The McDonald Clan » momitomi

Nature School – Cerro Cabrillo

momitomi — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:24:19 +0000

Today for Nature School we met out in between Los Osos and Morro Bay at Cerro Cabrillo. It is one of the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo County which is an extinct volcano chain. It was a really great place to see animal tracks because the ground was very dusty and it was holding prints really nicely. We saw lots of raccoon and rabbit tracks. Because of how dusty it was, the kids all ended up covered in dirt, but they had a lot of fun.

One of the first things we came across once we started our hike was a lot of scat from many different species of animals. I didn’t take any pictures of that, but I did take a picture of this really nice raccoon print.

The kids all together learning about their surroundings.

One of Dylans and it seems like most all of the kids favorite things to do while at nature school is to play a game. In this game some of the kids were prey and some were the predators. If the prey can hold still in the bushes then the predator can’t sense them there and will move on. Today Dylan was supposed to be a young predator who was being taught how to hunt by the older more experienced hunter.

After the game the little girls continued on being predators. I think at this time they were tigers heading up the mountain.

My little predator looking for something to eat.

At the end of class the kids convinced Evan to play another game. I think they like this one the best. They all get to be a predator and Evan is the prey. The kids crawl behind the prey and they are supposed to be silent. When the prey animal turns around to look to see if anyone is following the predator has to stop or it will be seen by the prey and the prey will run off. I think they really just enjoy making a big dog pile on top of Evan when the game is finally over.

To see more pictures from this excursion, please click here.

8th Anniversary Bouquet

momitomi — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:10:43 +0000

Today was our 8 year wedding anniversary and Mike surprised me with a beautiful flower bouquet when he got home from work. He knows I like different flowers and he didn’t disappoint with this arrangement. I am so lucky to have such a loving and caring husband and I couldn’t think of a better dad for my kids. I can’t wait to have many more years with him.

Nature School – Cuesta Park

momitomi — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:08:32 +0000

Today for Nature School we ventured out to Cuesta Park to have some playing in the creek. We brought our nets just in case we found some little fish or frogs to try to capture. I think the little girls had more fun trying to capture each other however.

We stopped for a while to check out a tree where a woodpecker has been hiding his acorn stash.

And we even came across a couple of “wild chickens” that turned out to be not so wild after all. All the kids enjoyed feeding them a little bit of bread and they would come and take it right out of our hands. They followed us for quite a while down the creek and were very entertaining to watch. Aubri especially liked to feed them.

We then continued on our journey and found a perfect spot for a little creek play. The kids were trying to build up a dam and they were pretty successful at getting the water to slow down quite a bit.

After nature school the kids and I hung out at the creek for a while and Dylan and Aubri had a good time building a “castle”. I am not sure there are many things that they find more fun than playing out in the water on a warm day.

To see a few more photos from our day. Please click here.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

momitomi — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:19:12 +0000

Today we took a trip out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We hadn’t been able to visit for quite some time, so when we heard they had a new great white on exhibit we knew it was time to make a trip out there. Dylan had been waiting patiently for them to get in another great white shark because the last one they had on exhibit was August 2009. When he found out they had a new shark, we knew we had to get him over there before they released this one.

After sitting and watching this shark and all the others for quite a while we finally moved on to the Splash Zone where the kids got to play in the water and go down the slide.

After the kids had had a chance to play and wear off some energy for a while we headed downstairs to the touch pools. Dylan was very into seeing all of the critters and had a nice long conversation with one of the docents. By what he was saying he definitely learned something this summer in his camp at the Sea Life center in Avila Beach. Aubri also enjoyed seeing everything and getting her hands wet.

We really had a fun day and hope to head back soon and not have it be so long this time. To see more pictures from our day at the aquarium, please click here. I will now wrap up this post with what is becoming a very common Aubri expression. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Nature School – Fiscalini Ranch

momitomi — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:55:32 +0000

Today for Nature School we headed out to Cambria to the Fiscalini Ranch.

We started with a hike to check out the surroundings and came across this old housing structure.

Then we hiked down to a little creek where the kids had a great time catching frogs. Evan had a guide book so the kids were able to identify their catches and we found several different types of frogs of all colors.

Here is Aubri with one of her catches. She really enjoyed catching them and holding them. It was very hard to get her to let them go when it was time.

Dylan and his friends spent quite some time and built this little home for the frogs. They felt like they needed a little pond to swim in.

After all the excitement at the stream, we continued on and came across this beautiful feather. It is from a red-shafted flicker.

At the end of the day we took a little hike up a hill and got to see some beautiful wildflowers.

To see more pictures from our day, please click here.

