Archive for 2011

Morning People

Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011 by Toad

Some people are born morning people:

Benjamin in the morning.

Some people… aren’t:

Natalie in the morning.

Brought to you from the files of “trying to get the kids used to waking up earlier for preschool”.

My Funny Kids

Posted Thursday, September 1st, 2011 by Mollie

One morning Ben came running into the house, very excited and shouting “Mommy mommy! A snake in our yard! Come an’ look!”  I was pretty confident that he had NOT seen a snake, but figured I’d better check out whatever he was so worked up about.

Apparently he had never observed a snail before and he was COMPLETELY FASCINATED.  He wanted to know all about them.  Especially the trail of slime.

Look at that snail, running for his life.  Don’t worry, we politely returned him to a bush when we were done observing (we only kill spiders, and sometimes ants).  I know my mom is laughing right now because I used to tell her, “Snails are my friends!” and make little homes for them.

PS- I was planning to add a bunch more funnies to this post, but WordPress is giving me trouble this week and won’t save drafts, so I lost a bunch of work. 🙁  Hopefully more blogs coming soon!

Wilkinson Camping Trip, Part 2

Posted Friday, August 19th, 2011 by Mollie

Camping Day 2 was the most eventful, because the rest of the day-campers arrived and joined us for lunch, taco salad dinner, and a little birthday celebration!

 

{how fun is Mike and Argelia’s bike?}

{a walk across the street to the water. we would have loved to rent a kayak but it didn’t work out this time!}

{walk #1}

{walk #2}

 

{the newest family members: Jessica (6 months), Violet (4 months), and AJ (2 months)}

{walk #3}

{there were three birthday boys that week!}

{I just love Evy’s grubby camping hands in the tomato bowl!}

{the whole group}

Wilkinson Camping Trip 2011, Part 1

Posted Friday, August 12th, 2011 by Mollie

We had a great time at this year’s Wilkinson Family Campout– the 2nd annual of the 2nd generation!  Getting the family (and I’m talking just the four of us) organized and prepared for 4 days and 3 nights of tent camping with small children is no easy task, but we made it through with only a couple miphaps! Believe it or not, we were able to pack everything we needed into our little Mazda, and headed off to Morro Bay State Park.   Mishap #1:  Driving all the way to Santa Barbara and realizing we had left behind Ben’s precious blanket, “Beekadee Boy”. Oops.  Back to Camarillo we went, turning a 3 hour drive into a 5 hour drive.  Not complaining, though– believe me, it was the less painful choice!

I wish I could post ALL the pictures… it is going to be really hard to narrow it down!

{note: no blanket on Ben’s lap. oops}

{we had the most fantastic, large, private, away-from-traffic camp site ever!}



{tents are SUPER exciting for kids!}

{kids everywhere! this family is expanding rapidly and we love it!}

{Natalie “interviewing” cousin Eden}

{Evie, Ben and Andrew bonding}

{great-grandparents are the awesome! so glad our kids get to know them!}

While some of the families with tiny babies headed to the hotel for the night, the rest of us roasted marshmallows and watched the sun set.  There is Day One… watch for another post coming soon!

 

 

Photo Hike

Posted Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 by Mollie

Our favorite weekend family activity these days is hiking.  The kids absolutely love it- they  run and climb and throw rocks and chase lizards until they are exhausted and sleep REALLY well that night!  My ulterior motive is turning these “nature walks” into “photography walks”.  I’m trying to scout good locations around Camarillo, since I’m hoping to test the waters of taking on my own photography clients for photo shoots by the end of the year!  The lighting wasn’t perfect since it was a little early in the evening, but I suppose that is good practice for me as well.  What do you think?  Does this place have potential for family photos?







Out takes: just pretend they’re smiling, okay?

P.S.– Natalie would want you to know that those are not tights or leg warmers on her legs, they are “bug protectors” which are very important when hiking!