My Other Favorites...

I can't resist posting some pictures of my cousins' girls... Carly, Kaylee & Ryanna! Are they not great in their matching car seats? Here is Carly enjoying some cake at Anthony's "Meet & Greet" Shower... Num Num! :)

This is Kaylee - our Goddaughter... such a doll! :) She is so tiny and delicate about how she does everything. It was fun to watch the difference between Anthony and her when the are playing and sharing toys. Anthony wants to just grab it and play... where as Kaylee really wants to look at it and inspect before doing anything... Such a big difference between little boys and girls! :)

And the newest addition is Ryanna - 7 months old - enjoying some cake as well!

And finally, we tried to get a picture of the 1st and 2nd cousins - that were there - all together... Yeah, we tried! It was getting late in the day! :)

Anthony...

Anthony and Tonja came to visit two weekends ago and I wasn't able to post any pictures of the weekend... so here they are! :) The first is of my the two of them at the Meet & Greet Anthony shower we had a Bixby's on April 20th. While the others are just some fun shots I was able to get while they were visiting! :)

Here's Mr. Anfony after his bath - doesn't he look spiffy!? I was able to give him his bath that evening - such a great adventure! Those darn bottles wouldn't stay on the ledge of the bath tub which did cause a little bit of a break down and Auntie Manda being banned from being in the bathroom - all in all - it was great!

Damon and Anthony were able to have some male bonding time on the lawn mower. Anthony was able to drive around the yard and thought he was the COOLEST kid around! Of course, they were going turtle speed but to Anthony he was Jeff Gordon! :)

He's such a cutie and we're so blessed to have him in our lives! :)

Taylor and Gage

Last Friday evening Lindsey called to see if I could watch the Taylor and Gage for her since her babysitter fell threw. I have not seriously seen either kid in such a long time I was excited to have them for a few hours! :)

We walked to the park that is only a few blocks from the house and had a great time playing on the swings and slides!

Gage did take a nose dive off of one of the slides; however, he's a trooper! When I picked him up he states, "It's okay, it don't hurt!"

When we got back to the house we were able to play a little but it was off to bath time. First I had mohawk boy with the nice big bruise down the side of his face! I thought that most of it would be dirt; however, that was incorrect - once we washed his face, it was all bruise. Then it was Taylor's turn... I think she looks more like Princess Layah (spelt incorrectly but I'm guessing you can sound it out! :)).. The facial expression is priceless!

Before I knew it Lindsey and Tony were back and the evening was over! Damon and I had a great time with the two of them and can't wait for them to come back and visit! :)

Grand Rapids Law Report...

For the week of April 14th:

Theft: An unreported amount of methadone was stolen from a room at a motel on Pokegama Avenue South in Grand Rapids...

Wondering Livestock: Two goats that went missing on LaPlant Road wandered home...

Intrusion: A window was broken, but no entry was made at the River Road Market on Seventh Avenue Southeast in Grand Rapids. Photos were taken of a possible suspect's shoe prints.

(We apparently have our own CSI in Grand Rapids... watch for it on NBC)

There are not very many this week but none-the-less... they still crack me up! :)

From the Mind of Damon...

Why do we park in drive-ways and drive in park-ways?

Why do we put names of Hockey and Football Teams on baseball caps?

If the number 2 pencil is sooo great - why is it still number 2?

Why did Mary own a little lamb?

Did Noah have woodpeckers on the ark - if so, where'd he keep them?

Why is Charlie short for Charles - they have the same number of letters?

If I had to have my legs amputated - would I have to change my height and weight on my drivers license?

And last but not least...

Can bald men get lice?

BBQ...

We had the parents over tonight for a BBQ - Nummy! There is absolutely nothing like Cheese Burgers off the grill with Baked Beans, Tuna Salad and Cool Ranch Chips! :) Summer is just around the corner - I can feel it! Funny enough, we did have the BBQ with snow on the deck - that doesn't slow the Tuttle's down! :)

Mama brought over her little guy tonight and I always find it quite funny that he and Ned get along so well. I was trying to get pictures of them together but Zeke was not to fond of me following him around with a flash; therefore, I had to sacrafice one dog looking for the other - Zeke won. Zeke is a 8 pound Weiner Dog while Ned is an 80 + pound Yellow Lab and they play together as though they're from the same litter. Ned is like 'mother hen' to the little guy. I've actually watched him pick Zeke up by the collar and carry him around. Maybe he thinks it a real live squeekie toy?? Who knows but its funny to watch! :)

I'm not sure that I've ever seen Ned sit up on his butt and beg for a treat before but we caught it on camera today! He looks a bit ridiculous and large... I'm sure Grandma gave in and he got multiple treats for being his cute little self! :)

Lap Dogs...

