On mom's way home from Ankeny she stopped in Storm Lake this afternoon to go peddleboating with me. We had a lot of laughs trying to figure out the steering. Once we did we made a big circle and made it back to shore safely.
For one hour we pedaled the boat. Let's just say we're rethinking that RAGBRAI idea. Our legs were exhausted!!! And we thought we were gonna be out there for 2 hours. Silly idea...

Before the race we all picked who we were rooting for. Tyler and I didn't care who won just as long as it wasn't Kyle Bush. So much for that, he ended up winning. Tyler decided to cheer on Danika Patrick. Why you ask?? She's hot!!
Tyler with his Aunt Hollie and Uncle Jason during the Nationwide race. We are so fortunate to have them close and be able to partake in all the family palooza events. Uncle Rich and Aunt Andrea were once again great hosts for the weekend festivities. We feel right at home in the RV. So much so we slept in it both nights!

The team consisted of 3 freshman and 6 sophomores. They've been attending open gym together but with an eighteen hour notice of competing had no formal practices or plays. During the time outs coach kept them relaxed, focused, and made sure they were enjoying themselves.
Tyler was asked by the high school varsity coach to play in a JV shootout on Friday in Alta. The team played 4 games. They were the champions of the tournament going undefeated with a 4-0 record. They played Laurens 42-20, Alta #2 59-8, Moville 35-28, and Alta 36-20. Tyler had a great time playing and fit in with the older kids quite nicely. Thanks to grandma for all your help that day. Tyler can always count on you;)

Last night Carol and Rudy rode into town with Ragbrai. We had a fun evening visiting with them. Tyler especially loved the Droid and Texas football talk with Rudy. My favorite was Carol's bedtime story "The cream can catastrophe." You should have her tell it to you sometime. Grandpa also knows the story;)
Before leaving Tyler gets a pic with team "Los Vagos."

Last night while Tyler started his first day of detasseling mom and I went to a dinner and speaker in Alta. Her name is Staci Besch and she brought alot of humor to what it's like being a woman. When Tyler got home he was hungry and tired. He's counting the dollar signs that will add up in the next few weeks and that will make it all worth it.
This past weekend the Smith's came to Storm Lake for a wedding. Its so fun to see them all on a regular basis. Chloe is really starting to say "Brigett" and "Tyler" clear now.

After Tyler had a fun day with friends at KP and Mom and I had a fun day together, we all met at the Regatta Grille for "wing night." They are bone in and really messy but really good! We may just make it a weekly date;)

Today Tyler caught all innings of both games. The first game, SL 17 Emmetsburg 7 after 4 innings. Tyler got a walk and the E'Hawks weren't paying attention so Tyler stole second. He is such a smart base runner. Since Tyler was catching and needed to rest and hydrate he had a courteousy runner for the rest of the game. The second game, SL 1 E'burg 11 after 2 innings, was played in the rain. This was the teams last game of the season.

Relaxing after a night of fun.
Tyler rode on a float in the parade for Wind and Solar Specialists, Steve's work.
Chloe enjoying being carried by Rich.

We had a great weekend with our family and friends enjoying our independence from Great Britian;)

Last night Tyler attended Tanner's overnight birthday party extravaganza. He's a friend that won the 9th grade president campaign. Tanner is a HUGE Notre Dame fan. Tyler got him a Notre Dame t shirt but wrapped it in the box our tv came in. Tanner thought it was cool he did that and loved the shirt. He wore it around all night. Tyler had a great time roasting hot dogs, tubing, and playing flashlight tag. This morning when Tonya was taking the boys home she asked if anyone wanted to drive. They have a 2008 red GT convertible Mustang. While all the other boys were too scared, Tyler, being a veteran driver of nice cars said, "Sure, I'll drive." Tyler got to drive all the kids home with the top down. He was pretty excited. And, no Tyler that's not going to be your school car either;)

What do Tyler and Garrit Cole have in common? And no, it's not they both got drafted in the first round of the MLB draft right out of high school by the NY Yankees. They both pitched awesome games but due to fielding errors lost the game.
Tyler pitched the first game. They lost 0-10 after 4 innings. The second game, SL 6 ELC 7, Tyler played all 3 innings at second base. The highlight of the game was Tyler's batting performance. With bases loaded, Tyler hit a sweet line drive out to center field for a double and brought in 2 RBI's.

Tyler and Chloe shooting their water guns at the tree. By the looks of it Chloe's shirt must have already gotten wet.
Chloe loves to follow her big cousin Tyler.
Rich went "old skool" and fixed burgers over the open fire.

After a week of the computer being on the fritz I'm finally back posting. Good thing Tyler's friend Dimitri came over to press one button and fix it for me. Otherwise, Uncle Rich about had to work over the 4th;) Father's Day weekend we went camping with our family at Saylorville Lake. It was our first time camping there. It's been a while since I've showered in an out building but I'd have to say it was pretty nice and spacious.

