach McCabe, helped Tyler with reading the defense and passing. He threw a lot of sweet passes and is excited to start the 2009 football season.

Rich giving Tyler a ride in the Model T. Yes, I said it right, a ride. They got up to 20mph in 2nd gear. Both of them were all smiles.
Tyler and the Model T

#72 Benny Gordon
#62 Brendan Gaughan
Tyler and the Miller Lite girls.
Tyler with Miss Iowa Speedway.

Tyler with Austin Stewart. Tony Stewart's nephew. He races mini sprints all over the US.
Tyler in a simulator car. He raced on Bristol's dirt track. His best lap time was 13.811 sec. 4th fastest all day for the "young guns" division.
Our whole group at the speedway.
Friday afternoon we headed to Ankeny to spend the night with Rich and Andrea. Saturday morning we headed to the Iowa Speedway where the RV site was already set up for the tailgating festivities.

Even on vacation teenagers can't be without their "electronics."

We've had a great week sharing in Barb and Jerry's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. It's always fun when we get together with our family to swim, visit, and eat. Many laughs were shared and memories made these last few days. We treasure our time with all of you.

Tyler and Josh getting out of the water after going down the speed slides.

Tyler and Josh before getting into the lazy river.

After supper this evening, Tyler invited the "big boys" over for a night of X box.

To salvage what was left of a sunny and 85 degree weekend we loaded up the car and headed to Okoboji this morning. The boys (Tyler, Cole, and Chris) rode rides at Arnold's Park, raced go karts at the mini track, and played 27 holes of mini golf at Treasure Village.

Alexis and Wendy couldn't resist a picture with Tyler in front of the Princess Inflatable, after they jumped inside.



Tyler took 2nd place in the kids dance contest. You guessed it Rich, he did "The Worm" (forward). That is important to know since the kid taking 1st place did it backwards.

Tyler, Chloe, and Justin at the waterpark today.

Chloe trying to do one of her favorite things, drool and put anything she can reach in her mouth. This time its Tyler's sweatshirt and fingers.

Yesterday we picked up Hollie and Chloe from the airport in Omaha. We are so happy to have them here with us to visit. The only one not happy is Devo. He is not getting his usual 20 hours of napping in.

Last night was the end of the season tournament for baseball. Tyler's head was there but his heart wasn't. He wants to thank everyone for coming and watching him. Especially grandma, she helped with under eye and had near perfect attendance. She only missed one game. Thank you everyone for supporting Tyler. See ya all in September for football.

Thursday night was Tyler's last regular season game. Afterwards, the sponsor treated the team to ice cream cones. From the beginning of the year til the end Tyler has improved sooo much. From his accuracy in pitching to his throwing kids out in the catcher position he did a phenonemal job. I am so proud of him. This will be Tyler's last year in community ball. Next season he will play for the Panthers of St. Mary's. I can still remember his first T-ball game in his yellow shirt and velcro shoes...

Tyler was the man tonight!!! He caught all 5 innings for 3 pitchers. He had 1 throw out to second and 2 throw outs to third. He also caught a pop up. He scored 2 runs.

Classmates and Teammates, Adam, Tyler, and Ryan after the game. Tyler pitched the first 3 innings. He allowed 6 unearned runs. This was his best night of pitching. They just need to work on their defense.

Sunday morning for breakfast we all met at Bonfire for a family style breakfast. It was a great end to a wonderful weekend. Saturday, after the zoo, Teresa hosted a BBQ for all of us. It was so nice to get together and "catch up".

Since it was Father's Day and Kneifl men always get what they want Grandpa got his way by taking the 3 generation portrait in the fire.

We saw the 3-D movie "Under the Sea" at the I-Max theater. Tyler, Grandma, Sherry and Teresa with their fantasy glasses on.

Tyler and Grandma by the "hot" metal tigers

Tyler got to touch a sand shark. He said it felt like a slimy snake.

Saturday morning, before going to the zoo, we stopped by the Janasko's in Savage and got to meet Julia Rose. She's 8 months old. She was very smitten with Tyler. It must be the "chick magnet" he's carrying around in his pocket

Tyler's GREAT aunt and uncle, Karen and Vin, stopped by on their travels of the "lower 48" to take in a baseball game. Tyler scored half the teams points. He also had a great throw to second to get the runner out who was trying to steal.

Steve and Tyler attended their 3rd annual ISU camp. Tyler had a great time playing the game, meeting the players, and making new friends.

Three Generations of Devos Men

For 6 innings Tyler played catcher. He did a great job being the "field commander."

I didn't want to put the picture of Tyler and Grandma up tonight on the blog. Tyler replied with, "Why not? Chloe's not happy in all of her pictures and Hollie still posts them. " He was right. It was another tough loss tonight. Batting didn't go well and he couldn't get a strikeout if he paid for one. I learned a valuable lesson tonight. I wouldn't miss his games for anything. I love him when he hits a double and when he strikes out. I love him when he walks a batter and when he strikes one out. So here he is bummed, upset, and hungry!

Today the Storm Lake Baseball Association held their annual cookout fundraiser. Tyler and I worked from 5 to 7. Thank you grandma, grandpa, and Steve for buying tickets and supporting the association. The kids did a good job working the food service line.

Wednesday afternoon we headed to Des Moines for quite a treat. Rich and Andrea took us to supper at Buffalo Wild Wings and then we went to the Jeff Dunham show at the Wells Fargo Event Center. We enjoyed the show from the tenth row. It was great. Thank you Rich and Andrea. You both are so good to us. We love you. This morning Tyler then had Andrea give him a haircut. He loves it sooo much. Afterwards, Tyler made some money by "picking up" after Rambo and Zella.

Tonight when we got home Tyler then had a game to play against the "other" Storm Lake team. Tyler caught for 4 innings, played shortstop for one, and pitched the last inning. The highlights of the night were when Tyler threw 2 kids out trying to steal second when he was catching. The team also had a double play. Afterwards, it was off to our sponsor where grandma treated for ice cream. A wonderful couple of days with wonderful people.

Tonight Tyler pitched 4 innings. The Scott twins that he used to race with were on the other team. The boys' mom and grandfather came up to Tyler after the game to tell him he pitched a good game. It was a tough loss.

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other"- Abraham Lincoln

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, it will come naturally"-David Frost

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."-George Edward Woodberry

"Pain is temporary. Quitting last forever." -Lance Armstrong

"Never be afraid to fail"- Michael Jordan

"I believe good things come to those who work hard." -Wilt Chamberlain

"Goals determine what you're going to be." -Julius Irving

These are Tyler's favorite quotes that he wrote on the inside bill of his hat. During a tough moment in a game he takes off his hat, takes a look, and goes back to pitching. They remind him he's doing what he loves and is loving what he's doing. Amen.