In our family - the dog is never too big to come and sit on your lap... Apparently Remmie has the same rules in his family. This is a picture of Damon watching some T.V. with the boys... I'm not exactly sure how much of the T.V. Damon is able to see but what the heck - everyone looks as thought they are enjoying themselves! :)

Rem Dog...

This week we are dog-sitting for some good friends of ours - so I thought we should introduce him to the blog. The best part is that he is extremely hard to get a picture of because Brad and Amanda gave him a weeks worth of sugar before they dropped him off. He is constantly on the go... he is a very happy puppy who cannot wag his tail without his whole butt going...

Now Ned is loving the idea of having a live in playmate; however, the greatest highlight of his life right now is the fact that Ron and Vicki are HOME! Ron and Vicki are Ned's 'grand parents' ... they live next door and spoil Ned like crazy! They are constantly giving him treats and more importantly - CHEESE! Ned has been without his grandparents for 6 weeks... he had FINALLY stopped barking at the fence for them and resorted to laying around the house listening for the familiar vehicle coming into the drive-way. The day finally came on Tuesday and he has been in heaven ever since! Today Damon and I were going to be gone - so I dropped Ned off next door and he was able to spend the day cruisin in their car, messing up their house, and claiming their home as his daycare/vacation palace! :) He's just a dog but he has certainly got it all figured out - plently of people wrapped around his little paws! :)

From the mind of Damon...

If hooters became a door to door service - would they have to change their name to Knockers?

Do stairs go up or down?

Why is it if something says "Do not eat" on the packaging - it becomes extra tempting?

Wouldn't it be smart to make the sticky stuff on envelopes taste like chips or Mountain Dew?

Why is it when things get wet they get darker? Isn't water clear?

What happens if you put the "this side face up" - down, when your popping microwave popcorn?

Why is it that people go 'back and forth' when really we must go forth before we can go back?

And yet, he never ceases to amaze me! :)

The 'Law Report'...

I really can't resist posting a few of the Grand Rapids Herald Reviews 'Law Reports'...

Littering: A resident of Lynn Road in Grand Rapids reported littering. There is a suspect.

Burglary: An unlocked apartment on Seventh Street Southeast in Grand Rapids was reorted burglarized. Taken was a DVD player, a knife, candle and possibly more. No value given.

Computer Fraud: A resident of Ninth Avenue Northeast in Grand Rapids reported that he had received an e-mail stating someone had used his bank account.

And the best Law Report for the week of April 7th:

Burglary: A home on Third Avenue in Grand Rapids was burglarized. Entry was non-forced and nothing was reported missing.

The Adventures of Ned

Ned has absolutely loved the snow... I just can't resist adding pictures of his adventures for today! :) He has also been an awesome way to really measure just how deep the snow has been... This one is in our driveway...The next few are Ned looking for a snowball - such cheap entertainment for us all! :) I know that one of the pictures is a great shot of Ned's butt; however, it is the only real picture I got that shows how high the snow is in our yard...

Father like Son...

Final Count...

Team Tuttle has been busy today! It has finally stopped snowing but Damon and I both have the day off due to the amount of snow received! I've taken a lot of pictures today ... so lets start with the measure of just how much snow we got on our deck...

About 23 1/2 inches reported on the Tuttle deck... I think we have braging rights - we were one of the towns (and Cohasset) with the most snow fall - fun! (I still think this is the greatest - as Damon still thinks I'm crazy! :))

We started at 7am this morning and started shoveling/plowing out our drive-way and the surrounding neighbors. Then we went over to Emily's, an older lady that Damon has been plowing out all winter, what a neat lady! The whole time she goes from window to window with a huge smile on her face... she is just so appreciative of our help - she's great! Anyways, from there we plowed some more neighbors out and headed over to Marv and Carols (Tonja's in-laws) to help them remove snow and branches that had fallen in their drive-way. They also had their deck collapse...

Eddy
Overall, we shoveled or plowed out 13 people today... it's been a great day! :)

Spring Time in Minnesota!

I just wanted to up-date our blog with the latest pictures of the snow that we have got in Grand Rapids... The following picture is showing approximately 20 inches and it still hasn't stopped coming down! It truly feels like I should be lighting up the Christmas Tree - I've already been sining Christmas Carols - Damon is really impressed! :) :) :)We had to call in the reinforcements... the ASV. Apparently the snow is really sticky and any time Damon would try to blow it - the snow blower would go over the top of the snow... that was certainly a problem. So, Damon has spent all day plowing everyone out. He has seriously been outside since 8 this morning and has just came in the house now at 5;30pm. Of course, we did have some 'king of the snow pile' fun... I lost. I did get the opportunity to try and push Damon but I slipped on the deck - hit my head and still ended up in the snow bank - weird! :)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow....

