Monday, July 5, 2010

June has been an eventful and busy month. The kids are taking advantage of the summer and the great weather.
Monica spent a week at Young Women's Camp this month which left Rob as the single parent...it was a very humbling experience! Rob and the kids started the week by taking a hike to Timpanogos Cave. This adventure was actually a result of a threat Rob had made a month before when Tommy finagled his way out of the Timp Cave hike with his school class because of a fear of heights and his becoming aware of some recent accidents which took place on that trail. Rob vowed that no Chamberlain would ever back down from something great because of a fear. As a result, the Timp Cave hike did not begin as a welcomed activity for the kids but they soon settled down on the trail and had a really good time. They thought the cave was really cool and they completely overcame their anxieties of the trail heights. On the drive back home the kids asked if they could do it again the following week - mission accomplished!
The remainder of the week without a mom went as well as could be expected with lots of pizza, burgers, and mac & cheese. Monica, although a bit sleep deprived, came back having had a great week at camp and quality bonding with the girls. In addition to camp, hikes, and unsupervised (by mom) fun, the kids have been losing teeth like crazy this month! Tommy, Maddy, and Ally have all lost teeth and enjoyed visits from the tooth fairy. Now for the particulars on the critters:
Tommy has just finished up a great season of machine pitch baseball. He likes to swing for the fences so when he does have the opportunity to connect to the ball he sends it sailing. Unfortunately, he has learned that the big hitters often strike out a lot and we are now in the process of working on improving the consistency of his hitting. With that said, Tommy is a very skilled baseball player and is also now getting excited to switch gears for his first season of tackle football (he has been begging us for a couple years to play tackle and we are finally giving in). Tommy is also spending his summer doing a lot of reading (in order to earn video game playing time) and practicing the piano. He is also enjoying Webelo scouts and looking forward to the Webelo's Woods overnighter later this fall. Maddy is also spending her summers reading and playing the piano. Maddy has a good friend down the street with a swimming pool so she spends quite a bit of time swimming with her friends and being silly. The best part about Maddy is watching her corky and fun personality develop. She keeps us laughing with her funny one-liners and jokes. Maddy has also been trying to learn the skill of riding Tommy's rip stick. She has just about got it! Ally just lost her first tooth. It took a little coaxing to allow us to wiggle and pull the tooth but she eventually gave in. Ally enjoys coloring, drawing, and playing with all her friends in the neighborhood. Ally and Maddy are best of friends and spend quite a bit of time singing and doing girly things together (painting fingernails, braiding hair, etc.). Ally is also really excited to start kindergarten this fall.
Life is great for our little family.
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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Back to Blogging!

It's been a LONG time since we updated our blog (almost 2 years)! But, most recently, we just got back from a trip to Moab with our good friends, the Taylor's. In this picture we all hiked to Delicate Arch, and survived! The older kids totally abandoned the adults, while the younger ones continually asked, "Are we there yet?" while guzzling water. At one point I thought I was going to loose Rob in the natural "bowl" in the front of the arch, but (as usual) he was just goofing off. He really had my heart pounding, though.
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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Timp Summit







Last week I hiked Timp with other members of the bishopric and scouts. Yes, I successfully hauled my very neglected physique up the side of that hill. Some lasting memories of note:

  • reaching camp at Emeral Lake around 1:30am

  • succesfully occupying a 2-man tent with 3 grown men (mesquitos were a horrible incentive) - something similar to the popular circus act of stuffing clowns into a VW bug!

  • wishing I had brought my red spray paint to rectify the wrongs performed on the summit shack by a fan from the school down south - disgraceful!!!

  • secretly hoping to see a mountain goat take a fall purely in an attempt to satisfy my curiosity as to if it would land on it's feet

  • watching a LifeFlite pick-up an injured hiker and wondering what I could do to get myself on that helicopter



It was a fun hike with great company. And yes, I do have extremely white legs!

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Hi, this is me, Rob, otherwise known as the "Chambo." I found out this weekend I had been "tagged" so here is my attempt to fulfill my "tag" obligation. It's not pretty, trust me...

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me
(1) I was a high school state football champion. I was a defensive lineman for Timpview High School (go T-birds!). We beat Skyline in a triple overtime, nail biting, prep football thriller. Don’t get me wrong though, I wasn’t any good – even though I am pretty sure I thought a lot of my football skills back in the day. My teammates and I were so excited for our victory that we gave each other “head-butt’s” with our helmets on (it was a macho thing to do). Unfortunately for one of my friends, I didn’t realize he had taken his helmet off and he suffered a post-game broken nose….sorry Moe!

(2) I am fascinated by comb-over’s and hope one day to be blessed with sparse enough hair to have one. An individual in the ward I grew up in had a sweet comb-over. I thought is was neat when it would flap in the wind. I decided at an early age that I would someday sport that sweet due!!!

