Santa and Shotguns on Saturday

Sounds like an interesting combination, huh? Concerned minds should know that those two subjects were not combined. :)
Breakfast with Santa took place with the family at the Commonwealth Club on Saturday morning, and the shotgun portion of the day took place later on with adult Benjamins for what was definitely my favorite half of the day (sorry, kids).
First up: breakfast with Santa (actual picture of the family with Santa to be published later once it arrives in the mail)...

Three girls too excited about seeing Santa to stand still and smile for the camera.

Caroline had a very important note to pass off to Santa about where we will be this year (Big Canoe).  

Breakfast is better with a juggler at your table.

Julia waiting patiently for the elves to make her a balloon flower.

You can't tell, but the girls got to ring jingle bells for the women singing in the parlor.

Group picture fail...but at least we tried!

Next up, we headed out to Cavalier Sporting Clays to meet up with Henry Baskerville for our afternoon of clay shooting, whisky tasting (after the shooting, of course), and a catered dinner. To say that Paul and I were excited was an understatement. It was a little rainy, but we didn't let that dampen our spirits, and truthfully, the grey skies made it easier to see the clay pigeons.
The best part of the day was when we headed back to Hen's "Chateau de Cavalier", a quaint (to be generous) cabin on the gun range for drinks, dinner, and conversation. Henry is an amazing storyteller, and it was a real honor to spend time with someone who has lived such an interesting and exciting life.
His take home message was "nothing is more important than having fun." Now, of course there are some things that must take precedence over having fun, but I think we all left the Chateau bound and determined to spend a little more time valuing our friendships and the fun and joy they bring to our lives. Because in the end, money and possessions don't matter but good memories, laughter, fun, and friendship do.

Annie and me sporting our super hot shooting glasses.

Out in the field with Henry

Annie is an excellent shot.

The boys having a shoot-off.

Handsome sportsmen :)

I'm pretty sure Henry and I were laughing about how bad of a shot I am.

Relaxing at the Chateau.

There were stuffed animals everywhere. Lookout for that jaguar (leopard? cheetah?), Corey and Annie!

I wanted to pose with every creature I saw.

Paul and Annie hanging out at the bar with yet another furry friend.

The Chateau was awesome.

We had an amazing time with amazing friends.

Hello, Christmas!

As is custom in our house, the minute a holiday is over, I whip out the Tupperware bins and take down all the decorations. I don't like clutter, so decorations tend to drive me batty despite the fact that I do like the festivity they add to our home.
Thanksgiving was no exception to the rule, so as soon as our guests departed, I set about stashing turkeys, pumpkins, and anything fall related. With Christmas right around the corner, there was no time for a clutter break though.  I began pulling down all the Christmas bins from the attic. It was time to get busy!
We "hunted" down our tree at Home Depot and then decked it out with ornaments and lights, hung bows, wreaths, and garland around the house, and I even put my little elf Caroline to work stamping the envelopes of our Christmas cards. I convinced a somewhat reluctant Paul to go "Clark Griswold" on the outside of the house, and by the time the sun set on Sunday, our halls were decked!
With all of this holiday hubbub going on, the girls began to wonder where Jingle the Elf was and when he would be making his journey to our house from the North Pole. They were very excited to that the very next day Jingle was hanging from the chandelier, ready to start the Christmas season too!
Caroline didn't have school on Monday of this week, so she got an even more exciting start to the month of December. She was so happy to have Mommy all to herself for the day. She quite a schedule of activities for just the two of us (well, just the three of us...see pictures below). Lunch out, ice skating, and touring the Christmas decorations at the mall were at the top of her list!

The pumpkins had to go!! Caroline helped smash them to pieces.

Behold! The Fontanini Nativity set is always a big hit with the girls.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care... 

Our Christmas tree, 2014 Edition

The Christmas toys are so fun to re-discover every year!

Caroline was allowed to have her own tree this year. 

Margaret may have gotten colored on by her (naughty) twin sister during the course of the decorating.
 

                                      Jingle generously brought the girls a gift during his first week here.

Monday Mommy and Me play date at the ice skating rink.

Caroline Junior tagged along too.

We are ready for the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving 2014

This year's Thanksgiving holiday was jam-packed with family fun, food, and lots of love. We were especially grateful that Grandpa and Grandma Hepper, Aunt Erin, Uncle Chris and Aidan made the trip from Nashville for the holiday.

We kicked off the holiday week with the Thanksgiving Program and Feast at FPP. The twins did a great job as singing Pilgrims.

And then they enjoyed a hearty feast with their Group IV buddies. 

Caroline also enjoyed a Thanksgiving Feast at her school. She and her classmates were Native Americans. They met up with Mr. Turner's class, the Pilgrims.

Grandpa and Grandma brought some great games for everyone to enjoy.

Grandpa gave about a million piggy back rides throughout the week.

There was plenty of cousin time.

And we even got to celebrate a birthday - Aidan's 1st!!

Complete with cupcakes - yum!

Thanksgiving Break was perfect for lots of snuggling and lounging around.

And we may have forgotten about brushing hair for a day or two :)

Caroline was the perfect Thanksgiving helper. Here she is setting the kids' table.

Toogie showing off her clay turkey.

Daddy giving the turkey its Thanksgiving Day "bath." Fried turkey really is the best.

Bottoms up!

More cousin play time!

Have you ever seen a Pilgrim decked out in a fairy costume?

Our best attempt at a kids' picture. (Top to bottom, left to right: Julia, Claire, Will, Margaret, Caroline, Aidan). Catherine isn't pictured because we didn't trust anyone to hold onto her just yet :)

Yum! Fudge pie a la mode!

We spent the days after Thanksgiving hanging out as a family. Of course, we went to the Children's Museum...

We also hit up the movies!

Caroline squeezing in one last book with Grandpa and Grandma before they left town.