Christmas 2011

Once again we went to Grandma Leila's & Grandpa Rick's for Christmas Eve dinner, dessert, white elephant exchange, and our traditional pinata. We love being able to enjoy the holidays with our family.



Christmas morning we opened gifts, enjoyed a delicious breakfast, and then went to church. Afterwards we headed up to Paradise to Grandma Ruth's & Grandpa Mike's for Christmas Day dinner. Wow, I can't believe another Christmas has come and gone--so much fun!

40th Birthday

Yes, I turned 40! SHHHH . . . I just wanted a quiet birthday celebration with both sets of parents, my kids, & husband. We went to Casa Ramos for dinner (I love Mexican) and then came home to open gifts and enjoy donuts for dessert. It was another great birthday!

Thank you family!

Nativity

Once a month we get together with extended family and have FHE together. This month we met at Grandma Ruth's & Grandpa Mike's house. First, we watched an old family video of the McLaughlin cousins reinacting the nativity story. We then dressed up a new generation of cousins and had them act out the same nativity story. It was so much fun to see and document this wonderful Christmas story.






CAST

Narrator: Andrea Chatfield
Joseph: Jacob Whitmore
Mary: Kiana Chatfield
Angels: Kayla & Ella Mclaughlin, McKell Chatfield, & Sienna Blank
Shepards: Bryson McLaughlin & Gabe Whitmore
Wise guys: Seth Chatfield & Jeremy Whitmore

60th Birthday

My mom turned 60!

To celebrate, we went to dinner at the Turandot in Chico. Together, with spouses and all 7 kids, we were able to share this landmark birthday with my mom.





It was so fun to visit with everyone and the food was delicious!


On Sunday night, we were able to party again. This time we included all the grand kids along with some of my mom's closest friends.

Christmas Card 2011

Christmas Tree

Every year the kids take turns putting up our Christmas star on the tree. This year it was Kiana's turn. With the help of her dad, and her new elf friend, the star was lit for 2011.

Snowy Days

There are lots of ways to spend Thanksgiving weekend. Here are a few things that we decided to do together . . .

We found that we didn't have to go far to find some snow to play in. The day was beautiful. We forgot our sledding equipment, but black bags did the trick.


It's also important to bring snacks, hot chocolate, and your favorite people along with you to make the trip extra fun.


Seth can have fun almost anywhere. Here he is building a snow tunnel--Silly Seth!


This was our attempt of a family picture. We tried to include another member to our family, but Kiana would have nothing to do with it!


Oh, you can't forget to grab your Christmas tree when you're in the mountains. This was an awesome picture that Andrea took of the trees we found as we were traveling home.


Learning to carve a turkey--looking good!


Snuggling with your baby cousin is always a great way to end your day.

Is it Spring???

OK, I'm pretty sure that we already had spring this year, but as I went outside this morning I noticed bright purple blossoms on my lilac bushes. Hmmm, I know I'm getting old, but I think I can still remember the order of the seasons. November usually means "Autumn Time". I wonder what's going to happen during
"Spring Time" in March???

Halloween in Utah

We decided to make a quick trip out to Utah during Halloween weekend to go and celebrate Nana's 90th Birthday (Aaron's Grandma on his Dad's side). The kids were OK with missing the festivities here at home due to the fact that they would be able to spend the weekend with their Utah cousins. I also told them that I would give them each 5 dollars so they could buy their own Halloween candy.

We left Thursday after school--drove half way--then drove the rest of the way on Friday. We hung out with my brother Kyle and his family Friday night/Saturday morning. We would have loved to spend the entire weekend with them, but more family were expecting us.

We spent the late morning/early afternoon on Saturday with Ron's family. Kiana was able to do a "trunk-or-treat" with their kids that afternoon. They had a great time posing for crazy--scary pictures.



We then headed over to the birthday bash for Nana. LOTS of family were there to visit with and see.



Saturday evening we spent time with Heather's family and had some crazy fun at their "Kids in Motion" business. The kids favorite game was lazer tag.



Sunday was a little more relaxed. We went to church with Heather and her family, went to visit Chris and his new wife Amy and her family, and then stopped to look at the lights of the Oquirrh temple.



Early Monday morning we packed up and drove all the way home. It was nice having a third driver (Andrea). We made it home just in time for Kiana to throw on a costume and go trick-or-treating around our street with her cousin Hazel.