(3) I was a student government officer in high school. I warn the reader not to confuse this with any form of popularity. My friend and I smelled pizza one day after school. We followed the scent and were required to sign up to run for an office before we could partake. The next day we both found nobody signed up to run against either of us. We shared the same winning campaign slogan, “vote for me, who else are you going to vote for?” – it was inspiring!!!

(4) I have a good friend by the name of Dave with an extremely hairy chest. Dave is a really nice guy but legend has it, a woodland creature named Raule lives within that hairy nest of a chest. A similar folklore tells of a small cave dweller by the name of Vinchenzo (“Vinnie” for short) who dwells in my own belly-button. Vinnie (the cave-dweller) and Raule (the woodland creature) are known to converse on occasion. I know, knowledge of this is very strange and somewhat disturbing!!! Unfortunately, I have to come up with 10 things here (I’ve been “tagged”) and I’m really not much of an exciting person – Vinnie (the cave dweller) on the other hand is extremely exciting!!!
(5) I was a paperboy from the ages of 7 until about 15 years old. Back in that day the paperboy would collect the monthly newspaper fees. One night while collecting I came upon one of my customers homes which had flames and smoke coming out the large garage door. After greeting my customer at the door and letting her know I was there “to collect” I casually mentioned her home was on fire. She assured me her son was smoking meat in the garage and everything was under control. I collected my money and left the house only to find the flames had grown much taller. I went back to tell my customer her house was really on fire only to get the same reply. I went across the street to collect from her neighbor and upon opening the door, the neighbor saw the flames and rushed passed me, hollering “Fire! Fire!” at the top of her lungs. I learned two valuable lessons that night – to get somebody’s attention you should first, not be asking for their money, and second, flare your arms and scream “fire!” at the top of your lungs.

(6) Did I already mention Vinnie the cave dweller?

(7) As newly-weds in a married student ward (at the famed University of Utah), I once mistook the Bishop’s wife for my own. The story goes something like this – I had a meeting prior to church and planned to meet Monica in Sacrament Meeting. I arrived during the ward announcements and immediately climbed over my beautiful bride sitting at the edge of the bench and parked myself snuggly up against her just as the opening hymn began. I sang the hymn, sat through the opening prayer, and was halfway through the sacrament hymn (sharing a hymn book) when I heard Monica’s voice behind me ask if I was planning to sit with her during the meeting. I looked over to find I had been cozy’d up to the Bishop’s wife who seemed horrified of me. The bishop (not from the student ward) had only been called two weeks prior so his poor wife had absolutely no idea who this clown was that was invading her personal space. Monica was gracious enough to join the Bishop’s wife and myself on the bench but chose to sit on the other side of me leaving me next to my new found friend…awkward. Very awkward!!!

(8) I hit a cat the first time I drove a car. My apologies to all you cat lovers out there. It was unintentional and those beady little glow-in-the-dark eyes still haunt me to this day. I wish Vinnie (the cave dweller) would have warned me in sufficient time so as I could have avoided that experience. Another lesson learned, the whole “cats have nine lives” is nothing but a bunch of baloney!

(9) While serving an LDS mission in Texas, my companion and I were shot at. We had just received a not-so-warm reception at a country home upon delivering an LDS video (the family ordered off a commercial). A rifle was produced by the father of the home and my companion and I found ourselves running for our lives down the long dirt driveway. We jumped into our Ford Escort Wagon and sped away. Unfortunately, the little Escort took one for the team as it took a hit in the rear as we drove away. I learned that day that while many Texans are extremely friendly and nice people, there are a few “crazy’s” in that great state and we seemed to be a “crazy magnet.”

(10) I have been known to sleep-walk on a regular basis. My most recent night-time escapade found me scaling the bedroom wall, asking Monica to “commit” while speaking in an English accent. Needless to say, Monica has since banned me of watching Man vs. Wild with host, Bear Grylls, prior to sleeping.
Hmmm. Let's see. I tag Kyle and Tom. Sorry guys, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there...
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008






Last month I went to girls camp.  I had so much fun with the young women and their leaders.  I thought I would embarrass them by showcasing a few of them who dared to walk the high wire, and who braved the stake's activities.  Keep in mind, we are in outdoor high fashion--grubbies, no makeup, ratty hair.  Yep--we're lookin' good!
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The "Cheater Skeeter"


This is Tommy holding his "Raingutter Regatta" boat.  Rob "helped" Tommy by researching a design on the internet.  Tommy's boat won every race.  His boat quickly inherited the name "Cheater Skeeter."  I guess some people are sore loosers--or maybe some will do anything to win.
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Maddy's Makeover


This is Maddy with straight hair.  She was soooo excited to have her hair done at a salon.  She got to pick her own style--and she chose one that was short and straight.  The stylist did her magic and blew Maddy's super curly locks straight.  Maddy was certain that her classmates would think that she was a new student when she went to school the next day.  She wanted her hair straight for the next eight days.  It was the best money ever spent.
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