Bring the Family

So Long, But Not Good-Bye

Posted by Toni | Filed under Uncategorized

Early next month, this site will redirect to a new adventure at NatureFamilies.com, which will officially launch this fall. Thanks for traveling with me these past two-plus years and for your helpful comments and consistent enthusiasm. I wish you and your families a safe and eventful summer and I hope you’ll join me in continuing that conversation at NatureFamilies.com.

Read more | Comments (1) | May 18, 2010

Spring Broke

Posted by Toni | Filed under Adventures at Home, Day Trips, Get Outdoors, Local Adventures, Parenting

If finances are keeping you close to home for spring break this year, read on.

While many families are heading someplace warm or with water slides for spring break, due to current budget constraints, we’ll be spending our week off closer to home. Even if I’m a bank-account-mostly-empty parent right now, I’m also a coffee-cup-half-full kind of mom. In that spirit, here’s a roundup of some of the cheap, easy, and local ideas I’ve got brewing for this year.

Outdoor fun at home

I’ve never been consistent about gardening, but this year, thanks to getting in better shape and thereby gaining a ton of new energy and flexibility, I’ve got the itch to start digging around outdoors. While it’s a bit too soon to plant veggies outside here, I’ve got it in my head that we can clear some persistently nasty brush (think “burrs both big and small”) from the area beside the house and under our pine trees (pictured, above). It truly feels like a secret garden under there.

We found two good-sized hip bones the other day as we began digging up some weeds. We suspect an animal dragged them here from nearby farmland, as they weren’t buried so much as discarded in the brush. Our entire block was once farmland, and our neighbor’s home was the original farmhouse and our garage (aka squirrel haven) was one of the original outbuildings. Both are well over a century old (hence the squirrel-accessible garage). That odd archeological find got the kids digging around for more cool stuff. I’ve got plans to build a ground level tree house on a shoestring budget in the space pictured above and am looking forward to researching that. I welcome any ideas and suggestions for great books or sites in the comments!

Another idea we have for this space is to create a giant outdoor chess board (an idea that bolstered my theory that there is indeed a web site for every interest). I first got the idea from a flier at a hardware store, and when the kids started getting into chess recently, I mentioned this idea for that side yard and the kids were all over it. 12″ x 12″ paving stones will make up the board, and we’re still thinking of ideas for the pieces, including filling milk jugs with sand to keep them from blowing away and then decorating them with Sharpies to indicate which piece they represent. Perhaps that chess board can double as a foundation for the ground-level tree house . . .

We also have three stepping stone kits I got on clearance a while ago and we may get started on those to decorate our new, soon-to-be-weed-free shade garden. I’m curious to see what the boys decide to use to decorate their stepping stones – Legos? Small rubber cars and trucks? Bird feathers? Coins? Hopefully I won’t be seeing one of my missing memorialized there.

Rainy Day Ideas

The first day we’re stuck indoors due to rain, I’m declaring it Fort Day. Chairs will be moved and blankets will be strewn to create a Fort City for the day. Our board games already got a workout during Earth Hour last weekend (check out the Earth Hour 2010 Flickr group and they’ll come in handy here, too. We’re also big on indoor picnics, and what better place for a picnic than inside your own Blanket Town? I’m sure the Legos will make it in there, too; that’s one toy my kids never seem to tire of, and it’s hard to argue when you see them building castles and houses and robots each week. Now, if only they’d invent Lego bricks that put themselves away; I’d be first in line for that series.

Another thing my kids love to do is create their own board games. I’ve already mentioned the chess mania going on around here, and there are so many possibilities for making your own chess board, like one based on the video game character Kirby, a big hit in our house. (Yes, we play video games – in moderation. I’ve found that some games inspire other interests, such as my kids’ love of the Olympics, which came directly from the Mario and Sonic at the Olympics video game or augment current interests, as with the Kirby chess set idea). We own a Simpsons chess set that the kids love and a friend of mine has a Muppets chess set – how cool is that? So really, the possibilities are endless for creating games based on your kids’ interests, and they can be as simple or as complex as your kids’ imaginations and age levels will allow. (Another idea for non-rainy days: my kids often make board games on our driveway using sidewalk chalk).

