Wait...it's December? What happened in November?

I did not write ONE blog post in November. :(
It was a full month.
How about a summary of November in one post...


The girls and I started November off right with a night out with friends to see Wicked.
It was my third time to see it and the second time for the girls, and we all loved every minute of it!
It just never gets old.

On the tenth, we celebrated the birthday of my oldest son. He turned 21 and is OFFICIALLY an adult.
(I know this because he recently asked for underwear and socks for Christmas.)
This picture was taken on his birthday. He's a great big brother--you can tell his sisters adore him. :)

Happy 21st birthday, Brandon!

Deer season is a big part of November if you're a hunter. Brandon took Meg to Missouri for deer season, and she killed her first buck. You can tell by her expression that it was pretty exciting. The weather was frigid, so I'm glad the thrill of the kill distracted her from the cold.

Nov. 24, 2013 -- Meg's first buck

I love having my oldest and youngest making memories together!

The rest of the family joined them in Missouri for Thanksgiving meals with all the extended family. It was nice to hang out with everyone and have some extra time with Ellyn, who had a week off from school.

The dogs thought it was nice to see Ellyn too...

In preparation for Christmas decorating, my mom and I went out on Thanksgiving day and cut some fresh cedar. It was a crisp, sunny day and the smell of the cut cedar was so fresh!

Thanksgiving Day -- Nov 28, 2013

Ellyn, Meg, myself, my mom

We headed back to Iowa for the remainder of Thanksgiving weekend and managed to take in a movie as a family. We went to see Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  

Much of the month of November was spent decorating my house for Christmas. Our home was part of a Christmas tour of homes in our little town, sponsored as a fund raiser for our local food and clothing pantries.

I will be posting pictures of my house decked out for Christmas very soon. I thought life would really settle down once the tour was over, but it hasn't at all! Besides the usual December hustle and bustle, Meg was diagnosed with mono and needs some extra time and attention when she's not sleeping.