The first game, SL 5 Sheldon 0 Tyler caught all 5 innings. It was the first shut out win for the team this year.
The second game SL 5 Sheldon 6, Tyler played left field. He caught a fly ball for an easy out.

The Sheldon games were on Tuesday in Sheldon and Thursdays games were home vs Spencer. Tyler pitched the first game vs their ninth graders. They lost 0-5. The second game vs. Spencer's eighth graders they won 16-4. After the game, Tyler's coach, told the head varsity coach, "next year you'll have to work with him when he pitches for junior varsity." Quite the compliment for an eighth grader. After wards, grandma usually treats us but since it was her birthday we treated her for ice cream at Villager.

Today Tyler and I attended a memorial service for a friend of ours. Kelli was 46 and she left behind a 15 year old son, Sam. At one time Tyler and I were quite close to them. This past week since her death has been a hard one for me but especially for Tyler. He can't imagine what he would do without me. He said "He'd go psycho" if anything ever happened to me. I'm writing this because I want everyone to take a minute, put down all your baggage that we as human beings carry around and remember that we are only put on this earth for a short while. The things we do and say have a tremendous impact on the people around us. So the next time you feel like life can't get any worse and there seems like no light at the end of the tunnel remember Tyler's friend Sam. The 15 year old that too quickly said good bye to his mother.

Tyler had his best pitching game ever!!! Even though the score doesn't reflect it, SL 2 Cherokee 12. Through 3 innings the score was 2-2. Tyler had no walks, 3 strikeouts, and our fielding was almost perfect. Then came the fourth inning. Tyler hit a kid with a pitch and then too many to mention fielding errors occurred and that started the 10 runs for Cherokee. Coach told the team after wards that was the best pitching the teams had all year we just had too many errors.
They won their first game!!! It was a blowout as you can tell by the scoreboard. Tyler caught the last two innings. He made the last out of the game by throwing the runner out at third base when they were trying to steal. Way to go team!!!

In the first game vs Spencer this afternoon, Tyler came in to relieve Jay 2/3 the way into the 2nd inning. He finished out the third inning and the game. He only allowed 2 runs. SL 2- Spencer 10 (3 innings.) The second game he caught the whole game for pitcher, Jack. He had a sweet play when he threw the ball down to Charlie at third base to get the runner out. SL 6- Spencer 11 (4innings.) Tyler went 0-4 batting:( Yes Grandma he had his contacts in;)

Last night while Tyler and Steve had guy night, I was a guest at Mom's Employee Recognition Banquet. Mom received a pin for her 5 years of service and dedication to St. Luke's. We had a wonderful time. The night started out with 2 margaritas, meeting her coworkers and a delicious meal (which we ate the dessert first.) The evening ended with a comedian/speaker talking about laughter. Boy did he make us laugh the whole hour! Laughter truly is the best medicine. I'm so happy I "took the evening off" to attend with mom.

Tyler's batting has much improved this year. Today he hit the ball all 3 times at bat but only got on base once. He scored the first run of the second game which ended up being SL 4 Spirit Lake 12. The first game he started pitching and did a much better job. The ump wasn't giving him any corners and the field behind him was having an off day. He only pitched 1 2/3 innings. SL 0 Spirit Lake 13
The play of the day was during the second game when he was playing short stop. Tyler, Charlie, and Ross got the base runner into a pickle and got the out. They had just practiced "pickles" in practice so he was quite excited to use it in a game and see it work.

Yesterday, Jason, Dalton and Josh aka (bloody knee) came over for a little 2 on 2 basketball.
Taking a time out for a ginger pic;)
This afternoon Tyler played short stop for the first game. SL 13 Sheldon 17. He had 2 sweet throws to first for outs. The second game, SL 2 Sheldon 9, Tyler made his high school catching debut. He did a great job.

The first game of the season versus Cherokee was a great day to get all the baseball jitters out. Tyler started out as pitcher and struggled. He was relieved and played a bit of center field and would later finish up playing short stop for the remainder of the innings. The first game was called in the third inning due to the 15 run rule: SL 7 Cherokee 22. The second game of the double header was called at the end of the third due to lightning. SL 5 Cherokee 7. Tyler's highlight of the day was his on base percentage: 80%. He is the second batter in the lineup. He had two beautiful hits in the first game. The second game he was hit by a pitch, walk, and struck out. I'm supposing the batting clinic I signed him up for and the contacts I bought AND he's wearing have something to do with it.
After the games Grandma treated us to an early bird supper at Villager. It was such a nice treat to have Aunt Hollie with us for the game and post game supper.

