Brave

Kiana has been the one in our family who always says amusing things to keep us thinking and of course, laughing. The other morning I was cleaning the stove top and Kiana stopped to watch me for a minute and then exclaimed; "Wow, mom, you're really brave!" I asked her why, and she said that she didn't think she'd be able to clean a stove. I tried to explain that when you're a mom you have to do things to take care of the house. She wasn't convinced--I guess cleaning food spills off of a stove is a brave act in the eyes of an eight-year-old!

Christmas Day

Here are some pictures of Christmas morning at the Chatfields. The kids have never been early risers on Christmas morning--thank goodness! Maybe because we keep them up so late the night before or because we tell them not to wake us up before seven.

We start our morning reading the nativity story from the bible, while the kids reenact the story using a special nativity set that I save just for Christmas morning. The set was given to me by my mom. We used it when I was kid. You can tell that it has been well used & loved due to the many scratches of paint and the missing donkey's ear and angel's wing.

After a family prayer, the gift giving and opening begins. I've noticed that since we've had kids, my favorite part of Christmas morning is watching them open their presents. I love to see their reactions to the many gifts that have been hiding under my bed or in my closet for months.

A lot of fun things were given & received. The top picks this year were; Aaron & Seth received guns (Ruger 10-22s). Kiana received her very own radio/cd player, Andrea received a new camera, and I received a great new pair of jeans. (They fit perfectly--one of the many benefits of buying your own Christmas gifts)

Grandma Ruth & Grandpa Mike were able to be with us in the morning and enjoy Christmas breakfast with us. In the afternoon we went up to Paradise to have dinner with them. Christmas was great once again and being with family is always the best gift we receive, year after year.

Christmas Eve

Once again we celebrated Christmas Eve at Grandma Leila's & Grandpa Rick's house. We always start off with a delicious meal and then we all participate in our annual Christmas pinata. Despite the protests of some, we continue to sing Christmas carols and the kids get to open their gifts from Grandma & Grandpa. The adults then have a gift exchange followed by more delicious desserts. Wow--that's a lot to put into one night, but we enjoy it every year.

December Happenings

The month of December has gone by very quickly. Here is a short recap of the many things we were able to do before Christmas was upon us!

Kiana was a snowflake in her class play

We took a trip to Redding for a bball tournament for Seth--while we were there, we visited Great Grandpa Harold.

The girls went to see the Nutcracker ballet in Paradise.

Happy 38th Birthday Gina--Yummy breakfast in bed!

Merry Christmas!

Here is our Christmas card for 2009. It was so quick and fun to make--thanks to Costco. I guess it also helps to have some fun pictures of the family to use.

Basketball Season

Basketball season has started again. We've been gone for the past two weekends attending basketball tournaments. It's been a lot of fun. Enjoy the video below--we have our eye on #4!

It's Fall!

I love the FALL!

Here are some great pictures that Andrea took of Kiana enjoying our beautiful fall leaves in the backyard.



Happy Thanksgiving--Wow, that turkey looks huge compared to Kiana!



What better way to enjoy the fall weather, but to take a ride on ATV's. We took the whole family, plus grandma & grandpa, on an ATV excursion. We were able to ride up to Look Out Point above Paradise. The view was beautiful!

Soccer Time

Well our soccer season was a great one. Both girls decided to play this year while Seth opted to take a break and try out for B-Ball instead. This was Andrea's last year to play. She still loves playing defense and toward the end of the season she had several AWESOME saves being goalie. Kiana learned some more about playing soccer, but she still loves to visit with her friends on the field.

It was wonderful to have so much support during the season. Beside our own family both sets of grandparents were able to come and see the girls play. We're sad to see the season end, but will look forward to next year!

Halloween 2009

Here are some pictures to document Halloween 2009.

The girls loved carving their pumpkins--I loved taking their pictures!



Seth however, has issues with the insides of pumpkins. For years he has asked someone else to clean out his pumpkin. This year he wanted a really big pumpkin. I agreed to let him have it IF he cleaned it out himself. Here are the pictures of Seth FINALLY cleaning out his own pumpkin.



This blog wouldn't be complete without a video to document Seth's first experience of his hand inside a pumpkin.



Our Bride, dracula, and 50's girl had a great Halloween weekend. It all started on Thursday with a costume parade at Kiana's school. The kids were then able to trick-or-treat @ Aaron's work Friday afternoon. Saturday evening started with having friends over for pizza and then going to the carvnival and trunk-or-treat at the church. Andrea then went to hang out with a group of friends while we stayed home with family, ate candy, and watched Harry Potter. When the night was all over the kids had PLENTY of candy and Aaron and I were so glad that Halloween only happens once a year.

