Happy Birthday Brandon!!

Today my Nephew, Brandon turned 12 years old. I have a few stories I could tell about him but as I have typed them and then deleted them I have decided to make this post more simple. I am not out to embarrass anyone...although in this case it would be pretty easy. :)

I'll just say that he is one of the coolest kids I know. I got to spend a lot of time with him last week, along with his brothers as well as most of my other nieces and nephews and it was party.

Brandon, I love you! You are AwEsOmE and I look forward to jamming with you again soon along with the other 'Headless Iguanas'.

I LOVE music!!

I learned about this guy from my cousin. He reminds me a little bit of Yanni. His name is Maksim Mrvica. He is a Croatian pianist. Enjoy!

Guess Who's 19...AgAiN!!

Today is my Dad's Birthday. He is perpetually 19 years old. He also has 8 children that are older than him and it won't be too many more years before the grandkids start catching up and then passing him. He really is lucky to stay so young.

I'll post my pictures and story tomorrow. My computer is really acting up!! ttfn

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The above was accidentally posted on my picture only blog. Since I misplaced it I am going to just finish the post now.

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A fun fact about my Dad:

*He's the only person I know that thinks it's okay to leave the car running while he pumps gas.

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I've blogged my Dad for Father's Day and for his birthday 2 or 3 times, so I think it's time you get to know him in video...

This is Dad opening his Christmas present this year. We waited 2 months to see his face open this so be sure to watch it. It was a very exciting moment.

While our family was at Ensign Ranch a couple of weekends ago we played spoons. Dad had never played it and was...slow...to catch on. Sadly, he was also slow to grab a spoon and was often found without one. We finally came up with the rule that if you didn't have a spoon at the end of the round, you weren't out...you just had to show off a talent. Below are 2 of his talents.

Ignore the off key part when we decided to help. It's painful, but I guess we'll never forget it now.

In Loving Memory

In loving memory of Robert Kenneth Cheney. January 10, 2002. 1:35pm to 3:15pm. He would be 8 years old. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

Accomplishments and Resolutions...

If you'll remember a year ago, I shared that I am kind of anti-New Years resolutions. I typically just try to do new things and stretch myself a little bit. Here are a few things I did this year, that I had never done before...

I went to Oklahoma and Texas. (I LOVE Oklahoma City!)

I entered pictures into the county fair.

I started working at a new school with EMH (Educable Mentally Handicapped) special ed. children.

I cooked a ham...twice.

I started wearing contacts.

Our cat had kittens...I'd never seen/or been a part of the experience before. (It's WAY over rated.)

I survived having a flat tire. (I could have died you know!)

I touched an alligator.

I learned a little bit of photo shop...it was only useful for mocking my friends on facebook.

I took classes at the rec center on ceramics and toll painting. I will be doing that again in the future.

That's all I could come up with. I feel like I am missing a few things, but as you can see, my new experiences weren't anything special...just new to me.

This year I am also going to set some resolutions. 3 that I thought of on my own, and 1 that I am stealing from a friend.

My 3 resolutions...

#1 Visit 3 new states.
#2 Make a pumpkin pie from scratch...I'm also going to grow the pumpkin.
#3 is something that I try to do all the time, but I have to recommit every so often...
Never tell my kids no, when I can say yes. Sometimes no just comes out before I even think about it.

My stolen resolution...
Start what I finish. You can read Kate's blog for more information.

I hope to make my 3 states...Illinois, South Dakota and Pennsylvania.

From our Family to Yours!