Happy December!! Yes as usual, well in every other post, It's been awhile. I am completely awful at this kind of updating and such. I could make a whole bunch of excuses and what not's but the only excuse really is LIFE! I just wanted to post about our last year or so and all the wonderful things that have happened. March brought many changes as we moved from the house that we started our family in and into a new bigger house. We stayed in the same town just a new area with a lot of potential. The whole ordeal happened in less than two weeks. I saw a facebook post from a friend who had her rental property up for lease again and when I found out all the details I was thrilled that it was answering all our prayers. We had been praying about what to do about housing for months due to many issues and this new house answered all those issues and many more we didn't know we had. I had all the financials and pretty much everything settled less than five hours after looking at it and just needed Nats approval, which I got 3 days later when he came home and we signed the papers. by the time he went back to work we had the house pretty much packed and with the help of family and many friends I was moved in, in less than 14 days from when I saw the house. We love it! Joe turned 5 in mid April reaching an age I was hoping would take longer to see. *Sniff*Sniff* The end of April saw the end of my bowling season and pretty much the end of winter and the start of ball season and a slow beginning to summer. The kids loved the new backyard and Huge basement in the new house and made sure to use it to its full potential. I started playing ball in the beginning of May with two teams. I played on an all girls team and a mixed team, most weeks playing 2 to 4 games. By the beginning of June I played 31 games in 34 days! With that I was in the best physical shape I'd ever been in and looked and felt great. June saw many day trips to the zoo and splash parks as well as to the playground and many backyard adventures. We attempted camping once again, not the best experience with three kids and rain! Joe passed a milestone by finishing pre school and ending his time at Children of the Universe. Carver finished his 2nd year and moved to his third and final year as a pre K student. Kait was just happy to play in WHATEVER water she could find outside. July found us in our 6th year of marriage and stronger than we have ever been as a couple. For our anniversary we were blessed by a visit with Nats sister and brother in law and their adorable children. They were home for two weeks from Norway. It was the only visit Nat had with them and we had a great time in Ikea, shopping and visiting, well minus the puke ;) I was lucky to see Cheri and the kids one last time for a quick play date and snuggles with Ali. The kids spent a night with Cheri and family while Mom and Dad W watched them for the weekend while I was playing ball. Many cute pictures were taken especially with the younger four women in our family. Carver turned 4 the weekend after. Wow my babies are growing up :( We jumped into August with huge plans for the middle of the month. We spent many weeks and especially the first two weeks in August preparing for my Papas 65th Birthday. The summer slowed down and so did our lazy days basking in the sun on the deck in the pool and nights by the fire. The end of August ended my ball season. The beginning of September was full of excitement and secrets. Joe started Kindergarten with the wrong foot but as soon as we changed schools we found his footing and he took off running. Carver started his last year at Children of the Universe in pre k and Kaity started her first as a preschooler. Yes there were tears by Mom. The second week in September found Nat and I telling family and then friends our exciting news. WE'RE PREGNANT. YES it was planned, YES were excited, YES we know we're crazy. NO we wouldn't have it any other way! We shocked most the family and our friends with that one oppps. We are due Mid April 2012 with baby and are thrilled. By the end of September we were finally in a great routine. Mondays and Wednesdays are a bit nuts but we make it work. We fell into Fall with October and all its festivities. We were well into our routines and having fun at various playdates, fall activities, and many birthdays. Thanksgiving was spent with the in laws and outlaws hehehe I ended up hosting my families (outlaws) Thanksgiving dinner. Halloween was a huge hit around our house this year complete with pumpkins, decorations, costumes and trick or treating. Nat was in the process of switching shifts so we were blessed by having him home for almost 2 straight weeks and especially excited to have him home for Halloween for the first time in 2 years. The kids had a hoot and brought in a huge haul. We changed costumes once and had to come home to warm up but fun was had by all.We were joined in with Mama and Papa who stayed at the house and handed out candy. Nana, Pops and Jake, and Aunty Jo joined us trick or treating. Life was changed and new routines were made in November with Nat gone for longer but also home for longer as well. We all had to make adjustments but they've all been for the better. Our family is closer than ever. Our days are filled with school drop offs and pick ups, Kinder volunteering, playdates and many more day to day activities as well as house work and all that boring stuff. My grandparents have been around helping out and getting their trucking business settled and running smoothly and we have had the great pleasure having them in our lives consistently these last few months and will miss them terribly when they return home mid December. Wow and its December 1st! That brings the end of my rant. December is a full month in the Werdal house hold getting ready for Christmas and a New Year and Kaity turning 3 (yes I'm sniffling again). This week marks the half way point in this Pregnancy, as with most things the second half will fly by. Next week hopefully we will find out the sex of the baby. I'm so excited. Also with this week kicks off our December book. Posted above is our first page. We do something special everyday in December and I scrapbook it for our December book. Today Joe had to take pictures with his Kindergarten Christmas tree and with the Angel he contributed to the tree. I had to document our house and the Lovely weather we had today. I hope this post finds you well and gearing up for the Lovely season ahead! Hugs and love to you all B

