California Coast

Aaron and I planned a simple 3 day trip along the northern California coast to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. It was amazing!


Our first stop was Stinson Beach. Endless stretches of coastline and breathtaking views, along with having my husband to myself, was a little piece of heaven for me.


Since we didn't have the kids with us asking, "When will we be there?", we were able to stop and look at the sights. Here we are at the Muir Beach Overlook. It was VERY windy and cold, but the view was amazing.



One of the highlights of the trip for me was being able to visit Point Reyes National Park. It took us over an hour to drive out to the lighthouse, but we filled the time listening to music and talking.


Words cannot express the beauty of hiking down to the lighthouse, which was basically built right on the edge of a huge rock. We were able to tour the lighthouse and marvel at this historic landmark. The only drawback was that we had to hike over 300 steps back to the top--the steps were numbered. It was easy going down, but we actually had to stop and rest several times on the way back. I thought I was in shape--I guess not! (They actually have little benches for you to rest on during the hike up the hill.)


We continued driving up the coast stopping at various spots along Highway 1 to look at the views and scenery. We made it up to the Mendocino area and then continued on to Fort Bragg.


We ended the trip with our traditional "watching of the sunset".

14!

Seth turned 14 by having a simple party in our backyard filled with swimming, brownies, family, and gifts. Sometimes the simplest things in life are the best way to celebrate your birthday.


Besides enjoying the warm summer sunshine and cool pool, Seth's gift of the "Perplexus Maze Ball" was the hit of the party. This fun challenging game was passed around multiple times keeping everyone's brain buzzing. If you haven't tried it before, it is quite addicting.


Happy Birthday Seth--WE LOVE YOU!

40!

Yes, the big 4 0 arrived. Aaron wanted to celebrate quietly, so we had a small family dinner complete with homemade cheesecake for dessert. Enjoying your special day with gifts, family, and great food makes every birthday the best! Here's to another 4o!

8th Grade Graduation

Well, he did it! Seth graduated from 8th grade!



Goodbye to Middle School--Hello to High School!



For Seth, the highlight of the day was getting donuts from the Donut Nook for breakfast--YUM!

Just the Girls

Andrea thought it would be fun to capture some moments on camera of just the girls. We were able to get a lot of fun sister shots and also some mother/daughter pictures as well.

4th Grade

Kiana was able to finished 4th grade with a lot fun activities. Her first was a play called "Gold Dust or Bust" which was all about the gold rush of California.





Kiana also completed an animal report. Her report was on kangaroos. Part of the report required her to make a replica of her animal out of paper mache.



Kiana was also involved in a book reading. She wrote and illustrated her very own book and then presented it to her classmates and parents.





Here were the inscriptions that were listed inside of her book:

"The Two Special Animals" was written and illustrated by Kiana Chatfield. It is a story about a bear and a mouse. These two animals seem like unlikely friends but fate makes them meet. If you like stories about animals and friendship you will enjoy reading this book. Read to see what happens to the bear and the mouse.

"I dedicated this book to my baby cousin because she just turned one."

Kiana Marie Chatfield is 9 years old. She live in Chico, Ca with her dad, mom, brother and sister. Her favorite subject in school is science. At home she enjoys watching TV. Her favorite family activity is riding bikes. Her favorite colors are pink, purple and blue. She also enjoys playing babies. Her future plans include babysitting, studying Spanish, and becoming a nurse. She also loves her cousins.

Girl's Weekend

Every year I am lucky enough to go away for a couple of days with my girlfriends. We had such a great time talking, laughing, eating, paddle boating, visiting, etc. This year we spent some time in Clear Lake and then journeyed over to the Mendocino coast to enjoy the coast and do some sightseeing. We also did some shopping in Roseville at the Galleria Mall and then we concluded the trip by enjoying a delicious meal at the Cheesecake Factory. The weather was awesome and the company was wonderful. Here are just a few pictures of our fun, adventurous, relaxing girl weekend.

16!

Andrea Brooke is 16!

She received fun gifts to go with her new driving adventure--steering wheel cover & key chain. She also asked for a tractor for her birthday. We made sure it was a cute little red & yellow one that she could park in her room. (Andrea has a fascination with farms, tractors, & such.) Does anyone know of a farm for sale? We're not interested, but Andrea might be in the market to buy in the future.



Since Andrea's birthday was on a Wednesday, Aaron and I took her out to Olive Garden for lunch. She then requested spaghetti & homemade meatballs for her birthday dinner. Hmmm, I think there's a trend of Italian food starting.



We were able to surprise Andrea with another birthday request of a flower box for her bedroom window and starter plants for her vegetable garden. She loves getting her hands dirty and see things blossom and grow.



Her friends were so sweet and gave her flowers to celebrate her day and one friend made a specialized frame with things that she loved about Andrea.



