Posts Tagged ‘Aubri’
Nature School – Cuesta Park
September 6th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,187 Comments »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
September 5th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,039 Comments »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
September 1st, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,665 Comments »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
August 26th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 2,544 Comments »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.
August 24th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 2,093 Comments »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
August 23rd, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 4,891 Comments »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
August 22nd, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,093 Comments »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
“Take me out to the Ballgame”
August 9th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,894 Comments »Today the kids were playing together on Mikes’ guitar. While playing Aubri began singing “Take me out to the Ballgame”. She sang all the way through the song once while I grabbed my phone and got it ready. I wasn’t sure if she would start singing again so I just sat for a minute and waited. Eventually she started singing again and I was able to get it on video. She had no idea I was taping or even watching her until the very end. Enjoy!
Midstate Fair 2011
July 29th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,570 Comments »This year I decided to take the kids to the Midstate Fair. After living in this area for the past 10 years or so and never having actually been to the fair I decided this was the year to go. When we first got there, we happened across a mutton bustin’ competition that was just starting. For those of you that don’t know what mutton bustin’ is, basically they stick a kid on the back of sheep and the kid tries to hold on for as long as they can while the sheep runs across a field. It was really fun to watch, but in the end Dylan decided he didn’t want to try it. While watching the competition Aubri spotted the pony rides, so that was of course our next stop. Both the kids rode a pony and then decided it was time to get their faces painted. Aubri chose a whale but she wanted it done in Spider Man colors, and Dylan chose a dragon. The girl that painted their faces did a great job and she was super fast also. After this we just walked around and looked at everything that was at the fair. We walked through all the animals and watched a bit of a barrel racing competition. Before we left we stumbled across an area that had a whole bunch of reptiles and stuff in it, called Brad’s World Reptiles. In order to take care of all the reptiles, they allow you to take pictures with their alligator. We got in line and when it was our turn, my mom gave the job of holding the head of the alligator to me. It was actually really well behaved and just went to sleep once it was in your arms. I think we had fun and I definitely plan on going back next year. To see more pictures from the fair, please click here.
Spiderman Colored Whale
Scary dragon face to match his dragon
Alligator
Baby #3
July 26th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,003 Comments »So we finally went in to have our ultrasound done with Baby #3. The kids were very excited to see the baby, but also a little confused about how the whole thing was going to work. When the Ultrasound Tech pointed out one of the babies arms, Dylan became very concerned and kept questioning if there was another one. She finally showed him both arms in the same picture and that seemed to make him feel better. When they were doing profile shots, Dylan got really excited and said “the baby has our nose”. It was a very special time for us to all share together. Where we went for the ultrasound was great. They gave us quite a few pictures of the baby to take home and they also gave the kids each their own sheet with the best pictures on them. To see more pictures of our soon to be newest little one, please click here.
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