Rich, Ethan and Tyler sportin' their red C hats. Here r we!!!
One of Tyler's highlights to the weekend was getting a ride in Greg's brand new 2010 red Corvette. He saw 90 on the speedometer but said it felt like 30.He couldn't believe how fast it went from 0 to 60. His other highlight was getting to drive Uncle Rich's Charger. He got it up to 75 on the open road. He was pretty pumped to do both. Family palooza wasn't too bad with those 2 things thrown in.
Tyler, Rudy, Rich and Greg discussing how stressful this weekend has been;)
Tyler helping Julia blow bubbles. Jan watches making sure Rambo keeps his nose out of the bubbles.
Tyler playing hide n seek with Caden. He is the closest thing Tyler has to a boy cousin. We haven't seen him for 7 months. He's grown so much.
Tyler making himself a late night snack. These were the biggest marshmallows we'd ever seen. They made the best s'mores.

This weekend we spent camping in Waukee with our family. Mom and Dad weren't able to go but they were with us in spirit. I can't count the number of times everyone said how they wished Dad was here. We're so very thankful to Rich and Andrea for hosting family palooza 2010. We had a great time with everyone. We loved the food, the laughs, and most of all the company.

Today we went to Sioux City to attend Josh's High School graduation open house. The picture of Jeremy, Josh, Alex, Zach, Annie, and Tyler was the same one we took of the kids 11 years ago in front of Great Grandma Kneifl's house. My how they've grown and matured...okay maybe just grown;)

In other news, Tyler will be the Freshman class vice president next year. He had a good campaign but was edged out by his friend, Tanner.
Tyler also has decided to pitch for baseball. With the help of his friends coaxing him and some practice with Steve he is looking good for the starting pitcher position for the Storm Lake freshman baseball team.

Tyler's been hard at work on his campaign for Freshman class president. He wrote his speech last night and recorded it at school today. It will air on Thursday at school before all the kids vote. Tonight he made posters to hang at school tomorrow. He is also handing out "kisses" tomorrow at school and asking everyone to vote for him. (Thanks for the tip Rich;)
Tyler was the big man on campus today riding his moped to school for the first time. The seventh graders were saying how sweet it was and how next year they can't wait to have one. When he got home from school today there was a package from Uncle Rich waiting for him, a Cyclone football shirt. We can't wait to watch Rhodes take the Cyclones to another winning season. We just hope we can watch one of the winning games in person.

Tyler ran the second leg of the shuttle hurdle relay. The team got third place. He also ran the second legs of the sprint medley and the 4x100. The relays each got third place. The team as a whole got second place. This is Tyler's last track meet of the season. It is also his last Middle School event. From now on he will be participating in High School events. Starting with his running for Freshman class president.

Before the Spring concert tonight, the students displayed their pieces at the Art show. Tyler received a purple ribbon of merit for his self portrait. It was titled "luav tawas". Any takers on knowing what that means? Give up? It is the word "flame" in Mong which is the native language of a tribe in Sudan. "Flamer" has become Tyler's nickname in school which he is really starting to like.
The Storm Lake Middle School 7th/8th grade mixed choir
The 7/8th grade boys choir

After the concert Jayme Bral, the SLMS assistant principal, shook my hand and told me "That kid deserves an A+." He thanked me for the joint effort between school and home in Tyler's commitment to excellence.

Saturday we headed to Sioux City to celebrate Mother's day weekend. I received the 2 best gifts a son could give his mother. The first one was on our way to dinner at Bev's on the River, Tyler drove up to the door and let the mother's out while the men went and parked the car. The second was, this morning grandpa and him made us breakfast AND cleaned up. I am so proud Tyler knows good old fashioned chivalry will get him everywhere with a woman. Then Saturday evening we enjoyed a Bandits game. They lost but it was fun anyway. I got to see an old college friend, Shanda and her family. Sunday we went to see great grandma and all the Reinert's. Afterwards, we caught our cousin Jeremy's spring football scrimmage at Briar Cliff. Jeremy received the Character of Champions award for a male athlete at BC. We will enjoy watching the Chargers play this fall for his Senior year.
Tyler giving grandma her gift. Its her "summer" tornado attire.
So grandma told grandpa no "old skool" attire for Mother's day weekend. So grandpa dug deep into the dresser drawers to find this antique. His #83 pit crew shirt. It still fit! Must not be that old yet.

Tyler participated in 2 events today. He is running the second leg of the shuttle hurdle relay. He is getting his 3 step down pretty good. The team got second place.
Tyler ran the 200m dash and got third place.

After a few weeks off to let his leg heal Tyler got to participate in his last home track meet as a middle schooler. He has been recovering from his femur ball slipping out of socket. It happened one day at practice while he was doing the hurdles. Luckily, he got right in to the chiropractor the next day and was on his way to recovery. After getting it back in socket he had to do something even more painful: REST!