Day Trippin’

We already took one day trip, complete with picnic lunch, to a nearby state park for our first spring hike of 2010. (Look for a new feature here–Bring the Family Trail Guides!–soon). Other options we’re going to explore include visiting local history museums, which are often under-funded and more than happy to receive visitors, touring the Trek bicycle factory in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and possibly heading even further north one day to visit Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin, a federal and state-managed wildlife area known for wild bird viewing.

The key to keeping day trip costs down and meals healthy is bringing your own snacks from home. Fill a cooler with granola bars, grapes, apples, peanuts, bagels (with peanut butter or string cheese), carrot sticks and water bottles to keep everyone satisfied and to ward off impulse snack purchases while on a day trip. If you’ll be hiking and spending a lot of time outdoors, be sure to pack some protein in your cooler to better fuel everyone’s bodies. For a fast but healthy option on the road, we usually go for subs with lean meats and no mayo or chips (places like Jimmy John’s and Potbelly have awesome dill pickles!); they cost a bit more than burgers or chicken nuggets, but they keep well for hours in a cooler for post-hike picnicking and are much healthier!

Obviously, we won’t get to all of these ideas this week, but I like having a stockpile of ideas to choose from – and to save for next year. For more inspiration, check out this awesome teacher’s blog featuring 14 Days of Adventure – but be warned: it’ll make you want to go back to school and have Mr. Hancock as a teacher!

Tell me: did you have/are you planning an affordable spring break close to home? What worked and what didn’t? Share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences in the comments.

Read more | Comments (4) | March 29, 2010

Wink: Photobooth Print Sharing

Posted by Toni | Filed under Through the Lens

[Editor's Note (Hey! That's me!): This isn't a paid review or a product offered to me for evaluation - I don't do the former and will always disclose before doing the latter. I purchase the gear and other cool stuff I review at Bring the Family myself and filter it through my experience, knowledge, and personal preferences as a family travel and parenting writer, always with an eye toward usefulness to my readers.]

Here’s how I spent five minutes of my morning yesterday: uploading an iPhone app for a new service called Wink, (offered by Shutterfly), choosing four images to create a retro “photostrip” (remember photo booths?), and having it mailed to my in-laws in Florida, all for free. Not a bad way to spend a few minutes.

That first photostrip was free with the download of the Wink iPhone app, which is also free. Free is good. We like free. Otherwise, it’s $2.50 per 2 x 6 photostrip, and they accept credit cards and PayPal.

I get really excited about great, simple ideas like this that are so easily executed. Let’s say we’re on a hike, vacationing somewhere, or at a school play: I can take a few iPhone snapshots (preferably in ample lighting for the best iPhone photo quality), make them into a photostrip, and send it as a postcard to the boys’ grandparents. If my husband and I are at a party, a few snaps of friends and maybe the candlelit centerpiece at the dinner table can be mailed to the hosts as a novel thank you for their hospitality. I sometimes send my kids’ birthday party guests photos of the child with the birthday boy to accompany thank you notes; here’s an easy way to do that moments after the party ends.

You don’t need an iPhone to use Wink; you can make photostrips from your images stored at Shutterfly, Flickr, Facebook or on your computer hard drive. If you don’t have your recipient’s snail mail address on hand, Wink will email them to request a delivery address.

Ideas like this could change the face of travel, allowing us to document our favorite milestones in the form of custom-made souvenirs. And I think the price point is just right – inexpensive enough to make it fun but costly enough to merit some consideration of each creation. We all have digital images stored on our phones, laptops, and desktop computers, but how often do we get around to printing them these days? (Guilty as charged). Wink provides a simple way to nudge some of those moments into the physical world, anchored to our favorite memories.

