world's best dad

Have you seen this Subaru commercial??



I think I cry every time I see it.

I love it so much.

It reminds me of Curtis.  I can see him doing this exact same thing.

Curtis is the BEST dad!  I love watching him with our kids.  Clover and Henry are sure lucky to have such a wonderful daddy who loves and cares for them so much. 

If you have ever held Clover or Henry in front of Curtis, then you have most likely experienced him telling you about 152 times to "be careful" and "watch his/her arm" and "be sure to support his/her head" and "he/she likes to be held like this" and my very favorite, "don't drop him/her."  Don't feel bad if Curtis criticizes your every little move while holding one of the babies.  He does it to me too.  Every day.  He loves them....that's why.

The one time we left our kids with a friend (for one hour, mind you), Curtis was sure to go over every little thing about the kids.....including how to do infant CPR.

He was meant to be a daddy and there is nothing I love more than watching him fulfill that roll.

I am happiest when I'm home!

I finally made it home from my week long training in Albuquerque.

I never want to do that again.

I think this was my hardest time being away from home.  I hated leaving Curtis and Millie behind for that long.  And the 2 days of driving to get there and the 2 days of driving to get home totally sent me over the edge.

New Mexico itself was fun (despite being homesick) and I did enjoy hanging out with some fun work folks, but boy does it feel good to be home!

When I arrived home, Curtis had flowers waiting for me and Millie had a new trick to show me.  She can now sit and shake on command.  It was a wonderful welcome home from both of them!

We're still working on getting down the stairs with Millie....but we'll get there eventually.  While she is still little, I will continue to enjoy scooping her up in my arms and carrying her down the stairs.


It is so wonderful being home with my sweetums...and with Millie (even though she doubled in size while I was gone)....and sleeping in my own bed last night was pretty darn peachy too. 

Awww, home....thanks for being awesome!

an anniversary.

Over the Christmas break we celebrated our 9th anniversary.  Aww, it seems like just yesterday we tied the knot...

Okay, so maybe not just yesterday, but it has been a fabulous 9 years.  And it has gone by rather quickly.

Sorry to my friends who are not fond of online public mush (as my grandma calls it), but I just can't help it.  I love this guy and sometimes I just want to shout if from the rooftops!

"I LOVE MY HUSBAND!  HE'S THE BEST IN THE WORLD!"
 

While I do understand that everyone else thinks their husband is the best, I can say for surety that my husband is the best husband for me.  And to each their own.

This year's celebration consisted of a late night trip to the drug store for some nyquil and cough medicine.  It was followed by 5 straight days laying around the house and watching movies.  I couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate...except for Curtis to have felt better....but I loved the lounging we got to do.  And I finally got to watch Pretty Woman from start to finish, so it was a win/win.

In our 9 years of marriage, we have...

moved 7 times.
earned 3 college degrees (actually 4 if you count my Associates...I have the diploma, ya know).
cared for and killed 4 fish.
rode in an ambulance together.
stayed up past midnight 6 times.
both fallen asleep at the movie theater 10 times.
moved to a new state.
lived in 5 different cities/towns.
fixed up 2 rundown houses.
painted 17 rooms.
repainted 9 of the 17 rooms.
became landlords.
bought a VW bus.
made lots of friends.
laughed a lot.
watched the Big Lebowski 45 times.
purchased 2,346 scooters (give or take a few).


Life with my sweetie just keeps getting better and better!

I'm looking forward to adding to our list.


Happy Anniversary Sweetie-Peetie-Pie!!

party cake + thirty candles

Thirty years ago today the world became a much better place...

Happy Birthday to the love of my life.

I love you.

 
Be sure to wish the birthday boy a happy 30th!  He likes to celebrate his birthday all week long...so you have plenty of time.

love it

I was looking through old pictures today and found this gem . . .

 

I love this man so much!!

bragging rights

Not only is my hubby super cool, super attractive and a super good kisser, but he can also do this...



DUH duh duh da-da-da DUH duh duh duh DUH duh duh da-da-da DUH duh duh duh DUH da-da-da DUH da-da-da DUH da-da-da-da-da DUH duh duh duh....




Impressive, I tell you!!

If this whole attorney thing doesn't work out, at least we have a back-up plan.


For me, well...I'm still in training.



