Happy Valentines Day!

I love you {reading a good book}
I love you not {dirty bathrooms}
I love you {cheese fondue}
I love you not {fire drills during a night out at the movies}
I love you {my cellphone}
I love you not {homework two hours after bedtime}
I love you {a good sewing project}
I love you not {the bobbin running out & the needle breaking}
I love you {sleeping in Saturday}
I love you not {raspberries, raisins and cats}
I love you {Thai and Mexican food}
I love you not {tornadoes}

I love you {rain}

I love you not {fevers and other illnesses}

I love you {Ken, Nicole, Matthew & Anna}

{this post idea was totally stolen from another blog.}

25 of the most interesting facts you could ever wish to learn

My SIL tagged me. Gracias Andrea.

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

1. I have a pathological fear of waterfalls. They freak me out! Last week I took the kids to North Bend and we left town a different way. I  missed my turn and ended up by Snoqualmie Falls. I had a panic attack. I was really scared.

2. I am a little OCD. I wish it was in a good way like having to have a super clean house but it's not. I can't go to sleep at night until all the doors are locked. Sometimes I have to get up 2 or 3 times to make sure they are locked, even when I locked them myself. I can't really explain why. I also check on the kids a few times before I finally fall asleep.

3. The other thing I'm OCD about is the fear of death. Ironic because of Ken's profession, I know. Ever since my grandma died when I was 11 years old I've been terrified about losing friends and family members. At night when I say my prayers sometimes the fear will be so intense that I can't sleep until I have prayed for each member of my family by name, including parents, brothers and sisters, their spouses, their children and sometimes aunts, uncles and cousins. I've been so scared of death for so long that losing my child and my mom were actually not as bad as I thought they would be, even though both events have been life altering for me.

4.Fabric softener makes me feel claustrophobic. Nothing like a downy soft towel to make it difficult for me to breathe and need to wash my hands or take another shower. I don't fabric soften my clothing. (more OCD? maybe)

5. I love to sew. I know I've said this before. But it's true! I love finding fabric and creating things with it. I love that I can make my own patterns and that they actually work! Store patterns are like recipes for me. Guidelines to help my creativity take over.

6. When I was a junior in high school my friends and I went bush jumping. There was a huge bush on the church grounds and after mutual one night we took turns running and jumping into it. It was fun.

7. I wish I knew my cousins better...on both sides of my family.

8. I take pretty much everything personally. Most times I can get over it quickly. I really do care.

9. I was uninvited to a private blog...of a relative.

10. I like tall skinny Christmas trees as opposed to full and fluffy ones.

11. This year for Christmas as well as all Christmases to come my motto when shopping for my family will be:

Something they want.

Something they need.

Something handmade and

Something to read.

More stuff does not make it more magical.

(taken from someones status update on facebook)

12. I don't know how to knit or crochet.

13. I love to throw parties and have people over. I don't love cleaning my house and getting ready for said parties.

14. I have 2 original paintings, painted by my grandma. I treasure both of them.

15. I love going on road trips to places I've never been. Spontaneity only makes them more fun.

16. I wear my bathrobe over my clothes. A lot. It is long and fleece and it keeps me warmer than a sweatshirt. I call it my fancy coat...an obvious misnomer.

17. I am going to see my niece get baptized on Saturday. I'm going to ask her sister, my older niece to repaint my toe nails. She did them a couple months ago and they now look like a french manicure. It's pretty special.

18. I'm in a book club and I never read the assigned book. We have a meeting today.

19. My favorite kind of snowman is the kind that are on green grass because all the snow around them melted.

20. I could easily become a person that never leaves their house. I love being at home and with my family. A random road trip here or there is, of course, acceptable and encouraged.

21. When I'm done with this blog, I'm going to fold 3 loads of laundry. I'm willing to bet there isn't a pair of matching socks in the pile.

22. Did I tell you I read the Great and Terrible book series? 6 books, they were a little too suspenseful for me but I finished them. I hated the ending. Did anyone read them that wants to discuss it?

23. I'm starting to get excited for Christmas...finally. I got a note from Santa and he told me he's ready to deliver his gifts to our home. Now I need to finish getting my part of the presents purchased.

24. When I get too cold I dry heave and throw up.

25. I am consistently inconsistent.

bonus

berber carpet is my favorite.

Nerd Fest 2010

I LOVE MATH! It's seriously my FAVORITE!

Today while I was teaching math to Nicole I came across a chart filled with tricks for figuring out single digit factors of divisibility.  I knew the tricks for 2, 5, 9 and 10 (which is not a single digit...I know.) BUT, I did not know there are tricks for 3,4,6 and 8. SO, I'm going to share the awesomeness with you! You are welcome.

