Chatfield Family

Kate's Baptism day

2010-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

Kate’s Baptism Day—Jan 2, 2010
Kate was dressed and ready to go to the church at 7:30 AM. Her baptism wasn’t scheduled to begin until 10:00 AM but she was ready for the big day!
When Kate and her dad arrived at the church Bro. Grobben was filling the baptismal font. Kate asked if the water was warm and he quickly replied it was Just Right. The Stake and Ward Primary Presidencies prepared beautiful programs and asked to take a picture with Kate and her dad all dressed in white. Shortly after the picture lots of family and friends started arriving. It was fun to see our neighbors, family from near and far, home teachers, friends and primary leaders.
Bro. Randall started the meeting and we sang I Am a Child of God with Lauren singing a beautiful descant. Kate said Lauren sounded like an angel. Lauren then gave an opening prayer thanking Heavenly Father for this beautiful day. Grandma Jackson gave a great talk on Baptism. She asked Kate to write down her thoughts at the end of the day so she would remember the feelings she had felt. Kate thought that was a great idea.
Grandma Jackson reminded us that part of the baptismal covenant is to stand as a witness of God, not sit, not lay down but to STAND up for God. Kate thought that was an important covenant to remember. Grandma also reminded us that not everyone gets to be baptized in a beautiful font filled with warm water. Uncle John was baptized in a frozen pond in Alaska. Kate was grateful that her water didn’t need to be cracked open before she stepped into it.
After Grandma’s talk the Douglas children (Ben, Audrey and Kate) sang a beautiful song; I’m Being Baptized. Kate loved that Sis. Douglas wrote that song for Ben’s baptism, and felt like it was just right for her too. (Kate hummed and sang it in the dressing room right before she was baptized…and after).
As Kate and her mom went into the dressing room to wait her turn to be baptized she met an 8 year old girl named Kelsey with a big dripping wet smile on her face. Kate asked her how she felt and she said “good.” Then the big moment came for Kate. As she walked down the white tiled steps into the font she felt a little nervous. She saw Grandpa Jackson and Uncle John watching over her, standing as witnesses. After the prayer Kate took a deep breath, smiled and was baptized, just like Jesus. Kate’s new friend Kelsey was right, it did feel good.
Kate hurried to change into her beautiful winter white dress. She didn’t want to miss anything that was happening in the room with all her family and friends. Her dad had to wait his turn for the dressing room so Kate and her mom were the first to arrive back in the Primary room where Bianca was playing beautiful primary songs on the piano. Everyone was reverently writing little notes to Kate while waiting.
Grandma Chatfield gave a talk about the Holy Ghost. She told us that the Holy Ghost was used to living with Heavenly Father and Jesus so when we do something we’re not supposed to do it makes the Holy Ghost uncomfortable and he leaves. We need to make good choices to have the comfort and direction of the Holy Ghost with us at all times.
Kate liked it when her dad and those standing in the confirmation circle laid their hands on her head. She said she closed her eyes and felt “comfortable”. She was given the gift of the Holy Ghost and knowledge that her Heavenly Father loves her and that her testimony of the Gospel would continue to grow stronger. Kate once again smiled. She hugged those who had participated in the confirmation and then Bishop Chatfield welcomed her to the ward as the newest member having been baptized. He told Kate that he loved her example.
We sang the closing song; I Love to See the Temple and Jake offered a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for Kate and for her baptism.
After the prayer Kate gave a special Smart Cookie to each person there with a “thanks for coming,” She thought it was great that “all” those people had come to see her baptized and confirmed. She knows some pretty nice people!
Kate’s celebration continued at the Old Spaghetti Factory. She ordered her favorite, Macaroni and Cheese! Surprise, Surprise!
In Kate’s personal prayer that night she thanked Heavenly Father for being baptized and confirmed. She also prayed that all would return home in safety…shortly after that we heard that her cousin Hannah was home safe and sound. Kate loves her family and knows that Heavenly Father hears and answers her prayers.

(The next day in Sacrament meeting Kate was called to the pulpit and recognized for being baptized and presented a special reminder of the day. After receiving it she hopped down the stairs and bounced back to her seat. Kate’s a pretty happy 8 year old!)

Kate’s words to describe her feelings when she was baptized: Very Happy, Scared, Thankful, Glad.

Kate's Baptism

2010-02-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Part 2 Christmas 2009

2010-02-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

Part 1 Christmas 2009

2010-02-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

News of Bradley's Mission Farewell

2009-09-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who couldn’t make Brad’s Missionary Farewell yesterday I thought I’d give you a little look at some of the events of the day.

I’m sure Brad worked on his talk for days and days, maybe even months. He was very well prepared and had much of his talk memorized…almost all of the scriptures (many of them being seminary scripture mastery scriptures) were memorized and he had a great command of what he spoke and even more importantly there was a nice spirit about him.

Brad’s topic was on Adversity. He taught us from the scriptures and he shared a couple family stories that I thought you might like to hear…

Brad talked about the family living in El Paso (before he was born) and about some of the adversity the family faced as it sacrificed so that John and Christine could attend medical school. They were considered “poor in things, but very rich in love”, a regular comment from Christine, even today. They lived in a double wide mobile home…all six of them. It was not very often that they even had a spare quarter for “Pickles and Popcorn Day” at school. Every once in awhile they would each be given a dime to spend at the local drug store and that was a huge treat. There was adversity at times but it was a good thing for all of them because they learned, grew and showed their willingness to sacrifice.

Jake remembers this from Brad’s talk—Brad asked his mom “Why can’t everyone be healthy and happy?” Christine taught a gospel principle about recognizing the good from bad and then went on to give this analogy—one that Brad (and Jake) could easily relate to: “It’s like a piece of pie. How do you know if it’s a good pie if you haven’t tasted a bad pie.” Sometimes we are given adversity in our lives so that we might know and appreciate all that is good.

Another experience that Brad shared was his desire to receive a strong witness of the truthfulness of what he was preparing to do. He said that he went to his private sanctuary (the pitcher’s mound on the baseball field) all alone, late one evening. He spent quite a while there asking, pleading, praying for a witness that he should go on a mission. He said he went home quite disappointed because he felt nothing. A couple of days later he said that a quiet peace came over him with a soft but very direct answer to his question—the thought was that “Brad, you’ve known all along that you should serve a mission!” What a great reminder for all of us. The Church is true, prophets are inspired (including in their calls for young men to serve missions) and isn’t it great that we don’t need mighty miracles to know that.

I was impressed with Brad’s ability to remember so many that influenced his life both in the past and today. His Young Men leaders, his Scout leaders. His love for his family is deep. He named all of his nieces and nephews starting with Madelyn and ending with Jonathan…he did not forget one. I know each one of them knew of his love for them not only because he said it at the pulpit but because he shows it whenever he’s with them…I’ve witnessed it many times.