"don't be a scaredy!"


Our kids are either going to think we are super cool...or super embarrassing. Probably super cool.

The Dinosaurs

Curtis is coaching a soccer team.

His team consists of six kids, ages 3 to 5 years old.

They are adorable.


During their first practice, Curtis asked the kids what their team name should be. One kids said, "well, it should probably be something about soccer."

Another kid said, "how about soccer team."

Curtis said, "you want our team name to be soccer team?"

"Yeah!" all the kids shouted.

Then one kid said he wanted to be a T-Rex. Another kid wanted to be a Stegosaurus.

They eventually agreed to be 'The Dinosaurs.'

Here is a clip of their first game. The Dinosaurs are in green.




Aren't they just the cutest? Apparently when you are 3-5 years old, you can pick up the ball whenever you want and put it down where you want. You can also use your hands to help move the ball along. You also have to fall down a lot...and do headstands...and it's perfectly okay to kick the ball into your own goal box (several times).


Watching Curtis coach these kids is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

I can't wait to have kids.

my funny Valentine

The Friday before Valentine's, Curtis and I went to a V-day [church] dinner. We sat across from a couple that we have only talked to a couple of times...and by talked to, I mean said hi to as we passed each other in the church hallway.

There were 2 boxes of candy hearts sitting in the middle of the table in front of us. After dinner, Curtis picks up one of the boxes of candy hearts, opens them, and eats one. He then proceeds to dump the entire box of hearts onto the table and touches each one as he reads "hug me" and "be mine" etc from each heart.

I lean over and whisper in his ear, "I think those are theirs," as I nod towards the couple across from us. Curtis looks down the table to see if others have candy hearts sitting in front of them. None...only the 2 boxes in front of us.

"Wait a minute," Curtis says. "Are these yours?"

"Yeah, but that's okay...you guys can have some."

We couldn't stop laughing. Curtis was SO embarrassed.

After apologizing several times, Curtis put all the candy hearts back in the box and sat them back on the table.

Oh my goodness...it was SO funny.


I love you, my funny Valentine. Thanks for always making me laugh. Always be mine.



[For those of you who want to participate in the recipe exchange, you need to email me your recipes by this Friday.]

a super duper, fun, special, exciting day that's worth celebrating!

Today is this guy's birthday!


I'm so, so thankful that 29 years ago today, this handsome guy was born. The world is a better place with him in it.

Curtis is my absolute best friend. Everyday, I have to pinch myself to assure that I am indeed married to this incredible, handsome, charming, funny guy and that I'm not just dreaming.

One of my favorite things about Curtis is that even on his 29th birthday, he still requests 'Party' cake. He really is the coolest person I've ever known.

I love you sweetie-peetie....a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot.

H-A-P-P-Y . B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y

Are you a fan of the birthday boy? Go here and become a member of the best fan club on the planet.

seven.

Happy Anniversary sweetie-pie.

Thank you for every day of the last seven years. Thank you for marrying me. I love you so much . . . more than words (or a blog post) could ever describe. I love being with you, I love laughing together, I love our shenanigans, I love our adventures, I love that I can spend everyday with my best friend.

I love you. You're the best!

Happy 7th.

the swearing in and what it means to me

Curtis was sworn in this week and is on his way to becoming a real attorney (as soon as all official paperwork is processed).


See for yourself. Here he is getting sworn in.

And here's the celebratory cake we ate at his office after the swearing in.

He was even in the local paper with a headline that read: NEW LAWYER JOINING FIRM. Even I was lucky enough to be mentioned in the news article as being the wife of the new hot lawyer in town. It really said that too.

It is such a good feeling knowing that Curtis is done and that he never has to study for that darn bar exam again (unless of course he decides to get licensed in another state).

For me, it means we can finally settle down.

When we moved from our first home in Kaysville to Wyoming, I knew our stay there was only temporary. I knew it would take Curtis 3 years in law school, and after that, we would most likely move. So, our lives there felt temporary (at least for me). Plus we were back to renting again, which was a bit of an adjustment from owning our own home. We weren't the boss of our home anymore. So, just the fact that we were back to renting made things feel a bit temporary. I always knew in the back of my mind that the day would come when Curtis would graduate and we would move on.

