Random things that happened this week....

1. I got the school play - it was written for me, been approved by the Principal (he loved it), ready to start
2. Went Visiting Teaching for 3 mornings in a row, taught piano 3 afternoons in a row. What does this mean?? a sink FULL of dishes.....darn
3. Found a funny Mormon blog that made me cry it was soooo funny (thanks Boo!!)
4. I've started 8 fires this week. When is it supposed to be spring?
5. Filed Federal Taxes, NOT state. We get a Federal Refund we OWE state....CRAP
6. My brother turned 18 this week, Ben turned 34. They got the same gift.....strange
7. Fed furry donkeys and sheep - SOOO cute in the winter
8. Broke out (acne) for NO GOOD reason!!!
9. Told kids to go to bed 45 times (a night)
10. Played "name that tune" with Ben while he played the guitar....I won

Overall a VERY busy exhausting week. And right now I'm irritated about all the dishes I have to do tomorrow....I HATE DISHES!!!

Have a good weekend!!

Winter has come....DARN!!!

Last night it was cold - VERY VERY cold. So to keep the fire going and to stay warm Ben and I slept in the front room. It wasn't so bad, and the fire burned well. Ben had to get up 3 times to put more wood or coal in the stove. I know it was a pain but it was nice to have a warm house when we woke up. By the way when I took the kids to the bus this morning it was -5 degrees. When I went out to the car I had flash backs to Middle School and waiting for the bus in below zero weather and having my nose freeze with the first breath. YEAH WHAT FUN......JUST KIDDING!!!!

P.S. The lump is Ben

Happy 34 Ben!!!!

Sunday was Ben's birthday and I hope it was a good one. The kids were way more excited than him but he got some fun presents. This one is called the Iron Gym and it hooks into a door frame for pull ups.

It can also be used for sit-ups and other excersizes.

Happy Birthday Ben I love you!!! Even if you are old!!!

What to take......

Every Sunday morning I tell Zach to go find something quiet to play with during Sacrament Meeting. He will sit and color but he would rather have Spiderman and Superman to play with. Well this is what he brought me Sunday morning.

His bug catching container....and of course it has to have a BUG in it!!!

What's funny is Saturday night Zach had a real fly he caught in this. I was happy to let him take it to church. Especially since there was no longer a REAL bug in it.

What a big girl!!!

Today we got Dani a big bed. She has been sleeping on the futon on the floor because she falls out of bed. Well I was tired of everyone stepping on her bed and not having any floor space. So we brought in the extra twin bed.

Here's how she made her bed

By the way she made a bed for her animals also at the end of her new bed!! She's so funny and cute!!!!

A bad Day

Today Michaela came home from school crying. She said she had a VERY BAD DAY!!! Her class was playing soccer for PE and she got hit in the face with the ball and it made her land flat on her back. Then a first grader had a toy helicopter and he was playing around Michaela's head and the propellers got stuck in her hair and made a HUGE tangle almost dreadlock like. So I had to cut that out and that made her mad. So she spent a large part of the afternoon crying and laying down because her back hurt. Then Jordynn got to go to a friends house and that made her mad also. So it's been a hard day for my poor nine year old. But the good news is it'll be better tomorrow.

Planning ahead

Last night at around 9:30 pm I could hear stirring in the next bedroom where Zach, Jordynn and Dani sleep. Well the kids should have been asleep for well over an hour so I went to check on them. What I found was hard to not laugh out loud to. Both Jordynn and Zach were completely dressed including shoes and socks ready for school. When I asked what on earth they were doing I was told getting ready for school. I explained it was night time and they should be asleep!! I was assured from Jordynn she Knew it was bed time then Zach interjected that they were ready for school when it was morning. Their plan was to sleep in school clothes so all they had to do was get up then they were already dressed. Well it's hard to argue with that logic but I told them to please get their PJ's BACK on and go to bed. Whewwwww what a fun experience. I have to mention that my sister also did this as a kid. So it's not unheard of....just funny!!!

Go Mini Mustangs!!!!

Michaela LOVED this move!!!

She's always the top of the pyramid!!!

They did a cute dance and then a few cheers!!!

Jordynn getting ready to cheer!!!!

Strike a pose!!!

