Woke up to Second Grade!

Thanks family and friends for all your prayers and positive vibes on behalf of Ella. She started second grade this morning, and you can see by the way she's clinging onto me and Stephanie in the photos, that she was a little unsure and anxious. When we arrived we were excited to see that she got Mrs Yoo as her teacher, and many of her friends were in her class. She ended up walking into the classroom holding hands and laughing and talking with her friend Emily. I'm sure the two of them will have to be separated, but it was good to see her enter the class room happy and confident. And Kath and I walked home feeling a sense of peace about the coming year.

An Impromtu Birthday Party for My Money Man

Thomas is going to be 3 on the 28th of this month, but he and Kath will be in Utah, and Ella and I will still be here in L.A., so in typical Chamberlain family style, we decided on Friday to have a little family birthday party for him on Sunday. Of course a family party has to include the Yangs, since they're like our family here in L.A. After all we share a wall and a yard with them. We also invited our neighbor Rachel who was mourning the passing of her dog Saide (R.I.P). Thomas also asked if his "Best buddy Maddox could please come" So our little family party expanded a tiny bit, but it was still mellow and low key just the way we like it.

We handed out water guns as a party favor, and filled up a bucket of water balloons. The Yang's gave Thomas a Slip 'n Slide, which I think Ella was more excited about than him, and she provided endless entertainment for the party with her slip and slide antics. And you know the afternoon wasn't going by with out me having a few turns on the slip and slide! It was a wet and wild party for a while!

Thomas had asked for tacos, so Kath and I decided to do a taco bar. I have to say, the spread we put out made Chipotle look like a crappy corporate franchise owned by McDonalds! It featured chicken and barbacoa beef tacos, and three kinds of salsa. The tacos were SO TASTY! and the salsa that was the most popular was the one Ella made!

Another request of Thomas' was a castle cake, and Kath totally delivered! She made a super rad sand castle cake. It was every bit as tasty as it was cool looking. We won't talk about how many weight watchers points were in one slice, but let's just say I used all my bonus points for the week!


It really was one of those perfect days were everything went just right. There were no meltdowns and everyone went to bed happy!

Happy birthday T-Money I LOVE YOU!

Super Family

Some of my earliest childhood memories are of me running down the driveway of our home in St. George UT With my cape flying behind me, while my mom was doing dishes dressed in a halter top and shorts, that I made her wear to look like Wonder Woman. My Mom made me at least 3 capes that I wore out, the most notorious of which was the Wonder Wade cape, a red cape with a black W on the back.

Although I stopped wearing my cape in first grade, because of the relentless teasing of the unimaginative narrow minded boys in Orderville UT, I never outgrew my love affair with Super Heroes. I looked forward to watching Super Friends every Saturday Morning 'till at least 7th grade. In high school I read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and got really into Batman. In College I woke up early every Saturday morning to watch X-Men The Animated Series. And even now I'm reading the Marvel Civil War series.

So.. when some good family friends invited us to a Super Hero party for their son's 5th birthday, the whole families inner geek came out. Ella decided she HAD TO BE Wonder Woman, and Thomas wanted to be Batman.

Kath made Thomas a rad reversible cape that's Batman on one side, and Superman on the other, and she made Ella a wonder woman costume that Lynda Carter would be jealous of. I shaped my beard and hair to look like Logan/Wolverine, and rocked my X-Men t-shirt, and Kath wore a Thor t-shirt.

I have to say I almost got a little choked up when I looked over and saw Kath slaving away at the sewing machine making those great costumes for the kids. It made me so grateful for all the love and labor my Mom poured into my Super Hero outfits, and how much joy they brought me. Needless to say we had a great day in our Super Hero get-ups!

Let Me Ride!

There's nothing in the world like snowboarding. I don't know of another activity where I feel so free and alive. It's exilirating, fun, and even spiritual on some level.

It's something I've missed almost as much as my family since moving to Southern California. So at the beginning of the season a co-worker and I split a 6 pack of tickets to Mountain High(Southern California's closest resort as their ads say).

They received 3 feet of snow last week, so we went on Saturday. It's def not Utah, the snow is wetter, more dense, packs harder, and get's chopped up easier, and the mountians aren't as steep and long. That being said it was still a GREAT DAY! I feel completely recharged. Now the only problem is I'm obsessing over when I can go again.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Ella got a keyboard for Chrstmas so her and I officially started our rock band. We've changed our name several times. First we were The Thunders, then we were The Reds, during the performance you see above we were called Ella and Daddy the Best Rock and Roll Band Ever, which is my favorite name so far.

My Money Man

I often say that we have a daddy's girl, and a mama's boy. I don't know why that is, it maybe because Kath worked for the first two years of Ella's life, and I was freelance, and worked from home, so I was able to spend more time with her. It could be their personalities. It could be that when they are young boys, they are naturally drawn to their mothers, and girls their fathers. It seems like I end up talking a lot more about Ella, so today I thought I'd post a few pictures of Thomas, or T-Money as I call him, and say a few things that I love about him.

I love how excited he gets about the smallest things, like the moon, or taking a walk. I love watching him play with his toys. I love the way his neck smells right below his ear, when I'm holding him, and he leans his head in next to mine. I love the way he pronounces things, like cereal, or Ratatoulle. But most of all I love his smile. I can honestly say there is nothing on earth that can turn my mood around like his smile. It's a source of pure joy for me.

First Grade Feast

Living in L.A. it's easy to focus on the negatives; traffic, over crowding, cost of living, etc., but every once in a while you're really reminded of the positives. L.A. really is a melting pot. There are kids in Ella's grade that are Korean, Thai, Latin American, and Armenian just to name a few. Many of whom were born in their country of origin, or are second or third generation immigrants.

Friday was the First Grade Feast at her elementary school. the kids were encouraged to bring a dish that was representative of their cultural heritage. Ella's interpretation of that was BBQ chicken wings. I simply love how she's exposed to so many cultures and their traditions and food at such a young age.