Read more | Comments (1) | March 23, 2010

Capturing Family Adventures, Part 2

Posted by Toni | Filed under Gear Gab, Get Outdoors, Hands-On Family Fun, Through the Lens

Part 2: Technique

Earlier this week, I talked about what photo and video gear I use to capture my family’s moments on the go. Now I’ll talk a little about technique. I could dig deep into a photography tutorial here, covering f-stops and apertures and–

WAIT! Come back! Look, there are several sites and books and e-courses and community college and university courses where you can tackle photography basics in depth. What I’m aiming for here is to share my thoughts on composition when you’re on the go with kids. I don’t think there’s anything earth shattering about what I do as a photographer, but what I do know is that many of my photos here leave a positive impression, and if I can pass on some of that, I’ve done my job here.

Here’s how I think about the photos I take while on the go:

1. Get closer. This tip is straight out of Composition 101, but not everybody knows this simple tip. Because we live in a society that values personal space, I think we’re often hesitant to get right in there with their cameras, even with close relatives and friends. Whether you have a serious 35mm SLR or a point and shoot, if you have an even halfway decent zoom lens or function, you can get in closer without actually getting in closer and making your subjects self-conscious. Even if you don’t get quite as close as you’d like, experiment with cropping some images closer to see how it affects the presentation; chances are, you’ll like the tighter crops better. Another way to get closer to your subjects is to shoot at a kid’s eye level–don’t be shy about getting down on the ground, in other words–which can create an interesting perspective. Save the panoramic shots for breathtaking landscapes and get in closer to your kids. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule, but my point is to pay attention to this if you haven’t in the past.

I shot the image below after a series of attempts (and an adorable outtake later in this entry) and I think it became the keeper shot because I moved in closer.

2. Shoot more than you think you need. I started out shooting film, and when I finally came around to digital photography, a whole new world of experimentation opened up for me. I’m not suggesting you close your eyes and hold your finger on the shutter release, hoping for the best. But if you’re photographing several kids at once, don’t be afraid to shoot 10, 20, 30 frames. You can always – and very easily – delete them later. And sometimes, the outtakes bring something wonderful and unexpected, like this one from our holiday card “session” during a hike in the woods:

3. Pay attention to detail.

This is a corollary to tip number 1. If you’re lucky enough to have a macro lens or a good macro function on your point-and-shoot, then take some time during your wanderings to capture some of the smaller details you notice along the way, like mud on your son’s shoes during a spring hike:

Maybe not everyone is a foodie like myself, but I almost always grab a shot of what we eat while we’re traveling or even just day tripping. Looking at this image from our epic road trip last summer brought back the wood smoke from our campfire and that delightful taste of barbequed corn on the cob:

Sure, photos of your family smiling in front of a waterfall make great memories, and there’s nothing wrong with tried-and-true happy snaps (see our holiday photo, above). But it’s the little things that you tend to forget about, like these two simple images above, that can transport you to those tiny, simple, but wonderful memories of your journeys.

4. Let ‘em roam

There’s a time for static snapshots and smiling faces, and there’s a time to let the kids let loose as you try to capture them in motion.

Besides, action shots are cool. When they’re not giving me a heart attack. Okay, even then:

5. Search for the stories.

While I am currently working toward becoming a professional conservation, travel and fine art photographer (wow, it’s a little scary putting all of that out there!), when I’m behind the lens I am first and foremost a storyteller. I think this is because I am a storyteller by nature, and fortunately, this translates well into photography, too. I’m always on the lookout for an image that says, “That’s what we did. This tells the story of our day.” If I were to conjure a phrase that sums up my photographic style, it would be “moments in time.” It is these sorts of images make up the vast majority of our family photos, and they’re quite often my personal favorites.

6. Funny always works.

I can’t emphasize this enough. I still laugh at some moments I managed to capture during our travels, like when our youngest just assumed he could pick up a pancake and eat it with his hands, since it didn’t arrive already cut up:

Or when our middle son decided he’d rather roll than hike:

Or the many times my oldest has tried to mess with me by, say, flaring his nostrils right before I hit the shutter release:

No comment.

