Where's Alex?

Some of you have asked "where's Alex" on my blog lately. So, I finally got these pictures to document that he is indeed still living in our household. :) Notice that "thrilled expression" he is giving me. It's an expression of pure toleration. Alex is still around being his usual self, but it is just hard to get him to let me take pictures of him, so he sometimes gets left out of the blog. It is said, "Pick your battles," and taking pictures isn't worth the battle. You know how kids about his age start to have the whole identity crisis of how they look and all that. I think that might be part of it, but who knows?

Anyway, about Alex...8th grade is going much better than 7th for him. He had a rocky start last year with the move and all, but this year he is so much happier and more fulfilled than last. 8th grade is the highest grade in the middle school, so it's always nice to be on top at school. He has made some good friends at church and school and that has made all the difference for him.

This school year is better for me too, because even though Alex still gets a picked up from school everyday, I now have two great friends that I carpool with(so I only drive every 3rd week) which also includes two of his friends, so he usually always comes home happy now. It has been nice for both of us because he came home from school in a lot of bad/sad moods last year.

He is playing tennis on the middle school league, which he is enjoying. He decided to play tennis while we were at Great Grandma Guelde's house and she was talking about how his great grandpa was really good at tennis. He is doing well in school and is in the classes that he likes. I got to meet his teachers at the school open house and he seems to have a lot of good teachers this year. For those of you who know about his math teacher situation last year, we are especially grateful for a good math teacher this year. He is still a teenager though and certainly has his "teenage moments", but overall he is a pretty good kid.