September

Here is a quick recap of this past month.  

It sure goes by fast when you keep busy!

We started off the month celebrating Labor Day at Lake Oroville.  Most of us tried the toys behind the boat (Aaron--knee board, Gina--knee board, Seth--wake board), but all of us enjoyed the refreshing water. 

Thank you Uncle Jeremy & Aunt Brynn for a fun day at the lake!

On the 12th of September, Aaron and I celebrated 20 years of marriage.  I received my traditional pink roses from "My Man" and the kids decorated our driveway with fun sidewalk chalk messages to help celebrate our day.  We were also able to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner--YUM!!!

The kids really miss their friends in Chico.  So when their youth group traveled down our way to attend the temple, they invited Andrea & Seth to go with them.  

The Temple + Friends = GOOD TIMES

Near the end of September, we took a quick trip back to St. George, Utah to attend Aaron's grandmother's funeral.  We were able to see a lot of family and then took a brief tour of the St. George Temple.  Andrea wasn't able to go with us this time because she would miss too much school, but she was with us in spirit.  

(I think she actually enjoyed having the house all to herself for 3 days!)

On the way back, we stopped in Las Vegas and played some games at Circus Circus.We all know that it's a waste of money and it can be quite addictive, but it's SOOO much fun!

Oh, and this month we also spent a lot of time together . . . 

well, at least we were in the same room together!  

Moving Day!

Well, after a lot of talk we finally did it--we moved to Yuba City!  On Saturday, we pulled all of our belongings out of our storage unit in Chico, filled up a moving truck, and traveled south.  We were so blessed to have a lot of help loading up in Chico. 

 We were then received with open arms in Yuba City.  So many from our new ward (The Sutter Buttes Ward) showed up to help us unload.  We all seemed to be immediate friends.  We soon found out that many of the members in our housing development were members of our ward--even our next door neighbors!

Here is a quick tour of the rooms in our new (rented) home.  4 bedroom, 3 bath, reading nook, pantry, and indoor laundry.  It will be quite nice for Aaron and I to have our own bathroom and Andrea LOVES having her OWN room. We are trying to make ourselves at home!  We will miss Chico, but are slowly adjusting to our new home and city.

Kiana's Birthday

Since we were all busy starting school on Kiana's birthday, we had her offical birthday celebration on Friday night.  Going to Hula's for dinner and getting together with her friend Grace put a HUGE smile on her face.

We can't forget the cake & ice cream.

Happy 11th Birthday Kiana!

School Starts!

The kids started school this year on Wednesday, August 15th.  They were a little more nervous this year since we were in the process of moving to Yuba City and they were all attending new schools.  I think it was also a little more stressful since we were actually homeless at the time--never been homeless before! 

We had rented our home to new tenants as of the 1st of August and we were still in the process of securing a place of residence in Yuba City when the kids needed to start school.  UGH!

We were so lucky to be able to stay at Aaron's parents home in Paradise for several weeks while we were looking for a place to stay. Then when Andrea & Seth started seminary, (which started on the 2nd day of school) our friend Carol Carlson in Yuba City let them stay with her. It was quite a hectic experience for everyone, especially commuting to and from Paradise, but we made it through the first week of school.

Andrea and Seth are now attending River Valley High School--home of the Falcons! 

Kiana is now attending Tierra Buena Elementary (K-8).  She is a 6th Grader this year.  It was also Kiana's birthday on the 1st day of school.  She wasn't too happy about having to go to school on her birthday, but we tried to make the day special for her.

Baby Shower

Since our family was all going to be together after the reunion, my sisters and I thought it would be fun to give my sister a baby shower since she lives so far away in Texas.  Her theme was pink, pink, pink with a sprinkling of butterflies--can you guess that she's having a girl?

 It is so much fun getting all the girls together to eat, play games, and talk about babies.  My sister, Marcelle was able to make her a beautiful cake for the shower.

 The big hit of the party was the onesie making station.  You were given a white onesie and then you could decorate it with fabric paint.  Sheila then voted for her favorite.

Lefebvre Reunion

Lake Almanor 2012

Every 2 years the Lefebvre clan gets together for a family reunion.  This year we headed to Lake Almanor and camped at a group campsite called Camp Conery.  As the family continues to grow, it is very difficult to get everyone all together at the same time.  We missed not having my sister, Kathryn and her family, my niece, Allyson, and my brothers-in-law Curt and Aaron.

 

Here is the group of us!

 

(My sister Sheila posed in the grand kids photo since she will be delivering a new granddaughter in October.)

We LOVE being together!

We keep VERY busy all week long . . . doing nails, cooking food, riding bikes, playing croquet, watching movies, playing Frisbee golf, whittling pieces of wood, visiting, doing hair, relaxing in the hammock, enjoying the free ice machine, and playing LOTS of board & card games!

Here is Grandpa Rick and his newest Granddaughter, Bree--she loves her Grandpa!

Chester, a small town near Lake Almanor, had a small bowling alley so we decided to go take advantage of a group bowling party.  Who doesn't love bowling? 

Going to the lake is always a highlight of camping at Almanor.  We never seem to tire of the sun, water, and good company.

Pictures of beautiful Bree!

