The McDonald Clan » Mike

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

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

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.

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.

Live Oak Music Festival

Mike — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:48:29 +0000

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

Family Disneyland Trip

momitomi — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:49:41 +0000

Recently we took a family trip to Disneyland. We loaded up the kids and met my parents and brother down in LA for a mini vacation. We spent three days at Disneyland and we all had a really great time. It had been a really long since my brother had been there so, there were lots of new things for him to see and do. Aubri had a great time going on a lot of rides that were more her speed. Her favorite ride right now is Small World and we rode that quite a few times. She also really enjoyed the Jungle Cruise. Dylan proved to be a little more adventurous this trip. The first ride he wanted to do when we got there was Pirates of the Caribbean and he also agreed to go on Soaring Over California. He also took his first ride on The Matterhorn with Mike and Jacko and he really seemed to like it. Both the kids also really enjoyed getting their faces painted. Aubri chose to get hers painted like a puppy and Dylan went for a dragon mask. My dad and brother spent some time off by themselves and hit up some of the bigger rides. We always have a really fun time when we are at Disneyland, but I think that this trip was really special because the kids got to enjoy it with their grandparents and uncle. Hopefully we can do another trip like this again soon . To see the album of photos from this trip, please click here.

Posing with Mikey

Little Miss Aubri Kitty

Dylan with his dragon mask

Jacko getting ready to ride Toy Story

Me with my little goofball

Monterey Bay with Jonny and Casey

momitomi — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:39:01 +0000

One of the places that Jon and Casey wanted to go to while they were visiting us was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. So, Mike took off of work one day and we all went. We started out the day having breakfast at one of our favorite places “First Awakenings”. It is a great place to have breakfast and they have a really nice outdoor area that we really like when the weather cooperates. After that we headed over to the aquarium. I think everyone had a really great time and we got to see some beautiful fish and many other creatures. After the aquarium we headed over to have dinner at Bubba Gump. The restaurant is right on the water in Monterey and it has a beautiful view. It is one of Mike’s favorites so he wanted to be sure that we ate there while we were in Monterey this time.

Jon and Casey in a clam shell.

Aubri and I snuggling in a penguin egg

After dinner we walked down to a place where you can get out on the beach and walk down to the water. The kids had a great time burning off a little energy there and exploring with their Aunt and Uncle. Below are a few pictures from our trip. Please click here if you would like to see more.

Uncle Jonny checking out the Monterey Bay with Aubri

Auntie Casey checking out the rocks with Dylan.

Visit with the Butterfield’s

momitomi — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:59:50 +0000

This weekend we headed up north to the Bay Area and we were able to stay and spend some time with our friends, Josh, Amy and their daughter Alina. Alina was really Dylan’s first friend, and they haven’t been able to play with each other for quite some time. The last time we were all together Aubri was still pretty young and wasn’t able to join in the fun at all. We knew the kids would really enjoy playing together again and getting to know each other again.

Alina and Dylan, 4/29/2006

Dylan and Alina, 1/08/2011

While there, Mike had to leave for a little while and while he was gone Josh decided to dress Dylan up in his Giants gear. He convinced Dylan to put on the shirt by telling him that it said “I Love Daddy”. If Dylan had any idea it was a Giants shirt, he wouldn’t have touched it. He was all dressed up and ready to surprise Mike when he walked in the door. The first words out of Mike’s mouth were “take that off now”. Luckily I took some photos before Mike got back so we will be able to enjoy the moment for years to come. For those of you that don’t know, Mike is a hard core Dodger’s fan, so Dylan putting on the Giants stuff is about the worst thing he could have done. Even Aubri joined in the fun and got to wear a Giants shirt, but with Alina’s help she added her own touch with a princess crown. I decided on this post to put up a before and after picture. The first picture was of Dylan and Alina meeting for the first time, and the second is a photo from them this trip. It is amazing how much they have grown. To see more photos from this weekend, please click here.

Dylan thought the Panda hat was really awesome!

Aubri got all dressed up also.