Brad loves his Mom. He said that he couldn’t think of anyone more loving than his mom. I’ve always loved the story of young Brad calling for “the good doctor” whenever he had a wound. Brad loves his Dad. He said that he looked up to his dad the most. Made my heart swell when I heard that because I know by looking and watching Brad that it is true. Many hours of early morning scripture study with John and Christine, lots of baseball games with Christine yelling “Go Bad Brad!”, many family get-togethers with sisters, brothers, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws have helped Brad to be who he is. A good, worthy man willing to serve the Lord.

After Sacrament meeting we went over to Gunnison Valley High School for a little luncheon. I guess Christine thought that would be the best place for the large crowd of family that came. I thought it was a great idea! The kids did too. They had previously prepared the cafeteria of the school to be a Mexican Fiesta…because Brad was called to the Spanish speaking part of the Oregon mission. Christine and probably many others spent hours previous to the big day making homemade enchiladas, beans and rice, salsa and chips and a “Chocolate Factory” (as John referred to it). We enjoyed the company, ate well, and kept the chocolate factory going most of the afternoon!

After the meal we all pitched in and had the high school cafeteria put back together again for business on Monday. We were then ushered outside for family pictures. Those Jacksons sure know how to corral the bunch for fabulous photos. Christine said that she hoped that at least one of the pictures would be Christmas card worthy for this year.

Well you’d think that the festivities would be over at about this time. Nope it’s that time of the year…the time all kids (and some adults) fear…flu shot time! I guess whenever the Jackson family gets together in the early fall the docs break out the flu vaccines for the entire family. The Chatfields were happy to be in on it this year. Right there in the High School lobby—one by one—every man, woman and child was poked in the arm or the leg by the nurses from John and Christine’s clinic. Some family members made lots of noise and other just grinned as their turn was over. The nurses were amazing, I could hardly feel the little pinch. They even rewarded us with a sucker. What a healthy bunch we’ll be!

It was a nice day and could have only been nicer with All of our loved ones there. We love our family and love being with you.

Brad will enter the MTC on September 30, 2009 before 12:00 noon…after his free IHOP breakfast. We look forward to hearing about Brad’s mission news via John and Christine. Hopefully the email service between Jerusalem and Oregon is reliable and swift.

Love you all…and thanks for giving me the opportunity to write a little…it’s good for my family history!
Kellie

Bradley's Mission Farewell Sept. 2009

2009-09-21T18:34:00.002-07:00

The Jackson Family Flu Shot Clinic

2009-09-21T18:34:00.001-07:00

Jake and Wally Joyner

2009-09-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

While working Friday morning Wally Joyner happened to come in with his dogs to see Dr. D….Jake has been waiting for this opportunity for awhile, knowing that Wally Joyner’s dogs are regulars at the animal clinic. Jake has had a ball waiting to be signed for 6 months now.

When Wally came in Dr. D. told him that there was a young boy named Jake that was looking forward to meeting him. Wally was kind and said he had just the thing for Jake. He ran out to his car and brought back a signed picture/postcard—the inscription said:
Jake
Hope to see you in “The Big Leagues”!
Wally Joyner

On the back of the post card it gives his number #22-1st base for the Padres. Then a description—Cheerful Wally Joyner, an extraordinary hitter and exceptional fielder, exhibits more self-control than perhaps any other major leaguer. The product of Brigham Young University plays baseball as hard as anyone, but does not smoke, drink alcohol, or use foul language. “It’s easy to do those things; it’s much more of a challenge to avoid them. That’s what I choose to do,” says the man who’s an All-Star, on and off the field.

I read the description of Wally to Jake and he smiled a big smile. “I really like him,” says Jake. So do I.

High Adventure in Springville

2009-09-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Buggy Ride
This weekend we participated in a good ole fashioned buggy ride and a little chicken wrangling! Good times here in Springville!

Dr. D (our local veterinarian and family friend), invited us over to the animal clinic to learn how to drive and ride in a buggy or surrey, absent the fringe on top. A couple of months ago Dr. D. purchased an Amish trained work horse from Pennsylvania. Joy (the name of the horse) was shipped here to Utah and has since been in several parades including the SLC 24th of July parade. The Amish work their horses hard for many years and when they start to get a bit older they retire and sell them. I’m not sure if Joy wanted to retire to Utah but she’s got a pretty good life here with Dr. D.

Joy and Banjo (the other horse) just eat and hang out together. Dr. D. decided it best to divide the horse corral/stall in half due to Joy eating more than her fair share of the hay. After a month of living and eating together Banjo was losing bulk and we noticed that Joy was moving (not too gently) Banjo aside when it was chow time. Now they are co-existing peacefully with a divider between them. Kinda reminds me of John and Dave’s room in the good old days!

As I drove up the road to the animal clinic to drop off Bianca and Jake at work I noticed Joy clip-clopping down the road and Dr. D and Dad with big smiles on their faces riding behind on the buggy. Dr. D. was teaching Dad how to “drive” the buggy. Dad of course learned quickly and soon everyone wanted a ride, including me.

When you sit behind Joy you realize just how large and strong she is. She had no problem taking all for a ride. We even took her up on the 5-lane overpass being constructed above the clinic. Motor Vehicles are not allowed yet but we felt our mode of transportation was ok. It was fun being the only one on the road...the construction guys were a little surprised to see some action alongside them.

Dad mentioned that it would be fun to take Mom out for a little ride. Dr. D. said maybe he’d get a little top for the buggy...but “no fringe, cause that’s a little too girly”. Sounds like a nice afternoon…maybe we’ll throw in a picnic basket and make it a date!

I’m not sure there was much work done at the animal clinic that afternoon but Bianca, Jake, Kate, Cierra, Grandpa and I sure had a fun time. Thanks Dr. D and Joy!

The Chicken Wranglers
The Sunday after our buggy ride we had another adventure. A little chicken wrangling!!

Every Sunday after our church meetings the kids and I go over to the animal clinic to feed the horses and chickens...yep, they need to eat on Sunday too!
Jake normally takes care of the chickens because they are his mission money makers...he sells the eggs to friends, neighbors and hometeachers—they’re so good to Jake...but today Bianca said she would feed them. I guess she wasn’t aware that if you’re not careful and don’t latch the chicken coop door the chickens like to bust out of their prison.

Well that’s what happened. One of the chickens saw the opening and made a mad dash for it...and escaped! We all let out a wild yell and Jake came a’runnin. We looked at each other and I guess because Bianca felt responsible for the escape she took control and started chasing the chicken. If you’ve chased a chicken before (especially in a dress and heels) you’ll know they normally out run you...they are quick little buggers.

The chickens have been making friends with a wild hen for the last couple of weeks. The wild hen hangs out longingly peering (from the outside) through the chicken wire at our hens eating their cracked corn mash and drinking (kinda) fresh water on a daily basis. I think the wild hen wants the cage life and our hens want to try life on the outside. I guess one of them got their wish because she immediately hopped the fence and raced over to the wild one!

Bianca hopped the fence as well. She wasn’t quite as agile as the chicken but she managed to get over the barbed wire fence with only a few scratches and tares to her clothes...it was quite comical for those of us watching...although no one dared to crack a smile for fear that Bianca would back out of her commitment and we’d have to take her place.

