Halloween

Hello all! For those who aren't on facebook,
here are a few pics of the kids. Sterling is liking not working as much! He has used that time to work on painting the house. I have been trying to decide if I should send some pics before the whole transformation is done.. you really won't be able to tell that it is the same house :) You go honey! I am still trying to get my business established. I broke down and decided to invest in an ad on www.mywedding.com under Seattle. I really believe it will pay off, I just have to be patient.

Hunter is LOVING school! He even has straight a's despite missing the last month or so of 2nd grade. He has plenty of friends and is thriving!

Dakota is still trying to make friends. We just got her a dog that she named Isabella, she is a 3 year old miniature american eskimo dog which she has already tried to dress up. She is still so sweet and only a few minutes ago, she gave me a note that stated, " I do no wot muney oll i wot is my mom" I am sure you can figure out what she said.. such a sweety!

Braxton started preschool and loves it, he came home the first day just beaming, wanting us to see his pumpkins that he had made.
Kristjan is trying to potty train himself which is tricky.. I love the idea of no more diapers but it means my baby isn't a baby anymore and that really makes me sad! Addie, our bernese mountian dog puppy still thinks that she is one of my children. She climbs on the couch and sits her 70+ self right on my lap. It has been a little interesting seeing the two dogs interact but at least Addie isn't quite so needy! Well, that is about all for us.. Enjoy the pics!

uhhhhhh

So.. as I mentioned before, I have been trying my darnedest to restart my business here in Washington. I must admit that I am frustrated. I knew that it would take me a LOT of time and a LOT of work but I am running out of time. I either need to book a wedding this month or i will HAVE to get a job outside my home. This is not saying that I have not been working.. or that I am against working. As many of you know... I work constantly! Lately, I have been making up flyers and taking them to the neighbors. Tomorrow I will be delivering them to a few more subdivisions (I will upload a pic of my flyer). I have dropped off flyers at hair salons, the FedEx/Kinkos shop where I made my copies, every baby that I saw at Madigan Army Hospital today, I gave a business card to and talked to them for a few minutes. I even gave one to the Optomitrist that checked my eyes today. I have been praying, fasting and working my as best as I can. I called 10 or more wedding venues, caterers, photographers in the area trying to create a buzz. I have added my company to every wedding online site that I can find and even write many of the brides emails. I dropped off flyers to the local newspaper too. Needless to say.. I feel like I have exhausted all the ideas that I can come up with. I think the thing that makes me the most frustrated is that as I was checking out the vendors that are participating in the sassymei home show... www.sassymei.com , (in which I will be selling some flower and landscape images all the while marketing my business) and I noticed that all of the photographers particpating have only been in business for less than a year and are charging nothing! Absolutely nothing! They have no experience. This is not to say that they aren't talented, because they are but grrrr. I guess I am just angry because I work so hard to get my business going just to move when it starts to do something. AND they have one thing that I definately DON"T have and that is a connection to the area. Washington is such a tight group. They won't refer you brides unless you have worked as a vendor several times but if you don't have clients then how can you work there.. well ahhh.. that is where my next plan has fallen on it's face too. I applied to work part time at one of the caterers so that I could develop a repour but they haven't called me back yet. I am sorry for the rant.. I just don't know what more I can do!

Much needed update!

Since it has been a while, I will try to be pretty concise as to what we have been up to. We arrived in Washington and I think that is where I left off. We got the opportunity to stay in a couple of hotels until our stuff arrived and so we got to know Seattle a little better! We also got to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge which was a blast! We went down to visit Matt and Kathleen for the 4th of July and got to visit Great Grandma B and Uncle Neal! Then, our friends Matt and Kathy and their adorable 3 kids came up and visited us and we had a great time going on a Ferry and seeing a little more of the area near us. We finally got our stuff and started unpacking. We then had a record setting heat wave. With no a/c and no fans within a 50 mile radius, me, the kids and Chloe decided to head down to Utah and stay with my mom. We had fun playing with the cousins, Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents and the horses! Part of the way through, I flew with Hunter and Kristjan to Tennessee so that Hunter could spend a couple of weeks with Grandma B. Kristjan and I stayed a few days and had fun going to the Aquarium, helping with Uncle Joe's Play, playing with the cousins, and helping Grandma! Kristjan and I flew back to Utah and then Hunter, Grandma B and Grandpa B flew out the following week. Hunter had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa! We spent 2 days in Southern Utah with Grandma and Grandpa L riding the 4 wheelers, picking fruit and hanging out with the family. We then drove all the way back to Grandma and Grandpa I's and Daddy flew into town thanks to Grandma B being generous and paying for his flight. We did family pictures that night and then the next day we babtised Hunter to be a member of the LDS Church! We are so proud of his decision! We drove/flew back into town just in time to start school the next day. Chloe and I have been unpacking ever since and are thankfully pretty much done. Last week Sterling has a work retreat at Seaside, Oregon and so we got to spend the weekend playing on the beach and enjoying some much needed family time with Daddy! I will upload some of the pictures, but not all since, I can't find the electrical chord to my laptop with all of the pictures. I am trying to restart my business and sell Scentsy Candles so anyone interested, let me know!

