This time of year is so busy!!!

We have been so busy lately that I have not had time to get pictures from the camera to the computer, much less post any! So, I thought I would spend my lunch and catch up a bit.



This is the girls along with Len, Lisa, Kyle and Tom playing in the leaves

This is one of my favorite pics of her alltime!!! Such a cute smile....just melts me!

Tessa in the leaves. She is still a little young to enjoy it really, but she is happy nontheless. She is happy most of the time!

Avery after eating Birthday cake at Aunt Lisa's house. She threw the birthday party for Tessa, so that everyone wouldn't have to drive to our side of the state. Thanks Lisa, it was a huge help!

Quentin thought that Avery's sunglasses were very cool!!!

Tessa is ready for more presents. She loves to be the center of attention at this age!!! Claps until she gets you to do the same!

My girls wrestling on the couch. Wrestling is a favorite past time of ours. Almost every night before bed, we are spending a half hour or more on throwing them around, and tickling them. They love it!

She absolutely loved these swimming goggles, no idea where they came from, but they were good for some laughs!

Tessa was shy at Lisa's for a bit, as she had fallen asleep in the truck on the way over there.

You want some??? You will have to fight her for it, watch out though...those teeth leave marks. I speak from experience.

You think she likes birthday cake??? you bet she does. Eats it all up. Not a huge fan of ice cream though, must be too cold. She had a great time at all her birthday parties.


The girls in the bathtub one night after spaghetti for dinner. They absolutely love spaghetti, but I have to cook it on bath nights, as we only give them baths every other night in the winter. They get dry skin in the winter, and since they don't go outside and get dirty like in the summer, no need for a bath EVERY night!!

this was the "crew" at the wedding reception on Halloween. Matt ( second from right in top row, next to me) got married on Halloween and had a pirate theme. The only one who didn't dress like a pirate was Bruce, pictured here as Magnum PI!! It was a good time, and was nice to have some adult time, while the kids played with Gma and Papa. Thanks Mom and Dad!!


Me and Ab on the bus to the reception. Of course I was a pirate (I was the best man) and Abby was a flapper.
Avery carving a pumpkin. She thought that it was gooeey and yucky. Didn't finish it and Dad had to help out and get it carved for her...


Christmas is next I guess!!! I am sure we will have much more to be thankful for in the coming weeks, and more pics to update with.

Happy Holidays!

Time to catch up a little!!

This has been such a busy month that I have not found the time to post any updates. Earlier in the month we went to the apple orchard with some friends of ours and the girls had a great time and were so good even though neither of them had a nap! I can remember going to the orchard every fall when I was younger and I want my girls to do the same. They are in awe of all the people and all the cool things to do! The one we went to was in Greenville, which is about half an hour northwest of Grand Rapids. This is not like any orchard I went to when I was a kid! There was so much to do and see, and they had tons of stuff for the kids to play on. I can't wait til next year when Tessa is old enough to enjoy it more! Here are some pictures.




Avery was in charge of picking out our pumpkins. She did a great job! Tessa, as you can see, just wanted to play in the grass mostly.


She actually pulled this wagon all the way out to the truck (300 yds). It was holding all of our pumpkins and other goodies. All told it weighed about 100 pounds. She is definitely a strong girl!!



This showed me just how brave she is......That snake was big! She asked if she could wear it. Silly girl!





Now to halloween. They are going to spend the day with their Gma and Jack and Quent, as we have a wedding to go to on Friday. I am sure their will be plenty of fun to be had. There always is when the three of them get together!

A day at the zoo with "the boys" and g-ma

We made a trip to the Grand Rapids Zoo this past Sunday. We met Jackson, Quentin, Lisa, Tom, and G-ma there for a day of fun! Marcie and Mike also met us along with their son Michael. We had a blast and decided that we will have to do it every year!!..Here are some pics:


Tessa decided she didnt want to wear a shirt that morning. She sure is a happy baby, we are truly blessed!

Someone was extremely excited to see everyone (especially Jack, Quent, and G-ma) She is becoming quite the comedian. You never know what will come out of the silly girl!


This was one of the few times that Avery was in the stroller. She walked around with the boys most of the time.


Me and Tessa posing by the fish tank while everyone made pit stops at the restrooms!

The giant fish tanks were a huge hit. Here Avery and Quent are looking at the sharks and the huge eel. Great fun!


Is she looking at the fish or at herself??? You never know!

That poor goat!! I have wrestled with the three of them, and I know how you feel buddy!



Jack, Avery and Quent in the background on the right. This was a big wooden choo choo train that we had to peel them all out of to keep movin!

That goat loved Tessa, came right up and was licking her shoe!
She can't wait til she is big enough to get out with the other kids!


G-ma and the three brittkateers standing under the waterfall. I think G-ma had a good time too!