After about 30 minutes of chasing the chicken from one end of the “barnyard” to another we decided we needed a plan.

The plan was to drive the chicken into a corner and then scoop her up and plop her back into the coop. Jake and Bianca were great at guiding her into the corner but when they got close enough to touch her neither would reach down and grab her. I think they were remembering the roosters we had that would charge us if we dared to get too close...they ended up taking a long car ride.

At the point I decided I was going to have to get my hands dirty too. The chicken realized that if she jumped into the horse corral with all the muck in it that she was a little safer than being out in the grass. She jumped in the corral and just stood there and looked at us. I negotiated with Jake and Bianca and said if they would chase her out of the corral and into the feeding area I would grab her and plop her in the coup. Easy as that? Well…no, but it was a good plan because it worked.

Jake and Bianca donned work boots, jumped in the corral, chased through the muck and wrangled the cute little chicken over to the hay bales where I could reach down and grab her fat little body, yelling “open the door, FAST!”

Kate our animal lover was quite disturbed with the whole situation. She kept tearing up and whimpering. All along I thought it was because she was afraid for our welfare...nope...she was fearing animal cruelty.

I haven’t heard but I’m thinking that our cute little chicken’s laying capabilities were a little hampered that Sunday. I’m also hoping that she’ll think twice about trying another escape in the near future! We know that Bianca is well aware of the need to make sure the chicken coop door is fully latched from now on!

On the way home the kids discussed the possibility of trying to catch the wild hen. They think it might be good fun and kind of easy now that they are experienced chicken chasers.

Like I mentioned before…good times here in Springville!

For your viewing pleasure…here is a Smilebox of the buggy ride, and picture attachments of the chickens--

Our little chicken friends

2009-09-15T11:04:00.002-07:00

A Little Buggy Ride

2009-09-15T11:04:00.001-07:00

Jake made the local newspaper on the first day of school---bubbles and all!

2009-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Jackson's Gift from Elder Rudd before serving their mission in New Zealand--A reminder to all of us to Serve and to Work Hard

2009-09-05T15:00:00.001-07:00

The Work Horse

2009-09-05T14:57:00.001-07:00

Grand Piano Performances 2009

2009-09-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Presenting Kate in Cinderella 2009

2009-09-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

All that love and nurturing to help it grow...and then Kels and Bianca just ate it!

2009-09-05T09:24:00.001-07:00

Zucchini can grow anywhere...even in the rocky soil of Springville!

2009-09-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Bianca, Jake and Kate in Yellowstone 2002--One of my favorite pics

2009-09-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

Kamas Cabin Getaway July 2009

2009-09-05T08:53:00.001-07:00

Grandma Anne's Funeral 2009

2009-09-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

4th of July Timp Hike

2009-09-04T19:59:00.001-07:00

Chatfield Chatter entry August 2009

2009-08-31T12:10:00.002-07:00

Dear Chatter, (Kelsey's family newsletter)
First of all, we request a moment of silence and a Scout salute toward Springville, where Kels has finally retired his old Explorer uniform. It’s the same one that Dad and Mom bought for him so that he could have a decent Scout shirt at his Eagle court of honor over 30 years ago. Somewhere along the line he pulled the youth badges off of it; he updated it when we moved so that it had the correct troop number and council patch; and a few years after the Church stopped sponsoring Explorer units, people started asking what the deal was with the dark green color for a Scout uniform. Recently one of the sleeves started coming off, and the cloth is paper thin, so we thought it best to get him a current uniform. Some people at mid-life get a sports car or a trophy spouse, but since Kels started with a trophy wife and never drives anywhere, he is good with a new Scout uniform.

Kellie’s year as PTA president at the local grade school really seemed over once the kids got back to school. She has helped with a few things for teachers, but only as a mom and a committee member. It’s nice not to be the one in charge anymore. Her new hobby is finding a way to get to the Holy Land. Her brother John and his wife Christine had their youngest leave on a mission to Portland (Spanish speaking), then they in turn were called to serve at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Since Kellie has always wanted to visit Galilee and Jerusalem, she immediately wanted to plan a trip. Kels still has nightmares about the long, long flights to Moscow (three different times) and fears the same would be true for an Israel trip. He figures laying on a beach in Mexico would be more relaxing, and a Spain (where he served his mission) trip would be educational. We’ll probably end up going to Disneyland and calling it good. (Kellie inserts…oh no we won’t!)

Bianca started ninth grade a few days ago, which in Sacramento would mean high school. Here in Springville it means being condemned to one more year of junior high. But soccer season just started, so she has something to look forward to, at least for a couple of months. She scored the only goal in the team’s first game. So are you supposed to be happy or sad when your team loses but you shine? Bianca has the next SpringChats birthday, but that still means two full months until she turns 14, and Kels keeps threatening to show up at Church dances and show his best moves to all her friends. It’s tough to be excited about anything when you’re this age.

Football season makes Jake smile, win or lose. Flag football in a city league? He’s in. Touch football during recess? Glad to be back in school. Pro games starting in a few weeks? Time to tune up the fantasy team and convince Kellie to DVR a few games. Jake just wishes his folks cared enough about football to have BYU season tickets. But Grandpa Jackson is back in town, maybe he can find a way to a game or two this year. Jake watched the X Games to check out the skateboarders, and he wears out the deck of his board grinding it on everything in sight. He’s nice when he’s asleep, which isn’t at bedtime but is at get-up-for-school time. His prayers were answered when he got the fifth grade teacher that is known for not assigning much homework. Jake’s parents hope this bright boy learns enough to be able to sign the (insert sport currently being played) pro contract that will inevitably be offered to him as soon as he’s 18.

So that leaves Kate, who was saddened not to be old enough to go with the other kids to the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedication today, but who was thrilled to be able to stay home with Kellie and have some girl time. Second grade is cool because she has a fun teacher that also taught Jake in second grade. Kate loves practicing the piano, and is always trying to pick out favorite songs by ear. We hope that she gets good enough to support her parents in their old age, but we can fall back on her promise that she’ll always live with us. I guess we can’t hold a seven year old to that promise forever, but it feels nice anyway. Kate will be the last kid in our ward to turn eight, so we look forward to her baptism in early Jan 2010. She says you’re all invited.

Kate writes—I love pink! And I love 2nd grade. My teacher says that I get to do “fun math”. I really like to read books like The Magic Treehouse and Junie B. Jones. Ewww…I love Junie B. Jones. I like to do homework but my teacher doesn’t give me very much. I love flamingos…cause they are pink, but my teacher won’t let me bring any into class. Soon I get to be “Queen for a Day” and that will be fun. I get to show my friends all the things about my life. I also get to be first in line and be a big helper. We had a fire drill today and it was exciting, but I kinda jumped when the bell went off. Well I’m going to call a friend now to play. Bye.

Bianca writes—Hi! I started ninth grade and I love it! Seminary is my favorite class, but I’m still getting used to singing hymns and praying during school, it’s still kind of different. I just started soccer and it is so fun! We have a great team and a great coach so I hope we will start winning our games. I’m taking geometry and my teacher is great but it’s getting harder and harder! I still love Young Womens but I’m ready to move onto being a Mia Maid plus when I turn 14 I get to go to dances! Wahoo! I’m really excited for those! See ya!

