Family Photos

We spent last Saturday in the park with a professional photographer and we were quite pleased with the family photos she captured.  Our girls no longer sit for posed pictures, so we decided to do some candid shots. Rachel with Fade In Photos specializes in photos of families with special needs so we signed up for a fall photo shoot at a local park and this is a sample of the treasure trove of pictures!  Our hats are off to you, Rachel. You have a great gift for photography, especially with our squirmy subjects!

Note: Kate is in blue and Jocie is in green.

Our New Favorite Farm

We've driven past Oregon Heritage Farms a million times, but this was the first year we decided to stop and check it out. What a treat! It is an apple farm and we took a hay ride tour of the apple orchards, jumped in their apple shaped bounce house, traveled through two hay mazes, sipped some fresh cider and had lots of fun.  Kurt even shot some apples out of their apple launcher.  The crowds were more manageable at this farm compared to some of the others that we have visited, making it our new favorite fall destination.

Waiting for the hay ride.

von Wasmuth's on a hay ride through the orchards.

Pumpkin patch photo.

Jocie in a thoughtful pose on some hay.

Twins in a pitch dark hay maze. They weren't even scared! Kate liked her little red flashlight.

Checking out the pigs.

Jocelyn doing her best impression of a caterpillar.

Kate gave it a shot, too.

Another tractor for Kate to drive!

Hanging out together in the wagon.

We had so much fun the first day that we went back the next. The girls each had a cup of cider and sat in the leaves for a little break.  This is how one should spend a sunny fall afternoon!

The biggest bonus - FREE BOUNCE HOUSE!

Silly girls with their fancy cider cups.

Kurt using the apple launcher.

Big Girl Beds

 Many of you are aware of the sleep issues that we have endured over the last six years.  In that time, we had kept both girls in their cribs for safety and ease of bedtime transition. About six months ago, they both learned that they could climb out of their cribs without falling, which happened once to each girl when they were about two and they never tried again.  It became apparent recently that both girls had grown enough to be the same length as their cribs so it was time to upgrade!  The big girl beds arrived early last week and the transition has been completely smooth. They LOVE their new beds!

Here is Jocelyn's bed, complete with her personalized blanket.

She jumped right on her bed when she saw it and struck this pose.

Then this pose.

Then she rolled around happily and laughed for a long time.

Kate's bed with her special blanket.

She jumped on right away.

Then she snuggled down with her animals.

She loves her bed, too.  What a sweet smile she gave the camera!

Here is Jocie, all snuggled down for the night.  She had no problem falling asleep or staying in her bed.

Kate was just as cozy and just as successful.  The big girl bed experiment went better than we could have imagined.  Another exciting milestone for our family!

We Love Fall!

The von Wasmuth family LOVES the fall.  Lots of outdoor activities, pretty colors and plenty of fun stuff to do as the seasons are changing.  We have a list of fall activities that we try to get through every year, weather permitting, and this year has been bountiful. We still have more to do, but here is a smattering of our adventures so far.

Kate, Me and Jocie at Wenzel Farm in Oregon City. They have a fun outdoor Halloween Fantasy Trail that we love to walk through.

Jocie made friends with the scarecrows - she wanted them to hold hands!

Big smiles for the scarecrow.

Kate was a little unsure about sitting on the hay bales.

Kate and Jocie, blissfully unaware of the scary ghoul behind them.

Just sitting here, thinking.

Then we were off to Baggenstos Farm, which is near our house. They had a tractor for the kids to climb on this year and it caught both girls' attention.  Jocie drove first.

But Kate REALLY got into it!

Twins in a corn maze.

We do this every year.  This year I had to stand guard so they didn't run back to the tractor.  They are coveting it from afar.

We left Baggenstos to go to the Priceless Pumpkin Patch, which is a little family owned business down the street.  We like it because it is a real pumpkin patch, with pumpkins still on the vine.  The girls were a little wary of the wagon ride, with good reason.  It was very bumpy.

Searching for the best pumpkins.

K&J taking a break on the nearest pumpkin seats.

This is one of the trails in Cook Park that is so pretty this time of year.  Kate stopped for a quick photo as Jocie took off down the trail.

Jocie getting as close to the river as possible.

Kate watching the ducks as the sun was setting.

Birthday Video

6 Years Old!

We celebrated Kathryn and Jocelyn's 6th birthday this weekend.  Our day started out at Metro Gymnastics with our fabulous neighbors, who allowed the girls total access to their gym for their birthday.  We spent nearly two hours running and jumping, swinging and playing. The girls LOVED it!

Jocie and Kate in the bounce house.

Swinging on the big swing with McKenzie and Hunter supervising

Jocie, Hunter, Zachary, McKenzie and Kate after hours of crazy fun.
Best. Neighbors. Ever.

The birthday decor at home.

Has it really been six years since they were born? Wow....

Opening presents and finding them hard to share.

Kate checking out the gift bags.

Jocie with the favorite present of the day - a toy trumpet.

Kate loved the new trumpet so much that she fell asleep with it in her mouth at bedtime.

Jocie showing Kate how to play the new video game.

Singing Happy Birthday.

Kurt demonstrating how to blow out the candles.

Kate giving it a shot - she loved it so much that we had to re-light the candles multiple times so she could blow them out over and over.

Jocie liked the M&M's better than the cake, as evidenced by her blue tongue.

After a quick lesson from Daddy, Jocie also tries to blow out the candles, though she preferred to keep them at a distance.