Baby Bree

My sister Marcelle had her baby! After 3 boys her little girl finally arrived. Kiana and I were lucky enough to go to the hospital the next day and see them. Nothing is better than holding a newborn except when you have to fight for a turn to hold the new little one--Kiana LOVES babies.

Pumpkins!

Nothing says "Fall Time" more than carving pumpkins. Handing over sharp knives to my children, creating scary faces, and scraping out pulp and slimy seeds is not one of my favorite things to do during this season, but it's a tradition!

Hail Storm

There was an amazing hail storm that hit our hometown. After living in Chico for many years, I've never seen a storm last as long and leave so much hail. It also destroyed many of my yard plants. The kids thought it was great, but after feeling several hits from the hail, they decided to wait for it to end before going out to play.

YW Campout

We had our annual Father-Daughter Campout with the YW this weekend. We went back to Lake Almanor and enjoyed a campsite right on the water's edge. Our theme this year was "We Love our Pops!"



On Friday night we enjoyed dinner, dessert, campfire stories, songs, and games. The girls and dads competed in a relay race where the girls had to cut out a sport article from the newspaper that their dad liked and tie a tie on them, while the dads had to paint the girls fingernails and put their hair in a ponytail.


We were also able to have each girl and their father write and share why they were special to each other. It was a lot of fun and very sweet to hear the girls and dads talk about each other. Here are Andrea's and Aaron's responses to each other.




The next day we enjoyed breakfast together with spiritual messages from each of the dads and then we enjoyed the lake. We had a canoe and kayak that the girls were able to use.



The weather was perfect and the lake was beautiful. We can't wait to do it again next year!

License

It's official! Andrea is now a licensed driver. She was VERY nervous about taking her driving test, but she did great! It's a milestone that I've never knew could be so nerve wracking, however it's a wonderful asset. Andrea now has keys and she's not afraid to use them!

September

September has kept us fairly busy. Seth is now a referee for soccer games every Saturday. He loves it! He can hardly wait until he can give out a red card! Don't talk back to this referee!



It was crazy hair day at Kiana's school. Kiana won the best hairdo for her classroom!



Ahhh, who doesn't love reading a good book. Often times at our house it's a way to escape the things we don't want to do--(homework, chores, etc.)



I think our zucchini plant is done for the season. We are getting quite a few quirky shaped vegetables. Can you guess what this one looks like?

Kiana's 10th Birthday!

Friends, swimming, & cupcakes--Happy 10th Birthday Kiana!



Hot Cheetos, pinata, & cousins--What more could a girl want?



Kiana requested dutch pancakes for her birthday breakfast--YUM!

Schools in!

Girl's Camp 2011

Well, after three years of being a level leader (taking the girls on over-night backpacking hikes) I was given a new assignment this year. I was asked to work with these two wonderful ladies--Cindy Pickett & Wendy Mayo. Together, and with a lot of help from the Stake YW presidency and ward leaders, we were able to plan and carry out our Stake YW Girl's Camp.

It was a very overwhelming assignment at first and A LOT of work, but when we finally arrived at camp, we were able to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Lookin' forward to next year!



This year, since I had other responsibilities, I wasn't able to spend very much time with Andrea. She also participated in R.O.P.E. (Refining Outdoor Personal Experience) which kept her VERY busy. Since it's a very special experience for the 5th level girls, they try to keep quiet about the activities that they are involved in during the week so that the younger girls have enjoy the experience when it is their turn. However, I had some great connections this year and I was able to sneak up to the course and see a couple of exercises that Andrea was able to do. My dad was also able to come up and see her after he came back from his hike. It was also a lot of fun that her Aunt Brynn was one of her R.O.P.E. instructors.



This activity was called the Confidence Pole. Each girl needed to climb a tall telephone pole, reach the top, stand up, and then jump off and grab the "golden ring". Of course all the girls are harnessed securely. It was an amazing experience to watch Andrea complete the task with absolute confidence. I was so nervous for her, especially when the pole started shaking as she tried to stand on top of it. I was again amazed as she lunged forward, as if she were fearlessly flying, and grab hold of the ring out in front of her--she accomplished her goal! I have to admit, I was a little worried about her completing this course, however she continues to amaze me with her strong and silent confidence.



This exercise is a tall wall that the girls are each required to climb over. Working together they were able to accomplish their goal of getting their entire group of girls and leaders over. (They have specific requirements that they must follow to complete this task.) Andrea was the last one to participate--her long legs definitely came in handy.