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.