Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tyler turned 13 on April 6th. We got together with family for Easter dinner the day before and celebrated his birthday with an eclair cake. Good choice!

His birthday usually falls somewhere around Spring Break. This works out really well, because we're doing fun things, and he rarely has to go to school on his birthday. He told us he wanted to go to the Great American Melodrama for his birthday, and then Kristen invited us to go with them and friends the week before his birthday. We had a really fun time!

He requested cinnamon rolls for his birthday breakfast. They turned out especially tasty this time. I'll post the recipe (from Nathan's mom) on our food blog. 

Then he wanted to go swimming at Sinsheimer pool with cousins on his birthday. It happened to be open for recreation swim, since it was Spring Break, but it was freezing cold outside. Thankfully they keep the water toasty warm. The place was practically empty!

I asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday, and he said he couldn't think of anything because he pretty much has everything he needs/wants. What a content kid!! I got him a bunch of art supplies, a pocket knife, and a 2,000 piece puzzle. 

It was a group effort, and we finished his puzzle yesterday! We're missing one piece, which is a bummer, but as Spencer pointed out, it's amazing we're only missing one piece. It's covered our coffee table for six weeks.

Now a few words about Tyler at 13. He is in 7th grade, and he is doing awesome. He moved up to advanced math and GATE English this year. He usually has a lot of homework, and he eats sunflower seeds the entire time he's working on it.  His favorite class is art. He works at the snack bar, which gives him free lunch every day plus $8/week. He rarely spends money, so he must be rich.

His best friends at school are his cousins, Jacob and Peter. I enjoy driving them to school every day so I can hear their funny conversations. They also take an extra art class together at PRYAF. He goes there straight from violin, and he goes to violin straight from school, so Thursdays are his busy day. He took tennis for a month with Brennan, but that's over until summer. 

Tyler is just so nice! He's nice to everyone, and he is always aware of other people's feelings. Notice he gave Brennan the good boogie board and took the cheap one. Teachers often sit him next to difficult students because he's the only one who can handle them. Sometimes I'll start to feel overwhelmed by noise and mess, and he'll say, "Can't you all see that mom isn't okay?!" then proceed to whip everyone into shape (clean, be quiet, etc.). 

His two best friends are his brothers, Spencer and Dallin. They have so much fun together! They like a lot of the same things: boogie boarding, camping, hiking, playing Minecraft, rock climbing, biking to Jamba Juice, and riding roller coasters. Spencer enjoys scouting and youth activities so much more now that Tyler can go with him, and Dallin's excited to be in middle school with him next year. 

He is so funny! He makes the BEST silly faces and impersonations, and he still has fun dressing up. He makes us laugh all the time. Happy birthday Tyler!!