TESTS FOR DIVISIBILITY
a number can be divided by...
2   if the last digit can be divided by 2.
4   if the last two digits can be divided by 4.
8   if the last three digits can be divided by 8.
5   if the last digit is 0 or 5.
10 if the last digit is 0.
3   if the sum of the digits can be divided by 3.
6   if the number can be divided by 2 and 3.
9   if the sum of the digits can be divided by 9 (or if the equal nine with adding all numbers until a single digit. 2439 2+4+3+9=18 1+8=9.)

There is no simple test for divisibility by 7.  LAME!

But how awesome is that?

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my 33rd birthday. It's not really a big deal, birthdays never really were in my family. Growing up we got a cake and an honorable mention and that is okay. As a gift I rewarded myself with a new package of vacuum bags...we've needed them for a while. Instead of gifts, I've found 33 things that I love and am grateful for...in no specific order. I tried to order them but that venture was unsuccessful.  So, here goes!

Nicole Roylance Cheney. I love this girl! When I was pregnant with her we were told she was a boy. We didn't find out until she was born that the Dr. was wrong. (Huang, haha) What a great surprise!

 Matthew Kent Cheney. I love this boy. I call him my best boy. He told me the other day he hopes we never have any more boys in our home because he needs to be the best boy.

 I LOVE this book! I've read it twice this year. You should too...at least one time.

BEST MOVIE EVER! This is the first movie I saw in the theater 2 times. I still watch it a few times a year and we quote it All. The. Time.

Duck. Tape. I had checks with this immage on them. It makes me happy. AFLAC!

I Love to sew. I love this sewing machine. It's not fancy but it does everything I need it to do plus it has a needle threader. I can't really ask for more than that!

My beloved cellphone.

Snow days! They're the best.

Willow Tree Statues...I love them all. I have this Nativity Scene. It's my favorite Christmas Decoration and I'm going to put it on my Mom's organ this year. A little rebellious way to honor

her. Maybe it should face the wall.

Whirlpool Cabrio washer and drier. Who knew laundry to could be tolerable?!

I'm glad we have a car that works. Before we got this car we were driving an OLD VW Jetta. It was a replacement car after Ken totaled ours. The Jetta was a money pit. The muffler was non existent. We lost the exhaust pipe driving down I 84. If we had too many people in it, the wheel well would rub on the tire. Any of our friends in the Columbia Ward in Troutdale can attest to this. They knew we were coming a couple miles away. They were all happy for us when we finally replaced it 4 years ago.

This is proof of the 1 and only time ever, that my mom went down a slide with me. Gina says the same thing. Mom freaked out going up the stairs and tried to turn around and go back down, but we wouldn't get out of her way. She had to go to the top them we reminded her she'd get down faster if she just rode the slide.

These are delicious.

Beautiful!

Love this camera.

The Seattle Temple. I did most of my youth temple trips to this temple. All my brothers and sisters went through for the first time here and were married/sealed here, that are of age. Ken and I were married here. It's BEAUTIFUL and my favorite.

Best hair gunk ever. LOVE IT!

Celtic Thunder. Guys in kilts. I like both.

The glorious Kitchenaid. Red just makes it better.

My Mom and Dad. I love them.

I LOVE KANSAS! I really miss my friends there and the awesome weather...minus tornado warnings.

Grandpa Price. Best. Grandpa. Ever.

I like google. This was their logo on an April Fools Day a few years ago. I also enjoy Topeka.

Do these next two pictures look similar to you? I love to blog. That's the one on the bottom. The picture on the top I took while driving home from the Wichita Airport in Kansas. It's somewhere between Sterling and Chase on a back road. Beautiful.

My piano. I enjoy the piano in general but this one makes me especially happy. I got an awesome deal on this almost new beauty and I paid for it myself.

I love him. (I tried putting him at the top and as you can see that didn't work well at all!)

28. I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to hold my 3rd baby, Robert, and for the knowledge I have that I am sealed to him forever.

29. I love the smell of Fall on the first day of school and the magic of Christmas morning.

30. I love living in the Pacific Northwest. It rains a lot. The tall trees bring me comfort. Knowing I'm so close to 6/7 of my siblings and my Dad also brings me comfort. I breathe much easier here.

31. I hate snakes and zoos scare me.

32. I am inept at the remote control and the microwave. I burn food and can't find my show even when I'm just trying to turn the volume up.

33. White Musk perfume is my favorite because #1 it is cheap and #2 it smells nice.

TAG! I'm it.

If you are recieving this in email, the preview came up showing that some of the questions were in random orders and not with their answers. I'm not sure why, so if that is the case...sorry! I'm trying to fix it.

