Breakfast with Santa!

Once our Thanksgiving festivities were over, we dove head-first into the Christmas spirit! My mom's friend, Haley, invited us out to Cheekwood Saturday for a fun-filled morning to benefit the Horticulture Society of Tennesee. As soon as we walked in the door, the kids were overwhelmed (as were the adults). It was very crowded, there were craft stations set up everywhere, there was a giant penguin and a giant gingerbread man trying to talk to them, Santa was on the stage, and they hadn't had breakfast yet. We decided filling their bellies was probably the best place to start. Layla topped her pancakes with syrup, chocolate chips, and xmas sprinkles (oh my) while Brynn & Cale just added a few blueberries. Then it was time to meet The Big Guy. We really didn't know what to expect from the twins and Sis was seemingly quite hesitant, but once our turn came, Miss Layla just pranced herself right up to Santa's knee. While we were debating on throwing the crying babies at Santa for a quick picture, Layla managed to recite her wish list (purple cowgirl boots, a pink guitar, a tiara, and Spike the dinosaur). We decided to let L get a picture alone with him (it's a shame I don't have my scanner anymore bc she managed to take THE most perfect 'kid with Santa' picture EVER!) and then we quickly tossed the kicking screaming twins at Santa... that didn't really work out. The kiddos then moved on to making crafts and reindeer food before we headed to the boutique to do a little shopping. Layla chose to spend her $0.75 on a wind-up snowman for each baby, which she had gift-wrapped to put under the tree and also a xmas tree ring for herself. Cale picked out some snowman/snowflake noodles (which he PROUDLY paid for and carried around the rest of the time). After almost two hours there, the Brynn & Cale were begging for their nap, Layla bug was hyped up on sugar and covered in glitter glue, and we were exhausted! It was still a great way to kick off the season!


Mmmmm... pancakes! Their favorite =)



VERY unsure of snowbird and the gingerbread man!




This is B's fake smile that she learned from her sister, lol...



Pin the nose on Rudolph!




Working on wreath and xmas tree crafts...





Decorating the cookie was almost as fun as eating it!


Soooo tired by the end!

Cardboard Testimonies

My friend, Ashley, shared this with me and I found it really powerful. It's long, but it's worth taking a look at.

All she wants to do is dance, dance, dance! CMAs Baby!!

This was so.much.fun. There was A LOT of time and energy involved- We had a 3 hr rehearsal on Saturday and Sunday; a 3 hr dress rehearsal on Monday; and we had to be a Sommet at 9:45a Wednesday morning to do a full dress run-thru of the entire show beginning at noon, afterwhich, we were not allowed to leave the building; so we had to entertain ourselves for a few hours and be camera-ready in our dancing boots at 6 for the live show at 7! But as soon as we stepped on the floor of the show, our hearts were pumping HARD with excitement! I always get a high from performing, but performing for a crowd FULL of super stars was suuuuch a rush!! The whole experience was a blast. I made some great new friends and got about 2 full seconds of camera time on national television :)

We had to get creative to pass the time between rehearsal and the live show!

I didn't get pics of my other dancing buddies~ I guess we were always about to dance and it wasn't a good time for a camera...

Taylor Swift, The Eagles, & Sugarland.

I have to say- I am lucky enough to meet a lot of celebrities, and those who know me know I get completely starstruck!- but it was really interesting to be in rehearsal with some of THE rich and famous and see them as just... people, in their sweats and no makeup, sitting next to you eating pretzels!

November Nashville Wedding

I shot this wedding of a family friend Saturday on the pedestrian bridge over-looking the Nashville skyline. It was huge challenge for me, and absolutely freezing, but everything turned out beautifully! I love the ones of the groom with his buddies (they all used to play football together... which explains the one picture!)

The bride:




The groom:








This was already written on one of the beams:

The ceremony:

The newlyweds:

Congratulations Mitchell and Sarah!!

All Hallow's Eve... times three!

With Halloween being my favorite night of the year and all (and quickly moving up Layla's list!), we decided to spread the magic out over several nights this year. Thursday night we dressed up for Trail of Treats in White House, Friday night we dressed up for Trunk or Treat in Portland, and Saturday night was a costume party for the grown ups! We are exhausted, but we had SO MUCH FUN.

Layla as a cheerleader "with super powers" =)

Brynn the poodle girl!

...and Elvis, aka Cale, the King of Rock and Roll!

At the trail...

Thursday night, the kids visited with Ge, Ba, & Poppa at Poppa's house and Poppy, Deda, & Casey at Trail of Treats. Friday night, the kids visited with Nonie and Pap, Meme and Earl at Trunk or Treat, Nana and Frank, and Uncle B and Angel and Papa Johns.

Mommy and Daddy's turn for some Halloween fun!! Cala and Craig's costume party Saturday night... good times.

Nathan dressed as his brother, Ben (looked hilariously just like him, lol) and I was Elvis (we made my costume together- you can't see all the details in the pic, but you get the idea!)

The hosts- Michael Phelps and Betty Rubble (Craig and Cala).

Hercules and Candy Corn? (Lee and Catie).

Brandon and Nathan making his "Ben face", lol.

Shane and Gail (Megan and Coleman)... freakishly hilarious if you know Shane and Gail.

Cara barely recognizable as a scarecrow.

The girls and their mom, er... brother.