This is a good shot of their family. I am glad that it turned out so well. It is hard to get Avery to sit still for a picture, much less two of them!!

Then there is us. My shoulders were definitely sore by the end of the day. She hasn't mastered the holding onto my head thing yet, so I have to hold on to her. Hard on the arms!!!

Thanks for coming to the zoo with us guys, we had a blast!!

Daddy's day at the park with his girls!!

Yesterday was Daddy and the girls go to the park day! Abby (my wife) had to work late, as she does every Tuesday and Thursday. I cut out of work early and decided to pick the girls up an hour early and take them to the park for some "daddy time" before we went home and started the everyday nighttime routine. We had a blast and the girls were tired out by the time we got home. (Avery was a little more tired than she should have been, but that is another subject altogether.) As you can see from the pictures I managed to squeeze in, we had a riot. They are hard to capture at this age. They never sit still for enough time for the camera to focus!!



The one picture I was able to grab of both of them on the slide/tube/slide.

I am glad she is photogenic like her mom!!! She gets most things she wants from daddy with that smile!

Tessa and Avery swinging together. Tessa was really getting into it and would whine when I took her out of that swing...looks like it is a swingset next summer!!

Here is Tessa showing off her exploring abilities. She would just go back and forth over and over. Just enough to stay out of my reach!! She wanted to go down the slide. That will have to wait til next summer!


There is that smile again!! It just melts me!!

If that isn't a devious look, I don't know what is.


Enjoying dinner tonight. This was the first attempt with the dreaded meat sticks in a jar. Avery hated them when she was that age. Tessa ate them right up....loved 'em!!

This one is getting saved until her high school graduation!!!! I wonder where she got her silliness from????? Anyone......anyone....???? I am sure Lisa knows what I am talking about!!!

Great "middle of the week fun" . Now on to the weekend, who knows what goofy stuff will happen in the next two days!!

Welcome home Boog!!

This past summer, my roommate from college and one of my best friends moved back from Honduras. He had been there since 1999! It is good to have him home and be able to hang out with him on a regular basis.

This past weekend I drove up to his parent's place for a welcome home party they had for he and his family. (married with two kids) I had a great time, and it was awesome to catch up with a few people I hadn't seen in a while.

This is Me, Brian Mack, and Mike "Boog" Jones. The three of us have been friends since 1994 when we all were freshman at Albion College. We all played football, and I think that is what made us great friends!

We are planning to hook up and all go to Albion's homecoming at the end of the month. It should be a trip to be back there seeing games with those guys! I am sure pictures of the weekend will be coming soon!!

Labor Day on Mackinaw Island

We had a great time on Mackinaw Island this past weekend, and had great weather. The girls behaved themselves pretty well, with the exception of Tessa not sleeping well on Saturday night. We stayed Sat. and Sun. night at the Inn on Mackinaw hotel. We went with Abby's Dad, step mom, step sister and brother in law, as well as their two girls.
This is the four of us hanging out at the dock waiting for the ferry to take us to the island. The girls do so well on boats, it is very nice that they like the ride!!

Tessa is sitting with her Grammy (Penny) and Avery is with her cousin Erika. I went over the bridge to St. Ignace for a couple hours to gamble (not successfully!!) and met them on the island later in the day. Both of the girls had a riot on the boat ride over!


Avery swimming with Erika in the hotel's little outside pool..It was quite nice, as it has a waterfall and is quite warm...half hot tub and half pool!!


Tessa and her Poppy (Jimmy) playing in the pool. She is a water baby just like her big sister!
This is Avery's cover shot!!! I thought this one turned out great and we have plans to blow it up in black and white to have framed.... She is pretty photogenic wouldn't you say?? Although, it is tough to get her to sit still for that long. I just waited for her to look my way and it turned out great.

Avery and her sister Tessa touring the Island. They are going to be great friends as they grow up!!


Here is Poppy getting Avery out of the trailer to stretch her legs. We rode the Island for about two hours. Up and down the big hills. I was pretty tired after pulling around 50 lbs. of dead weight up those huge hills, but we got it done! And she had a great time spotting the "hoas poop" for me....she kept saying "watch out for da hoas poop daddy!!"


Abby and Avery soaking up the sun and the scenery on the bike ride...I love the view from the Island!! Tessa was napping back at the hotel while we took our ride. Thanks Amy and Clyde!


Avery playing in the dirt while we admire the view. Jimmy, myself, Mack, and Erika were happy to get off our bikes to catch a breather. Right after this we went down a long steep hill. I had to walk my bike with Avery's trailer, because my brakes weren't strong enough to stop both of us after a while...wore them right out!!

Well, it has been a whirlwind of a few weeks for us, so the next couple weeks we are planning on laying low and enjoying the time together.