7. Finally, don’t forget about YOU.

So often, the designated photographer in a family ends up The Invisible Family Member in home movies, videos, and photo albums. Hand the camera to your spouse or partner, to your oldest – really, to any of your kids with a little gentle encouragement and instruction – remember, you can always hit delete later. Not only does this give someone else some hands-on experience creating photographs, but it ensures that there will be proof that you were there, too. I’m a fan of just holding the camera out and getting a quick shot of my immediate surroundings – often these turn out to be really fun shots that are also among my favorites.

There’s so much more I can go into but I’ll stop here since this is already a great deal of information, and I hope you find it useful. One thing I didn’t cover in depth because I don’t have good example shots is to turn off your flash wherever possible and try to use existing light. That merits its own brief entry and technical discussion, so I’ll leave it for another time and ask you to just experiment and see what happens. Next time you’re out with the family, try some of these ideas and post a link to your photos in the comments, add your own tricks and tips, and join the conversation.

Tags: "bring the family", family, humor, memories, moments, moments in time, on the go, photographs, photography, Technique, Through the Lens, Tips and Tricks, Toni Klym McLellan, travel

Read more | Comments (6) | February 18, 2010

Capturing Family Adventures

Posted by Toni | Filed under Gear Gab, Hands-On Family Fun, Through the Lens

Part 1: Gear and How to Carry It

I’ve received a few emails recently asking if the photographs on Bring the Family are mine, and the answer is an enthusiastic “Yes!” Based on those emails, I thought it would be fun to share what gear I bring along when my family and I head out to play and how I capture our favorite moments. These are just suggestions based on my personal preferences and experience; feel free to tweak this for your own use and add suggestions in the comments.

While on the go with my family, I shoot with a Nikon D90 DSLR, an iPhone for quick snapshots when there’s sufficient bright light, and a Flip video camera. While the iPhone’s wireless transfer ability has proven more convenient, you lose a great deal of quality compared to the Flip. I think once Flip develops wireless file transfer for their cameras, which is supposed to be in the works, I’ll return to that as our go-to video gadget, especially since their HD cameras are so affordable.

I realize it’s not that big of a deal to just use the USB connector built into the Flip, but it’s far easier to press a button and have a video or image upload to Flickr and/or Vimeo rather than having to sit by a computer and wait for software to load, especially if I’m blogging or tweeting straight from the trail or campsite. Once the iPhone came along and streamlined that process, it creates an entirely new game for competitors. Here’s hoping the Flip steps up, because their quality is great and when I need a good quality video for personal or professional use, I still use the Flip. But for everyday cuteness? I carry my iPhone around everywhere, even while walking home from the bus stop (click to hear the hilarious but completely accidental audio addition to this video). Incidentally, I prefer Vimeo to YouTube despite the long wait times for free uploads because it’s easier to make videos private and password-protected, and there appear to be fewer trolls commenting there, too. Otherwise, I upload vids directly from the iPhone to Flickr.

All of these items easily fit into my Sherpani backpack purse (usually in Ziploc bags to keep that random purse detritus from dirtying the equipment) for day trips or travel writing assignments when we’ll be out exploring for a while and I don’t want to be burdened by too much gear. I also have a camera backpack and holster bag – both by Tamrac – for times I really do need to bring more gear. I carry a reusable lens cleaning cloth for last-minute maintenance, and on longer outings I’m always sure to bring extra batteries and chargers.

I’m currently on the hunt for a new backpack purse or even a compact camera backpack that zips shut, since I’ve lost more than one lip gloss and pen from my current bag, which uses a flap-and-magnet closure that simply isn’t secure enough for my needs. I’ll be sure to post a review when I upgrade. I’m also planning on picking up a Gorillapod – perfect for on-the-go shots where you need a little stability (in low light, to capture motion blur, etc.). For now I use a standard tripod I’ve owned since high school, but am planning on getting a tripod with a quick-release plate and level so I can easily connect and disconnect my camera from the tripod.