A Return to Virtue

A Banner Unfurled~October 2009
Young Women of the Chico 3rd Ward
Chico, California Stake

It was an amazing experience to be able to join the young women of our ward and unfurl a banner of virtue. Over a year ago the General Young Women presidency announced a new YW value of Virtue. We followed their example and declared our own standard for virtue. We took the girl's and hiked a familiar trail--Monkey Face. Once at the top, we spoke about our decision to be chaste and virtuous. After bearing our testimonies and reading excerpts from Elaine S. Dalton's recent talk on Virtue, we let our banner wave. It was a powerful and moving moment as we saw our gold banner gently waving in the breeze. I will always remember this simple but powerful experience. I think it is especially important to me because I was able to share it with my daughter, Andrea.



"Your lives of purity and virtue are the banner that will cause the nations of the earth to look up.” Elaine S. Dalton



“As you live a virtuous life, you will have the confidence, power, and strength necessary to climb.” Elaine S. Dalton



“Great courage will be required to remain chaste and virtuous. You be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone.” President Monson

Road Show!

Our kids were involved in a stake road show. This is when all the wards from the sourrounding area put together a 7-10 minute skit involving the youth. The theme was "I'm A Believer".

(Andrea & Hannah backstage before the performance)


(Yes, this is Seth under all that hair!)


The youth did an awesome job. They even involved the bishopric, giving them their own dance number. (Aaron on the far right has the Moves!)

Young Women's Campout

Our young women's presidency decided to take our girls and their fathers on an overnight campout. We camped at Gurnsey creek and had a great time making smores and hearing funny stories from the dads about their daughters.

The next morning, after enjoying a "Mountain Man's Breakfast", we drove to Lassen National Park and took the girls on a hike. It was a little chilly the night before, but during the day it was beautiful!

It was great to be able to have this experience with the girls and to also be there with both Aaron and Andrea. As you can see from the picture collage the girls loved posing for pictures. With the beautiful sourroundings it wasn't hard finding a place to pose.

Court of Honor

Our family attended a court of honor for all of the boys in Seth's scout troop. A lot of awards were given.


Seth was able to advance to the rank of 2nd Class. He also received several merit badges: golfing, swimming, cooking, canoeing, orienteering, physical fitness, and his first aide.


Seth has a goal to become an Eagle Scout by the age of 14! With help from his leaders and family he just might make it!

Kiana's Baptism

On September 12th, 2009 Kiana was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kiana was able to be baptized and confirmed by her father. It was wonderful to have both sets of grandparents there along with many friends and family. Her only request of the day was to have a cake afterwards. We are so happy that Kiana chose to be baptized and we hope she remembers this as one of the most important days of her life.




No more pictures mom! :)



Side note: Today Aaron and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. It was great to be able to share this special day with our daughter and family. Aaron did buy me some of my favorite flowers--Hydrangeas--to help me remember the special occasion.

Lake Almanor

Once again we went to Lake Almanor with our dinner group families to spend Labor Day weekend together. We had wonderful weather, delicious food, and great friends. The highlights of the weekend were: Campfire singing, smores, ping pong, nature walks, boating, and a special lake baptism.





However, the biggest hit this year was the family olympics. Each family was in charge of 2 olympic events. We divided into teams and then each team came up with a name & a team flag. Participating this year were The Scorpions, The Chipmunks, The Olympians, and The Furious Five. The following are a list of the events we participated in:

Tug-a-War
watermelon eating contest
jumping contest(how many mini jumps in 1 minute)
twirling contest (last one standing)
discus throw (using a paper plate)
row sham bow
bocce ball
relay races. (skipping, crab walk, running backwards, etc.)

We also had a contest for all the dads--which Dad could find their kids shoes in a pile and be the first to put them back on their kids.

The moms also had a contest--which mom,with their eyes closed, could be the first to find their kids by only hearing them call out "mom" all at the same time.

Medals were of course given out. We hope to continue the family olympics for years to come!

Start of School

Wow! It seems like school starts earlier each year. On August 12th the kids were back in school. The kids are now attending 3 different schools. Andrea is a 9th grader at PV High School, Seth is a 7th grader at Bidwell Jr. High, and Kiana is now a 3rd grader at Neal Dow Elementary.

It's Great to be Eight!

Kiana had a makeover-sleepover party for her 8th birthday. The girls had a great time doing their hair, faces, and nails with beauty supplies of their very own. Of course you have to have a fashion show when doing a makeover. The girls then enjoyed doing each others hair while watching a movie before settling in for the night. Everyone was finally asleep by midnight!!! Here are some fun pictures of Kiana's family party on Sunday. I think the color pink was the theme at this party! Enjoy this personalized song just for Kiana--sung by her dad--high on helium! :)