This past weekend was Manila High's Homecoming. Every year they do a cheer leading camp for the elementary age girls. It's cute and they get to perform during homecoming games for all the fans. Michaela and Jordynn both love it!! Here's what we get to look for next year....Dani gets to do Mini Mustangs too!!!!

Yet another happy birthday

Today Jordynn and her best friend Haily had a birthday party together. We invited the rest of the first grade girls and luckily there were only 6 of them total. We had an hour and a half before we went to basketball games. That was the perfect amount of time and we got some fun things done. The girls decorated purses and then smacked a pinata and then gifts and cake. It was a fun afternoon and then we had fun at basketball games. The girls had Mini Mustangs and yours truly had to sing the National Anthem. I think it went o.k. and I have to do it again tomorrow and the kids do cheerleading again. I'll post pictures of them tomorrow. For today enjoy the pictures of 6 crazy girls. It's nice they're all friends.

Here's the whole crew at the party

Decorating purses

Jordynn and Haily opening presents

The cake which both girls loved (thanks Kim!!!)

Blowing out the candles!!

I've missed you....computer

Ben has been gone for the past 2 days at a training and he took the computer with him. I'm always horrified when he takes HIS computer the HIS job provided to go to WORK. Anyway it was all well and good. Ben won Trainer of the Year for the ENTIRE state of Utah!! How cool is that??!! I always knew he was good but it's good to see everyone else thinks so also.
And what a difference a couple days can bring. On Monday afternoon I was told that I could no longer teach students private lessons through the school and give them Art credit for it. Well I was shocked. This was a GREAT class and I had quite a few students and more signing up this semester. It gave kids the chance to get Art credit without having to be in the classroom EVERY day. I had mostly boys (which is a miracle) and they were playing, practicing and enjoying learning the piano. I have tons of support from parents and we were all pretty upset about this turn of events. For some students it has caused a huge problem in schedules and a mad dash to try to find another class to get Art credit so they can graduate. So why was this class cancelled?? The reasons are money, money and I think money.
But Tuesday the FABULOUS principal and counselor came up with a plan. If these students came to me privately and paid me directly the High School would give them credit. So I had to go to all these parents and ask them to now start paying for what was free last week. I felt so bad and I don't think that's very fair but I did it. I went to all the parent's and told them what was going on as best as I could understand it. And here's the SHOCKER they ALL decided to keep taking lessons from me and pay for them!!! I was told by the parents that this is a good program, their kids enjoy it, they get High School credit, and I'm doing a good job teaching. These parents aren't happy about having to pay $$$ for their kids to get credit but they are willing to do it. I hope this experience shows the people that made the decision to cut the class that it's a valuable class, kids and parents enjoy it and it was thriving and growing. So thank you to all those parents to sticking by me and supporting me and this class.
On the homecoming front, today is Toga day and I think I might skip this one. I just don't think I can pull off a Little Mermaid sheet all day. But there are fun festivities and games tomorrow night. FYI tomorrow afternoon I will be infested with first grade girls. Jordynn and her best friend Haily are having a combined birthday party HERE!!! YEAH!! It won't be that bad, there's only going to be 6 of them. But we're having a pinata! Yeah it's January so this thing will be swung at and broken in my HOUSE!! I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures to share this great event with all my readers!! Have a good day!!

The best monday EVER

This week at Manila High is homecoming. Since there isn't a football team, homecoming is during basketball season. Every day at school is a different dress-up day. Today was THE BEST in my opinion. It was PJ day. I can't think if any better way to start a week than to get to go to work in my PJs. And I went all out. I wore my flannel PJs and Slippers ALL DAY!!!! It was so comfortable and fun. Tomorrow is HAT day and I have some great hats I don't get to wear very often so I'm looking forward to that. Wednesday is 70's/Retro day, I'm not sure what to do that day and then Thurs is Toga Day. I think I'll go with the Little Mermaid sheet. I'll keep you updated on all the home coming festivities. I know you're dying to hear how it'll turn out!! HA HA HA!!!!

To the friendly blog readers out there

I was told at church to day by a friend of mine that he was reading my blog the other day. This actually shocked me. I tend to think that family and a few friends are all that read my blog. So it was a fun surprise when he said he saw my blog. What's funny is how he came upon this blog. He works for Daggett County and has a program that flags things on the Internet with the words, Manila, Daggett County and Flaming Gorge. So hopefully this will flag him and he'll see I dedicated a blog entry to him!! HI BRIAN!!!!