Then, that day did come, and we did move on. We moved to Thermopolis...to a tiny one bedroom apartment...that we rent...again. Our stay here in this new town was sort of contingent upon Curtis passing the bar. Heaven for bid we get too settled here only to have Curtis lose his job due to him failing the bar. So, to say the least, we haven't really had a chance to settle in here yet. We haven't even finished unpacking all of our belongings.

But now, things are changing. Curtis passed the bar, his job is stable (and he loves his job which makes things even better) and we have grown to like this little town of ours. So, in an attempt to have our lives feel less temporary and more secure here, I think it's time to move on and quit this renting nonsense.

I am looking forward to house shopping and eventually, loving the place I live. No more boring white, bare walls. No more not having a kitchen table because our apartment is too small. And no more living out of boxes and rubbermaid bins.

And for Pete's sake, it's time to finally move our piano here from Utah.

It's time to hunker down and settle in.

Welcome home Cheney family. Take off your boots and stay awhile!

WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!

Have you ever been so excited that you couldn't control yourself and couldn't help but jump up and down and shout for joy?




Today I did just that.

Why?, you ask. Well . . .


CURTIS PASSED THE BAR!!!


I am so, so, so proud of him.

Curtis is awesome. He's a rock-star. I love him so much and I couldn't be more proud to be his wife. I'm so lucky to have him in my life.


Way to go, babe!!! You're the best! Now, lets celebrate!!


Join me in congratulating Wyoming's newest (and hottest) attorney!

a super duper good luck wish to the hubs

Curtis takes the bar tomorrow! He has spent his summer surrounded by big blue barbri books and on the computer taking practice exams. I am sure looking forward to having my hubby back. However, I know Curtis is not looking forward to this dreaded test. He has one full day of multiple choice questions and another full day of essays. YUCK!

Wish Curtis luck and send all your good energy (and brain power) his way. :)



I can't believe this time has actually come for Curtis to take the bar. We moved to Laramie 3 years ago and while it seems like the last 3 years have flown by, it also seems like we have been here forever. We love this town and it is crazy to think that we are leaving in just a few short days. We found a place to live in Thermopolis and we are excited about this next phase of our lives.


Now, on a completely different note, I walked to the grocery store this afternoon to buy the essentials...milk, bread, bananas, etc. I even brought my own bag from home. I felt very g-r-e-e-n. I like that feeling . . . except that the gallon of milk was way too heavy. My goal is to be green more often.

the conversation went somthing like this . . .

Bank Teller: Hi, how has your week been going?

Curtis: Not good, actually.

Bank Teller: Oh, I'm sorry. Hopefully the weekend will be good for you.

Curtis: Yeah, our pet snake just died.

Me: [caught a bit off guard...trying not to blow his cover]

Bank Teller: [gasp]. Ooohhh, I'm sorry. That is so sad.

Curtis: Yeah, it's pretty sad. He was a good pet.

Me: [Trying my very, very best not to laugh]

Bank Teller: How did it die?

Curtis: Just old age, I guess.

Me: [Holding my head down and doing my very best to keep it together]

Curtis: [sees me laughing and laughs through his nose...you know that kind of laugh that comes out your nose when you are trying your best not to laugh]

Me: [walking away, I just can't do it anymore...my eyes are watering]

Curtis: [trying to cover up his laugh] Well, it's okay, we are actually going out to dinner, so that will help things a little bit.

Bank Teller: [just as sweet as can be] Well, it's always sad to lose a pet. I hope things get better.

Curtis: Well, thanks. See ya later.


Man, Curtis is on a roll this week, isn't he? I think it must be all this studying for the bar nonsense.

last night . . .

Last night I couldn't fall asleep. That's what happens when I fall asleep on the couch at 8:30 and then finally decide to go to bed at 11:30. As I was tossing and turning, I hear Curtis laugh (he's totally asleep).

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just a funny joke." (still totally asleep)

"what joke?"

"two little Elvis' came out of one big Elvis. It was really funny." (still totally asleep)


I love this guy. Even when he's sleeping, he's still a hoot to be around.

[Gotta love the King. Don't you think he looks just like Adam Lambert?]

Well, we're off to Thermop to find a place to live. Wish us luck!

The Cake

I forgot to post these pictures with Curtis' graduation post. I made this cake for Curtis to celebrate his graduation from law school. For those of you who have never seen a law school book, they are big, boring and brown, just like these.

