CHRISTMAS IN MY CLASSROOM

Our tree
(courtesy of Erin)

Students' wreaths

(courtesy of about 3 billion staples)

*Click HERE for a detailed, step-by-step tutorial!

Students' Sewing

(courtesy of life-saving parent helpers)

And the class door
(courtesy of the Dollar Store and my creative prowess)

P.S. 4 days til Christmas Break. Oh, how I need it.

Once upon a time, Andrew and Rachel Ashmore left their kingdom, traveling to the snowy mountains in search of a Christmas tree.

It was very, very cold. But Rachel kept warm, burrowed deep inside her thick velvet cloak, hooded and trimmed with sable fur.

Wild swans, floating on the icy river, spoke of a particularly pretty tree nearby

And so they traveled in search of it while bald eagles, high overhead, kept watch for witches, woodsmen, and wicked step-mothers.

Soon, the beautiful tree was spotted, and Andrew gallantly marked it, so it was not lost among the others in the forest.

After the tree was cut, happy little forest creatures transported it over the snow with a song. And Andrew and Rachel were happy.



But suddenly, a pack of ravenous wolves, sent by an evil snow queen, attacked the little band! She was jealous of their happiness and sought to steal the tree and burn it maliciously into coals! *cue evil laughter* Her devilish plot would have succeeded were it not for Andrew's masculine strength *sigh* and the magic of friendly wood fairies. The magic caused the wolves to become confused and they ran over the edge of a deep chasm to their deaths (This is only fair, as they were being very bad).

Under the continued magical protection of the fairies, the couple journeyed safely through the woods with their Christmas tree...while the sun smiled down on them from above...

...the sun's rays warming the snowy mountain considerably. *snort*

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At the edge of the forest, the two travelers bid farewell to their animal friends. Then, they continued on, only stopping to rest themselves at an enchanting little delicatessan called...ahem...Frostop.

(no. really. if ever in ashton, id, the burgers and fries here rock my world.)

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Finally, the pair and their lovely tree arrived at their castle home. Princess *cough* Becca, visited to help adorn the tree with sparkly jewels imported from the far away land of Wal-Mart...all while a roaring fire blazed on the big screen TV.

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When they had finished, it was spoken of by the entire kingdom as the fairest Christmas tree in the land.
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THE END.

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FAMILY FOOTBALL

I forgot to bring my camera to the annual Jolley Family Thanksgiving football game, so I stole these from my cousins. A few noteworthy events from the game:
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1. Andrew scraped himself somehow. He shrugged it off and insisted he was fine, so we continued to play. But by the time there was blood dripping down to his ankles, his teammates could hardly stand it anymore...even if he could. My cousin was kind enough to retrieve a first aid kit from her vehicle and put the rest of us at ease.

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2. I wanted to document Dad's football playing outfit for posterity (I specifically instructed a cousin to take this picture on the sly). No one else I know could pull of the combination of that hat, a Civil War weapons sweat shirt, and the long johns peeking out from under those ripped sweatpants quite like my dad. =)

My sister opted out of this year's game. She said something about standing around and waiting for, "athletically superior males to throw pity passes."
;) Oh well. I think she missed out. Blood and gore, high fashion, Perfect weather, and great company.

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THANKSGIVINGS

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FEAST DAY 1

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We had Thanksgiving with the Bountiful, Utah Brown clan. Aunt Joy cooked up the yummiest of traditional meals with some Japanese touches. I've never had sushi on Thanksgiving, but I wasn't complaining. Andrew especially appreciated the reminders of his mission.

Making sushi rolls:

Grandpa Ni, Jennifer, and Aunt Joy

Davin, Andrew, and Karsten pretending they aren't up to no good. I won't go into any ridiculous details...but there were definitely Kung Fu Karate kicks involved (hi-ya's included).

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While there, I played with a Wii Fit for the first time. Is there a resemblance between my Mii and me?

FEAST DAY 2

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The next day, the Jolley family gathered in Pleasant Grove at Grandma's House.

Lots of people, lots of action, lots of food, and lots of football.

Her home is only a stone's throw away from the Timpanogas Temple. (view from window)

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My second Thanksgiving meal of the year

Little sis' Aurora. She's 5. Check out her reeally nice portraits (HERE) I took over the holiday.I'm telling you...her big blue eyes will blow your mind.

My two year old twin sisters hadn't seen me in a year. They didn't remember me and as such, their shy selves hated my stinkin' guts. My cousin Michael's, brand-new baby Asher, seemed to like me okay though. (Can you say precious?) Mostly, his parents were just lucky I was never left unsupervised. I totally would have carried out my plot to smuggle him home with me.

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But wouldn't you know it. The twins absolutely ADORED Andrew.

Whatever. I'm not bitter.

Just know, that the next time I see Aria and Belle, I fully intend to buy their love with an exorbitant amount of candy. I simply can't compete with Andrew's dimples in any other way.

The "kids" (minus me) : Becca, Belle, Aria, Andrew, and Aurora.

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P.S. BYU kicked booty over the weekend.

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MADE ME LAUGH

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Andrew read several hours worth of Harry Potter

I got several hours of grading and lesson planning done

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While hours and hours worth of snow fell outside our window

It was lovely.

MY MANLY MAN

This is the gargantuan shop and offices that Andrew has been in charge of building. It's about half-way completed now. He's so proud of it, and I'm so proud of him...that I'm sharing it with you.

Check out the size of those trusses!

Yep. My man is amazing.