I think the pictures speak for themselves... mind you... it is April 6th:

Uni-brow...

Today as I'm laying next to Damon I realize that he has some extremely L-O-N-G eyebrow hairs. We are not talking about one but TWO extremely long eyebrow hairs! These suckers were seriously growing out of control on this head and they needed to be stopped... so, I plucked them - it truly was the wifely thing to do! Of course, I had to sit on him and make him see the danger in leaving those things grow wildly on his head but after it is done - he sees the light!

Damon goes on to tell me that he thinks he is getting 'old man' eyebrows because they are starting to get real bushy and long. My question would be - isn't he too young to have such bushy eyebrows - yikes! I mean... I come to expect that the ear & noes hairs will be out of control because they always have. My thought is... maybe hair grows wild out of the ears, nose and eyebrows because there is no room to grow on the top of the head? :)

For those of you who even remotely care - Damon is actually bald on the top of his head. Has been since about the ripe old age of 24! My first impression of Damon was "Oh, My - he's bald!" ... then it started to grow on me and I kind of like it. A few years back Damon tried to actually grow his hair out and to my amazement - he's actually balding, bad. So, my second thought about him trying to grow his hair back was "Oh, My - you're truly bald! Maybe you should shave!" :)

I'm glad that Damon hasn't figured out how to publish postings on our blog - can you imagine the stories he might just have about my facial hair? HA! :)

From the mind of Damon...

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say "I think I'll squeeze those dangly things - see what comes out and drink it."?

Can you make a candle out of your ear wax?

When french people swear - do they say pardon my English?

Can you breathe out of your mouth and nose at the same time?

Are marbles made of marble?

Why does the last piece of ice always stick to the bottom of the cup?

In that song, "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" - who is she?

Aren't we all glad that Damon works in a loader with very little social interaction through out the day? Who else would ponder the wonders of the world?? That's why I love him! :)

Pictures...

My favorite thing to do is to take pictures. I look at something and instantly see it through the lens of my camera. My new favorite thing to take pictures of would be kids - especially new babies! I cannot explain how cool it is to be able to capture tiny toes, fingers and new parents! New parents are the best... they are not quite sure if the new addition is hungry, uncomfortable or maybe needs their diaper changed. It has truly been a blessing to spend these moments with those who choose me to take pictures of their children.

Recently I was able to take pictures of a Eli Matthew - he recently turned the big age of 1! I took picture of him when he was 1 week old and it is so fun to see him grow. The best part of the photo shoot was his opportunity to dig into his birthday cake while I was taking pictures. Most of the pictures are capturing a little boy who thinks he is probably going to get in trouble but hasn't yet so he's going to continue to eat until told to stop! :) Such a fun time!

One other baby worth mentioning was Kate Avery - such an angel! She is just a peanut in the pictures... she's wearing new born clothing and still swimming in them! Such a beautiful baby and very cooperative! Her parents are friends of ours and I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to share these moments with them!

Some day I hope I can make my passion - my full time job! What fun that would be! :)

"Friends Forever"

I laughed pretty hard tonight when Damon came home and took his sweatshirt off. I guess you don't ever expect to see something so goofy on someone who works on a crusher. I think you imagine them in something real manly... whatever that shirt would look like?? Anyways... I'll let the picture speak for itself...

The shirt came from some leadship group Damon was in during High School. Kind of funny that I have not seen this shirt in all my trips to and from the dresser and washer!? So I guessing that this shirt is special and therefore has been hidden from me for 8 years... For those of you who know Damon - this definitely is not suprising... the fact that the shirt came from nowhere AND the fact that he wore it today! :)

"Honey, what's for dinner?"

There was a man who was concerned about his wifes hearing. Thinking that she was going deaf - he called their doctor to see what his first step should be when talking with his wife about possible hearing aids. The doctor suggested that he try an 'at home test' to see where her hearing loss was at. He told him to stand about 40 feet away, with his wifes back to him and ask her a question... if she didn't answer he was to move into 30 ft, 20 ft and maybe even 10 ft - until she answered.

The man was waiting for dinner to be done that evening and thought this would be the perfect time to try out this hearing test. So at about 40 ft away he says "Honey, what's for dinner?" - with no response the man moves to about 30ft "Honey, what's for dinner?"... Still no response the husband tries at 20 ft - then 10ft... finally he gets up right behind her and says, "Honey, what's for supper?"

Her response was... "Damon, for the fifth time - I said Chicken!"