Hey People, I’m Jake. My school year has been fun so far. In class right now we are learning about WWII. After we’re done with WWII we are going to learn about the Great Depression. I was the only one in my class that knew that after the war the hippie-peace thing started. I like to skateboard, play football, basketball and baseball. I also like to have air soft wars with my air soft gun. My favorite Wii game is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. See ya!

As you can see life has plenty to offer at the Chatfield home. Drop by for some fun if you’d like. Love to all of you.
Kels, Kellie, Bianca, Jake and Kate

Back to School Blues 2009

2009-08-31T12:10:00.001-07:00

Bianca's Girls Camp 2009

2009-08-31T12:05:00.001-07:00

Jake's Sports Show 2009

2009-08-31T12:03:00.001-07:00

Northern California Vacation 2009

2009-08-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

Chatfields at the Happiest Place on Earth

2009-06-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Chatfields are famous at the Hutchings Museum in Lehi

2009-05-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Jake in the Lehi City jail

2009-05-28T08:21:00.002-07:00

Kate's Mosquito bite face

2009-05-28T08:21:00.001-07:00

Kate's Fat Lip Story

2009-05-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Chatfield update 5/28/09

2009-05-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Kate tells me we have 2 more days of school! Can you believe it! School’s (almost) OUT for Summer!

The day after school is out we are heading to Disneyland to meet lots of fun characters and I’m not talking about Mickey or Minnie. Warenskis, Chongs, Holtrys and probably many more Utah children will be visiting the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Raiders of the Lost Ark and we can’t forget It’s a Small World. Oh, and we’ll take some time for the beach too. We can’t wait!

Before the Summer fun begins I thought I might catch up our Chatfield family journal with a few tidbits from the winter months. We’re not sad that the cold has left us for a time but grateful that we will have plenty of water for the next little while. Spring is beautiful in Utah and I believe that Utahans are extra grateful for Spring and flowers.

Kelsey continues his staggering schedule. The average person (like me) probably couldn’t handle it but Kels seems to thrive on being busy and challenged. We’re grateful for that and very grateful that his job allows him to work from home so that we can see him once in awhile.

Kels and I, and sometimes the kids have had some interesting experiences with Kelsey’s calling as bishop. We’ve had a couple of dates that included a brief visit to the local jail, a couple of family nights at the state psychiatric hospital, lots of late night phone calls and visits and a huge desire to follow our stake president’s counsel to plan lots of little get-a-ways. With all of these new and interesting experiences comes tremendous blessings of understanding and growth. We’re grateful for those blessings and thankful that there are patient people all around us.

Last Sunday as Kelsey left for his early morning meetings it was drizzling a bit. Kels likes to walk to church because the rest of the day he sits a lot so he decided even though it was raining he would walk with an umbrella in hand. When he arrived at the church, tucked inside the overhang of the building he saw a little bundle of bags and blankets and then noticed some boots peeking out of them. As he got closer he saw some movement and was greeted by a sleepy eyed woman. Kels said good morning and then mentioned that in just a few short minutes people would be arriving for church. The woman quickly jumped up and started gathering her things. As she was about to leave Kels noticed it was still raining and asked the woman if she had something to keep the rain off. She said no and Kels quickly offered her his umbrella. Kels said that she looked grateful and accepted his offer and left. After hearing the story Kate said she was glad that Dad was a sharer and asked me if it was ok that Dad gave my umbrella away. I assured Kate that it was a good thing to do and we hoped that other people would share with her as well. We’re glad that the church building could provide a little safety and shelter for her that night.

Kels continues to do well in school. He looks forward to this time next year when he will be able to throw that graduation hat in the air for good…we think?

Bianca is also doing well in school and after a few catch up sessions and lots of help from Grandma Jackson in her sewing class she will now have all A’s on her report card. Whew! It’s been a crazy month of catch up for her and we are grateful that there are those around us to help encourage and support success. Bianca came home last Friday with awards from her school—Exemplary Peer Award and 8th Grade Honor Roll Student. At her parents request she is now trying to come up with some fun summer activities that don’t include hours and hours of hanging out at the mall. Parents are such party poops!

Jake will also have an excellent report card. He’s not too crazy about homework but when encouraged with baseball, karate, golf and fishing as his reward he seems to be motivated.

Jake and I recently went on a 4th grade field trip to the Hutchings Museum in Lehi. The Chatfields are famous there…or at least we saw the Chatfield name on the walls in several places. Jake was quite proud to point out the names of Arthur Kelsey Chatfield Jr. and Spencer K. Chatfield to all his school buddies. (Pictures on the Chatfield blog). Jake was also impressed with Butch Cassidy stories and guns. While there each student was given a warrant of arrest for things like “Pulling Teeth without any Training”, “Swearing and Cursing when Ladies were Present”, “Smooching Porter Rockwell’s Daughter Behind The Tithing Barn”, and Jake’s warrant was for “Tricking a New Comer Into Sitting on Jack Slade’s Chair”. Jack Slade was a colorful character and Jake thought that was pretty cool. Once the arrests were made the guide threw them all in the city jail and put the key in his pocket and walked away. Kind of freaked out the kids for a minute but then they were relieved to see the tour guide’s sly smile. It was a fun field trip and would make a great little afternoon summer outing.

Speaking of family history we took a little trip out to Vernal a couple of weekends ago. My niece Michelle and Steve blessed their sweet little Sarah and we thought it would be fun to be there for it. While there we visited all the fun sights of Vernal, Roosevelt and the other small towns around there. We took a trip out to the Dinosaur Quarry, hiked up some rather muddy terrains, and then went back to the hotel for an evening swim. We enjoyed our little get-a-way to Vernal and decided that we needed to visit again…maybe next time little Sarah will be awake for most of our visit. She is a beautiful little baby that can sleep through almost anything.

Last night was Jake’s baseball game. He completed a diving triple play, struck out some batters, hit a few line drives and scored the winning run. When he sees action on the field it’s fun to watch that little jump of excitement and a big smile appear on his face. Oh, the little things in life are great! We have a deal that he gets to visit the local S.O.S. drug store ice cream parlor for a cone with a single, double, triple or home run scoop depending on how he does up to bat. He’s motivated and has already had a couple of home runs this season. The rest of us tag along for our cheering-crowd scoop of ice cream. You’re all invited!

Our cute Kate is as happy as ever. She’s had a few minor incidents with a boy’s head and a nasty mosquito. The mosquito “sucked her blood” while on a fishing trip to Spring Creek. I’ve attached her story about her “big fat lip” and the mosquito bite face…all worth reading and looking at. These will also be on our family blog http://thechatfields.blogspot.com/

It being the end of the school year we’ve been invited to attend lots of “final performances.” Bianca played beautifully at her final piano performance and will take the summer off so she can be fresh and excited to get back at it in the fall. After Jake’s final Spring 2009 piano performance he gave a great big smile in place of his bow. That smile motivated me to continue my long hours of encouraging him to practice and continue with piano. If he only knew!

