November in a Nutshell

Another post and a another month has passed us by. November has been filled with family time,  a girls' trip (for me), hunting (for Nate...and Graham) and Thanksgiving. Fall is always busy as we juggle work/school/hunting schedules and preparing for the holidays. But, that being said, this is my favorite time of the year!!

November started off with a trip to Hermann for me and my girls. We planned this trip months ago and, finally, it was time to go! With all our kiddo activities and new babies being born, it's been hard to get together for our monthly happy hours so this trip was a welcomed getaway. We rented a bed and breakfast (minus the breakfast) in downtown Hermann - it was the cutest little house which comfortably slept all 7 of us. We arrived on Friday evening, ate dinner at the house and just hung out talking and laughing. I love when we all get together after a period of not seeing each other...I'm sure we are quite the site...or, probably more accurately, the sound. :) Saturday morning we got up and ate breakfast before hopping on the trolley to hit up all the wineries. The weather was absolutely perfect! We spent the day doing tastings and then finished off with dinner before heading back to the house to play cards for a bit before calling it a night. The weekend could not have been more fun. I love the fact that the seven of us (and the few that could not make it) have been friends basically our entire lives. When I tell people that I've been friends with this core group of girls for 20-25 years, most don't believe me. I know that friends come and go throughout life, but I'm so thankful that these bonds have remained so strong...and, to be honest, have gotten stronger. Hopefully we're able to make this girls weekend an annual tradition. I know that the 7 of us who attended this year won't object.

The rest of November has been filled with hunting...primarily for Nate, but Graham also got to go out one day. Nate and Graham sat in a stand for a few hours and, I was told, that Graham was actually quiet. Shocking!! He did have problems sitting still but, heck, I would too if I had to sit for several hours. Unfortunately, hunting has not gone our way this year. There wasn't anything on camera that Nate was too impresses with and he has yet to get a deer.

With November coming to an end, we got to look forward to Thanksgiving and some time off from work and school. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Iowa this year with my Grandma and the Cooper side of the family, catching up with family we haven't seen for awhile and stuffing ourselves full. That evening, my sisters, Mom and I went Black "Thursday" shopping at Target. I can't stand crowds so typically Black Friday isn't my thing but, we've found that the small Target near our home isn't as crazy so we've been going there to "score some killer deals". Ha, or something like that. I particularly enjoy the shopping time with my Mom and sisters. :)

Lastly, following Thanksgiving came the return of our elf, Harry. He's been killin' it this year (thanks to an Elf on the Shelf party I went to) and every morning the first thing Graham has to do is go check where Harry landed. I absolutely love seeing his face when he finds what kind of shenanigans Harry got himself into.