FYI, some of my photography gear links are to B&H Photo simply because I’m a long-time and satisfied customer of theirs. I do not do paid reviews and so far have only reviewed gear that I own and have tested myself. If I’m offered gear to review, I will always disclose that fact in advance, those reviews will be done without compensation and will be both candid and aimed at helping parents make the best choices for their needs.

That’s about it. As I’m fond of saying, I believe in doing what works, and I’m always curious to hear about what works for you so go ahead and share how you carry your gear when on the go with your kids in the comments.

Stay tuned, because later this week I’ll feature Capturing Your Family Adventures, Part 2: Technique.

Tags: "bring the family", backpack, DSLR, Flip Video, gear, Gear Gab, iPhone, Nikon, on the go, photography, Tips and Tricks, Toni Klym McLellan, travel, video

Read more | Comments (1) | February 16, 2010

Friday Fun: A Colorful Reconstruction

Posted by Toni | Filed under Friday Fun

Something as mischievous as it is functional and brilliant is happening, brick by brick, in several countries around the world, thanks to German artist Jan Vormann. WebUrbanist.com featured a brief article about Vormann’s project, Dispatchwork, which seeks to repair parts of damaged historic buildings using Lego bricks. Vormann says he wants to “repair” every broken wall worldwide – quite an ambition:

Why not? I think it is a fun approach towards conceiving the decay that time brings along. It leaves a positive imprint in people’s mind. As long as kids play, adults will build walls. And those walls break. Let’s patch them up with colorful plastic pieces. Life is serious, so that makes playing sometimes even more important.

The Dispatchwork site includes a map marking sites around the world featuring Dispatchwork repairs (click the links beside the map for more images and detail about each project). I really got a kick out of photos showing people doing a double-take upon seeing tiny plastic bricks inserted into old walls in disrepair. Sure, some preservationists might be pulling their hair out over this idea. But just as having or spending time with kids often reconnects us with our childlike creative spirit and sense of unbridled fun, this project illustrates that thinking like a kid sometimes leads to amazing acts of kindness and creativity.

Read more | Comments (1) | February 5, 2010

Get Outside – After You “Discover the Forest”

Posted by Toni | Filed under Get Outdoors

The Discover the Forest web site was created by the Ad Council and the U.S. Forest Service to encourage families to explore our wild public lands. Obviously this is an idea I can get behind, even knowing that online learning is no substitute for actually getting outdoors and letting our kids get dirty, look for signs of wildlife, gaze at stars, and count the different colors of wildflowers along a favorite hiking trail. I like to think of sites like this as a tantalizing prelude to an even more sumptuous main course.

I’m not a big fan of Flash animation, but it’s not too painful to deal with on this site because they get it over with quickly. There’s a page for parents to get you started, activities to do online with your kids (plus a printable workbook) in the What to Do section, and plenty of ideas for where and how to experience nature first-hand. But as a parent who is actively working to foster an appreciation of nature in her kids, the Why section was the most compelling part of this site, with links to even more sites designed to get kids excited about heading outside (What can I say? I like appetizers, especially if they lead up to a meal I can really sink my teeth into).

Last summer, we spent a few days camping in a remote National Forest in northern Nevada. Compared to the U.S. National Parks, National Forest Service campgrounds are generally more rustic and there are generally fewer bells and whistles, but that can be a definite plus. We practically had the campground and miles of readily accessible hiking trails to ourselves, and with a stone-filled creek a few yards from our site, our three sons were never bored. I think many parents aren’t even aware of the sheer volume of pristine National Forest land available for families to discover, and I hope that this site opens the door to some great family vacations.

For newsworthy updates and to share your experiences and ideas, follow Discover the Forest’s Twitter and become a fan on Facebook and continue this vital conversation about why public lands are so important for families and the future wild spaces our kids will inherit.

Read more | Comments (0) | February 4, 2010

“Don’t Drive Angry”

Posted by Toni | Filed under Local Adventures

(One of my boys’ favorite quotes from the movie Groundhog Day).