Kate will continue her summer piano lessons, because she wants to! How wonderful is that! We will take advantage of her enthusiastic attitude as long as she offers it. She will be taking a break from her ballet classes and she’s happy about that. Her ballet company has been working extra hard to prepare for the upcoming performance of “Cinderella”. This is what Kate works for all year long…the chance to dance on the “big stage.”

As for me…well my last PTA activity concluded yesterday. Just a few reports, a few reimbursements and a big thank you to everyone involved and I’ve completed my responsibilities for another year. It’s a good feeling.

Now I’m off to do a little Disneyland packing!
Happy summer!
Love,
The Springville Chatfields

Kate's 7th Birthday Party with Friends

2009-01-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Warm Look of Winter

2009-01-30T18:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas Newsletter 2008

2009-01-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Amazon bridge

2008-12-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

Kate's First Grade Thanksgiving Program

2008-12-07T17:54:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

December 2008

2008-12-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
October, November and December have proven to be very busy months at the Chatfield home. We’ve enjoyed the busyness and are very grateful for the many things we are learning along the way. As I’ve been thinking about the last couple of months I’ve noticed that they’ve been filled with lots of service…Opportunities for the Chatfields to serve and to be served.

The service started on October 31st at about 12:00 noon. Kelsey received a call from the Sherriff’s department requesting his help with a family in our ward. The father of the home had taken his life earlier that morning and his wife and children needed to be told. Kelsey was able to leave work behind to spend much of the remainder of the day “sitting” with this family and giving what comfort he could.

As Kelsey attended to this distraught family, Dr. D. and I continued setting up for Bianca’s big 13th Halloween birthday party. She had invited all of her school and neighborhood friends and it looked to be a big monster bash. Dr. D. set up his awesome sound system, complete with karaoke mics and amplifiers to rock the neighborhood. Dr. D. was a life-saver for us that day.

As guests started to arrive for the party we couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous about the family down the street who was suffering. It seemed as though we shouldn’t be planning a fun and lively party when their lives were in such turmoil. As I took Jake and Kate trick-or-treating a bit later we noticed that many of the Dalley family’s immediate neighbors were staked out front of the house greeting the many trick-or-treaters with a “Happy Halloween” and explaining that “we are all of out candy, try us again next year.” We have many transplant trick-or-treaters that arrive in car loads so they might not have understood the circumstances. We live amongst many good people and we were glad to see that the Dalley family was being taken care of by most of them.

Bianca’s party turned out to be a success and she looked beautifully scary in a re-conditioned gothic ball gown…thanks Connie and Mik. Jake was a handsome Evil Outlaw and Kate a wonderfully PINK Super Girl.

The best part of November is all the reminders of what we are thankful for. The first week of November Kelsey conducted the funeral of Lin Dalley. Lin was a loved and admired father, husband, son, and firefighter. With all the good that was in his life and the great acts of service he provided to so many, he also suffered from severe depression. As Kelsey organized and conducted Lin’s funeral he was blessed to have his cousin, Brent Russon (from Bountiful) as the funeral director. Kelsey felt great peace in knowing that any questions he had could be quickly and gracefully answered by Brent. The funeral was very nice and because of Lin’s association with the Fire Fighters they honored him with a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace, the last call, a big fire truck procession and lots of beautiful reminders of how sacred life really is. Kind of reminded me of Grandpa Brague’s memorial.

Thanksgiving day was a quiet, peaceful day with a beautifully hosted dinner at Lois’ home. She said she loves to cook and have everyone over to eat. She does it well and we along with Connie and her kids and Rich and Jon enjoyed a meal we were all very thankful for.

December is upon us and we continue to be grateful for all that we have been blessed with.
We’ve got 3 piano recitals to attend, a pine wood derby, 3 retirement home performances to give, a ward party, a R.S. dinner, a big Karate tournament, Jake’s 4th grade Christmas performance at the mall, a Christmas ballet performance…and a Partridge in a Pear Tree! And Grandma Chatfield supports it all. I think she’ll be glad when Grandma and Grandpa Jackson come home so that she can share some of the grandparent fun. We love her and glad that she chooses to be such a big part of our lives.

I had an interesting life lesson two weeks ago. I was headed off to a PTA meeting and stopped by our elementary school for a quick errand. I was in a hurry because I had only about 15 min. to make it to another school in the area. I completed my errand and then witnessed a lady rush into the building calling for 911. I stopped for a moment to see if I could help and then looking at my watch noticed that I had better leave if I wanted to be on time to my meeting. As I ran for the door a thought kept nagging me to help out. Instead of returning to my car I decided to go over to the accident to see if I could help. I found a lady all alone, sprawled out on the cold, hard ground waiting for someone to assist her. She had been driving down a slight incline and her wheelchair tipped over with her in it. She could not move and because of her inability to move and her weight no one was allowed to lift her except for emergency trained personnel. I had the chance to comfort her, cover her with a blanket that happened to be in my car and chat with her while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. After she was back in her chair with the knowledge that all was ok, just a few scrapes, I found out that she was a resident from the Hobble Creek Care Center (a local assisted living facility here in Springville) and had driven several miles in her motorized wheelchair to see and hear her granddaughter perform in a Thanksgiving concert. She missed the performance but taught those of us that took the time to help a lot about compassion and perseverance. I learned that as important as it is to be on time for a meeting, it’s even more important to serve and watch out for “the one”.

Jake’s example of “watching out for the one” might have a little different spin but just as interesting. His teacher gave him a school assignment to write to the lawmakers and the following is his plea regarding banning soda machines from schools:

Dear Lawmakers,
Don’t you dare take away vending machines out of schools. Soda is tasty and yummy. When I go into middle school, high school and college, I will want to drink soda. I will want soda in my school. I will always Love soda and I will repeat myself, I will always love soda! There’s nothing you can do to make me not drink soda. You know why? Because every time I go cheer at BYU I drink soda. Every time I’m sick I take little sips of Sprite. Sprite is a soda. So I think soda is the best and it beats the rest!
From Jake Chatfield

I thought Jake with his 4th grade writing abilities offered great reasons for what makes soda an important part of his life. A little later that week he showed what great problem solving skills he has. He created a solution to an ever present problem in the hen houses across the America…this account was written by Dr. Davis our local Veterinarian and Friend:
Here on the farm, we've tried for a week to catch the wily raccoon that had been trying every night to dig under the chicken wire seeking a "Utah Fresh Chicken Dinner". He never took the different baits, until yesterday. Jake suggested leaving a trail of Oreo cookies into the trap . And the wily raccoon was caught by the wilier cookie monster- Jake. (Of course Jake first took a bite from each Oreo- so as not to totally waste such good cookies!)

Speaking of wildlife, if you want to see Kate dramatically singing about a headless turkey check out our blog at http://thechatfields.blogspot.com/ She performed it with all of the First graders and I have to say she was the star…at least in our estimation.

