Tonight, Grandma, Grampa, Donna, and I went to Schaller Chapel at BVU to enjoy the Choir performance. What a performance it was! The kids did a fantastic job! Thank you for coming and supporting the music program.

Kallie, Chloe, and Tyler take a time out for a quick pic. Tyler and Kallie entertained Chloe while Hollie and I got to chat it up. I see a babysitting job in their future;)

Yesterday we enjoyed celebrating Great Grandma Kneifl's 93rd birthday with her. We got to eat cake and ice cream at 9:30a.m.!!! How fun to eat our dessert first. Afterwards, grandma and grandpa treated us to their new favorite restaurant: Toyko. It's a japanese restaurant that has great food and fun entertainment. Tyler and I definitely want to go back again.
On Friday we went to Ankeny to see the Smith's and Kneifl's. Hollie and I enjoyed supper and shopping with no kids. That was great! Thanks Jason:) Jason took the kids to St. Mary's state basketball game where they won their first state title in school history. Saturday, we headed to the mall with Rich, Andrea, and Chloe. Tyler is going out for tennis this spring so we had to pick up all the gear. We have never had a more entertaining trip to the mall until then.

Last night Steve came over. Tyler and him played 3 games of Connect Four. The score was 3 wins to 0 wins...guess who won all 3 games?? The freshman who is ranked 7th in his class of 145 students...with a cumulative gpa of 3.835

Coach Spooner and the freshman boys basketball team. This team was the biggest one he's coached in his career.
Tonight we had Tyler's basketball banquet. He received a certificate of participation and a certificate of "Excellence in Academic Achievement." The SLHS boys basketball program (9th-12th) carried a 3.0-3.24 gpa during the season. It was so neat to see all the boys being recognized for their achievements on and off the court. They are a good group of kids and I've enjoyed watching them all season long.

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!

Thursday night Tyler and the freshman team played South O'Brien's JV squad. They did as well as could be expected when you play a group of kids with an extra year of skill and heighth.
Tyler played the JV game Friday night at Estherville. He had 2 assists and 2 rebounds for the game. It was a great game! Yach had the game winning shot! Storm Lake won 42-41.
During the Varsity game Tyler sat with Andy to have some "guy time."

Friday, mom and dad helped me finally buy a new car after my 5 week ordeal with the insurance company after my accident. Both of them made a comment to me that bears repeating. They said to me, "I'm so proud of you! You've done such a good job buying a house, buying a car, and being a strong independent woman living on your own." I just want you to know us kids are that way because you raised us to be. Thank you for raising us that way.
Second, I want to thank my weekend guardian angel. You know who you are;) This weekend Tyler has been home sick with the flu and all the symptoms that go along with it. Your unexpected care package was just what the doctor ordered. Without even asking you for anything you jumped in with both feet to help. I haven't had that done for me in a really long time. We appreciated it sooo much. Thank you!

The perfect form for a free throw.
Tyler did a great job penetrating the basket. He scored 15 points last night.

The "A" team cheering on the "B" squad.

Tyler holds first or second place for all team stats this year. Last night he got the priviledge of getting the first team technical foul, which made him foul out in the third quarter of the game. While he was in the game he guarded his friend, Eli. He was Tyler's roommate and teammate when he went to Northwestern basketball camp in Orange city 2 years ago.

Roll Tide!!!

Tyler with the Johnny Orr statue at Hilton Coliseum.
This weekend we headed to Ankeny so Tyler could take in an ISU basketball game with Uncle Rich. They started 9 years ago and Tyler has looked forward to them ever since. They got to see a victory which was nice since we've not being seeing any "Ws" in football.
Last semester in English they read the book "Odyssey." The class had to write about a hero they look up to. Tyler wrote about Rich. Yes, Tyler's friends maybe important to him and yes, he may want to stay up late and play his dynasty on X-Box but just remember you are his "Odysseus" Rich:)

Chase setting a screen for Tyler on an inbounds play. The team lost their game Thursday night in Cherokee. They started off good and had a sizeable lead but Cherokee would come back and they just couldn't catch back up.

Uncle Rich and Aunt Andrea with Tyler.
Tyler with Uncle Jason, Aunt Hollie, and Cousin Chloe.
Tyler with Grandpa and Grandma.
My best attempt at a family pic...not bad;)
Sunday morning after Christmas we went to Westwood to visit Great Grandma K. She was awake in her chair and we got to have a nice visit with her.
Monday after Christmas Grandpa, Rich, and Tyler headed to Niobrara Nebraska for a day of pheasant hunting. It started off slow but by the end of the day they had got their limit. Afterwards, they went to Newcastle and caught up with some old friends. Tyler learned that Grandpa was a legend back in the day.

Last night Tyler was asked to skip freshman ball practice today and suit up for the JV game vs. Sioux City East. He got quite a bit of playing time as point guard. He did a great job handling the ball, getting the ball up the court, and passing it to his teammates.
Tyler was 1 for 2 at the line. He scored 1 point in his junior varsity debut. Over Christmas break he will continue to practice with the Freshman team and then stay for the JV practice. He will then continue to play 3 to 4 games a week. He's so excited to play JV and I'm so excited to watch him play:)

Our weekend went a little something like this. We had a great weekend in Ankeny getting to spend time with Chloe. After we get home and I'm hunting up a white elephant gift for him to bring to youth group night at church I receive this text from Tyler:

A father passing by his son's bedroom, was astonished to see the bed was nicely made, and everything was picked up. Then, he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, "Dad." With the worst premonition, he opened the letter with trembling hands.
"Dear Dad, It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Stacy, and she is so nice, but I knew you would not approve of her, because of all her piercings, tattoos, her tight motorcycle clothes, and because she is much older than I am. But its not only the passion, Dad, she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing if for ourselves, and trading it with the other people in the community, for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it!! Don't worry, Dad I'm 15, and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit, so you can get to know your grandchildren.
Love, your son.

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house.I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a bad report card that's in my center desk drawer. I love you! Call when it's safe for me to come home.

Tyler has found his Christmas gifts and they are out of the box and on him! That is how we celebrated Christmas, on December 19th, at our house. Hope you all make wonderful memories for the holidays like we have.