Happenings of January

A lot can happen in a month when you're not paying attention. Where did January go? and February? and March? . . . I need to quickly update before the months take over the entire year!

We decided to buy Seth a new queen size bed. He's been using a twin water bed that Aaron used as a kid and it was acquiring way to many holes for our comfort. He now has a much bigger bed to rest his growing body. And now we have a guest bed to use when "guests" come and stay with us.



Seth received a gun for Christmas and was able to finally go out and give it a try--looks like a natural eh?



Nothing beats ATVing with Gramps!



A wind storm came through Chico and it had a huge disagreement with our trampoline. Our fence stayed intact while the tramp did not fair as well.





Fun pics of rainy days and promising rainbows.

Happy 60th!

My Dad turned 60!

We decided to surprise him and bring all of his 7 kids together and celebrate his birthday. It was so much fun keeping it a surprise. My brother and sister came out from Utah and another sister came from Texas. The rest of us are from the Paradise/Chico area. We decided to all meet at Italian Cottage. My dad thought he was just meeting Aaron and I for dinner, but SURPRISE! We were ALL there! Yes, he was a bit emotional at first and then he completely enjoyed himself. It was a great way to give my dad a memorable 60th birthday. (Cute birthday crown!)



Ma & Pa



So, what do you give a man who turns 60? Well, one gift was a skycam so that he can now see his grandkids several states away. Family is what life is all about for my dad!

Make a wish!


The 5 sisters!



It was so much fun having all the kids together again. We've all grown up a bit, gotten married, had some kids, but it's wonderful to come home again and be together; even if it's only for a couple of days!

SNOW!

Before winter break was over the kids wanted to go and spend a day in the snow. It wasn't too hard to find. We just headed up past Paradise until we found some. The day was beautiful and the snow was cold. We even brought along a knee board to give us some fun on the ice. Seth even tried to build a snow cave. The kids had a great time! I'm not much of a snow lover, but I loved watching the kids and taking their pictures. We missed having Andrea with us, but she was at home nursing a cold that she had gotten during the break. Before we left the kids had to finish off their experience with an ice slushie! Brrr, where's the hot chocolate!

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.