I love Andrea because . . .
She's good friends with the weatherman
She appreciates my sense of humor . . . most of the time
She is always there when I need to have a really dramatic breakdown.
She can do anything (even fail) with grace and gorgeousness
Nothing gets past Andrea . . . and that's a good thing
Her earrings are fantastically unique and a great conversation starter
She's so eloquent, especially when mocking me (I am not bitter)
She is Amazing!



To continue celebrating Andrea, we were able to invite the grandparents over during the weekend for dinner at Marie Calendars and then back home for some fresh berry pie.



On Sunday we were able to celebrate the May birthdays with the family. Andrea is able to share her birthday month with her cousin Hazel, who celebrated her 1st birthday this month.



Andrea's friends needed to host a party of their own for her birthday. They decided to bring over lunch and a cake the following Saturday to wish Andrea happy birthday again.



The cake was topped with Forever 21 earrings (Andrea's favorite).



It's fun to see the silly things girls do to have a little fun. Andrea is lucky to be surrounded with so many fun-loving friends.

Easter 2011

Easter time at the Chatfields is always filled with Easter egg hunts and lots of candy--mostly chocolate. We started this year at Grandma Ruth's house with the cousins.


We then moved on to our house Sunday morning. The Easter Bunny was noticing how much the kids were growing up, so HE decided to make the Easter egg hunt a little more difficult. The kids actually spent over 20 minutes trying to find all of the eggs.


Every Easter the kids always get new clothing. I love taking their pictures no matter how they pose! Happy Easter everyone!

Santa Cruz

After tax season we always take a family trip. This year we decided to take the kids to Santa Cruz. They love the ocean and amusement parks, so this was the perfect spot.

While we were in Santa Cruz we were able to visit the Santa Cruz Mission. This was the mission that Kiana built and studied for her 4th grade mission project.



The beach boardwalk had fun for everyone. Our first ride was the "Sky Glider". We were above the entire park and were able to see not only the fun rides and attractions below, but we also had a great view of the ocean.



The weather was perfect--overcast and 70's! We stayed the majority of the day trying out a variety of rides and indulging in delicious food and treats.



We also spent some relaxing time at the beach. The sun came out for a while and we were able to enjoy having the beach to ourselves.

We are so blessed and lucky to have these fun family trips together.

Table Top

It's that time of year again. We headed back to our yearly spot at Table Top mountain for an outdoor picnic and time with family. Food, kites, cousins, wildflowers, grandparents, and hikes always keep us coming back for more every year!

Lilacs

I know I post pictures of my lilacs every year, but I can't help it!
I LOVE THEM!

Life Scout

Besides getting a variety of merit badges, Seth was advanced to the rank of Life Scout. We are so happy that Seth enjoys scouts and wants to continue working hard to get his Eagle Scout award very soon.

What A Face!

What are these crazy kids doing???

That's a good question. It's amazing what you find on your camera when you download your pictures. I'm assuming that they were having fun snapping a few pictures of each other's crazy faces.

Hmmm, I wonder what I'll find on my camera next time.

Driver's Permit

Well, after months of waiting Andrea finally received her driver's permit. She will now have 6 months to practice driving before she can get her official license.



In January we helped her buy a car of her own--A red Geo Prizm
(This was actually my first car. When our family grew out of it, I sold it to my sister. When she was ready to sell it, she offered it back to us. I'm so glad we have it back in the family)



Here are a couple of questions from Andrea's drivers test. See how many you can get correct!

1. A red arrow pointing to the right on a traffic light means you may:

a. Turn in that direction after slowing and checking traffic.
b. Not turn in that direction until the light turns green.
c. Turn in that direction after you come to a complete stop.

2. If a pedestrian is in a crosswalk in the middle of a block:

a. The pedestrian has the right-of-way.
b. The pedestrian must yield the right-of-way.
c. Vehicles have the right-of-way, but drivers must legally take care for the pedestrian's safety.

3. At night, if an oncoming vehicle fails to dim its high beams, look:

a. Toward the center of the roadway.
b. Toward the right edge of your lane.
c. Straight ahead in your lane.

4. If the roadway is wet and your car starts to skid, you should:

a. Slowly ease your foot off the gas pedal.
b. Slow down by shifting to a lower gear.
c. Slow down by pumping the brakes quickly and firmly.

5. If there is a single set of solid yellow lines in the center of the roadway, you:

a. May cross the lines to turn left into a private driveway.
b. Are on a two-lane one-way street.
c. Should not cross for any reason.

6. When roads are slippery, you should:

a. Avoid making fast turns and fast stops.
b. Pump your brakes to test the traction of your tires.
c. Decrease the distance that you look ahead of your vehicle.

Answers:
1-B
2-A
3-B
4-A
5-A
6-A