Justin's wedding

This post is a bit overdue as Justin got married two weekends ago...but Becky and I got dressed up so figured we should put up some pictures. I had the honor of being a part of the wedding and we both had such a great time.


Immediately following the wedding the entire wedding party and their dates boarded a party bus and just rode around for awhile celebrating until we arrived at the Bob in downtown Grand Rapids for the reception.

Here some of the groomsmen are caught in a candid moment during a session with the photographer. And by candid I mean posed.


Justin and me at the reception. He was a happy man.


In addition to the wedding festivities Becky and I were also able to fit in some time with friends and family. It was a very rushed but fun weekend as it always is when we are able to make it back to Michigan.

Congrats to Justin and Krista! Hope we get to see you again soon.

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Justin's bachelor festivities

This past weekend I went to Michigan to be a part of celebrating one of my closest friend's final weekends as a bachelor. Justin and I have been good friends since we met in Colorado. Despite the fact that he went to Hope, and went to high school with Becky, we didn't meet until we both lived in Boulder. Over the years I've gotten to know some of his closest friends and always enjoy my time with them.

We headed up to the best man's grandfather's cabin near Caberfae. The cabin is surrounded on three sides by the Pine River...just an amazing place.


The next day we took a canoe trip down the Pine River. There were a lot of hilarious things that happened, but this video was definitely the most entertaining:



The whole crew at the end of the canoe trip.


In addition to hanging out with Justin and his friends I also got to see Luke (a close college friend) and my sister and brother-in-law. It was a short but very fun trip. I look forward to seeing everyone again in a few weeks for the wedding.

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8th grade dudes retreat

To see a slideshow of pics from our amazing retreat click here.

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I had the awesome opportunity to spend this past weekend with 14 of the 8th grade guys from our youth group at a student's cabin in Fraser. It was such a great time and as always I feel incredibly blessed to get to be a part of these student's lives.


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Rapids Game

This past weekend Becky and I went to our first Colorado Rapids game in awhile. A bunch of Becky's girls from church got to play on the field at half time of the game with their club team. We brought more students along to cheer them on and to enjoy some soccer in 30 degree weather.


Becky with her girls...one of whom got into an amazing wrestling match with a mascot.


Me with the dudes.


The non-adults in the above picture all took their shirts off at one point in an attempt to get on the scoreboard. While that attempt was unsuccessful they did end up on TV immediately after the first Rapids goal of the game. The camera focused in on them as they all twirled their shirts above their heads. It was legendary.

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Zoe turns 2!

Happy Birthday Zoe!!!

We celebrated Zoe turning two years old with a people cake and a dog cake. Zoe was so excited about her birthday bone that she wouldn't even pose for a picture. Joy, Maddy, and Ana came over to help us celebrate this special occasion, and because they love getting Zoe kisses. I (Becky) have become one of those weird Boulder people who really loves her dog...a lot (however unlike some Boulderites, I do think people are more important than dogs).



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Syracuse is terrible...but my wife is amazing

As most of you are probably aware, I am a big Syracuse basketball fan, so I was of course very excited about the team advancing to the Sweet 16 and their game against Oklahoma this past Friday. Becky and I had talked previously that we should own Syracuse shirts so we can feel like we are better supporting the team so she decided to surprise me by picking some up for us before the big game. After calling every sporting goods store in Colorado, she realized the only way to get a hold of any Syracuse gear was to purchase it online. The shirts were to be delivered to her work address on Thursday, which coincided with the biggest snow storm we have had here in over two years. Without explaining why, Becky said she absolutely had to go into work at least until the mail came. So we ventured into Boulder to work just until the mail was delivered to her work. After surprising me with our new shirts we headed home. The drive home, which usually takes 15 minutes, took us over 2 hours.

In the end, Syracuse played terribly and got smoked by Oklahoma but my wife is amazing.


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The Last Night

Since my grandma's passing in December, my mom, dad, and aunt have been very busy sorting through everything at her beautiful home on a lake in central Florida. This has meant several drives from New York to Florida for my dad over the past three months. This past weekend was my dad's final night in the house which holds so many great memories for all of our family.

It just so happened that his last night in the house was the same date as the most recent shuttle launch. Of all the many trips to visit my grandparents I only witnessed one shuttle launch and it was amazing.

From the back yard of my grandparent's house on his last night there, my dad saw this incredible sight.


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