The Alexander-Hayden’s 2009

So I was going to be a champ and blog all year about what was going on up north but got to busy to do it! So that will be the first of my many new years resolutions next year. This year I was so fortunate to find Facebook and was able to connect with friends of long ago and make new friends. This is a big deal because one friendship I had with my friend Liz and she helped me get through a really rough time in my life. And I was never able to thank her for that and let her know how much that meant to me. Now we both have children and truly know the importance of “mommies”. I have always cherished all of my friendships and I thank all of you that have been there. Even those that I have known for the last year. My friend Kellie and Jenn B, I just met at my new job and they have been like sisters to me. Kellie welcomed her first child only a few days ago and I am so happy for her. My girls, Sammi, Shannon, April, Cari, Kimmee and Adriana are the best friends a gal could have. Aunts to my children and my biggest supporters. My family of course has no choice but to put up with me. They of course are always loved and missed daily. My brother and sister being so far away L I love seeing pictures of their lives and wish them the best in the new year.

As we say good-bye to 2009 I look back on the year we have had. Definitely some ups and downs but we made it through without a scratch on us. The Alexander family welcomed a new addition to the family, Miss Liberty. The kids and I lost to family members this year. Pepper passed away tragically and Maggie ran away and hasn’t been found. Salt is growing and has got a clean bill of health so we are hoping to have her with us for quite sometime. Boo is still driving me crazy and keeping the kids amused.

The kids and I enjoyed our first CSU event this year. We attended the girls’ basketball game against BYU. Sadly, they didn’t win but we had a great time. We will be going to the game again in January so we hope they win this year but we just like the hot dogs J We took a vacation to Dallas, Texas to see my sister and niece and Nephew. We only got to spend 3 days with them but we had a great time.

Katelyn completed 2nd grade this year and was invited to be in the Gifted and Talented program at her school. She has taken a lot of tests to determine her overall level of understanding and has tested at a 5th grade level. She is very bright and she has a goal to be a Vet and/or President of the United States. She celebrated her 8th birthday in July by going to Water World with her family. Katelyn was baptized in November in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She studied very hard to prepare herself for this big decision. Her Uncle Dave baptized her and that was truly amazing. I know she will never forget it. Katelyn participated in her first Fashion Show this year and she modeled some clothes from Old Navy. I was so proud of her and she said she wasn’t even nervous. Maybe she’ll get a modeling contract and buy her mom a house J


Kenyon started Second grade this August. He has developed quite the independence. He enjoys reading and fights with me about homework. I keep telling him Santa won’t come if he keeps this up but somehow he doesn’t believe me. Kenyon turned 7 and he requested Legos this year. He received several lego sets and he had them all completed within a week. Katelyn and Kenyon joined the Boys and Girls Club at the end of the summer and have made new friends and have joined several groups there. They met Champ Bailey and received autographs and Bronco memorabilia.


Kayne started pre-school in fall 2009. He goes to pre-school Monday through Thursday from noon to 3:30. He is learning how to play with others and everyday he comes home with a humorous anecdote. His favorites are of course knock knock jokes. He likes to tell those over and over again. Kayne will celebrate his 5th birthday in January and will share it with his new friends at daycare and preschool.


In the upcoming year we will take our annual trip to Glenwood Springs and we are planning a trip to Germany in October to see The Shelley family and hopefully get some sight seeing done in Italy and Paris. It will be a short trip but of course a trip of a lifetime. We will get out to Houston, Texas next year and hopefully see my sister and her family. 2010 looks promising for our family and we are truly looking forward to it! So here's too another great year!!


We love you all!!

Brandy, Katelyn, Kenyon and Kayne

21 Questions I asked my children

Katelyn age 7
Kenyon age 6
Kayne age 4

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
Katelyn-I love you

Kenyon-Let out the dogs

Kayne-Make good choices

2. What makes Mom happy?

Katelyn-when I help her

Kenyon-me being good

Kayne-doing everything I do

3. What makes Mom sad?

Katelyn-when I’m bad

Kenyon-me not being good

Kayne-doing nothing

4. What does your Mom do that makes you laugh?

Katelyn-repeating what I did when I’m sad

Kenyon-wrestle with me

Kayne-make jokes

5. What was your Mom like as a child?

Katelyn-you were like your mom

Kenyon-watched funny things

Kayne-she did things like me

6. How old is your Mom?Katelyn-31

Kenyon-36

Kayne-I don’t remember

7. How tall is your Mom?

Katelyn-5 feet and some inches

Kenyon-7 feet

Kayne-that big! (motioning with his hands)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Katelyn-to make cards and scrapbook