Juris Doctor

He did it! Curtis graduated and is now a Juris Doctor...and one cute Juris Doctor at that! I tried my best to capture this momentous occasion on film....

[entering the stage]

[being hooded]

[getting the ginormous diploma]

[Seriously, just look how big it is. Way bigger than mine.]

[Curtis and some of his peeps played a couple of songs during the ceremony, including Tom Petty's Learning to Fly. Classic! Aren't they hot in their robes and hats?!?]

[Class Photo. I had the perfect shot until the girl in white got in my way.]

[Good Friends...who will be missed dearly by us both.]

[Family Photo]

[2 grads in LoVe!! How could we not want to be all kissy kissy in this attire?!?]

It seems like just the other day we were driving up to Laramie to check out the University of Wyoming campus to see if it was the right fit for us. These past 3 years have flown by, yet it also seems like we have been friends with the Laramie folk for decades. We will treasure this experience forever.

Now, I know some of you are wondering what our future has in store for us. So are we. At this point, we are planning on staying here in Laramie until Curtis takes the Bar in July. How fun...a summer full of studying! Curtis is taking the Wyoming Bar, which means, you guessed it...we are planning on staying in Cowboy Country...at least for a while. Curtis has a couple of leads on some jobs, but that is all I can tell you now. But I promise, when I know more, I will tell.

Good job babe on graduating from law school. Stay cool and have a good summer!

Sleep Talking

Curtis and I both talk in our sleep all the time. When we first got married, I would wake up every single night to Curtis talking in his sleep. Now I am just use to it and sleep right through it. Except for sometimes I wake up to Curtis laughing in his sleep. It is so funny. I usually wake up in a panic thinking he is crying, but then I realize he is laughing and I can't help but laugh too.

Curtis usually falls a sleep before me, so that is when I hear most of his talking. The other night he said to me, "Have you ever slept with a Japanese man?" "um, no," I said laughing. Then he awakened by my laughter, rolled over and said, "I don't know what I'm talking about."

Last semester, Curtis had to go to some conference in Cheyenne and stay overnight in a hotel with one of his classmates. The next morning, his classmate asked, "so, uhh, do you talk in your sleep?" I can just picture his classmate being confused when he woke up to Curtis talking. They aren't the closest of friends, so it was probably a bit awkward.

Sometimes I walk in my sleep. Awhile back, I fell asleep on the couch. Curtis was working on some project at the kitchen table. I got up off the couch, walked over to Curtis and said, "did everyone go home?" "Who," he asked. I just stared at him blankly. "Are you asleep?" he asked. Then I 'woke up' and realized what I had done. We both just started laughing.

Another time, I was asleep in bed and Curtis came in to talk to me. He was standing on the side of the bed and asked me something. I opened my eyes, leaned over to him, grabbed my book that was next to me and held it up to his face. He said something like, "what are you doing?" I then held the book even closer to his face and opened my eyes wider (like I was annoyed). He started laughing, which 'woke me up' and I was confused as to why I was holding my book up to his face. We both started laughing.

I love sleep talking and sleep walking. It is such a funny thing. I wonder why we do it. It just makes me laugh to think about what kinds of things go on in our heads while we sleep.

I wish I could remember more specific things that we have done and said in our sleep, because there have been a lot. All the time Curtis will say something funny in his sleep and I think to myself, "ok, now I have to remember this so I can tell him in the morning," but then I always forget. I know he said something funny, I just can't remember what it was. I'll have to put a notebook and pencil under my pillow so I can write it down.

I wonder what it is like when both of us are truly asleep and can't hear each other talking. Maybe the two of us just go on and on all night? I should set up a tape recorder.

These are just some of the joys of being married. Sleep talking to each other. Isn't life grand?

Pinewood Derby

Ok. So it seems that none of you are interested in Paying it Forward. How sad. Really, how sad. Or maybe it is not so much that you don't want to pay it forward as it is you don't want a homemade gift from me. Well, you are missing out because it was going to be a really good homemade something. And I was even willing to ship the homemade gift to you.

