d-day

Today was picture d-day... meaning we were out looking for white shirts for a long time. Now shopping for a white shirt doesn't sound that hard, but little did I know. It was hard to find a cute shirt that didn't look like Whit's, that didn't have words, that wouldn't etc etc etc. So let's hope we all look good and match without wearing the same shirt all across the board. I'm really excited to see how the pictures turn out though!

• On our shopping trip, we saw Jamie at work. We told one of the girls working there we had a complaint and needed to talk to Jamie. The girl took it very seriously and was nervous, but when Jamie came out and just smiled, the girl just laughed.
• Tanner spent the whole day at Chase's house.
• Dad helped Grandpa with his family history.
• Shortie had her first ever meeting at the Cottonwood Cafe for Secretary. She was way excited and has a calendar for the year that she has been planning and working on.
• Whit spent another morning, 6-9 am at Brighton for dance. I am just thankful that I don't have to drive her, and I know mom and dad are too!

Exciting, I know...

Celebration

People say a picture is worth a million words, so here you go.

First I have to say what amazing grandparents we have, and how truly blessed we are to have both sets alive and healthy. They are such a strength to us, and we are so lucky to have them for our very own!

Next I wanna say what a stud T-man is! He is such a little gentleman! Happy birthday T, 14, CRAZY. Look how cute he was walking Gram to the car (he even opened the door for her!).

PS This was for Tanner's birthday and ordination.

what we're doin'

lately, the Cheney's have been up to...

• Whitty is at a dance camp for Brighton. She dances everyday from 7 to 4, and still loves it, I don't get it either...
• Jess has been a mad man going from interview to interview, and feels really good about them.
• Shortie had a lovely visit to the dentist... aka Dad.
• Mom has been planning family pictures (as of right now we are wearing white shirts and jeans, however this is all subject to change in the coming seconds...).
• Dad visited Office Max where he bought enough supplies to last the whole country China.
• We are all Olympic junkies. Staying up late into the mornings, and arising early the same mornings, we are addicted. Help.

Lake Powell Lovin'

Lake Powell was a-m-a-z-i-n-g-! It was so much fun being with the whole family (excluding Jere- someone has to work around here :).
Highlights of the trip for me were

• Whitney wake boarding- she couldn't keep the board inside the wake, so every time she got up, she would go right out the wake. Her faces and little screams were also pretty funny!
• Mom was reading Breaking Dawn at 2 am and a bat came to read it with her. She was less than impressed... ask Jess and Shauntel!
• While digging out anchors, Whit told Dad he was doing crack, to which Dad replied with a whole "Butt" full. :) In other words he pulled his swim suit down and gave Whit a lot more than she EVER wanted!
• Mom, Whit, Shauntel and myself all read Breaking Dawn non stop down there. I think the boys were a little jealous we were paying more attention to a book, then them.
• The game Ticket to Ride (you make trains to different destinations). Jess didn't win the first 100 times we played it, so we had to play another 100 so he could finally win one. :)

There is So much more, but if you look at Shautel's and Steph's blog, they wrote about it too.

Breaking Dawn at the crack of dawn!

Yep those crazy women you saw on TV... well Whit, Jamie, Court, Mom and myself were all part of that, and trust me, it was worth it! Staying up well into the night, yes, Whit and myself are yet again obsessed and wrapped up in the whole saga.
In other news:

• The whole family went to Christopher's for dinner. Then we split up, boys and girls (Shauntel was included in the boys group, however, she likes us better).
• The boys went and saw Dark Night (AMAZING & Christian Bale is HOT).
• The girls saw High School Musical at the Capital Theatre (the highlight was walking to the car in the parking structure while belting out songs from the play).
• For the best news of all... we are going to Lake Powell tomorrow! YEAH, finally!

nothing but a bawling mass

OK, so about two years ago, I read Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper." After bawling my eyes out, I told everyone it was one of the best books I had ever read. They all looked at my red, puffy and swollen eyes, and told me I was on crack. Well guess what, now I have another red, puffy and swollen-eyed comrade.


This afternoon I had a meeting at Westminster (I am SO excited to start!), and when I came home, Whitter-Ann was sitting on the couch, and sobbed something to me. Not seeing what she was holding, I blandly answered, "What?" to which my mom answered "I think she needs her sister." I saw what she was holding and ran right over to her. As we finished the last 10 pages together, WE BAWLED (yes I bawled AGAIN!).

Clumped in this huddled mass on the couch, I gained my red, puffy and swollen-eyed comrade. As Courtney and her little friends stared at us, we told Mom and Shauntel that they NEED to read this book, to which they replied, "Yeah right!"

I am so thankful to have the 5 sisters I do. They all teach me so much, and I love them with all my heart!

Trust me, you NEED to read this book!

ode to the parents

SO take one look, and look how cute our parents are! I love the above picture. Dad took the back pack from Mom as we were walking over to Epcot, and they looked like two middle-school sweet-hearts, so of course I had to take a picture.

They are such amazing examples to us, and I just want to say thank you to them for all that they do for us. We love you so much, and are so grateful we have you, because other parents would have given up, YEARS ago!

We love you!