Chatfield update 5/28/09

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