Since my last post was a bust, I'll try this one. I saw a commercial last night about pinewood derby cars and it reminded me of a pinewood derby car that Curtis made a few years ago. For those of you who don't know what the pinewood derby is, well let me tell you. It is a race the cub scouts do where they build a race car out of a block of pine wood, thus called The Pinewood Derby. These kids (ahem, dads) go all out and make these crazy, elaborate cars trying to out do their competitors.

Back to my story, a few years ago at church there was an adults only Pinewood Derby and unlike the original pinewood derby, all rules were thrown out. Anything goes. So we showed up on race day and all the other guys had built these elaborate cars, some had motors, others were air powered, and all of the guys had spent much more time and money than Curtis did.

Here is what Curtis came up with.
His car is the one in the middle. [It should be noted that this is not the actual picture of the cars, but is an illustration done by me using Microsoft Word]. It also should be noted that this design is copyrighted and patent is pending.

From the illustration above, you can see that there is a rather long wooden dowel glued to the front of Curtis' car. This prevented any other car from passing his. There is also a straw taped to the top so his car would surely touch the finish line first.

He won. I am so proud of that hubby of mine.

The funny thing about this is that other people continued again and again to race against Curtis. Another funny thing is that the other cars were obviously faster that his, which only forced his car down the track even faster (as their cars were pushing along the wooden dowel and his car).

He makes me laugh . . .

Curtis is funny. It's just who he is. And I love that about Curtis. He makes me laugh every day.

I've already told you about the time he made me hold hands with his mom...and the time he made me feel inappropriate for laughing when his dad farted... but there are a few more funny stories I want to share...and since I LOVE talking about Curtis more than anything else...here they are.

One time Curtis bought a pack of new razors for his electric razor. They were packed in that really hard plastic that you have to cut open with a knife or scissors. While doing so, he cut his hand on the hard plastic. So, what did he do?? He called the company. He asked them if there was any other way they could package their razors because they are too hard to open and that he cut himself on the hard plastic. They apologized for the inconvenience and sent him some free razors. Score! However, they still continue to package the razors in the hard plastic.

Here's another one... The other night we were getting ready to cook spinach ravioli pasta. The instructions said to boil pasta in 4 quarts of boiling water.

"4 quarts?? That's a lot. I think that is 16 cups of water," I said to Curtis.

"I'll figure this out," he assured me.

So, what does he do? He calls the company. The conversation went something like this...

company: hello, this is so-and-so from so-and-so.

Curtis: hi, I have a question about your spinach ravioli pasta.

company: ok, what can I help you with.

Curtis: It says on the package to boil in 4 quarts of water. How many cups is that?

company: ummm, just a minute. [puts Curtis on hold for a couple of minutes] That is 16 cups of water.

Curtis: 16 cups? That's a lot. Do I have to use 16 cups of water because I don't have a pan that big?

company: No, that is just the recommended amount for optimal taste.

Curtis: ok, so it's okay if I use less water then?

company: yep. Do you have any other questions?

Curtis: nope, that's it.

company: ok, would you like me to send you some coupons for our spinach ravioli pasta?

Curtis: sure!

Score, again!!


And another one... One time Curtis got a call from a telemarketer trying to sell him some internet package. Curtis kept asking questions like...

"does your internet package come with google cause the one I have now does and I really like google?"

and

"well, my internet has email. Does your internet package come with email?"

It was so funny. The nice Indian man on the other end was getting so annoyed with all of Curtis' questions and it was SO FUNNY to hear him try to explain to Curtis what the internet is and does. Curtis ended up laughing too hard and had to hang up.

And here's one more... This is another telemarketer call. A guy calls trying to sell Curtis a cable package. The guy explained to Curtis that it comes with over 40 channels (or something like that). Curtis asked which channels it comes with.

The guy in his thick Indian accent replies, "you want me to tell you every channel?"

Curtis: yeah, so I know if it has all the channels I want.

The guy proceeds to name EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL.

[after several minutes of naming over 40 channels]

Curtis: well, I don't think I'm interested. I actually already have cable.

Nice Indian guy: [as you read this, try to read it with you very best Indian accent] Sir, if you already had cable, then why did you have me read you every single channel?"

Curtis: [trying his hardest to hold back his laugh] I just wanted to know what channels you had.


If you know Curtis, I'm sure these stories are a lot funnier to you. He just has this sense of humor that makes me laugh. There are tons more stories I could share, but I'll save those for another time.