The morning after

So I've decided that 7 year old sleep overs aren't necessarily the best idea. The girls were fine and had a fun night. But the night lasted until after 11pm. They said they couldn't sleep and everything was "freaking us out". So what could freak out 7 year olds at 11pm??? Well here's a short version of a VERY long list....the light from the fire, the moon outside, the blue light from the stereo, the upstairs, the stairs, the door to Michaela's room. I'm not even kidding about ANY of these. So instead of ME sleeping WITH the 7 year olds I put another movie on for them to fall asleep to and keep their mind busy so they couldn't think of all the "freaky things".
Jordynn's friend went home around lunch time and then I made the mistake of asking Jordynn to clean up her room. There was stomping, screaming and throwing things. Luckily she laid down on her bed and went to sleep for about an hour. YEAH....wait NOT!!!! That wasn't nearly enough sleep and then she spent most of the evening grumpy. And since the other kids had gone to bed later than usual last night, EVERYONE was in bed by 6:30pm. They could read but mostly they fell asleep. Hopefully Jordynn will be better tomorrow. And I've learned an important lesson....7 year olds are NOT old enough for sleep- overs. I would wager most of you with older children who have been there done that are saying..DUH!!!!

Happy Actual Birthday

Today we went to town. Now for those readers who live near civilization let me explain what that means. We drive an hour to get to these very limited choices, Wal-Mart, Smith's or Albertson's. Yep that's it for grocery stores, and regular stores Oh wait there's a K-Mart. Then your run around to 3,4,5 how ever many stores it takes to get everything you need. Kids are tired, irritable, and hungry. You stop for Happy Meals and then 5 hours later you drive for an hour home by this time in the dark. So that was our afternoon. But for Jordynn's birthday she got to pick where we got dinner (Sonic) and she got new tennis shoes. When we got her home she had a friend come over to spend the night. This is our first sleep over with 7 year olds. But I hope she's had a good day and I can't believe she's 7 already. I've enjoyed watching her grow up she's a good kid and I love her.

Happy Birthday Jordynn- one day early

Tonight we celebrated Jordynn's birthday because Ben will be gone all weekend and she knows it's her birthday and we can't keep her waiting. So we surprised her and did it tonight. She didn't know we were going to do this so it was fun. Instead of a cake (she'll have one at her friend party next Friday) I made cupcakes in ice cream cones. They were cute. She got some great gifts but I would say her favorite was her mp3 player. It's VERY simple and kid friendly.


Ben bringing in the gifts for a surprise day-early birthday

Jordynn got a High School Musical journal

She also got Paint Your Own Horses -
Here's when she got her mp3 player

Dani knows her birthday is AFTER Jordynn's so she of course asked if it was her birthday tomorrow....it's gonna be a long 3 months ('til Dani's b-day)

PS - I know the picture of Jordynn's cake has the #7 seven backwards, but it was the right way facing her!!

Non-Techno Christmas Gift

For Christmas Zach wanted a Nintendo DS - instead Santa brought him an Etch-A- Sketch. What's funny is he LOVES it and makes up his own games on it and makes mazes and houses.

Sometimes the classics are still the best....

Happy Winds-day

I say winds-day because the wind started last night and hasn't stopped roaring yet. And I mean ROARING!!! It's been all day no break - it blows at an average of 45 mph and then there are gusts up to 75 mph. SO we get blown around every time we leave our house or car. I being blown around is NOT an exaggeration. Poor Dani was knocked down the wind hit her so hard. Here are some pictures of what the wind has done so far. By the way it was 50 degrees today so the wind was bearable.

Here is is a tree that split by the Forrestry Office

This is the Flag outside the Forrestry Office

This is a Speed Limit sign coming into Manila.