Days Like Today

I LOVE days like today. Days that REMIND me why I love to be a mother, That show me that this IS what I am supposed to be doing with my life and there is NOTHING and NOWHERE that would be better for me. We are a busy family. I am often told that I am too busy and that I don't have to be super mom. Well I am far from supermom and there are days that I also think we're to busy but really that's life. I like to stay busy for anyone that knows me even in the least bit will tell you that. I love play dates, spending time with the kids and other moms. I love taking the kids places and showing them new things. As they are growing it is getting easier and when I have days like today it makes me feel incredible to see them learn, experience new things and see the look of wonder cross their faces. Today was sort of a Celebration for the end of school for the boys. It was their "first" day of summer, so we went to the Zoo. The day started off with everyone eating Breakfast, getting dressed and in the van without any fights and no problems. We stopped and picked up my bestie and her kids, got groceries, coffee and gas without a complaint or any demands. The trip up was loud and obnoxious but really we were taking an almost 2 year old, a 2 and a half year old, 2 4 year old's and a 5 year old what did we expect? When we got to the zoo we pulled in behind a whole swack load of school buses. Guess what its June and that means all the schools are doing field trips to the zoo. I was a wreak pretty much then and there. I was mostly worried about Kaity taking off or getting lost but with that many kids I was also worried we wouldn't be able to maneuver a double stroller and a walking 5 year old through the crowds. My bestie can keep me calm in these situations without saying a word and she did. We got unloaded, through both ticket lines and through the gate without too many issues, well mostly just inpatients. The day went on and on we saw a lot of animals and got great exercise. The kids all listened so well and we only had a few times where one of us had to run and grab them. The best part of the day was watching the kids' facial expressions, the amazement, wonder and everything in between. The day went so well and it definitely reminded me that I HAVE THE BEST JOB EVER!!!!

Scrapbooking Always Scrapbooking

I used to have a scrapbooking blog but due to a lovely email hacking and other events I cant post there. Posting here might make it easier for me to keep up on anyways. Lately I have been scrapping out of my home, either at events or at my lovely fellow scrappers houses. I have been doing all the paper work and layouts but I have been totally slacking in the embellishments, titling and journal department. So after cruisin garage sales this morning and snagging some great scrappin supplies I decided to organize and start on finishing the pages I have been neglecting. A few are posted above!!

2011 bucket list

In January I posted my bucket list and a list of New Years resolutions. I'm sad to say I've failed on some of my resolutions but I am MORE than happy to say Ive been keeping with two of my resolutions. I have been scrapbooking like crazy, not doing 2 pages a week like I wanted but doing so many more things. I started this year off my sticking with the 2 page thing for a few weeks until we decided to move. I love our new house and my new studio space in the basement. I need better lighting and maybe a heater or two but its great. I attended a scrapbooking retreat with some amazing and very creative ladies and I accomplished a ton. Recently I finished making two calendars, started 100 cards for a swap and I am making (with the help of my Grandmother and Mom) 24 center pieces for my great grandmas 80th bday party. Ill try to remember to post pictures.

