Month: March 2013

Perfect Easter Photos of the Tots

One of the best parts of having an adorable little girl is buying adorable little girl dresses. I know I’m not the only mom out there who melts at the sight of a rack of fluffy pastel colored dresses at the store.  All month I’ve been telling myself that little g already had plenty of dresses, that I didn’t need to spoil her with yet another one. But when I saw the lavender tulle and the silky bow on this, I couldn’t help myself.  
Naturally, I couldn’t get little g a new outfit and not get something for E. So this morning I got them dressed in coordinating purple outfits and set out to get the perfect Easter photo of the tots.
The problem with my brilliant attempt was the fact that I had also gotten matching pinwheels that were much more fun to play with than posing for perfect Easter photos would be.
I also forgot to take out little g’s pacifier, and apparently Big E forgot how to smile normally.

Big E wanted to play hide and seek.  Here he is hiding.

And here’s little g hiding.  

And so, my perfect Easter photo of the tots, turned into a series of imperfect shots, that more accurately reflect real life anyway. Sometimes a pretty dress or new shoes makes us feel fancy for a moment, but true joy comes from smelling the flowers anyway.

Photo Journal: Redwoods National Park

Since this blog is about being outdoors with kids, on occasion I plan on sharing images of the great outdoors taken by my husband, Mountain Dad. For a time in his past he was a professional photographer with a special love and talent for taking breathtaking landscapes. I may be biased, but I’m also not blind. His photos are amazing.

This photograph is a black and white of Redwoods National Park, which we visited as a family in the spring of 2011.  For more photos by Mountain Dad click here.

Between Seasons Bump

I woke up this morning to a thick layer of ice on my deck. Last night I heard thunder and rain pounded against my roof. Last week we wore t shirts and basked in the sun while playing at the park.

We are officially on the bump. It’s no longer winter, but not quite spring.

Part of me mourns the lost winter, part of me loves the sun. My tots plead daily to go outside. Little g by her actions of constantly bringing shoes to me and E by just walking out the door with no shoes at all.

This time of year is awkward. Do we wear winter coats or t shirts? Pull out squirt guns (E asks daily) or go skiing?

Soon flowers will bloom and birds will twitter. I’m excited for the time when I won’t even think twice about walking out without a jacket. The weather will be warm, unlike today when E said his sandbox toys were all frozen. For now we’ll make do, and someday soon we’ll be over the bump.

Book Review: Freestyle Snowboarding Tricks

For Christmas I got two great gifts from Mountain Dad. The first is a book titled Freestyle Snowboarding tricks, skills and techniques by Alexander Rottman and Nici Pederzolli. It’s a How-To book with detailed instructions on performing all sorts of snowboarding tricks.

The best part about this book is not the writing on each page, although it is informative and easy to read. What’s really interesting is the photography. It is awesome. Each skill presented is documented in split second sequences so you can imagine every movement needed to successful accomplish the trick. For example, the page describing a backside 180 on the snow shows the rider at each step of the rotation from riding in, putting weight on an edge, jumping off the tail, rotating in the air and finally landing. Even for those non-snowboarders out there Freestyle Snowboarding is an interesting book because the photography is so compelling.

The second great Christmas gift was the DVD 20 Tricks: An Instructional Video by Transworld Snowboarding features famous snowboarders explaining everything from Ollies to backside 900s. My favorite video is Jamie Anderson describing a Tailslide 270 out, which is a rotation off the end of a snowboard box, for those non riders out there. Each skill is its own short snipit on the DVD which allows for repeated watching of whatever trick you’re working on. I was inspired to try out some tricks because the professionals on the video make it look so easy.

Now, as you readers know, one of the 30 goals I made for my 30th birthday was to do a 360 on my snowboard. Well, I’ve been practicing and reading up in Freestyle Snowboarding and watching 20 Tricks.
I am happy to report that last Saturday I successfully completed the sloppiest, ugliest 360 you could imagine! It wasn’t great, but I did it!

I know what you’re thinking. It’s mid-March. The sun is shining, the weather is warm and I don’t have to wear snowboots everywhere I go. So why is Mountain Mom still talking about skiing and snowboarding?
Well, I just can’t help it. I love snowboarding. I LOVE IT!