~Fun on "the farm"~

After our morning run, we headed out to Blodgett to spend Thanksgiving at Dustin's grandparent's house. They live on "the farm", which is about 10 acres of forest out in the middle of nowhere. It's so pretty out there. We took advantage of it and snapped some photos to use for our Christmas card this year. These are some of the ones we won't be using, but I still really liked.

Here's the wonderful Christmas season ahead of us!!!

~Happy Thanksgiving~

From our home to yours, we want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving this year! We pray that you feel blessed beyond imagination today...and everyday!

~Love, The DeGroots~

~Muddy mountain biking~

Dustin and Alex hit up the muddy bike trails of Forest Park over the weekend! They had a super fun time, but they were super dirty by the end. Boys will be boys, right?

~Heidi's Baby Shower~

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to help out with my sister-in-law’s baby shower down in Junction City! Baby Cole (our second nephew) is due on December 13, so it won’t be too long until we are celebrating his arrival. We can’t wait to meet him.

One of the things I provided for the shower was party favors, so I wanted to do something fun and unique…and yummy as well! So I made some decorative cake balls. We had chocolate fudge cake with chocolate icing, dipped in dark chocolate. Some of those also had yummy coconut flakes on the top. The other option was confetti cake with vanilla icing, dipped in dark chocolate. Those were topped with sprinkles. They turned out so so so good, even though we had to practically clear out our freezer in the process.
I didn’t have the camera out much during the shower, but I was able to snap a few photos of Heidi. We played the “string game” where each lady cuts a length of string that she thinks will fit perfectly around the momma-to-be’s belly. The closet one wins a prize. Aunt Margie was almost spot on – she won the prize for that game! In addition to games, Heidi was able to open lots of wonderful gifts that she was showered with by her family and friends.
We are always thankful to see our family when we are down there as well. We got to have some cuddle time with our nephew, Reid, who is now close to 2 months old. He is just such a sweetheart…and very loved by his Uncle Dustin! By the end of the night, we were pretty pooped out as a group.

~Keithley Family Visits~

My parents and younger sister came out from Colorado for a quick visit over the weekend. It was a great time and we were able to do a lot of the Northwest favorites during this time of year. I'll have to admit, the Market is always one of my favorite things to do, whether it's the fall or not. Thanks mom, dad, and Sara for making the trip out!!!

The Pumpkin Patch at Roloff Farms


The Farmers Market in Downtown


Successful day of crabbing at Netarts Bay