Hello from Washington!

I will post a few random pics but we arrived and in the process of getting settled. I will write more when I can spare the time but as you all know I am very good at keeping myself busy with random projects and such! Sterling is loving his new program and me and the kids are loving having him around A LOT more! We have a live in babysitter named Chloe that came with us from Hawaii so when you see the new face you will know who it is! Live has been MUCH easier with her to help out! Now I just have to book enough photography jobs to afford her :) tata for now!

Our First House and the crazy life of us!

So.. I know it has been forever and I can't really even remember what I wrote last! So.. I guess I will try to update you all as far as I can remember...

Sterling finally got off night float, went to family med and decided to change his major to Family Med. We had 2 weeks of not knowing if we were staying in Hawaii, going to possibly Germany, Italy, Japan, etc. and Sterling being deployed soon after the move to being notified that they were transferring him to Washington State. The day after it was official, Sterling was on break and we flew out to Washington, met up with a realtor that Sterling had called the day before and looked at approx 15 houses. We then flew back the next day and did Dakota's birthday party. After the party our Realtor called and said that they house we really liked had an offer on it and did we want to counter. We decided yes, and countered. They accepted our offer then next day and Sterling left the next day to camp. I started filling out the paperwork and then we got it all faxed. In the middle of this, we ended up removing Hunter from school and beginning to homeschool him. Also, I continued to plan this fabulous wedding for a client/now friend of mine for the 30th of May. The week before the wedding, Kristjan got bit by a dog and ended up pooping blood from the antibiotics, Hyrum, Sterling's brother arrived to help me and visit and I had a lot of errands to run for the wedding. The week of the wedding, we closed on our house, we traded in the Miata and are now leasing a Acura TL, and finished the wedding details. The wedding was one major event. I was the photographer, planner and florist. The bride was super busy and a little delayed at making a few decisions so the day before the event, the ring bearer suits arrived (overnighted), I had to make a new ring bearer pillow (one didn't arrive), cut the table runners, decorate and hang fabric and beaded curtains from the sides of the tent, make 70 centerpieces, buy and cover 150 chapsticks, buy favors for the guests, make a sign in book(the book didn't arrive until tuesday after), and attend the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I literally didn't sleep between Friday and Saturday. There is no way that I would have been able to do it all if Sterling, Chloe, and Hyrum wouldn't have helped me! Poor Sterling had just worked a 30 hour shift from Thursday to Friday and still helped me set up on Friday, then helped me photograph on Saturday and had to work another 30 hour shift from Sunday to Monday! We were all exhausted by the end of it all. So here it is Saturday again I am just now finally feeling like a normal person again! I am flying out to Washington on the 20th/21st. The kids, Sterling and Chloe are flying out on the 29th to Washington and then we will all drive to Utah for the Brodniak Family Reunion around the 1st of July. I will try and attach a few pics of the house and the wedding and stuff.

Big Changes!

There has been A LOT of changes since I last blogged. I have been waiting to blog about it until everything was settled and it finally is! First of all, about a month ago Sterling finished his two months of the night shift and started his rotation in Family Practice. He went from working 90-100 hours a week to working 60. Along with the drastic change in hours he really loved the variety of patients! He got to play with his babies, kids, and his old people and he was so much happier. The program director talked to him about changing his specialty to Family Medicine. Sterling has been unhappy with the hours worked, missed the variety of patients and missed
spending time with his family and so decided to go ahead and change his specialty. As soon as the decision was made our lives have been in a tornado of craziness. We were told after his decision was made, that Sterling would have to be deployed and that he would have to work as a General Medical Officer for a time before he would be allowed to change Residency programs. Sterling had a long discussion with the head of Residency Programs and after a couple of days we were informed that we would be moving to Madigan/Ft. Lewis (Washington state). We are sad to move from Hawaii and leave the wonderful friends and family we have come to love! We are also excited to be closer to family, own a home (we put on offer on a house tonight!) and see "daddy" a little more often. Along with all the above craziness we have been busy enjoying spring break, having a stay-cation (a vacation without leaving) in Waikiki, working and playing with our fast growing puppy Adalie! Sterling and I just flew out to Seattle to go house shopping on Wednesday night, arriving in Utah for a short 20 minute visit with Grandma Isom, then on to Seattle. We then drove to Madigan and looked at 13-14 houses and then sleeping at the hotel for a few hours before flying back this morning so that we could attend Dakota's early Princess Birthday Party. I will put pictures of the best of everything and please pray that if we are meant to get this house that we will get it. We love you all and hope you have a great day!

The Brodniaks

New Name

So.. we have finally decided on a name for the dog. Her name is Adalie but we will call her Addie for short. We will be getting her in 2 weeks.