Bianca has been given some unique activities to be involved in the last couple of weeks. Last night her group of young women delivered therapy dolls to the Primary Children’s hospital in Salt Lake. Bianca said she saw a cute little girl that reminded her of Hannah when she was younger. She was very tiny and didn’t have much hair but had such a cute little face. We assume the little girl at the hospital was receiving chemo treatments. We are so blessed to have a healthy family.

After the hospital delivery Bianca and her group were able to go over to the Church Office building to meet with Sister McMullin, Bishop McMullin’s (of the Presiding Bishopric) wife and mother of one of our young woman leaders. They met on the top floor looking out at Temple Square and all the beautiful lights. Sister McMullin displayed a picture of a beautiful wooden bridge in the midst of an Amazon jungle. When they were visiting there they came across this bridge and she said it seemed to be surrounded by such beauty, it was breathtaking. As her story went on Sis. McMullin explained that under the bridge lived families of crocodiles. She gave each young woman a copy of the picture to remind them of the parallels in their lives and how important it is to keep to the beauty and simplicity of life and not add the confusion of crocodiles. (picture of bridge on Chatfield blog)

While at the Church Office building Bianca remembered that Grandpa Jackson used to work on the 13th floor. She said she stopped the elevator there for old times’ sake. Bianca continues to visit the retirement home here in Springville to visit with the Grandmas and Grandpas there. She tries to go every Sunday to play the piano for them. Bianca has a special gift of love when it comes to Grandmas and Grandpas.

The First Presidency Christmas Devotional is starting, the Christmas decorations are twinkling, the kind acts of service and love are present, the anticipation of out of town guests is high and we believe that this holiday season will be the best yet. We love you and think of you daily.
Kellie, Kels and Kids
http://thechatfields.blogspot.com/

Halloween 2008

2008-12-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

Chatfield Update 10/14/08

2008-10-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2008 Happy Birthday Carri!

For the first time in almost 13 months we saw Mom and Dad! All the Chatfields gathered around the computer and actually connected face to face (via the wonders of web cam) with President and Sister Jackson…ahhh Mom and Dad! It was so nice to hear and SEE them.

It took us awhile to get the sound so as Mom worked diligently to find a solution, Dad entertained us (much to our amusement) in the background by showing us cereal boxes, fiber containers, and other breakfast items that he was preparing and then came back into the picture with his BYU hat on. He had listened to the BYU game the day (or was it the night?) before and wanted to let us know that even many, many miles away he’ still True Blue!

After the phone call ended the kids kept asking, “How long do they have left on their mission?” “When is our next phone call?” In this age of amazing technology a simple call on the phone or a hug in person just cannot be replaced. As much as we love a voice and a smile from many oceans away we can’t wait for that in-person squeeze. Only 4 ½ months to go!

We had our first little snow fall here in Springville last weekend. Jake and I went to Nate’s big Superbowl game and sat there with blankets and coats as big snowflakes fell on our heads. Nate performed well and his team fell just short of being the big winners of 7th grade football. Nate explained after the game that he felt pretty darn good about it…after all this was his first season in football and he had made it to the Superbowl! We thought so too.

Jake’s football team also did well and made it to the playoffs. Jake didn’t have a bowl game but they had great treats after the game and a certificate of achievement for “Playing Hard” and “Keeping The Game Fun”. As spectators of the games we agreed with ALL that.

We’ve also been to a few YW volleyball games. Bianca and her team have done well and have great team unity. Even though they are not always the winning team I never hear any of the team members say anything but positive “good job” comments. They’re fun to watch and every once in awhile Kate and I get to keep score.

Kate, along with her Kindergarten class, is at Hee Haw Pumpkin Patch today. She could barely sleep last night she was so filled with excitement and bounded out of bed this morning with a big smile and shout “I get to ride the bus today!” Life is good in her little world.

This Thursday and Friday is UEA weekend. Carri told us that Southern California refers to UEA as Utah’s Exodus to Anaheim. Our neighborhood lives up to that characterization beautifully. I think half our neighborhood/ward is missing every year around this time and they all come back with Mickey Mouse Ears. We hope to be able to join them one day!

We went Halloween costume shopping last week and it looks like we will have a PINK Super Girl, an Evil Outlaw, and a teenager with pink and black striped socks and masquerade mask. I asked Bianca what she was wearing along with the mask and socks and she informed me that it was a costume-in-progress. I hope the costume “progresses” and has a lot more coverage in the near future…it’s a bit nippy around here!

Kels will be celebrating Halloween in class this year and he’s not too disappointed about it. We told him we’d have fun with or without him!

My costume…well it’s the same every year…just call me MOM! We love Halloween!

Love you all.
Kellie

Jake-Nate Football stars 2008

2008-10-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Summer with cousins 2008

2008-10-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

Chatfield update 9/30/08

2008-10-05T14:27:00.001-07:00

It’s almost October and I feel like it should be just about September! I completely missed our August updates.

The kids are all back in school and mostly liking it. We still have to drag-crane-pull Jake out of bed every school morning. He’s not a morning person, to say the least, but once he wakes up and gets moving he’s got lots of energy. Kate on the other hand bounces out of bed, usually earlier then we’d like and when she finally settles down at night she goes right to sleep. Bianca is in the transitional teenage years (8th grade) where she wants to stay up late and get up late but can’t…either way! She’s always good at being to school on time and often has to wait for the rest of us for morning prayers.

Kate is loving first grade and I think I know why the stock market is in such a downward spiral---Kraft foods must have taken a BIG hit when we started packing Kate’s lunch box. Her Macaroni and Cheese intake has fallen to only one meal a week…that is HUGE! She now eats a honey and butter sandwich every day for lunch along with other semi-nutritious yummies. She is trying lots of new things and liking some of them.

Jake and Bianca eat everything in sight—pizza, chocolate and salad being the favorites. We’re grateful for active kids that eat regular meals and don’t mind taking charge of their own needs every once in awhile.

Speaking of active—we’ve been keeping busy going to Bianca’s volleyball games, Jake’s flag football games, Karate classes and Kate’s dance classes. Piano is still hanging in there for Bianca and Jake (thankfully) and Kate started this year. Kate LOVES to practice and sets a joyful example for her brother and sister. Wonder how long that will last!

We spent Family Night this week at Jake’s football game and then went over to the big high school field to watch Nate play his game. Nate’s position is a nose tackle (huh?) and gets to rush the big boys. They are even important enough to have cheerleaders occasionally. Fourth grader Jake is looking forward to those days, he says with a sheepish grin on his face.

Kels started back to school and goes to class every Friday night and Saturday morning for 4 hours each. This semester seems to be a little more manageable then the past ones and we’re not sure if it’s because it doesn’t interfere with the work day or if Kels is just studying something that he really enjoys. He still gets up rather early to study.

