Family

Family

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Spring Break!

Since Chico had their spring break the middle of March we were able to be enjoy St. Patty's day in style. Besides the leprechauns messing up the house and leaving gold coins, green milk, and Lucky Charms cereal, and of course having a green dinner (green beans, green jello, green grapes, green kool-aid, etc.) the kids thought it would be fun to paint up "leprechaun style"


It's amazing what you can do with a little face paint.


Aren't my leprechauns cute?


Since the day was beautiful we biked down to the channel for some water exploring. Now this is my kind of spring break. No school, sunny weather & happy kiddos.


(A big thanks to our talented face painter--Miss Andrea Brooke)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

New Baby Cousin

The long wait is finally over. Our new baby cousin has arrived! It's a girl! Two weeks prior Kiana started counting down the days. It was if it was Christmas in March! We were so lucky to be able to visit the new family in the hospital and to be able to hold a NEWborn baby. The miracle of life is so amazing. Welcome to earth little one!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Haircuts & Missing Teeth!

Kiana has been asking for quite a while to have her hair cut. I've been putting it off because I knew she wanted it cut shorter than I wanted. Well, I finally gave in. She has VERY think hair and so I think she was ready to just have an easy style. It actually turned out very cute. The same day she lost a tooth at school; it had been wiggly for a while--hence the picture of the open mouth shot.


Monday, March 1, 2010

Daffodils

I love March because of the . . . . .

DAFFODILS!



"Daffodils"

I Wander'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Youth Temple Trip



I was lucky enough to go with the kids on the youth temple trip to the Sacramento Temple. Aaron was busy at work (it's tax season for any of you who aren't close with an accountant) and Kiana was able to spend the day with her grandparents. It was wonderful to share this experience with my kids and enjoy being in the temple together. It is wonderful to know that we are an eternal family and that we'll all be together in the temple someday.



Aren't road trips fun???

Friday, February 12, 2010

Sisterly Love

Look quickly because this doesn't happen everyday. Lots of days there are disagreements between the two, but that's normal for sisters right? I'm hoping someday they'll enjoy each other's company a lot more. For right now we'll take the sharing smiles when we can get them.



Monday, January 18, 2010

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.


Monday, January 11, 2010

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!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

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!

Thursday, December 31, 2009

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!

Friday, December 25, 2009

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.


Thursday, December 24, 2009

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.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

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!

Friday, December 11, 2009

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.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

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!