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.

FOR MOM

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Becca's Photo Shoot:

My favorite shot of the day...

The following shots are Becca just being Becca (a.k.a. weird)

I refuse to take responsibility for these poses. =)

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Becca with her notebooks.

I hardly have a single childhood memory of this girl without a notebook and a pencil behind her ear.

No cment.

FAREWELL, SUMMER

Today was so cold and gloomy it got me thinking about this summer and longing for another warm, happy day. In honor of my pining, here are some pics from just such a day in July. My lil' sister had just moved to Rexburg and Andrew and I wanted to show her around the sand dunes that are about 20 minutes from our place. Ironically, these first few pictures actually set the mood as dismal and lonely. Why Becca looks like a sad little orphan girl I'm not sure...

Anyway, we went the day after a summer rain storm, so the sand was perfect. Just moist enough that it we weren't inhaling the dust with every breezy gust. It felt like we were at the beach.

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We had simply planned on a walk to see the view. But for some reason, our shoes wouldn't stay on our feet...and we had the uncontrollable urge to leap and run and frolic about...

We could jump as high and hard as we wanted with no worry of injury on that soft sand.

Andrew was by far the bravest jumper though.

The grasses made the most amazing designs as they were blown about by the wind.

(I was impressed anyway)

The Beck.

Love notes

And of course, there's Andrew indignantly searching for this "other" person I am supposedly in love with. =)

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I know this is a cheesy Titanic shot, but it captures the mood of the afternoon.

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Becca felt the same way...

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...and apparently Andrew was in a pretty good mood too.

sisters against that perfect blue sky.

Wow. We really did a lot of jumping didn't we?
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Well, anyway. Thanks for joining in on my warm memory.

Bye!

RELIGION

I have noticed that our blog is visited by people I don't know...even from all over the world. Andrew and I thought it would be good to include a blurb on the topic of our religion. We are Mormons. It is, I believe, the most important part of who I am. Many have heard of Mormonism, but don't know much about it. Let me explain the basics:

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2. The official name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are referred to as Mormons, Latter-Day Saints, or called simply LDS. We are Christians. The gospel is centered around Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.

3. The full gospel was lost from the earth with the death of the ancient apostles. The earth then went through an apostasy with only partial religious truths and no true priesthood authority from God.

4. The church was again restored to the earth in 1830 through Joseph Smith in upstate New York. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the 14-year old boy as he knelt in prayer in a grove near his home. He was the first modern president of the church.

5. The priesthood, or the authority to act in God's name, was an important part of this restoration along with all saving ordinances. The church is set up as it was anciently with apostles and prophets. There is a current prophet and president of the church who acts as God's mouthpiece to the world: Thomas S. Monson.

6. Local congregations are run by unpaid volunteers. Both men and women serve in assigned leadership positions.

7. There are currently over 13 million members of the church worldwide in 176 countries.

8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as long as it is translated correctly. We also believe The Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ's ministry. A family in Jerusalem was warned by God to escape the wicked city before Babylon conquered it and took its inhabitants captive. This family was led to the Americas and became a great civilization. After His crucifixion, the Savior spoke to the Jews saying:

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one
fold, and one shepherd."

John 10:16

He was speaking of these inhabitants in the Americas. As a resurrected being, Christ appeared to this people and organized a church in the same manner as in the Old World. The Book of Mormon is a record of this event as well as words of ancient American prophets.

My Testimony:

The Restoration, The Book of Mormon, and modern day revelation makes sense to me. Not only does it seem logical, but I have felt the spirit of the Lord tell me with no uncertainty, that these things are right and true. Of course, God is as aware of His children on earth, as He was in ancient days! Why would He close the heavens? It makes sense that we would have a prophet and apostles, miracles, and angelic visitations just as there were thousands of years ago. I have personally felt the Lord answering my prayers, guiding my life, and strengthening me during painful times. I have read the Book of Mormon and as a result of its continued study, I am happier. I feel anchored even in troubled times. I love that the church's doctrine does not change with the ever deteriorating values of the world in order to "fit in" or "keep up with the times". It cannot compromise with the latest trends to be popular. Truth remains constant! Joseph Smith was a prophet--an instrument in the hands of God to restore His church. I know this is true without a doubt. And most importantly, I know that Jesus Christ is our literal Savior whose atonement and love for us is very real. This is my testimony in Jesus' name, Amen.

This only skims the surface, but I just wanted to give the basics. If you have questions, please ask!

Most Favorite Costume EVER.

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At school on Friday, the students arrived dressed in their Halloween best. The classroom they found, had been the scene of a horrific crime the night before (Poor Alf...may he rest in peace). The student's job was to examine the crime scene and evidence carefully before writing up their take on the case.

What happened?

Who committed the crime?

What was the motive?

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It was fun to watch them try to make sense of all the senseless evidence.

As for the teacher...she dressed up as a bunch of grapes.You have no idea how excited I was for this costume. So silly, so unique, and it only took a bag of purple balloons and a fake grape vine to wrap around my head.

We need more holidays that allow for such behavior.

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CRAZY HALLOWEEN

My classroom door is labeled with this sign...

I currently have 21 "crazies" in my class.

I took my student's pictures and distorted them on the computer to look...well...crazy.

The kids LOVED it. It took me at least five minutes just to get them through the door that first morning. But I guess that was the point.

Happy Halloween ya'all.

AUTUMN IDAHO

We have been on countless drives up north to catch the changing leaves with my camera. However, I haven't found a more beautiful autumn than that of ten minutes from my home. The new school year has made it difficult to focus on any photography lately, but I just had to drop everything one Saturday morning before the season passed me by. I got lost for hours exploring this incredible wilderness. The entire world looked like a painting from Bambi-land. All of my favorites are on my photography blog {link is on the top of the right-hand column of this blog -->} Check 'em out and tell me what you think.