Great times with Kurt Barttrum

Several months ago, I wrote a blog about my friend Kurt Barttrum. If you don't remember it, you should go back and read it (so I don't have re-explain myself, it's listed under March 2007 :)
As a re-cap (ahem...clearing my throat) Kurt is a 2008 graduate of Yorktown High School (Please don't hold this against him. He can't help it! hee hee) and he is the state diver. This kid is amazing. I can't say enough about him.
He comes from amazing parents. He has an amazing sister. He is completely charismatic. He is extremely talented. He is genuinely super nice. AND...he's a great friend of mine.

I love Kurt. I've watched him grow up. If you remember my blog at all when I wrote about him before, you know that I met Kurt while I was working at The Performance Academy. At that time, he was 9 or 10 years old, ornery, spunky, and an amazing tumbler in our gym. He used to sit with me at my desk and write on my hand, tell me stories of his latest girlfriend drama, or write me silly notes and stick them in my purse for me to find later. As he got older, the stories of girlfriend drama became more serious, the writing on my hand didn't happen nearly as frequently but he would still stick hand-written notes in my purse for me to find at a later date. We've karaokied (that's not a word, I know. Get over it!) spent holidays together, wrestled in our living rooms, and laughed until we've nearly peed our pants. Great times. I love this kid! We have so much fun together!

His parents are awesome. I love Ami and Tim so much! They are incredible and when we are together, we laugh and laugh and laugh. They are so good to their kids and teach them such amazing life lessons through circumstances that pop up in day to day life. Kierston and Kurt are so lucky to have them. What's more, I think they know that. And, just to touch on Kierston, how much do I love this silly, adorable girl. I can't even begin. We laugh so hard at her. She is goopy, and ditzy, and precious and so fun! What a great family!

Kurt is getting ready to head to IU on Wednesday. I'm so excited for him and this new chapter of his life. He will be on the IU dive team who is coached by the 1996 Olympics diving gold medalist. He won't be close enough for us to hang out as much as we usually do but I'm sure we'll talk often and he always sends me text messages to brighten my day. Tonight, I got to spend a little bit of time with him and his family before he leaves for school. We met for dinner and had such a blast. I brought my camera to catch some of the fun.

I'm so proud of the young man that Kurt has become. There is not a doubt in my mind that he will be heading to the London 2012 Olympics to dive. He's been training so hard for years and he's being trained by the best. He's so talented and wants it so badly! I know we are going to see him on our televisions and be rooting for him in a few short years.

Here are a few pictures of my friend, Kurt from our get together tonight. He is awesome! Kurt, I love you and will continue to support you and your dreams! Good luck at school and call me soon! :)