Holy busy weekend!!!

I was so glad to make it to Thanksgiving break. Life has been hectic and I needed a break. But that's not to say the weekend wasn't hectic. But it was a different kind of busy. On Thursday we went and got our tree. We didn't have anyone coming for Turkey so we spent the day as a family "hunting" for a tree. The kids fell asleep ON THE WAY to getting the tree. But we found a good place to hunt and we all got out and started walking. And we walked and walked and walked aaaaaannnnnd walked. But then we found THE TREE. It should be noted that this tree is FREAKIN' huge!!!! But it was nice and full and smelled good. Two of my criteria. So Ben started cutting and then we had the daunting task of dragging it back to the truck. This thing was HEAVY!! But we made it and got it home and in the house. Of course it's so tall we can't reach the top and the odds of actually decorating are slim to none. Just kidding we just haven't gotten there yet. Maybe for FHE tomorrow. Anyway we got it set up and then the preparations began for a Bills family infestation. I was so excited to get most of the family here

to see the new house and enjoy FRIED TURKEY. If you've never had fried turkey.....boy are you missing out. So we had the crew here and it was fun to sit and talk. Then mom and dad went home and the rest of the family (all 7) stayed the night and that was fun. Saturday morning Ben's dad and brother came up and were kind enough to bring some of our furniture that was at my parents, and the elk meat from Ben's cow elk he got a week ago. So we spent the weekend getting to see lots of family and spending time together which is what the holidays are all about. By the way, because we had turkey on Friday we had tacos on Thanksgiving. It was great.

Body World

The High School went to Body World in SLC yesterday and it was quite an experience. If you don't know what Body World is it's an artistic display of the human body. A human body that has been plasticised and then put on display. Depending on how each body was plasticised you could see muscle, veins, tendons, tissue , bones, basically EVERY part of the inside of the human body organs included. While very interesting to see the insides of a body the way they were made into art was a little disturbing to me. I'm fine looking at organs and muscles and tissue that doesn't bother me. But when these bodies were displayed as if doing live action it was a little disturbing for me. They guides at the museum kept emphasising that these are ALL real. Every part is from that person. There was a part that had the reason a person chose to do this and they wanted their body to be used for education in a nontraditional way. This was VERY non-traditional. I still don't know what I think. I know the human body is a miracle and a perfect plan. There is no denying the existence of God when you see how perfectly we are made. But still some of it was a little (I don't think disturbing is the right word) hard for me to see. Mostly the bodies in different poses was hard for me. I don't know, my rambling still hasn't helped me make my thoughts coherent. Anyway it was an interesting experience and I can say I went.

Three year old "issues"

Every one of our kids were never a "terrible 2" but when they hit THREE.....that is a different story. All our three year olds are lucky to have made it to 4. And the baby Dani is NO different. Yesterday after her bath she wanted her tiny baby hair in 2 braids. Here's what I did.

Here's her reaction..... She HATED it and cried for at least an hour. OVER HAIR!!!!! She finally accepted her fate. I was NOT going to redo her hair and we went about our day.

Until I heard her calling me from the kitchen. I went in and this is what I found!!!! She wanted a graham cracker. And I guess she thought she could get it herself!!! I have to say this, it's never boring when you have a 3 year old. By the way she'll be 4 in four months!!! YEAH!!!!

A fun blog...

100 things
This was fun- you're supposed to copy the list to your blog and then bold the things you have done. I was surprised at what I have and haven't done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (I'm not sure if I was when I was dropped. Was I mom???)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Great Moments in California History!!!!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

I want to see this list from Amy, Morgan, Alice, Erin. Mom and Dad, Caleb and Kelsey

Thankful....

I'm going to make a list of things I'm thankful for and all you lucky readers who probably DON'T care. But I think since I use this blog as a journal (for the world to see) I need to write this kind of thing down. I won't list a hundred or anything but a few that are especially important to me.

1. A house.....please read all blogs for the past 4 months if you don't understand why that would be #1 on my list!!!!!

2. Good Friends - Ben and Guy went riding last night and the rest of the family came over then we all had dinner together. It was fun and a bit crazy having 8 mobile children running around. But I'm glad they were willing to come and share an evening together as friends.

3. My sister/friend Alice - some of you may know her but here's a quick synopsis. Met Alice in High School in Wisconsin. She was a year ahead of me in school. She became good friends with me and a boy named Ben. She wanted to know more about out church and got in contact with the missionaries. Baptized, came to Utah, has been here ever since. Here's why I'm thankful for Alice, she's a great example to me. She has extraordinary strength and faith. And boy is she FUNNY!!! We have a great time together. And even though I know it's hard for her to live away from her family I'm glad she's close to mine.

4. The Gospel. When life is hard, and well that seems like it's ALL THE TIME. The Gospel gives me strength to get through. It has made it so no matter what (and boy am I surprised and what comes) together as a family we get through.

I'll stop boring you for now. But know that I'm thankful for ALL my blessings that are too many to even beginning to list......but I'll keep trying!!!!

Life in Manila....

So we've been in our house for a few weeks and we're pretty much settled. Don't ask about the toy room. Anyway we're getting into a routine and life is good. The weather is getting a little cooler and it's dark by 5:15 pm so the kids are doing well playing together.

