Family

Family

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Traveling . . .

OK, . . . . . here is the first of many posts to come, centering around our long awaited family trip to HAWAII! With every trip there are always highs & lows.  Since I use this blog to record our family's daily, monthly, & yearly adventures (good & bad), I will begin this post with the obstacles we had to face before, during, & after our trip--then I can move on to all the good stuff!

Our trip started Sunday afternoon.  We attended church in the morning and then came home & packed up the car to head to the airport.  As soon as all of our stuff was loaded and the seat belts were fastened, we started the van--well, at least we tried to start the van. It wouldn't start!  We tried several times, but nothing happened.  Since we had a schedule to keep, we unloaded the van and reloaded all of our luggage into Aaron's truck (which started up just fine) and headed to the airport.  The van would have to wait to be fixed until we returned home.  (We found out later that it just needed a new battery, ugh!)

After checking in at the Sacramento airport, we were told that our flight had been delayed, but they reassured us that we would still make it to the S.F. airport in time to catch our next flight that would take us to Hawaii.  So, we waited . . . .



Where is that plane???


The plane finally arrived to pick us up, but it was over 50 minutes late!  When we arrived at the S.F airport we found out that our flight to Hawaii had already taken off!  We were not very happy about this turn of events, especially Aaron.  So, while Aaron hassled with the airlines, we waited some more . . . .



Aaron waiting in line to talk to an airline representative.  
That face does not look happy!
 We tried to pass the time by mimicking other passengers . . . .
 and playing on the floor escalator.
After Aaron talked with 3 different airline workers, we were told that we would have to spend the night in San Francisco and take a morning flight to Hawaii.  By this time it was evening, so we found some dinner to eat at the airport and then took a shuttle over to our hotel for the night.  Oh, and all of our personal bathroom items were in a big suitcase that we had checked in . . . . which left for a flight to Hawaii later that night. Oh, how I missed my toothbrush!

In the morning, we took a shuttle back to airport and finally made it onto the plane--we were finally Hawaii bound!

 Here are the kids occupying themselves outside the hotel, while waiting for the morning shuttle
 Who doesn't love shuttle rides . . . . or picture taking?
 We are on the plane--here we go!  
The seats were not the most comfortable, especially for those who are 6'6!

I'd like to say that the rest of the trip was a breeze, but . . . . we did have to deal with a two hour wait for a rental car, a flat tire on our rental car just days later, and the day we chose to take the kids to the famous Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling in Honolulu, it was CLOSED!  (Who closes a state park on a Tuesday during a peak tourist month?)  

Our flights home did go much better.  The kids are now pros at going through security checks.  However, as soon as we got home from our trip we received a call from the airport saying that they had found Andrea's cell phone.  It must have fallen out of her pocket.  Thank goodness for neighbors who work near the airport. They were able to bring it to us a couple of days later.  

I think the Chatfields are now done with trips for a while . . . . well, at least all the hassles that go with them!





Thursday, June 6, 2013

High School Graduation

We have a graduate!
River Valley High School
Home of the Falcons
Class of 2013
A night filled with high school seniors, family, ice cream pie & fireworks!
Seth loves to goof around--good thing his sister doesn't mind . . . . most of the time.
(Two more years, Seth and it will be your turn)

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Birthday #42

Once again, Aaron was gone on his actually birthday,
but we made sure to celebrate when he came home.

A movie, cheesecake, and a bucket of sodas made it extra special.
Being together was the best!
Happy 42nd Aaron!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Seminary Graduation & Piano Recital


4 years of Seminary--Way to go Andrea!
Look at me . . . . I'm as tall as Grandpa!
Yearly piano recital--(she looks thrilled to be performing).  
She did a GREAT job!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Senior Pics & Graduation Announcement

This is what you get when you have an AWESOME Aunt take senior pictures  
AND
a VERY beautiful & creative daughter!













Saturday, May 4, 2013

Happy 18th!

I can't believe I have been with this beauty for 18 years!

We had to celebrate, so we invited our family down for a birthday & graduation party for Andrea. 



 If you're having a party you definitely need a cake & decorations!
Andrea made her own delicious chocolate strawberry cake.
It was fun to have so much family to celebrate Andrea's big day.  It was a little bit warm, but the younger kids kept cool with some water and a trampoline.
 Andrea received some fun gifts she could enjoy now and also to take with her to college--Mac & Cheese, BIG earrings, Top Ramen recipes, chocolate, her own blender, $$$, and lots of love from family!
It's been an AWESOME 18 years!  Thank you Andrea!


Saturday, April 27, 2013

Dressing Up!

April must be the month for dancing, dressing up & having fun!

The Dance

The Dress


The Fun!


Thursday, April 25, 2013

How do you . . . .

How do you get a comb that has been wrapped several times around your hair, OUT of your hair?


You ask your sister to patiently try to untangle the hair mess until your mom comes in with the scissors! 
(You can also use scissors if you get Silly Putty stuck in your hair!)

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How do you get your money's worth of string cheese when you can clearly see that you've been cheated out of 1/4 of a stick?

You create a little cheese stick family, leave it in the fridge, only to discover that no one wants to break up the little family until they are the last sticks left!


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Golf Team

Seth joined the golf team!

He has never played golf before (unless you count minature golf),
but they needed an extra player on the JV team, so Seth signed up!
I love how Seth is not afraid to try something new.

He had a great season.
  I often heard how relaxing it was to be out on the golf course every afternoon. 
Seth improved his game a lot and at the end of the season he received the coach's award.
Congratulations Seth!
 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Stinson Beach

Tax season is over so we headed to the beach!
 
The kids had never been to Stinson Beach, so we decided to extend our weekend a bit and took them out of school on Friday so we could enjoy some family time on a mini vacation in the San Fran area.



We couldn't have asked for better weather.  Although the water was cold, we had temperatures in the 70's with lots of sun. It was perfect for taking lots of pictures!
 
 Here are some of Andrea's beautiful picture creations . . . .


After spending the day in the water and sand, we headed to the city to revisit one of our favorite restaurants, the Rainforest Cafe.

We wished we could have stayed longer, but sometimes a quick weekend trip helps everyone to get through the rest of the school year.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Table Top 2013

It's our yearly trip to Table Top Mountain.  A sunny, windy Sunday afternoon of visiting, flying kites, picking wildflowers, and a family picnic.  The only thing missing this year was Andrea, who was visiting family in Utah for spring break.