We pulled off the perfect surprise party for Tyler's 15th birthday. We took him out for supper and when we got to Martini's his friends were already there and when we walked in they yelled , "Surprise!" He admitted that we got him good.
Chase, Megan, Brynna, Tyler, Kallie,and Erin with his cake. After supper, the kids came to the house for Tyler's traditional ice cream birthday cake from DQ. After cake we gave the kids tickets to go see the movie, Fast Five. I can't believe Tyler is 15 already! The years have gone so fast.
When Tyler got home from school today a birthday package had been delivered from Rich and Andrea. He loves his ISU shirt and Scheel's gift card. It's been a great birthday month. Thank you all for making his birthday so very special.

Since our family does nothing small we continue to celebrate Tyler's 15th birthday month in a big fashion. This afternoon Grandma and Grandpa came up to share in the fun. They brought gifts of "LeBron" apparel that he absolutely loves! He loves it so much that he changed into an outfit 1 minute after opening the gifts to wear to tennis practice. After practice, they treated us to supper at Legacy. Since we love our desserts we ordered a birthday chimichanga. It was delicious! He also received cards with birthday cash in them from Hollie, Jason and Chloe,Grandma and Grandpa Devos, and Donna.

We absolutely loved our first cruise! The people, the food, the entertainment, the sights! It was all grand. I enjoyed the trip because I got to cross going to another country off my bucket list, read 2 books in 4 days, and have 4 stress free days. Most of all I enjoyed spending time with Tyler. No work, no cell phones, no xbox live, no computer. Just us 2 spending quality time together. There is so many stories that we share from our trip. 1 year ago Tyler asked if we could go on a cruise. I saved, scrimped, and scrounged to be able to afford this vacation for us. It was all worth it. The memories and the time I spent with him will be in my heart forever. I love you very much Tyler. I can't wait for our next cruise;)

Our last night on ship: a heart. We loved our service staff too!
Our table group: Dalton, Christian, Katherine, Brigett, Tyler, Pam, and Nick. They are all from Texas. Sunday night we went to the Punchliner Comedy Club to see the shows. The 2 comedians were very funny.
Yes 2 people with 4 desserts. The desserts were magnificent!!!
Sunday night at our last supper together the wait staff singing their "goodbye" song to us.
Saturday night we came back to our cabin to an elephant.
Every night at supper the wait staff would sing and dance for us.
Saying goodbye to Cozumel.
The shopping district
Outside the Ron Jon surf Shop where we picked up some souvenirs.
The water is up to our knees and we coud see our feet! We literally had fish swimming right next to us. While at the Park we also had outdoor massages, shopped, relaxed in hammocks, and of course ate.
For our excursion we picked going to the Playa Mia Grand Beach Park. The first thing Tyler wanted to do was stand in the ocean.
In the shopping district when you get off the pier we went to this tiny shop called, Fiesta Maya. There is where they make these bracelets: all by hand, all in 5 minutes, and all while answering our questions. It is truly amazing to see.
standing on the pier with the ship behind him.
A closer look at the Puerta Maya Pier.
From the 12th floor sports deck looking down. The water is sooo blue.
Our first glimpse of the Puerta Maya Pier in Cozumel, Mexico.
Saturday am we saw land!
Friday night a bunny was left on the bed.
Tyler and I both read the book, "Heaven is for Real." It is a must read!
Everyday the ship offers a "drink of the day" in a souvenir cup. Friday while relaxing and catching some rays we order drinks. It is a monkey carved out of a coconut.

Every morning we would have breakfast on the 10th floor Lido deck over looking the ocean. Our favorite was the omelet station.
This is the grand atrium in the middle of the ship.
Every night the staff came into tear down our bed while we were at supper. They also would leave a towel animal on our bed with chocolates. This is a walrus.
Friday am I got up early to workout on the 12th floor sports deck. From the treadmill this was my view.
Every evening you have the option of eating in the Windstar dining room. We chose the early option of 6:00pm. We sat with 5 other people.
Our vacation started last Thursday am. 2:23 is the time we left the house to head to Omaha to catch our 6:10am flight to Memphis. From there we connected and flew to Houston. At the bag terminal a Carnival associate was waiting for us to transfer us on a 1.5 hour bus ride to the ship off of Galveston Island.

Tyler and Darren won their first doubles match against Alex and Ileck 6-0. They played challenges against teammates due to Cherokee only having 10 players. It was good practice for all the kids to play alot of games.
Ross, Caleb, Darren, and Tyler after their doubles match. Tyler and Darren lost 1-6.

Tyler also played a singles match against Chris and won 6-2 but due to the amount of pics I'm taking latley I couldn't take a pic of them.

Celebrating Great Great Aunt Vivian's 90th Birthday! She is still sharp as a tack. Joe and her just got back from Arizona. They spend 5 months of the year down there. That's my kind of "winter break." My favorite memory of visiting Aunt Vivian when I was younger was when we stayed at my grandma and grandpas house we'd walk around the corner to Aunt Vivian's house and swing on her porch swing. She'd always bring us out cookies and we'd get to eat while we were swinging. What a treat when your 6 years old.
This morning we drove to Kingsley to celebrate Great Aunt Vivian's 90th birthday. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up. It was funny that people I haven't seen for 29 years recognized me right away. In the picture are a few of the people that gathered for the celebration. Amy, Mary, Kathy, Sherry, Vivian, Clara Belle, Tyler, Brigett, Lee Ann, Rich, Travis and Sue. I haven't heard mom called the nickname "Punky" in a while but it was fun to hear it again. It brought back the good memories of the olden days. Clara Belle told me that Mom is so much like her father. She's got his mannerisms and features. When Clara Belle sees mom she sees Grandpa in her so much. I'm glad I got to share in this special celebration.

Friday Tyler and Darren lost their match 1-6. Before the match Tyler was sitting in the car with Kallie and Darren was swinging on the park swings. Their match was coming up next and both were oblivious to the fact. Coach Kuker came up to Tyler and said, "Hey Mr. Romantic go get your boy off the swings. You're up next." Steve and I sitting in front of the car heard his comment and laughed. We're actually still laughing.....

Today, Tyler played in his first doubles tennis match at Spencer. Him and Darren lost 6-8. They both did such a good job. I'm so proud of Tyler to try a new sport. Darren is serving while Tyler waits for the return.
Tyler, Ross, Darren, Caleb

After Tyler and Darren's doubles match they joined the others to watch their teammates. Tyler is really enjoying Tennis. He didn't want anyone to watch him today except me. He is enjoying playing a sport, having fun, and not having any pressure on him. Amen!

On another note, this past weekend I went to Ankeny to see my family. Tyler wanted to stay home and hang with his friends so Steve offered the parental supervision in my absence. I left on Friday afternoon. When I was driving Steve called me and said he arrrived at the house, front door wide open, house a pig sty, and Tyler no where to be found not answering his phone calls. I was a bit nervous but I called Tyler to find out what was going on. When I spoke with Tyler he said he was at the corner of "April" and "Fools." We all had a great chuckle. Then I realized I had missed my exit and had to turn around. They had got me!!! And good!!!

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.