Here they're playing Chutes and Ladders. It should be noted this is one of THREE that we own. I just kept buying it because the others were in a box we haven't opened in a while. But they did good and kept them busy as I cleaned up after dinner.

On a side note this weekend is Ben's first basketball games of the season. He has 3 of his 5 upperclassmen injured and he'd playing with mostly freshman. So we'll see how it goes.

1:37 AM

So here I am at 1:30 in the morning and I'm blogging. Why?? Well you see I'm usually up around this time of night (morning) and since I can't sleep I'd might as well be productive. I know that there's a good chance the reason I can't sleep is because I've said "I can't sleep" and if I would just lay in bed I would go back to sleep. Well I've tried that and all that happens is I lay in bed not sleeping. So I decided when this happens (3-4 nights a week) I would get up and do something and then when I was tired again I would go back to bed. Now there's an actual reason I'm up at this lovely hour and that's my 3 year old. She likes to cry. And it seems her favorite time is 12:30 AM. SO I get up to comfort and cover her backup ( I have to hurry and get to her BEFORE she comes in my room or it's a WHOLE other issue) and then, well, I'm up. So I surf the Internet, check blogs, check on kids (again) and see what's on TV. Do you want to know what's on TV at what is now 1:30 AM??? I know you do!!! Well NOTHING!!! I have 250 channels and nothing is on. I'm not sure how I feel about this or if there's anything I can do about it. I tend to think not but I did find "Home Improvement" which isn't bad but....thus the reason I blog. I know you don't particularly care but hey I'm here I thought I'd share. So.....I hope you're all having pleasant dreams and will wake rested in the morning and read this and have a good chuckle because it's now 1:46 AM and I'm still up.

Totally Cool!!!!

Zach gets himself dressed in the morning and I don't bug him about what he chooses. This morning he looked.....well....he had baggy pants, a long sleeve shirt and his FAVORITE hat!!! He actually looked VERY in fashion and a little too grown up. Oh well it was bound to happen...I just didn't think it would be this early!!

You guessed it...tagged again

8 TV show I like to watch...

1. Moonlight (canceled)
2. Bones
3. Chuck
4. CMT top 20 (country music)
5. Psych (LOVE IT!!!)
6. Criminal Minds
7. That 70's Show
8. Scrubs

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Olive Garden
2. Red Robin
3. Winger's
4. Wendy's
5. Astro Burger
6. Burger King
7. New York Cheese Factory (I haven't been, but how can I NOT like it???)
8. Applebee's

8 Favorite Places to Shop

1. Target
2. Deseret Book
3. Kohl's
4. Costco
5. Wal-Mart
6. Hastings (cheap DVD's)
7. Pickin' Palace (Music Store)
8. JoAnns


8 Things That Happened Yesterday

1. Laundry
2. Dishes
3. School
4. Made Bread
5. Made Dinner
6. Unpacked Boxes
7. Hung Up Pictures
8. Went To Play Group!

8 Things I'm Looking Forward Too...

1. Friday after Thanksgiving
2. Las Vegas for Christmas
3. Getting all the boxes opened and put away
4. Getting time to paint
5. Craft Homemaking
6. A house of order
7. Getting my piano back
8. A whole nights sleep

8 Things On My Wish List

1. No more car payment
2. No more student loans
That's about all - I really have everything I would want...well except for the debt!!

So there you go, things no one cared to know about Sarah Wolford

What's for dinner?

My sister (on her blog) just wrote an empowered plea to the new President Elect to STOP day light savings. I have to agree. Although my kids are a little older and have pretty much adapted there is one exception. That exception is mornings. My kids have ALWAYS been early risers. But now they are up at around 5:45 AM!! While that's not terrible early; it's what they DO at 5:45 AM. Dani starts asking from the second she's up "what's for dinner?" She doesn't mean breakfast, nope she means 12 1/2 hours from now dinner! And I'm not good at planning ahead so I have to tell her I don't know. This only insures she'll ask 14 more times before the kids get on the bus at 7:30. Zach and Dani also start saying they are hungry pretty much from when they wake up. I know they are, I know they need and want breakfast. I wish that they would understand I KNOW they are hungry and I WILL NOT forget to feed them. I never have why would I start now? So while trying to get 3 kids dressed and out the door so they don't miss the bus I keep wondering, what's for dinner?

Sorry for the rant but it's very early and I don't know what's for dinner!!!!!

One week later...

Well it's been one week since Jordynn broke her wrist. She got her cast yesterday and is MUCH happier. But I don't look forward to the weeks of itching that I know are coming. We made it through Halloween. As you can see we had quite the variety of characters. Michaela wanted to NOT be cute!!! So we did our best but I don't think I liked her being NOT cute. But Dani was a hit and most every house commented on how cute she looked. Well DUH!!!! She is a very pretty bride. In case you're wondering, Jordynn was Hannah Montana. Anyway now we prepare for the holiday season that's upon us.....and I unpack. I plan to unpack until next June. Now that we have room we're going through boxes we haven't opened in literally YEARS!!! Boy do we have lots of crap.