I have also crossed an item off of my bucket list and off of my New Years resolutions list. With the help of some amazing ladies I posted m very first Twilight fanifiction story. I have been slightly obsessed with the Twilihgt stories and universe and after i read the last book I went looking for more and stumbled across fanfiction. I have met some amazingly talented, caring and encouraging people through the Twilight universe. I was encouraged time and time again to finish writing the few stories I had started but after hearing a Taylor Swift song a short story idea hit me and I sat down and wrote. Within a few hours my first draft was finished and sent of to my great friend Holly for a pre read and then she sent it off to Carrie to be edited. Within two weeks it was edited my me and Carrie and posted on the Fanfic site. I was flabbergasted by what I had accomplished. I squealed like a little girl when I pushed the publish button. With fanfiction.net your story doesn't need to be edited (although its wise to) My ultimate goal was to post on twilighted.net its harder to get published there and they have a team that pre reads everything before its posted. I sent my story in hoping it would get published (I was denied there a few years ago with a different story) So I submitted my story and six weeks later I got an email saying it was approved and now posted. I have never been so proud of myself in my life. I had set out a goal and accomplished it. I was elated. Thanks again Holly and crrie for helping me with this.

My bucket list has taken me though some amazing experiences and I cant wait to cross off the next item.
feel free to check out my story at fanfiction.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6748986/1/Speak_Now

Resolutions, Bucket list and More!!

Once again it has been awhile. It feels like all I ever do on this thing is say "I'm going to write more" Well we have just started 2011! and I am going to state my resolutions (there's just a few) I hope to keep it updated on here with my progress. This summer I also started a Bucket list and have been crossing things off of it the last six months or so. Ill start with 2011 New Years resolutions!

1)To get up at 6 am and go to bed at a good time on a daily basis!
This Resolution stems from not getting enough time to myself and feeling so groggy and off when the kids wake up before me and either wake me up or get into things ultimately waking me up. I'm hoping to get some Scrap booking done in the time it takes before the kids get up but mostly I just want the luxury of having a cup of coffee and maybe a shower in peace before they get up. This goes in hand with going to bed at a good hour. There are some nights where that's not going to happen but I am going to do my best!

2)Scrapbook 2 sets of pages a week and Title and Journal the pages that are in need.
This is mostly for myself just to stay on top of the mass amounts of pictures that I take (and my Lovely SiL takes)and print off. I'd really like to get them at least caught up to the kid's birthday last tear by the end of this year. I also need to finish a few pages with Titles and journal. I am hoping like I stated before to do this in the mornings!

3)Go to Church
This is for the whole family! We need this and we need to learn the word among other times. I really don't have much to say about this one other than its a NEED not a WANT.

4) Continue writing and post either the Fanfic I have been writing or the Novel Ive been working on since I was pregnant with Joey!

5)Accomplish 5 things on Bucket list on 2011!
This is an up in the air resolution. I want to do this but only if its possible time wise and fee wise. I am always adding to my bucket list it seems never ending.

Brandy Bucket List
The Ones in Bold are Accomplished I have started a scrapbook for my list and will post the pages in my other blog.
- Train and do a Triathlon
- Go to New Orleans for Maudi Gras
- Take the kids on a Disney Cruise
- Nat and I go on a Cruise
- Take the kids to Disney
- Take the kids to Europe
- Go to Norway
- Go to Greece
- See a Rugby Game in New Zealand or England
- fly in a plane
-see the Backstreet Boys in Concert
- Learn to Swim
- learn to Surf
- Learn to rock climb
- Go Sky Diving
- Learn to Ballroom Dance
- Go to Seattle
- Go to Forks Washington
- Meet Twi pals
- Learn to Fly a plane
- Learn to Scuba Dive
- Get my palm read
- Buy a House
- See a talk show live
- Meet a Celebrity
- Bowl a 300
- Bowl a 350
- Bowl 7, 8, 9 strikes in a row
- Submit a Scrap Layout/pages to a Magazine
- See the Mian Ruins
- Go to the East Coast
- Dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean
- Dip my Toes in the Pacific Ocean
- Go to the grand Canyon
- get a Tattoo
- Take Voice lessons
- Learn how to drive a Motorcycle
- Take a Motorcycle road trip with Nathanael
- write Novel
- Post my Fanfics to site

So Far that my list.