Picture Post

Things were especially hectic around our house this past week or so. There's nothing major going on, but appointments, meetings, play dates, and other events have been keeping us very busy. Here are several pictures I've snapped over the past several days...

Best helpers in the grocery store. Unless they run up on your heels with their cart. 

Mary Kate and Margaret during a Friday night dinner play date.

Julia sacked after school. 

Margaret sacked after school.

BEST TARGET PURCHASE EVER...at least according to the twins.

Caroline and her buddy Holt during an after school lunch date. 

Pretty Margaret playing with her Little People princesses.

When the cat's away, the mice will play (in big sister's bed)! 

Last weekend we finally made it to Charlottesville to pick apples at Carter's Mountain. We met up with several of our Darden friends and had an awesome time.

At the top of the mountain...it was chilly up there!!

Most of the apples had been picked, but we didn't go home empty handed. There were huge crates of apples all around to choose from.

Daddy and some of his Darden buddies.

C, J, and M sorting dyed pasta before we started using it to make jewelry.

Caroline showing off her noodle necklace. 

Busy and happy girls: Mary Michael and Caroline.

We also made turkey apples during this play date. Caroline's turkey had large red eyes - eek!! 

Margaret monkeying around at Michael's birthday party. 

Show me your best funny face!!

Julia having a blast.

Margaret and Julia taking care of each other at preschool.

The Switch Witch

It's only 3 days after Halloween, but our candy is (nearly) gone. Perhaps it was the unfortunate incident between Mommy and 5 full size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (all in one sitting), or maybe it was the fact that the girls were eating candy after every meal and snack, or maybe it was Julia giving the dog an entire bag of peanut M&M's that made it clear: the candy had to go.
Thankfully, the Switch Witch was happy to take on the job, and the girls were more or less on board with relinquishing their candy ("as long as the witch is friendly, Mommy").
As I explained to the girls, the Switch Witch flies around on her broom with her cat after Halloween looking for candy to feed to her hungry feline. In exchange for taking the candy, the Switch Witch leaves a toy, game, clothes, etc. to take the place of the sugar.
So on the eve of the Switch Witch's visit, the girls each picked out 10 pieces of candy to keep and then left the rest in the candy bowl. As planned, the Switch Witch visited over night and left the girls a note thanking them for the candy and making the promise that Mommy would take them out to select a replacement.
The next day the girls hit up Toys 'R Us to cash in on the witch's promise. It may have cost a small fortune to return home to a (nearly) candy-less house and a little less sugar induced insanity, but Mommy considers this a "sweet" victory. :-)

The girls digging in, and choosing their ten pieces of candy. 

Bonus! Caroline got to keep these tattoos in addition to her candy because "cats can't eat tattoos, Mommy." 

Messy haired Margaret choose a bat "yollypop."

Julia choose Sprees. And yes, that is chocolate on her face (and dress).

Caroline counting her ten pieces.

Loading the chosen candy into bags.

Halloween 2013

Stick a fork in us, we are done. Done with Halloween, done with parties, done with trick-or-treating, done with pumpkins, and (mostly) done with costumes. We are most definitely not done with eating candy, but that's quite alright with me :)
We had a jam packed week of fun Halloween festivities and events. There was the Halloween parade and class parties at school, trick-or-treating at Daddy's office, our neighborhood "Halloweenie Roast," and the main event: trick-or-treating!!
To say that Caroline and the twins had a good time trick-or-treating would be an understatement. "Epic" is a better description of their night. The girls trick-or-treated their little hearts out with the Benjamin and Bain children and had a blast.

Caroline giving her best "scary" face at her class Halloween party.

Minnie Mouse Margaret heading to school for the Halloween parade.

Minnie Mouse Julia excited for school.

Everyone ready for the parade!

Caroline on parade

                                                        Trick or treating at Daddy's office

Margaret stuck with the Minnie Mouse get-up.

Julia switched to a cupcake costume.

Three happy girls, heading home after a fun visit with Daddy.

After trick-or-treating at Daddy's office. Julia decided to take a bath...in her cupcake costume.

                                           "Halloweenie Roast" and Trick-or Treating!!

Even Mommy got dressed up for Halloween!

Chowing down at the Halloweenie Roast

The cupcake face-jamming a cupcake.

Little C, Campbell and Big C playing before trick-or-treating.

And they're off!

The big girls were trick-or-treating champions!

This hippo ballerina had a great time with her cupcake :)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Hoopla

Halloween may still be several days away, but I think it's safe to say that we've enjoyed a fair amount of Halloween hoopla already. We've eaten enough treats to choke a horse, decorated and sent Halloween cards, completed Halloween crafts, and made and played with orange play dough.
The girls have dressed in costume just about every day in October and practicing trick-or-treating is a regular event in the Hepper household.  Last week we went to the Halloween party at Westwood and today we enjoyed a pumpkin carving playdate. Now that the week of Halloween is finally upon us, we are looking forward to a couple more parties and the main event: trick or treating!!

The twins SUPER excited to go to the Westwood Halloween party as Minnie Mouse and a pink crayon...

....except that by the time we were leaving, everyone had changed their minds and their costumes.

Daddy and his lady bug setting off to hunt for the perfect pumpkin.

Caroline and Julia decorating their pumpkins with stickers and paint.

Cutest cupcake in town!

Margaret busy decorating Halloween cards. 

Julia busy not decorating Halloween cards.

Sweet Caroline during a playground visit.

Julia about to enjoy a cat cookie sent by Grandma.

Margaret pushing beads into her orange and green play dough. She's not bleeding...that's marker on her hand :) 

Getting ready to roll to the pumpkin carving playdate. 

The twins were a little more interested in riding Mary Kate's roller coaster than carving pumpkins... 

M and J inspecting a pumpkin.

Caroline very diligently scooping out her pumpkin. 

Daddy and J taking a carving break.

The Bains had an extra special treat to share: a Frankenstein ice cream cake! 

6 children, 6 pumpkins!