Be Mine

What Valentine party would be complete without the high-school-dance props and photo booth?
And who could resist such a handsome man in a pink boa?
Not I.

You Know It's a Clunker When...

• It has 286,000 miles on it
• It is 17 years old
• The driver and passenger front doors don't open from the outside
• The hood can only be opened by a long piece of wire attached to the latch and is wrapped around the hood ornament.
• The glove compartment can only stay closed with a child-proof lock attached with gorilla glue to prevent the beeping and interior light from killing the battery when the box is open
• The driver door window can only be opened by pulling on it a certain way and winding it down with the other hand, with a touch of pixie dust for luck
• The heater/AC usually doesn't work, leaving you to steam/frost the interior windows/windsheild (a magical touch to the dashboard can sometimes remedy this)
• Any accidental locking of the doors results in calling your friendly neighborhood locksmith
• The coolant has a slow but steady leak

And probably more unique traits that escape my memory at the moment...

You Know You're Poor When...

• You gladly accept (and actually requested) this car for free from graduating med school friends last year, as the 3rd time to be given away to the next generation of med students.
  

You Know You're Not Alone As Starving Students When...

• You send out a mass email offering that car with all it's quirks for free to all your friends and receive an eager acceptance in less than 3 hours.
• And they're SO Excited to have this piece of metal.

Many thanks to the O'Briens and many wishes of luck to the Egberts.

So long Buick Regal. We will miss you. Okay, maybe not.

(my apologies for the lack of a picture--somehow this car escaped our camera's desire for capturing memories for our posterity...)

As of late...

Surviving the cold weather...

Can I take him around the block?



Love this kid!



Watching the ducks and bald eagles on the river


I love my bumbo!

Best Brothers

Dear Blog,

I know our relationship has become strained lately, as my visits have become more and more infrequent. I apologize. I've wanted time and again to post a random thought or happening, but hence, my logic and stubbornness have stopped me. You see, I have wanted to document each holiday, vacation, and any other little excitement in my life, as these seemed to be the most "blog-worthy".
But thinking about it today, I'm tired of not blogging about the silly thing my toddler did today, or the cute milestone the baby's just learned, all because of the "I still haven't caught up on the Christmas, trip, birthday, insert-other-event-here" excuse. I don't care if my posts aren't published sequentially anymore or if the big events aren't included at all. I don't want to blog just to prove to myself or others that my quaint stay-at-home-mom life is still fun and eventful every once in a while. I love my day-to-day life, and I want to blog about the everyday happenings that makes me love it, because it's the small things that make life great, not just the big celebrations and craziness.
So, I hereby resolve to use this blog to remind me of the little things that make life great, and not to remind me of how seldom a big exciting activity comes my way. Can you ever forgive me? And if my posts are still rare, know that it's not you, it's me-- I'm busy spending time with my boys and not that I'm avoiding you out of guilt from being behind in my posts.
Our happenings may be small but our lives are wonderful.
Sincerely,
Your blogger

Seasons Greetings!

Yes, I know we are running about a month late with everything , but in frugal fashion and an attempt to go green (just like last year ), enjoy our holiday greetings and year's review!

Dear Friends & Family,

Since this is a little late to be a "Christmas card", we're going to claim a true review of the year couldn't happen until it was completely over…(just humor us J). Looking back at 2009 brings nothing but smiles to our faces. We have been so blessed and hope that 2010 will be as good as the last year—for us and for you!

2009 In Our Own Words

Brian: In the third year of medical school, I'm now doing my clinical rotations which are definitely more enjoyable than all-day lecture. I've liked so many of my rotations that deciding on a specialty to go into will be very difficult. What brings me the most joy is seeing my two boys grow so fast. I love coming home to see Ethan's face light up and then being able to spend some precious time playing together. Gavin's little smile always makes me laugh—he is changing so much in such little time. I'm excited to someday be less busy with school, so I can have more family time. Chelsea's been patient and supportive of my busy schedule; I would NOT be able to get through school without her. But, despite busy days, long hours, and longer weeks, I feel this past year has been the best yet! New Year's resolutions include: Run another marathon, survive another year of med school, and get a decent night's sleep at least once.

Chelsea: My boys are my life. I am pretty much joined at the hip with the kids—Ethan socially ("Mommy, help build blocks, read books, play in my room, play cars?"…etc.) and Gavin physically (Brian constantly gets a kick out of the sight of Gavin held on my hip just enjoying the free ride around the house while I attempt to function in my responsibilities one handed). I love my daily "siesta" with the kids—naptime is apparently a hard habit to break J. Any free time is typically spent doing crafts, projects, trying out new recipes and reading. New Year's resolutions include: getting Gavin to have an earlier bedtime than me, run a race, and survive another Iowa winter—current temperature reads -6 F!

Ethan: My world turned upside down when my mom brought home a baby in September. For a while, I tried to get rid of him, but it didn't work. After that I decided to become the best big brother ever. I love Gavin so much and each time I see him, I jump up and down with joy. I make sure to show-off to him my every move so he knows what a big boy I am. I'm always busy jumping, running in circles, playing toys, reading books, and learning new things like the alphabet and numbers. I'm best friends with Mom, although nothing beats when Daddy comes home and we can WRESTLE! New Year's resolutions include: eat better (I'm VERY picky) and get potty trained (Yikes!).

Gavin: Most my year was spent in embryo, but the final 3 months of 2009 really threw me through a loop. I'm an angel—I sleep pretty good and am typically content to sit and be entertained by my silly big brother and his shenanigans. My favorite pastimes include blowing spit bubbles, babbling, and trying to make early-bird Mom into a night owl. New Year's resolutions include: self-defense against overly adoring brother, and avoid getting another cold (current stat is 5 colds in less than 4 months of life!).

We hope all our friends and family are doing well; we love you and especially miss those we haven't seen since our move to Iowa City. Please keep in touch; we'd love to hear from you!

Love,

The Cheneys

Ward Christmas Party

In traditional fashion, Ethan screamed bloody murder when we tried to put him on Santa's lap at the ward Christmas party. Of course, last year we were able to pry him off of us to actually sit on Santa's lap. This year, Ethan's grip was tearing into my skin deep enough that we just all jumped in for a family picture instead. Hopefully this just means he will always value and remember the true meaning of Christmas with the nativity story, more than he focuses on the pagan traditions?


2008/ 2009

Mini Me

Ethan loves to imitate his parents.
One Saturday morning, Ethan insisted he and Brian get ready to go to school by putting on their shoes and backpacks (pj's are apparently an okay dress code). Brian sweetly complied. Off they went pretending to get on the bus.


Ethan experiments feeding his baby like mommy.

This may be needed for blackmail some day...