Author Archive
2011 Engraved Pumpkins
February 3rd, 2012 Posted by Mike in Kids | 366 Comments »Our engraved pumpkins turned out really nice this year. About a month before Halloween we went to Rutiz Farms to engrave still green pumpkins. We chose the pumpkin that we liked and then used a ball point pen to scratch the surface of the pumpkin skin. Then as it matured the scratch hardened and turned a brown color. We really enjoyed our pumpkins and we plan on making this a tradition in our household. Disclaimer: These photos were taken a while after Halloween and that is why they are looking kind of old. They were in great shape when we picked them up.
This is our family pumpkin:
This is Dylan’s Pumpkin:
And this is how Aubri’s turned out:
We made this one for the baby before we knew what little Daphni was going to be:
Live Oak Music Festival
June 29th, 2011 Posted by Mike in Kids | 2,041 Comments »We have been talking about doing the Live Oak Music Festival for quite a few years now. But the relatively high cost and our total inexperience with camping has kept us away. But this year with some guidance from our friends, The Zimmerman family, who are Live Oak Pros we finally made it.
Live Oak is a Music Festival to benefit Public radio that is put on every Fathers Day Weekend. It’s three days of music, arts, crafts, camping and friends. The music was a great mix of Americana, Roots, Reggae, Rag time and Folk. Every morning at 8 people line up to get into the main stage area so they can lay claim to their place for the day with their low back beach chairs. If you get up to explore the kids area, or the arts for sale, or grab a bite to eat your seats are up for grabs so someone else can enjoy the show. Its an understanding that when you come back they will get up so you can enjoy your seats. Its just a really great friendly vibe from everyone there. There was a lot for the kids to do in the dedicated kids section. Aubri made her own hula hoop and Dylan got to create a rocket. They both made multiple paintings, played some ping pong and tetherball, and ran around with their friends Leo and Ruthie. They also saw a few friends from school that we didn’t even know were going.
On top of the excitement of the festival it was also our first family camping trip. We got to try out our new tent, mattresses, sleeping bags, etc… It all went even better than i expected. With the help of Maurica the tent was up in less than 20 min, and I even got it back in the bag when the trip was over. Tomi didn’t think it was possible. The kids were great. They both loved sleeping out in the tent and slept really well. They got to find firewood and roast marshmallows, which I think was the best part of the trip for them. They didn’t want to leave and I think they would both be very happy living in a tent the rest of their childhood.
Live Oak will definitely become a tradition for us that we go to every year for a very long time. It has also made us realize how fun camping is as a family and it has inspired us to seek out some new camping spots. We already have multiple trips planned for the summer. So stay tuned for more summer camping posts. See all the pics from the weekend here
Dylan loves live Oak this much
Aubri and the Rollie Polie
Aubri's Hula Hoop
This was an intense stare down
Dylan and Aubri at the snow
February 23rd, 2011 Posted by Mike in Kids | 1,997 Comments »Today Dylan got on the slopes for the first time. He had two classes today, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. He couldn’t wait to get back out for that second class. Below is a video of him boarding, he face plants but Tomi says he gets right back up and is ready to go again. We will put up another post when they get home with more pictures and video of the kids first trip to the snow.
He at least looks the part
Getting ready to go
Dylan’s Birthday at School
February 2nd, 2010 Posted by Mike in Kids | 1,458 Comments »Dylan loves his school that he goes to and could not wait to go the day where they were going to celebrate his Birthday. It had to be postponed once as Dylan was sick around the time of his birthday but the following Tuesday it was his day at school. Tomi made some really good gluten free brownies, so that everyone could enjoy them, that Dylan got to take and share with his friends at school. Tomi got to have Dylan sit on her lap and she told stories of Dylans life for each of his first 3 years. He seemed to really enjoy this and had a huge smile on his face the whole time. After that, the teacher put on the birthday crown and cape and walked him over the rainbow bridge. Dylan thought this was great and couldn’t wait to tell me about it when I got home from work that day. It was a great day at school and one I think he will remember for a long time.
Dylan’s Birthday
February 2nd, 2010 Posted by Mike in Kids | 2,961 Comments »
Tomi and I can’t believe that Dylan is already 4 years old. He is growing so fast and everyday he makes me laugh about something totally new. The way he sees the world right now is so cool, and I feel I’m learning from him as he sees things for the first time. Hes always had a great love and interest in ocean life and I hope to make this fourth year of his life the one where we can really begin totake advantage of where we live and help him explore the California coast.
His Birthday was on 01/20 and he decided this year that instead of doing a big party like he has in the past, he wanted to either do Disneyland or Monterey with the Family (looks like we are going to Disneyland later this month), with the one condition that he got to spend his birthday with his friends Nate and Braden. So that night Shelby, Dustin and the boys came over after everyone got home from work. Tomi and I made bean and cheese burritos at Dylans request.
But Dylan, Nate and Braden were so excited to get back to their wii nobody really ate anything. After many sword fights, table tennis battles, and a few frames of bowling we were able to lure them back to the table with an Ice Cream Birthday Cake from Doc Burnstein’s, always delicious. Wii wasn’t enough to pull them away from the table now. With Dylan turning four there was the perfect amount of candles to be licked by the three boys and Aubri. After making sure that every last bit of ice cream was off the candles they finished of the pieces of cake. Dylan has made great friends here and was very happy to share his birthday with them.You can see more pics from the “party” here.
Naughty or Nice?
December 20th, 2009 Posted by Mike in Kids | 2,339 Comments »Tomi and Idelle took the kids to go see Santa at Santas Village by the mission in San Luis Obispo. As soon as Aubri got a glimpse of Santa she was done with the whole thing. She started crying and wouldn’t take her eyes off of him, they couldn’t even get her in the building. Dylan has been cool with Santa since the first year. He wasn’t very sure about telling Santa what he wanted thought so maybe he won’t get anything this year. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Dylan and Santa
Stewie and the Christmas Tree
December 20th, 2009 Posted by Mike in Kids | 827 Comments »We got our tree a little later then we normally like to this year. With me getting a new job, all the things the kids have going on and then getting a new cat we have been a little busy. But we finally did get it and are really happy with the one we picked out. It’s almost like Stewie knew he was the kids Christmas gift this year and parked himself right under the tree where all the other presents will be going. It gave Tomi a good opportunity to get our first real shots of him in his new home. So here is the newest member of the family…
Blackmail Pics
December 20th, 2009 Posted by Mike in Kids | 2,359 Comments »Just to make sure Aubri hates us just a little bit when she brings home her first boyfriend Tomi got some pics of her that I am sure she would want no one else seeing. So here they are…. Tomi and the kids were getting ready to take a trip to Madera. Their bags were packed so Aubri figured it was time to go. She put on her beanie and flip flops and headed for the door. Luckily Tomi was able to get a few shots.