Kels and the kids had a day off from work and school so Kels took the kids on their yearly fall campout last weekend and came home with lots of fun stories to tell. They camped at Clear Creek in Sevier County this year and at least from the pictures it looks to be a beautiful place to visit. There were plenty of “Rock Art” formations, a Wikiup, a Cave of a Hundred Hands, pictographs, wild life and all kinds of other outdoor fun. (See the Smilebox for pictures and video)

As Kels and the kids frolicked in the dirt and sage, I waded through loads and loads of Scholastic books. I wasn’t able to go camping with the family because of PTA responsibilities, darn! We closed our week long school book fair and conducted parent teacher conferences, so I spent most of my night closing-up-shop. We all slept great the next night, home in our own comfortable beds.

And this weekend…well it’s my most favorite time of the year (or at least semi-annually)! It’s General Conference weekend. What could be better than seeing, listening and learning from our prophet and other leaders in the comfort of our own homes, in our jammies.

Sure love you all.
Kellie, Kels and Kids

Clear Creek Camping Sept. 2008

2008-10-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Simply Family Sept. 2008

2008-10-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Video clip of anniversary at Sundance

2008-07-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Chatfield Update 7/18/08

2008-07-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer!
This week has been great! No where to go, not much to do, ahhhh. The kids might not be having the time of their lives but I sure am! I’m feeling a little more ready for the commitments I’ve made that come full force with Fall-back-to-school and that feels good. The kids are still in denial about the school thing but are ok with the back-to-school shopping. We bought Kate her 1st grade backpack and she believes she is now ready to be a big kid. The matching lunch box is raring to go as well. We just wonder how she is going to make mac-n-cheese at school.

Bianca’s last couple of weeks have consisted of girls camp, babysitting, vet assisting, and volunteering one day a week at the Old Folks home here in Springville. Girls Camp was a blast for Bianca—see below—Kels was able to visit their cushy camp one night while she was there. He brought pizza and root beer for the girls and leaders, then spent some time enjoying the beautiful setting with them.

Bianca has half the neighborhood vying for her babysitting expertise. She has two regular summer babysitting jobs each week and others that call for the evenings and other daytime hours. Bianca is the kind of babysitter that plays with the kids and she often comes home with little love notes and pictures from the kids she takes care. They love her and she loves making money in such a fun way. She is working hard at babysitting as well as assisting Dr. D. at the animal hospital once a week so she can earn enough money for school clothes. She should have quite the wardrobe if this keeps up. She also pays tithing and puts ½ her earnings in savings. She is quite frugal and often finds it difficult to part with her hard earned money.

One of Bianca’s personal progress goals is to reach out to people in the community. On her own (ok, maybe with a little prompting from mom and dad), she contacted the Springville Retirement Home and asked if she and a friend could come one day a week and perform for the residents there. They were a little unsure at first, but because Bianca and her friend have been reliable and committed to being there they have become very appreciative of their service. Bianca reports that the people there are so cute and friendly. They are even requesting specific piano pieces to be played now. We think that helps cultivate Bianca’s love for the piano!

Jake’s life has slowed downed greatly. He has a awesome cub scout leader that thankfully gives him lots of fun activities to go to and encourages him to keep earning his patches, points or whatever they call them! His den leader is a 60+ year old woman, Dorothy Hinckley, and has been serving as the Bear leader for several years now. Every mother (and father) in our ward pray that Dorothy will not be released until at least one of their boys has been in the den. Last week they had a “feast” at their meeting. Jake came home telling us that was the best ever! They had a table full of little bowls of goodies. They could choose as many bowls as they wanted for their feast but had to apply that to the requirements they were passing off. I guess Jake has passed off enough to come home feeling quite satisfied. The weeks previous to that they have gone swimming at the rec center, biked to SOS Drug for an ice cream, bowling, Kangaroo Zoo (a trampoline events center), and Day Camp where they shot guns, bow and arrows, made boats and all kinds of other “manly things”. Life is good and quite productive in Cub Scouts.

Jake’s baseball season ended with an invitation to attend one of the OWLZ (semi-pro team in Utah county) games to be introduced and invited to come down onto the “Field of Dreams”. He’s excited about that and we appreciate his coach for making the season extra special for these boys. He’s told Jake that he wants him practicing off season…he expects him to come back next year a seasoned catcher or pitcher. Jake’s committed…at least for now.

Kate is just so much fun to have around…that’s good because she’s always around! She’s the first one up in the morning with a “good morning, Mom” greeting and the first one to go to bed at night. She always prays for Grandma and Grandpa on their mission, Grandma Chatfield, all the aunts, uncles and cousins and that Aunt Christine will take good care of all her animals. She also prays for little Maya (Dr. D.’s cute little dog). She has a great fondness for animals and has now added along with wanting to be a grandma when she grows up, she would also like to be an animal doctor. I’m sure she’ll be great at both.

Kels and I celebrated our 24 year wedding anniversary last Monday and feel grateful that life has been good to us. We celebrated by inviting our kids to join us up at Sundance, after all it was Family Home Evening. We rode the chair lift up the mountain and felt quietly amazed at the unspoiled beauty. We know why Robert Redford tries hard keep the tourist attractions out of the area. We enjoyed one of the two places they have to eat there and were quite impressed with the meal. The bill was quite impressive as well. Our kids realized that this was a special occasion.

I’ve been impressed recently with how simple and routine our life is and have felt very grateful for that. Kelsey has been called away for different reasons this week to help, assist and give comfort to some of our neighbors. It’s been made very clear to me how blessed we are to have the life we have. We’re far from perfect around here but so grateful for the things we are learning from the goodness around us.

We sure appreciate and love your goodness! Hope the typhoon misses once again!
Love
Kellie

Bianca’s Camp Experiences:
The bus ride to camp seemed so long. I was tired but I was too excited to sleep. We arrived at Heber Valley Camp around 9:oo A.M.
We then had a flag ceremony and we sang our camp songs, ate lunch, and played some games. At 1:30 we walked down to the challenge course. The challenge course was so fun, especially the zip-line. That was my favorite.
After that we walked back up the big long hill. We had dinner and then did our skits. Our super hero was "Cover Girl"—Our motto was "We got it covered"
The skits were really funny. That night we had a Star Party, Sister Remy showed us some constellations and told us some stories about them. We then went to our cabins and went to bed around 11:oo, boy was I really tired!
Wednesday was a really spiritual day, as my friend pointed out, our friendships were like rubber bands, our "rubber bands" had been stretched far out meaning that we all were sick of each other. After the cake walk it had been snapped back into place. For the cake walk my camp leader, Sister Parkinson had us all hold out our hands like we were offering something to that person, we were told to not talk but to instead look into each other’s eyes and express our emotions to that person. We all did that to as many people as we could and we all felt the spirit so strongly it was so comforting and so amazing. We also went to the lake, 4 people in our ward tipped over in the canoes. I thought it was funny. Around 9:00 or so we had a spirit walk it wasn't as touching, just because we were the last ward to do it and I was really tired. We all were blind folded and we had to hold onto a rope or as they called it the "Iron Rod" we walked for I don't know 3 minutes and they then put a rock in my hands and explained that that was to represent your sins, people were there to help you just like in the world and I had to listen for bad things trying to take me off of the right path. I guess we were blind folded because we can't always see what things are ahead of us, we just have to listen to the Spirit's promptings.
Thursday, John Bytheway came and he was really funny, he just kept going off subject, talking about modesty, his name, what jokes you can make out of his last name to where you can find modest prom dresses. We had testimony meeting and we all got prettied up(Sister Randall works at NuSkin so she has a whole big make-up kit) it was really fun! The bishopric came up and they brought tons of pizza and root beer Yum! We then walked up to our fire pit thingy and started testimony meeting. I did share my testimony but to be honest it took me awhile to get the courage to go up and do it, I was really scared!
It was fun though! The only thing I didn't like about camp was certification that was boring. Oh well, got to learn it sometime right?!
The weather was really nice but it was hot!
On Friday we had a flag ceremony and cleaned up cabins, ate breakfast, and packed up! I got to say I was so excited to get home! Oh and guess what, Friday morning we saw a moose it was really big! We also saw lots of deer and prairie dogs!