Kenyon-play with us

Kayne-check the mail and fix dinner

9. What does your Mom do when you're not around?

Katelyn-go to work

Kenyon-go to work

Kayne-drive

10. If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Katelyn-dance choreography and singing

Kenyon-a famous movie star

Kayne-Rock guitar (cross between Rockband and Guitar Hero)

11. What is your Mom really good at?

Katelyn-singing

Kenyon-talking

Kayne-Karate and walking the dogs

12. What is your Mom not very good at?

Katelyn-running into walls

Kenyon-she is good at everything

Kayne-spanking my butt (yes he said this)

13. What does your Mom do for a job?

Katelyn-Payroll Supervisor and Creative Memories Scrapbooking

Kenyon-Heska-taking care of the pets

Kayne-work very hard

14. What is your Moms favorite food?

Katelyn-fried chicken

Kenyon-cherries and vegetables

Kayne-salad

15.What makes you proud of your Mom?

Katelyn-when she does fun stuff for us

Kenyon-go to Waterworld

Kayne-when she does the dishes

16. If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Katelyn-Sandy

Kenyon-Spongebob’s mom

Kayne-Bugs Bunny

17. What do you and your Mom do together?

Katelyn-make cards and laugh

Kenyon-eat

Kayne-do my homework

18. How are you and your Mom the same?

Katelyn-we love Barbie’s

Kenyon-we like waterworld

Kayne-we like to go to bed

19. How are you and your Mom different?

Katelyn-how we look

Kenyon-I don’t tap my feet all the time

Kayne-we are different sizes

20. How do you know your Mom loves you?

Katelyn-you do fun stuff for us and give us treats

Kenyon-I cuddle up with you

Kayne-she kisses me

21. Where is your Mom's favorite place?

Katelyn-home

Kenyon-Buffalo Wild Wings

Kayne-here at home

Cute Little Stinky Boys!

As a single mother I knew there would be things that I would not be able to teach my sons. These are things that can only be taught by a male. Seriously, I thought that those days were far off until my sons were nearing their teenage years. Little did I know that some lessons were to be learned before the age of six. The first lesson being the dreaded toilet seat in the bathroom. During potty training the boys learned to sit down when they needed to do their business. My oldest son started school and found that all the boys stand up when they use the bathroom. So wanting to fit in he started standing. My youngest son seeing this decided that he wanted to stand too. Since we moved in October they now have their own bathroom so no big deal for me because I don’t have to worry about falling into the toilet or sitting on a wet seat. Unfortunately, I did not take into account the aim factor. Cleaning the house this weekend I had to complete that horrible chore of scrubbing toilets. Now me and Katelyn’s bathroom not so bad. Sweep the floors, clean off the counters, scrub the tubs and it sparkles. But walking into the boys’ bathroom it was something out of a horror film. I remembered the scene from the movie Daddy Day Care where Eddie Murphy’s character goes into the bathroom after one of the boys and he is horrified by what the little boy left for him to clean. That was me! My face was probably worth a thousand words. I could not figure out where to begin. Dis-gus-ting!! The walls, the base boards, the floors, the trashcan, the seat cover….you name it they got it! I threw on the yellow gloves, grabbed the bleach, spic-n-span, scrub brush and any other chemical that happen to be near and went to work. So the new rule in the house is I don’t care what you do at school but in this house you SIT! No standing over the toilet seat unless you want to clean up the mess. I am sure this is nothing new for mothers with sons but it was an experience I will soon never forget.

Brandy's Top 10 Never Again List

So my sister-in-law, T, gave me the idea to construct my own 'Never again' List. Today a ton of them popped in my brain and I had to jot them down.

1. Never again go to bed with a million things swimmin around in your head. (You will only wake up @ 1am reading O magazine, eating a cup of ice cream and watching a sappy love dvd)

2. Never again give a 4-year old a piece of chocolate in the car in 70 degree weather.

3. Never again tell your 6 year old he can do anythin he sets his mind too. (You end up with the Olympic tryouts in your living room)

4. Never again answer the question, "Mommy, why can't you be President of the United States." It only leads to more questions.