This year, due to rapid early morning snowfall and a certain kindergarten student’s misplaced snow boots, we skipped the prognostication ceremony on the Woodstock (Illinois) Square. Here’s an image from last year that I really love, starring Woodstock Willie and my oldest son:

Apparently, Willie did not see his shadow, which heralds an early spring here in Woodstock. Punxsutawney Phil, however, saw his shadow so I guess it’s a longer winter for Pennsylvanians. The Woodstock Public Library flickr account (a great contact to follow because they post images of current events and historic images) has a few photos from today, and the Woodstock Independent facebook page will post more photos today, too.

Here’s the movie preview for the film that started all the Illinois-based groundhog madness. I remember seeing this in the theaters and laughing at Bill Murray’s weatherman Phil Connor blowing the clouds around on the weather map. Little did I know I’d end up living on the street where the B&B in the movie sits (it’s being renovated as a B&B and is due to open in late spring 2010) or a 15 minute walk from the stand-in for Gobbler’s Knob:

Whether you’ve been promised an early spring or a longer winter by your mammal of choice, here’s to a great February!

Read more | Comments (0) | February 2, 2010

“Work Hard and Be Kind”

Posted by Toni | Filed under Parenting

By now everyone has heard or read about the controversy over The Tonight Show on NBC: seven months into a failed experiment with an hour-long, prime time Jay Leno Show, the network decided to return Leno to his hosting duties at The Tonight Show. The only problem with this plan was that the network had already handed the Tonight Show reins to Conan O’Brien. The decision to replace O’Brien with Leno upset O’Brien’s fans and caused a stir in the television industry (where critics and writers largely disagreed with the Leno Show experiment from the start).

Whether you’re a fan of the former-and-once-again host Leno or “Coco,” (full disclosure: I’m with Conan), O’Brien’s final monologue at the end of his run as host of “The Tonight Show” really struck a chord with me:

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life,” O’Brien said. “All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.

I wasn’t the only one inspired by O’Brien’s speech: here’s a link to a poster designed by my friend, author Terry Bain that I’m planning on purchasing for the kids’ art room. Note the red hair under that crown; how funny is that?

I remember during my first week in law school, a student raised his hand and told the professor that a legal judgment in a case we’d studied wasn’t fair. The first-year student’s protestations pooled like blood in the water as our prof waited, grinning and eager to feed. “Fair? Fair!? Who said life–let alone the law–are fair?” We all remembered not to comment on fairness for the duration, but of course, we also knew in some ways, the professor was right–we each deal with unfairness in our lives and in the world daily. I’m a bit more gentle when I tell my kids that sometimes, as Conan O’Brien learned, life is unfair (though a $45 million buyout should dampen his disappointment–I know it would mine). But what I stress is that while it’s important to notice and speak out when we witness an injustice, the ways in which we respond to unfairness makes all the difference in our lives. And I think Conan took the high road in many ways in this situation, and that’s a model I can get behind, both as a parent and a person.

In other news, tomorrow is a big deal in my town, where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed (it was set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania but filmed here in Woodstock, Illinois). We have our own prognostication set for 7:07 a.m. tomorrow, and my sleepy kids and I (camera in hand) will be there. What I love about our prognostication is that afterward, the handler lets kids touch the groundhog’s fur and pose for photos. Another recent controversy in the media involves an animal rights group advocating for a robotic groundhog in place of a live animal. My take on this is that any event where animals are treated humanely and allows children to get an up-close-and-personal look at wild creatures they don’t normally see is a good idea and actually promotes a love of and respect for animals. Another interesting talking point with the kids, for sure.

I’ll leave you with a video clip the boys ask me to play about once a month because it makes them laugh (especially when they see “Go Cubs!” aka Wrigley Field, and the doll museum): Conan’s debut as host of The Tonight Show. I love this because it makes me want to wander, if not necessarily by running across the country (I’ll bicycle instead, thanks).

Look for Groundhog Day photos later this week if the weather cooperates and gives us good lighting.

Tags: animals, controversy, February 2, Groundhog Day, media, News, Parenting, prognostication, television, TV, wildlife, Woodstock Illinois

Read more | Comments (0) | February 1, 2010