Raspberry picking and Pumpkin Engraving

momitomi — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:47:06 +0000

Today we headed out to Rutiz Farms in Arroyo Grande. We saw when we went pumpkin picking last year that they also do pumpkin engraving. This year the time frame to engrave the pumpkins was really short, only one week. They said it was due to a cooler summer so it was maturing the pumpkins faster. I thought it would be fun to head out there and engrave a couple of pumpkins and see how they turn out. We did one for Dylan, one for Aubri, one for our Family and one for the new baby. Here are our pumpkins.

Dylan Jack 2011

Aubri Idelle

Baby McDonald 2011

The McDonald Clan 2011

After pumpkin engraving, we decided it would be nice to pick some fresh raspberries. We ended up picking three baskets full, and they were delicious. I was a little worried how the kids would do picking the berries since they are so fragile, but they did great Both the kids wanted to snack on some of the berries on the way home so they each held their basket. Before we had even made it down the road, Dylan informed me that he finished his entire basket and he wanted to make sure that I would share mine with him. We are planning on heading back to pick some more berries this week if there is still picking available. To see more photos from this day, please click here.

Aubri filling up her basket

Dylan working on his basket

Full Basket

Aubri with her berries

Dylans First Day of Soccer.

momitomi — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:04:07 +0000

Today Dylan had his first soccer practice. Before he went, we stopped at the store to get him his shoes and shin gear. He also picked out a ball so he could practice at home. He had a very difficult decision picking out his shoes and it took us quite a while to pick the right ones. Aubri wasn’t sure she wanted to play soccer this year, but when she found some shoes she loved and found out she had to play soccer to get them she asked me to sign her up. Dylan is playing AYSO soccer in Arroyo Grande. We signed him up before we knew we were moving to Atascadero and he still really wanted to play so we decided we could make the trip there a couple days a week so he could still play. I think he had a good time. There was just a handful of kids there at this first practice and hopefully there will be more showing up next week. They didn’t decide on a name yet, but a couple thrown out were The Lions and The Cheetahs. We do know that their team color is green. For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to volunteer to be team mom. I figured we didn’t have enough going on with pregnant, starting preschool up again and doing all of our activities that I would add one more thing. It should be fun though and Mike was relieved because it got him out of feeling obligated to become a ref. It should be a fun season and we look forward to all the early morning weekend games ahead. To see more pictures, please click here.

Getting their first instructions

Aubri was just excited their was a playground

Really getting into the game.

Nature School – Salinas River Atascadero

momitomi — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:16:53 +0000

Today at Nature School we went to a part of the Salinas River in Atascadero. Evan wanted to show the kids a beaver dam and also brought along nets so the kids could catch fish, toads and crawdads. Dylan wasn’t so sure he wanted to be in the water at first. The deepest part only came up to his thighs, but he still felt uncomfortable right at first. Evan gave him a ride over to see the beaver dam until he became a little more comfortable.

Aubri wasn’t sure at first either, but she got used to the idea much faster. Especially with a little help from Maurica.

Leo proved himself the best with the net and he was able to catch several little fish and several toads.

Dylan eventually found out that being in the water was pretty fun and he did his best to try to snag some fish and toads.

Aubri and Ruthie had fun playing in the water and catching pebbles and stones in their nets.

When the boys were done looking at the toads in their nets, they gave the little girls a chance to hold the toads for a few minutes before they let them swim off to freedom.

Evan caught a pretty good size crawdad.

The kids enjoyed looking at it, but were a little concerned when he let it go that it might come pinch their toes. I had to assure Dylan and Aubri that crawdad really prefer to eat fish and stuff and not little girl and boy toes. We had a really fun day out enjoying the sunshine and water.

Please click here to see more photos from today.

: The gang checking out insects in the water.

Aubri in Avila

momitomi — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:17:53 +0000

While Dylan was in camp this last week, Aubri and I hung out in Avila for most of the week. It was a little too far to come home for the amount of time he was there so we just found things to do and hung out on the beach. One day we took a walk down the pier and we found a stair case that leads under the pier. Aubri really liked being underneath and so we spent quite some time down there. We were even able to see some sea lions swimming pretty close to where we were and we were able to watch some barnacles feeding when the waves would come in a bit. To see more photos, please click here.

Smiling on the pier

Heading down under the pier

Dylan goes to Camp

momitomi — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:16:05 +0000

This past week Dylan did a week long camp in Avila at the Sea Life Center. He spent the week learning all about the oceans and got to spend a lot of time playing at the beach. His favorite part of the week was getting to pet a shark and ray the day they learned about sharks. He was very excited to come home everyday and tell me all about what he had learned. One thing he found very interesting is that he learned that a blue whale is about 100 steps long. Dylan also learned how to make drip sand castles. They are now one of his favorite things to while he is at the beach. He is very excited to be able to go back next summer and do camp again. We all plan on heading back to the Sea Life Center again so we can check out all the fish and critters. I definitely recommend you stop by if you are in Avila and check it out.