5. Never again try to cram 3 kids and 2 dogs onto a queen size bed for bedtime. (Unless you enjoy a foot to the face and a paw in the gut)

6. Never again eat day old chili (after it sat out all night).

7. Never again forget God is always there to rescue you.

8. Never again spend your last $8 on McDonalds :)

9. Never again mail cash via USPS. (You will only spend the next week praying it did not get lost)

10. Never again send a text to someone that might save it and hold it against you later.

Am I old?

One night as we were driving home, I was rocking out to one of my old Mtv Party to Go Cd’s (so 1990’s) and the song Boom shake the room came on. And the kids stopped what they were doing and started jamming with me. After the song was over, Katelyn asked who sang that song. So I told her that Will Smith (one of her favorite actors) sang it. Looking just as cute as can be, she looked at me so puzzled. I must have been wrong with the name. So she very a matter of fact said to me…Will Smith is not a singer. And I said to her “oh on the contrary my dear that is how he started his career.” So as the weeks progressed I dug out, “Getting Jiggy with it”, “Ring my bell”, “Parents just don’t understand”, “Men in black”, “Miami”, Freakin’ it”, Wild Wild West”, “Just the two of us” and “Summertime”. She was so fascinated with this new found knowledge. So then I asked her if she knew that Will Smith was also on television. And she says of course. He is on the television when we play his movies. So I told her how he starred on a television show called The fresh prince of bel air. I told her all about Hilary, Will, Ashley, Carlton and Uncle Phil. Boy, was she impressed. (Now of course she wants me to get all six seasons so she can watch the show). But this got me to thinking…am I that old that today’s generation does not know that Will Smith was once a rapper? That Willard Christopher Smith Junior is more than a big mega movie star actor. He has success in music, film and television. He started his career in the 80’s as a rapper. He was a part of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. I know the answer is yes, I am old. Although 31 is not so old to some…1980 was not that long ago that’s an eternity to a 7 year old. I will just have to mark this day as the day I realized I was old L

The 1st Five get a Goodie

So my friend gave me a great idea to "pay it forward". This sounds like so much fun.....I thought I would give it a try.The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you! This offer does have a few "rules of play":
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make --- but I hope you do!
2- What I create will be just for you --- one of a kind!
3- It'll be done sometime this year (most likely it will be in the next month).
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. Well, a pretty good bet it will be made of paper!
5-The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog!

The first 5 people to leave a comment wins a handmade card or gift (or both!) by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Ready, set.....who will the first five be??

Saint Patricks Day 2009

The kids and I made the trek down to Denver for the Bellco Saint Patricks Day Parade. We met Sammi and watched the parade. It was so neat. It was a nice sunny day and so many people were out. The parade was like 3 hours long. Lots of floats, Irish dancers and bagpipes. The kids got loads of candy and trinkets thrown at them. After the parade we went over to The Rio Grande Restaurant and met Roy for lunch and drinks. It was such a fun day!!

CSU vs BYU girls basketball

On February 11th the kids and I went to the Women’s CSU basketball game at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. This was the first game that we have attended at CSU so the kids were super excited. A couple weeks leading up to the game I taught the kids the rules of basketball and how each team scores points. We attended a kids league game with Shannon and Jimmie’s son, Jadon but this was our first game in a big Arena.

The kids also watched a video about the Harlem Globetrotters to see a game in action. We hope to go see the Globetrotters in-person when they come to Loveland in April.

The Women’s game started at 7 with BYU leading against CSU in the Mountain West Conference. CSU being ranked 7th place and BYU in 4th place. The CSU Rams played BYU Cougars back in December and lost 61-43 so this was a chance for them to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, as exciting as the game was, they were unable to clinch the victory. Although, CSU has some really great players. Britney Minor had to be our favorite. She is a great athlete and physical player. Hopefully we will be able to attend more games this season.

FINAL SCORE 53-51

My Big Boy

My baby boy turned 4 on January 24th. I am so proud of him. He is growing everyday and the things he comes up with sometimes is amazing. Last night after hearing a clip on the news about people clipping the hairs off the tails of several horses and another of people stealing plow blades to sale, he comes up to my room and says “Mommy the world is crazy”. I turned to him in extreme amazement. At 4 he has already grasped the concept that people are doing bad things to each other making life extremely difficult. He is brilliant in everyway and I love the little guy dearly.