barn party 2015

 The annual GCF Barn Party is always a highlight! I've been going since I was a kid. The boys chose their costumes & we helped them create them. Finn is Bowser & Cedar is a Mystery block, both from the Mario Brothers video games. Elsa is Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony. :)

Kenton loves any excuse to wear a wig & pretend to have hair, so he dressed up as Quigley from Quigley Down Under. I played along & dressed as a cowgirl...or farmer...or whatever. ;)

The Gosses went with a Star Wars theme. Boba Fett, Princess Leia & Chewbacca.

 Jesse stayed home with Harriet, who started feeling crummy, but Carolyn & Alma aka Little Red Riding Hood came along!

 It's always a little tricky to get great photos at the event, since it's pretty dark. But I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time! :) 

apple daze

 Our tradition of visiting Detering Orchard's for their Apple Daze event dates back to 2008, when Carolyn & Jesse invited us to join them. Our group has grown since then & we've added 5 more kids to the mix! We love this tradition & will keep it up for as long as possible. The Gosses planned to spend a couple nights at the Williams' house, so we could visit the farm & attend our church's annual Barn Party. We made the best of our weekend together & got together on Friday night too (without kids) for a pumpkin beer tasting party. We miss seeing the Gosses more regularly, but it was super fun to have them in town for the weekend.

golden gardens family picnic

 After a very busy autumn (hello, school + more work hours for mama + soccer), we took some much needed time to ourselves & packed up a picnic dinner. We took the kids to the ponds near our first house. We used to walk around these ponds before we had any kids & then after Finley joined our family. It's quite strange that we haven't returned sooner with the rest of the family. Golden Gardens park is such a hidden gem in Eugene. Everyone agreed that we need to come back again soon!