Well camp was great but I am sure glad to be home and have nice warm showers!
Love you all so much!
Bianca Chatfield

Bianca and Mik--hip-hopping girls

2008-07-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Kate's dance performance Sleeping Beauty 2008

2008-07-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

July 4th Celebration

2008-07-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

I’ve attached a Smilebox photo clip of our fun 4th of July. (wait till after the fireworks and you will see some fun photos)

The kids began their 4th of July celebrations a night early by staying over at Grandma Chatfield’s house, staying up as late as they wanted watching Princess Bride and sleeping on her bedroom floor in sleeping bags..fun! The next morning they were invited to escort Grandma to her ward July 4th breakfast. Kate fantasized about eating a big, fudgy, chocolate muffin for breakfast. Lois said she didn’t see anything but fruit, cereal and muffins with fruit in them…which of course wouldn’t interest Kate. They all ate well and then headed over to Grandma’s pool. That is where Kels and I came in.

Lots of wet, wonderful water to cool us down on the 103 degree holiday. After pool fun we headed over to Iceberg for some shakes and a burger. Good stuff! Then it was off to the theatre to see Kung Fu Panda. Funny movie and a cool place to hang out.

Earlier that week I bought a water slide pool inflatable, so we headed home after the movie and had some more water fun…then off to IHOP for dinner and then to cap off a great day we went over to Connie’s house for a little street fireworks.

We all slept well that night.

Chatfield update 7/3/08

2008-07-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!
I was listening to the news today and they had Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem from years past...as she sang my eyes started to tear as I thought of loved ones in foreign lands, lands with unrest and corruption, some with terrible destruction and my heart was touched with the thought of how blessed we are to live in a land that is free. Not perfect, but free. I’m grateful for those who have served and now serving to allow us freedom in this land of liberty.

I have been looking forward to July for a couple of months now. It has become a month that I truly feel free…for several reasons. We are free of many of the pressures of daily living and free to choose our summer fun, every day…sometimes we don’t even get out of bed until 9:00 AM! That is living!...and convincing your children that sleeping in is great! Kelsey is still in the habit of rising and shining at 5:00 AM…we haven’t convinced him yet.

School came to a close in a very positive way. Bianca was recognized for her hard work as a 7th Grade Honor Roll Student for the entire school year. She closed out the year with all A’s. Jake received all E-Excellent and VG-Very Good, and glowing comments from his 3rd grade teacher. She said she will miss him. Jake said he is ready for Summer! Kate’s Kindergarten grades were as expected, perfect. She told Mrs. Miner she would miss her but will visit when she returns to school for 1st Grade. Kelsey also graduated with honors and will begin the Masters program in the Fall at USU-UVU campus. Lots of U’s there! We hope to see lots of A’s next year too! I wasn’t graded on any of my fine work throughout the year but I’m sure I would rate very high on all my chauffer, car pooling, homework assistance, cookie baking, PTAing, etc.
responsibilities.

The week following the last day of school we jumped into swimming lessons, cheer camp, youth conference, Lois’ big b-day bash in Park City, dance performances, basketball camp, Stake R.S. Retreat, Cub Scout day camp and baseball games twice a week. Bianca is preparing to leave for Girls Camp next week and then I believe we will be ready for summer relaxation.

In all of those activities we learned a lot, had fun and will forever be grateful that we have such great things to do and fun people to do them with.

Bishop Kels is doing well. His first two weeks after being called to be bishop included visiting with an unwed mother in the hospital, marrying a sweet couple, conducting a meeting where two general authorities were in attendance and lots of phone calls from our Stake President. We know the Lord is strengthening Kels as he serves because he continues to be able to get the important things done…like a couple of golf games with Jake.

I was able to attend the marriage Kelsey performed and he gave the couple some great advice…actually the advice came from our High Priest Group Leader but Kels felt it appropriate to share at the ceremony. The counsel was: “It’s great to be right, but it’s even better to be kind.” Words we can all strive to live by.

Travis Hansen Charity Basketball Camp is what kept Jake busy for several days last week. Travis Hansen is a former BYU Cougar and has become a star pro ball player in Moscow. There is a great article about him and the basketball camp at www.littleheroesfoundation.org He will be playing for the Russian Olympics basketball team. Jake was also able to receive some training from some of the BYU coaches and Ben Murdock, one of BYU’s starting basketball players. Jake was impressed when Ben told all of them that his dad used to get him up every morning at 5:00 AM to run basketball drills. Coach Rose gave the boys 4 tips on being a better teammate.
1. Be on time
2. Do what you say you’re going to do
3. Finish what you start
4. Be a good guy (no jerks allowed, just be nice)
I thought that was good advice for anyone whether they are on a team or not.

Bianca gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting. Her subject was testimony and she did a great job. We hope she is given the opportunity to share her testimony lots more…maybe at Girls Camp.

Kate was asked to give a talk in Primary about temples. She was very quick to say yes because of Grandma and Grandpa’s mission. She proudly displayed the picture of the Philippines temple with grandma and grandpa’s picture in it (thanks Dr. D.) and told everyone in Primary that they were helping people in the Philippines get sealed as families forever…”just like me!”

Jake has found a way to avoid giving talks in Primary…as soon as he knows his class has been given the assignment for next week he quickly volunteers to give the scripture or the prayer. One of these days someone is going to catch on…we hope.

FLASH**Kels just saved the day for 3 little baby quail. They were stuck in our downstairs window well and had no hope of freedom. The parents kept coming to peek over and were obviously distraught. Kels and his shovel freed the birds and boy did they scamper once their little feet hit the grass. We hope they will continue to grow big and strong and avoid the big, nasty snakes in the grass.

Yesterday I was given my first perk as the new PTA president. The principal gave me full disclosure of where they placed Kate and Jake in the 1st and 4th grades. I know the teachers they are assigned to, and that is unheard of at our school. And what was even better, Mr. Rowe told me I could make any changes I felt necessary. I felt good about the placements and didn’t feel the need to make any changes but sure am looking forward to a few more fun perks.

We hope your holiday (sorry mom and dad—you have to miss out this year) is a good, safe one.
We love you and feel blessed to live in a country where we are free to love, learn and worship as we wish.
Kellie

July 4th Celebrations

2008-07-08T09:05:00.000-07:00