I have been tagged my by friend Kate. The rules for this tag include answering the 8 question written below. I then have to make up 8 new questions and assign 8 new people to answer them. So here goes something--or nothing. You can choose.

1. What is your creative outlet?
I have a couple of creative outlets. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to sew. I like that I can have an idea in my head and make it out of fabric. I use a pattern the same way I use a recipe. It's a good guideline but I'm going to do what I want to make it the way I want it. I also enjoy cooking; and I have tons and tons of rubber stamps that I use periodically.



2. What is your favorite place to be?I'm not sure I have a favorite place to be, but I LOVE being with my family--immediate and extended. Each January our whole family rents a lodge at the church property in CleElum and we all hang out for 3 days eating good food, playing games and freezing in the snow. That time each year with many of my brothers and sisters and parents is priceless.


3. Do you now, or have you ever had a collection of anything? (mine was and is Pez dispensers)
I used to collect mini tea sets. I have over 75 sets of rubber stamps. I guess that is a collection, although I don't buy them anymore. I have made it a rule not to buy anything that is not of use in daily life. I don't want to have to take care of it or store it.  I do have 18 Christmas Trees though...I'm going to have an enchanted forest this December. I'm pretty excited about it.

4. Share 3 things or objects you love most, and why. (people included)
I've decided not to include people in this answer only because I can't narrow them down to 3. There are way more than that. So objects win this time. 

I love my Kitchenaid Mixer. I love it because it is red. It does a lovely job mixing cookies, kneading bread dough and mashing potatoes.  It is easy to clean up and I've learned this weekend that it is also portable. It was put to good use at my Dad's house.

I love Rough & Ready styling gunk made by shortsexyhair. It's the best 'gunk' available for spiking short hair. I use it everyday when my hair is short.

I love my cell phone. I wish I didn't. I wish I didn't need it or only had it around for emergencies, but I don't. I love it's qwerty keyboard. (I had fun typing qwerty just now--twice.) I love it's big screen, that I have over 25 speed dials and that I can access the internet on it. I love it too much.

5. Why do you blog?

I started my blog because I am a copy cat and a friend of mine that I was serving in the primary presidency with had just started one.  She only updated hers once a month and I didn't think that was enough. All of the sudden I had a place that I could write down my thoughts and when you talk as much as I do, you have thoughts come up more than once a month.  My next reason was because I lived over 29 driving hours away from my family and I thought it was a perfect medium to show them what was happening with our family. My reasons now for blogging are 1.This is my politically correct journal. Since I can't say something mean on here--or I won't, this helps me to see the glass half full. 2.I'm my number 1 fan and when I think I'm hilarious I inflict my bad humor on your people.  3.I want to be published. This is a good medium to practice being creative.4. Why shouldn't I blog? It's super fun!  :)

6. What is your take on pets in the home/ as family members?
Define pet. Cats are not pets. I HATE THEM. They are good for mousing--outside and...mousing--outside. I don't like them. I don't think they are cute and they bug me when they rub against my leg and get hair on me. Dogs on the other hand...believe it or not, I don't love dogs as a breed or animal type either. I do love specific dogs. Animal--the dog. He's very nice. My neighbor's dog, Tator. He's very nice also. That being said I take it on a case by case base. (HA! Poetry!) Dirty houses don't need pets. If you can't feed your family, sell your pets. If you are going to have a pet, take care of it and love it. We actually got rid of our dog about 3 weeks ago. It wasn't working out in this neighborhood so he went away. I am sad about that, so obviously I'm not totally against dogs in your home and as a member of your family. DON'T HAVE A SNAKE AS A PET! They are disgusting.

7. What are your internet 'guilty pleasures'? (aka facebook, youtube, etc)
Facebook was my guilty pleasure for 2 years. I was consumed by it, so it turned more into an addiction. So, I deactivated my account for a couple weeks, deleted all my friends that I see on a day to day basis, and then reactivated it so I can keep in touch with distant friends every few days that I don't ever get to see in person. I also love YouTube a couple times a week. I spend most of my time on this website though...blogging amazing tidbits for your reading pleasure. You are welcome.

8. I hate the dentist. OK, that's not a question, but it IS open for discussion amongst yourselves. :) I feel like Linda Richman, from coffee Talk , leaving you with a topic to discuss...WHAT? You don't know who Linda Richman is? See that YouTube Video below to be introduced to her. The Dentist. I actually love going to the dentist. I love that the dentist can fix a painful tooth. I love that the hygienist can make my teeth sparkling white. Free toothbrushes and floss are appreciated. I like good check ups and being told that I don't have any cavities. Yep, I love the dentist.


