Twelve Days of Christmas

Ok, so in this case it is actually 24 days, but you get the idea.  For those of you that don't know my friend Vanessa or follow her blog, the other day she posted pictures of cute crafts she had seen for sale on Etsy.  One of them was an advent calendar made with a muffin tin, and it was so cute that I just had to make my own.  I don't know if the pictures do it justice, but it turned out pretty well.

Twisting the Night Away

In my family, the tradition is that after Thanksgiving dinner, which we eat at about 2 in the afternoon, we look through the Black Friday ads, and then we spend the evening playing games.  It is a big deal because growing up we NEVER played games, and even now we only do it twice a year - Thanksgiving and Christmas.  After everyone has had so much food, we are in a good mood and ready for fun.  This year we played TV Scene It, Shout About Music, Outburst Remix, and Twister.  Ok, so Twister was actually set up for the kids, but a few of us joined in a round or two as well.  Nothing like playing that game to remind yourself that you are not as flexible as you once were!

All the grandkids (except Jonathan) plus Adam had a sheep in his hand who was also playing.

Turkey for me, Turkey for you

Ah, Thanksgiving.  Day that we stuff ourselves so full that we can't get up from the table for an hour.  Movies make it seem like we all sit around there after the meal to visit and be familial, but the truth is we simply can't move.  This year, as per usual, we went to my dad's house in Alta for the big day.  They rent tables and linens and put out a nice spread, and everyone dresses a little nicer and we all have excellent food and a great day.  This year was no exception.

It is impossible to get everyone smiling/looking at the camera at the same time!

Putting our best faces forward, of course.

Me and my dad

This was after dinner - that is why he looks so sleepy.

I'm Doing Alright, Getting Good Grades...

As some of you may know, fourth grade is the first year that students start getting letter grades instead of numbers or combinations of S's and N's.  So Anna has reached that precipice where she can no longer just do her work and expect to pass solely on the fact that she is ahead of the standards...now all of her work will get assigned a grade.  Well, the first trimester recently ended, and it was time to see how she did, and I am proud to announce that she is now Anna Marie Joyner - Honor Roll student.  That's right - Anna had higher than a 3.5 grade point average - as a matter of fact, she had a 4.0!  That's my girl!  

Anna with her friends McKenna and Marlo - also Honor Roll students

The school had an assembly to award the students on the honor roll with donuts, pennants, pins, and certificates, so the kids and I were all at the school at 7:45 a.m. to clap for Anna and wipe away a couple of proud tears.  Oh, and to eat donuts, of course.