It's not the plague -

Over the Christmas Break I noticed Jordynn had this rash looking thing around her mouth and neck. It was red a splotches with white flaky skin in the middle. After a few days it hadn't gone away and then it was ALL OVER her body. Mostly on her back and stomach. So today we took her in to the clinic. The Doc. took one look at her and said oh it's Pityriasis Rosea. Basically a non contagious viral infection that causes this ugly rash. It should clear up in 6 - 12 weeks. YEAH!! Oh, and Dani most likely has it also. We have to wait and see if the one spot she has on her ribs will spread and break out into the full blown virus. The doctor says it's pretty normal for more than one member in a family to get it because they were more than likely both exposed to whatever caused the virus in the first place. So that's the fun going on at the Wolford home. It's never dull and always educational!!!

Back into the swing of things... reluctantly

Well it was inevitable, school started again. And I have to admit that when the alarm went off this morning at 6am it was about 3 hours too early. It was HARD to get up. But I had to get 3 kids off to school so I did it. And it was a LONG, TIRING day. I can only hope it will get better as the week goes on.

I also wanted to mention Dani. Yesterday (Sunday) she got to go to Sunbeams!! I was very excited for her but she was less than thrilled. She cried a little but it helped when Michaela sat next to her for opening exercises. We've made it ALL kids in primary, no more nursery!! It's been a lot of years coming but we made it. It's exciting to know that soon she'll be giving her first talk. That is if she'll actually talk. We'll see!!!!

Holy busy holidays!!!!

We had a VERY fun and VERY busy Christmas. We left for Las Vegas to stay with my sister on Sat. Dec. 20 and started having fun right away. We went to the strip and saw fun things like the MGM lions and M&M world. But we quickly found out that all the people and sights were exhausting!!

Here's the kids at Circus Circus - it was fun but a bit overwhelming and loud. We didn't last too long there.

Here the kids are in front of a HUGE aquarium at Bass Pro Shops. It was a fun low key day.


Ben being helpful getting Dani ready for another day in Vegas!!!!

Granne and Pappa showed up and the fun continued - the red checkered legs are Grandpa!!!
Walking around all the hotels was a bit much for little Dani!! She did better up on Ben's shoulders. She didn't feel so small and overwhelmed!!


Here are the kids and my brothers Caleb and Josh by a fountain at Cesar's Palace. It was very cool.
This was my most fun day- we went to FAO Schwartz and played on the big piano!! It was so fun and there were the coolest toys!!!

There were beautiful Christmas gardens at the Belagio hotel - my brother is trying to NOT interrupt the water that shot over a bridge it was cool!!!!

Christmas was finally here and we got ready on Christmas Eve by hanging the stocking by the chimney with care.My sister Morgan was kind enough and crazy enough to have us all over to her 1100 Sq. Ft. Apartment. But it worked out well and it's a good thing we like to hang out as a family.Here's Ben and all the kids after reading The Night Before ChristmasHere's about half the family listening to a Christmas ClassicEvery year a Wolford Tradition is to write letters to Santa and put them on the tree to him to pick up - this year my sister's kids participated too!!!!

Christmas Jammies were a best this year - EVERYONE and I mean all 18 of us had matching Christmas T-Shirts

Here's Grandpa modeling his Christmas T-Shirt!!!Here's the tree Christmas morning - it may look like a lot of gifts but again it was for all 18 of us - it took FOR EVER to get through all the gifts!!!Dani has taken to calling Ben bubble head - we don't know why?!?!? But she saw this squeezy ball and Dani wanted to get it for her dad because it looks like a bubble head.All Zach wanted was a skate board and Santa was kind enough to bring him one. And it was the hit of the day.

It was pretty cold and rainy in Vegas so here's Granne and Jordynn warming themselves by the "fire". It was funny -

Zach couldn't wait to get outside and try out his skate board.

He loved it so much he held it and slept with it the entire 9 hour drive home!!!!

Here's a pic. of all us sibs Christmas morning - the sad thing is in this whole group I'm the OLDEST!!!!! And yet as you can see the shortest!! Something I hear about ALL the time - oh and by the way it took about 20 shots to get us all to look at the camera and not laughing - we have a great time together.

So that was Christmas - we went home Dec. 27 and I turned around and went back to SLC with the kids to visit with Nana from Texas. It was great to see her!! And I came back home Dec. 30 and have been recovering ever since - It was a great vacation but I'm so happy to be home and have a few days to recover before we jump back into the routine of life!! Have a great NEW YEAR!!!!