Girls Weekend 2008

10 year Anniversary

2008 was the 10th anniversary of Girls Weekend! Hard to believe this once little idea years ago has become such a wonderful tradition. This year the annual event was held in Fremont (at Dianne's house). This year there were 17 of us including three generations of girls, the farthest of our group coming from Tennessee. For many years the main "events" for this weekend have included food (of course - with chocolate!!), a craft and an outing. Most of the gang arrived on Friday evening and after a yummy pasta dinner we kicked off the weekend with a bonfire, marshmallows and camper pies. Saturday morning rise and shine came earlier than expected due to the noise generated from the MILLIONS of squawking ducks and GUN SHOTS from the duck hunters (apparently duck season is in October). The morning also consisted of more delicious homemade treats to get us ready for our outing to the Heritage Farm for some fall festivities. At Heritage Farm the group successfully navigated through the corn made by correctly answering American President Trivia at each turn. Emma was a real pro - showing off her knowledge of Presidential facts by correctly answering the question "who resided at Monticello?" - of course that Jeff Tom guy (Thomas Jefferson) was her reply! The little ones picked out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and we all took turns posing for silly pictures in the field.







Later in the afternoon (once the kiddos were down for a nap) we started on our craft. This years craft was sock and glove animals, instructions courtesy of the book Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori. Since the weather was so nice we did the craft on mom (dianne's) porch under the beautiful fall colors of a big maple tree looking out over the lake. Once the creative juices began flowing there was no stopping these girls from creating some of the cutest little animals out of recycled gloves and socks! All this crafting makes a girl hungry! Dinner at Spanky's for the world's best bread sticks and pizza helped us refuel for some a little more crafting to put the finishing touches on the animals. The gang crashed after a long busy and FUN filled day!




Sunday morning started off with the duck and hunter wake up calls as well as a nice spread of breakfast treats. Some of the group had to get back home and get ready for school or work on Monday morning. The rest of us took a road trip to Whitehall to visit Cara's studio. Her latest creation, Uncomfortable Animals, was a hit with the girls! If you missed the studio trip check out her wares on Etsy. We also cruised over to the studio where Chester works to watch him create some pottery. Sunday evening we carved pumpkins down by the lake with the kids, had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and told stories.




Monday morning the Tennessee girls and the Evans' clan packed into the car and headed back to Grand Rapids to the airport. It was sad to see the weekend come to a close but the memories of our time spent together will last forever. We are so blessed to have people in our lives who love us and so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

See You All Next Year!

(thanks Katie for letting me use some of your great pictures!)