 
OKAY, I am tagging the following 8 suckers:
1. Donna, my new friend in my new ward.
2. Ben and or Liz, my old friends in my old ward.
3. Kelly, my friend from High School. Her blog is PriVaTe! 
4. YOU! If you aren't included in the other 7 spaces, you win the prize for #4, my favorite number. Blog these answers then comment to let me know so I can read them. Gracias.
5. Gina, my little sister who NEEDS to update her blog ASAP.
6. Margaret, my cousin whom I have never met.
7. Carina, one of the best visiting teachers I have ever had. We moved from a town to go to school and she moved to that town after they finished school.
8. Elise, one of the best sister missionaries I've ever had to pleasure of getting to know.
 
Okay ladies and Ben, here are your questions...
1. What are your favorite soup and or bread recipes?
2. What are your nicknames? How did you get them? (Bonus points for embarrassing stories.)
3. Where is your favorite place you have lived? Why?
4. What kind of camera do you have? Do you like it? Hate it?
5. What is the worst meal you had to eat? This means you didn't just stir it around on your plate then dump it, you ATE it. Think mission stories people!...or newlywed ones. haha
6. What is your favorite television show that you probably shouldn't watch?
7. What is something you did as a child that you couldn't tell your parents until you were an adult?
8. Why do you blog?

Seattle Temple Trip

Nicole went to the temple for the first time on Saturday with the youth from the Pt. Townsend Ward with her cousin Regann. My Dad, Gina, Spencer and I were able to attend as well, along with Ryan and Rhonda. (Regann's parents, my brother and s-i-l) While we were in the temple, Matthew waited in the lobby with Mayson, Harmon, Nolahn and Payton. Here are some pictures from the trip and the lunch afterwards.

 Rhonda in the waiting room of the temple.

 This is what happens when you leave your camera with 3 boys who lose their brains when they are together unsupervised.

 from left to right:

Mayson, Matthew, Nolahn, Payton, Regann, Nicole and Harmon

Ryan's kids 

 The girls

 the boys

 Me with my kiddos

 Me with Nicole on her first day at the temple

 Spencer in front of the temple

 Ryan in front of Spencer in front of the temple. He wouldn't move! He thought it was funny. I thought it was funny after he moved, I had a photo and then we were at the restaurant.

A reflection of the temple in the driveway. This photo was an accident but it's AWESOME! 

 Me and Gina

Ryan, Rhonda and Matthew at the restaurant after the temple 

 Dad and Nolahn

 GROUP SHOT!

Matthew's awesome 'tuck in' job 

bff Matthew and Mayson 

It was a wonderful day!

Weekend Update...and a random photo too

Our family spent the weekend in Bremerton at my dad's house. He met us in Bellevue on Friday so we could attend the temple together. On a side note, WHAT A BLESSING it is to see my dad inside the walls of the temple! For so many years, he was absent. I'm so thankful! Before we headed home from the temple, we ate dinner at a little ma/pa restaraunt across the parking lot from Deseret Book.

Saturday and Sunday we watched all sessions of General Conference at the Bremerton Stake Center, minus the Priesthood Session. The guys drove up to Chimacum (as opposed to Chinook--what I noted in my last post) to attend that session with Ryan and eat ice cream afterwards.

Here are some of my favorites from conference:

Favorite Talk: I can never narrow it down here are my top 2--that tied for first place.

*Elder Larry R Lawrence 3rd talk, 5th session

*President Thomas S Monson 4th talk, RS General Meeting

Favorite Quote: At this point, some of you may be thinking, that's all fine and good, but what does it have to do with flying an airplane. Well, let me tell you... President Deiter F Uchtdorf

Favorite Song:

Both of them performed by the MTC Choir at the Priesthood Session.

*Hark All Ye Nations

*Called To Serve

There is something special in the voices of all missionaries that are just beginning their missions. They are beautiful.

I also loved Home, preformed by the family choir during the 2nd session. A LOT.

Favorite Moment:

Looking at both Nicole and Matthew listening to conference and taking notes. Sometimes they were drawing a picture or doodling, but I read the notes they took and they are good. It makes my heart smile.

After the 5th session of conference we went to the cemetery my mom is burried in. While we were there the kids took the time to find 'Grandpa Graves' ' grave also. He is not their grandpa, but he is their cousins' grandpa and he took them in too when we visited and told them to call him Grandpa. They like that they can visit both him and their grandma at the same cemetery. He was also a great example to me during my teenage years and I loved him very much. I miss him and my mom. A lot.

Next we went to Wendi and Larry's house and ate homemade french bread. It was delish.

We got home last night at 9:15 and we were all asleep by 9:30. It was a fun, spiritual and uplifting weekend. I love it.

Plans for the weekend

Tonight we are going here. Tomorrow and Sunday we get to listen to and receive counsel from:

Because we LOVE Him.

I'm SO EXCITED!!