Grandpa is such a good sport.  When we were little, he would let us girls do his hair.  The tradition lives on . . . here are some granddaughters giving grandpa a new do!

Camp Conery is home to many creatures.  If you're not careful they will eat your food when you're not looking.  For the kids, it is always a game to try and catch these sneaky critters.  They have been successful many times.  All you need is some cereal as bait, a clear plastic tub, and a stick with some twine attached.

Here are some more fun pictures that Andrea took and then she put them into a comic book mode on the camera--pretty cool!

Scout Camp

Seth went to scout camp.  Since I wasn't there these are the only pictures I have of his week long adventure.  He said he had a great time.  I'm so glad that he is involved with the scouting program.  It not only gives him some fun events to attend, but it also teaches my son many things that are helping to make him a great young man!

Girl's Camp

Yes, I went to girl's camp AGAIN! 

 I just can't seem to stay away! 

 

What makes Girl's Camp the best?  All of the great leaders!

 This year at camp, I was asked to organize and prepare a spiritual challenge for the girls.  This is a time when the girls can go individually or in small groups to learn about the gospel and to feel the spirit.  We have a special cabin that we call the Celestial Sanctuary where the girls can go inside to experience the spiritual message.  This year I prepared a musical slide show quoting Joseph Smith's first vision (Thank you Seth for reading)  I also had a sacred grove I created in the woods where the girls could also go and read the scriptures, feel the spirit, and become closer to their Heavenly Father.

(Below are some slides from the slide show featuring the primary song, A Child's Prayer)

I also made our our staff poster. 

We were the Beekeepers and we focused on the 6 B's spoken of by President Gordon B. Hinckley

 

Last year at Girl's camp we had a special guest named Maude come and visit us. She brought a lot of excited and fun to camp. She not only has an outrageous wardrobe, but a personality to match! This year she brought her Mama with her and invited us to play The Hungry Games (challenges with food). It was one of the many highlights of camp.  I heard a rumor that she may bring her sister with her next year . . . oh the fun they will have!

It looks like the leaders can have fun at camp too.  This year we were able to open the archery range for everyone to use so we took the opportunity to go and give it a try.  I didn't do too bad--actually Cindy blew us all away with her straight shot!

 

I LOVE THESE LADIES! 

It has been an amazing 2 years serving with them.  I am sad that I won't be able to be with them next year, but the fun memories I have of our time at Camp Bountiful will keep me smiling for years to come!

This was Andrea's last year going to Girl's Camp. I feel so lucky to have been at camp with her for 5 of her 6 years. In one more year, Kiana will be able to go to camp and maybe I'll get to experience all of this fun once again.

Eagle Project

 Since we didn't have much going on this summer (ha, ha,) we decided to schedule Seth's Eagle Scout project for a weekend in July.  We knew that were were moving in August, so Seth wanted to complete his project before we left.

His project involved removing and rebuilding a retaining wall around a playground structure at the elementary school he attended.

(Neal Dow Elementary) 

A lot is required to have an Eagle Scout project approved, planned, and carried out. Seth did a lot of work to be able to acquire the funds needed for the project and after making a lot of phone calls to make sure he had the right equipment, supplies, and manpower to complete the project, he went ahead with the project, showing himself as a strong leader.

~assess the damage~ 

~move bark and gravel away from old wall~

~remove old wall and set new posts in cement~

~attach new boards and put gravel & bark back into place~

This was a much bigger project than Seth thought it would be and the sun seemed to be extra hot this weekend, but Seth was very lucky to have so much support from family & friends enabeling him to accomplish a wonderful project.

Now, we just need to have Seth fill out the paper work to complete his Eagle Scout requirement. 

PS:  A big thanks to Andrea for taking some great pictures of the project.

Summer Fun

Since we have been busy packing up our house, we thought it would be important to take some time and enjoy a little bit of the summer before it was gone.  

Some cool water, a boat, a wake board, a slide, flip flops, goggles, and the sun helped us take a break from the mundane task of filling our endless array of moving boxes.

Packing up the Storage Unit

 Well, we did it.  We packed up our house, in less than a month, and put all our possessions into a storage unit.  

Wait . . . let me start at the beginning.

About a year ago, Aaron was transferred toYuba City for work.  After he commuted down there for a year, we decided it was time for our family to make the big move to Yuba City.  We knew it would be a hard move for our family, since we had lived in Chico for 20 years, but we knew this was where

we needed to go.

Since it wasn't a good time to sell, we decided to rent our house.  This turned out to be a great decision because our next door neighbors were looking for a place to rent. 

It is amazing how much STUFF you accumulate after living in the same house or over 15 years.  We will miss our little home and all of the fun memories we had in it, but we look forward to new adventures ahead of us. 

 

Hmmm. . . now, we just need to find a place for our family

to live in Yuba City. 

Mud Football

What do you get when you take the youth, put them in a wet, muddy rice field, and give them a ball . . . .

FUN!

(Well, at least they think it's fun--I'm so glad I could enjoy the activity through pictures and I didn't have to be there personally to be a part of their so called fun!)

 Even Andrea didn't hold back when it came to supporting her teammates.

I don't think Aaron knew that this was a requirment of being the young men's president. He still seemed to have a great time rolling around in the mud!