The McDonald Clan » momitomi

River K Pumpkin Patch

momitomi — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:57:10 +0000

This year around Halloween we decided to go and visit a pumpkin patch out in Paso. It is called the River K Pumpkin Patch and we had a great time. We met up with a couple of friends of ours and the kids had a great time exploring the pumpkin patch, going through the corn maze, looking at all the decorations and picking out a few pumpkins to take home. It was a really neat place and we hope to go back next year. To see more photos from our visit, please click here.

The girls getting a ride

Ghost Aubri

Checking everything out

Dylan showing off his corn he found in the corn maze.

Aubri and I (Daphni in belly)

Aubri and Dylan

January Beach Day in Pismo

momitomi — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:21:46 +0000

We have had really great weather so far this year, because of this we have tried to hit the beach now and then. One sunny day at the beginning of January we headed out to Pismo to enjoy the gorgeous weather. The kids had a great time running around and Daphni got in a little snooze while enjoying the fresh ocean air. I am sure we will be spending many more sun filled days at the beach this year. To see more photos from our beach excursion, please click here.

Daphni snoozing under the umbrella

Dylan being goofy
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Aubri running around enjoying the sunshine

Daphni hanging out with Daddy

Dylan and Aubri taking it easy after a fun day of playing

Field Trip to Sea Life Center

momitomi — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:48:29 +0000

Recently we went on another field trip with our homeschool group. We went to the Sea Life Center in Avila Beach. While there the kids got split into two groups and it just so happened that it got split pretty much by boys and girls. The boy group started out upstairs doing a plankton lab. They had clay, toothpicks, sponges, and cut up straws to put together in order to make their plankton. After learning a little bit about what plankton are and what they do, they kids began to build their own plankton. The goal was to try to get the plankton to float in the middle of fish tank and neither sink nor float. They were trying to get their creations to act like real plankton in the ocean which would just float along with the current. At the end each kid had a chance to go up and see how good of job they did and the winner was decided. While the boys were busy upstairs in the lab, the girls started out downstairs. They got a little background presentation on the oceans and the creatures in them that they would see. Then it was time for the real fun, getting to touch all the little critters. They started out touching smaller animals like sea stars and snails, and eventually made their way up to the swell sharks. They had just fed the sharks so they were pretty lethargic and really didn’t want to do anything but sleep. After all the girls had their chance to touch the shark, it was time for the groups to switch. All of the kids seemed to have a really great time and they learned a lot. We plan on going back to visit the Sea Life Center again soon. To see more photos from our field trip, please click here.

Aubri checking out a snail.

Aubri seeing if her plankton is going to sink or float.

Dylan petting the swell shark.

Listening to a presentation on plankton.

Daphni meets who she is named after: Aunt Denise

momitomi — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:32:27 +0000

At the end of December Mike’s aunt came to visit us and to meet Daphni. We gave Daphni the middle name of Denise after her. Aunt Denise is a very wonderfully sweet lady and she has been an important part of our lives. She married Mike and I and has always been there when we have needed someone to talk to. We felt that because of how important Denise has been in our lives, it would be the perfect middle name for our new daughter. To see more pictures of Denise and Daphni, please click here.

Christmas Fun 2011

momitomi — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:15:58 +0000

When it was time to go and get our Christmas tree for the year Mike decided to take a day off and we spent the whole day out getting ready for Christmas. We first went and visited Santa and then we went off to the Christmas tree lot to find our perfect tree. To see more pictures from our tree expedition, please click here.

The three kids with Santa.

Daphnis first time visiting Santa

Aubri with these adorable little reindeer we found at the Christmas tree lot.

Dylan helping to decorate the tree.

Aubri putting up her ornaments.

The kids happy in front of the tree.

The best Christmas present ever.

This year for Christmas we just had a little quiet celebration at our house in Atascadero. Daphni was only 3 weeks old so we decided it would just be best to stay home and take it easy. My parents and brother came over and we just took it easy. To see more pictures from Christmas, please click here.

Aubri opening some presents.

Daphni hanging out.

Dylan digging into his gifts.

Baby’s First Christmas

Field Trip to Cal Poly

momitomi — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:45:58 +0000

About a month or so ago we went on a field trip with our homeschool group to Cal Poly. We toured their dairy unit, equestrian unit, and garden. The highlight for all the kids was getting to pet the baby dairy calfs. They were very cute and very sweet. Aubri LOVED the cow she chose to pet, even while it was trying to eat her dress. They were only allowed to pet one baby due to disease concerns, so they had a big decision to make when we got out there. To see more photos from this day, please click here.

Here is the calf Aubri decided to pet. Both Aubri and Dylan seemed drawn to the holsteins.

Here is Dylan petting his calf.

The kids got to check out the horses. They didn’t get to pet any of them, so I think they were a tad disappointed.

Looking at a rare tree.

Dylan holding a flower that smelled like Kool-Aid.

All the kids checking out another really neat plant.

Synergy Show and Tell Day

momitomi — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:17:48 +0000

For this day at Synergy the kids had a show and tell day. The kids were allowed to bring anything they wanted and show it to the group and tell us all about it. I was actually really impressed with Aubri. There was a fairly large group of about 25 adults and kids watching every presentation. Aubri got up on the table and showed her pouch and special stone to everyone and told everyone about it. At the end she got a little uncomfortable, but she did a great job. Dylan took his homemade bow and arrow to show everyone but at the last minute him and his buddy Leo decided to show a magic potion they had concocted. It was a really fun day and all the kids did really great! To see a few more pictures, please click here.

Aubri showing her crystal.

Dylan and Leo showing off their mixture.

Synergy Fort Building Day

momitomi — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:38:13 +0000

We have started a new activity recently with our homeschool group, it is called Synergy days. We are meeting every other week and it is a kid led activity. We have brainstormed some activities and each meeting has a new topic and a new activity. For our first meeting the topic was fort building. All the families brought a few items and the kids were allowed to build freely. The fort building lasted for a while and then the kids ended up going and playing. To see the pictures from today, please click here.

Aubri playing under the fort.

Aubri and Ruthie playing.

Playing in the shade with some stuffed animals.

The kids playing a game.

More game fun.

The little girls stayed under the fort.

Aubri really enjoyed playing under the fort.

Disneyland with Kristi and Kevin

momitomi — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:32:12 +0000

Kristi and Kevin came to visit from North Carolina and while they were in town we we had to make a visit to Disneyland. It ended up raining on us about halfway through the day, but we had a great first part of the day.

Here is Aubri making sure she knows the way on Small World with Auntie Kristi and Uncle Kevin.

Aubri had fun riding on the rockets with Auntie Kristi.

Dylan getting ready to take off with Uncle Kevin.

Here I am getting a snap shot with Daphni and Aladdin.

Aubri really enjoyed her ride.

Daphni really didn’t want to cooperate to get a picture in her new beanie. She was not sure about it and really didn’t like the wind.

We really had a great time at Disneyland and the kids LOVED being around their Aunt and Uncle for the day. If you would like to see more pictures from the day, please click here.

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.