Mother’s Day Gift: Portrait of Mom With Her Children – Sittings May 17

May 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Los Angeles photographer and owner of Litetrap Studios, Michael Murphree, has offered Mother’s Day-themed mini sessions as a priceless gift for the moms in your life with all proceeds going to support Help a Mother Out’s efforts in Los Angeles.

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Portrait by Michael Murphree

For a donation of $100 or more, up to 20 mothers and their children will receive a 15-minute portrait session on May 17, two 5 x 7 prints, and a custom Facebook timeline photo.

Michael Murphree has 20 years of experience as a commercial and celebrity photographer, starting his career as apprentice to world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz. It was when Michael had his own family that he fell in love with photographing his wife and twin babies. This led to the creation of Litetrap Studios, where Michael takes joy in capturing the special moments in other families’ lives with the goal of creating cherished heirlooms that pass on through generations.

litetrap studiosThe mini-sessions are available to up to 20 mothers and their children, and children of any age. Want a priceless memory of you with your own mother? This is a wonderful opportunity to have a true artist create a portrait of you, and help another mother out at the same time.

Studio space is generously provided by Books and Cookies, a bookstore and play space in Santa Monica.

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To reserve your sitting appointment or to arrange for one as a gift to that special mom in your life for Mother’s Day, make your donation here.

Mother’s Day Mini-Sessions with Michael Murphree
May 17, 2015
Books and Cookies
2309 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
To purchase click here

For more information please contact me at ki*@************ut.org

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ONCEKids – Books and DVD’s That Encourage Curiosity and Friendship

May 2, 2015 by 11 Comments

Kids are funny. (Okay, more accurately, kids are weird, but “funny” is much kinder.) Just this afternoon my older son opted to rest among the trees and read his book rather than watch his little brother’s baseball game. Ten-year-old me would have seen the logic in this move. Adult me was just bewildered, and lured him out of his hiding place with the promise of lemonade.

My point is that you never know what will interest them. We all love reading in my family so I assumed they would love it too. Obviously it has stuck with the older kid, but the younger one is unpredictable. So I didn’t know quite what to expect when I put these books from ONCEKids in front of them.

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With titles like “Red Penguin and the Missing Sushi,” and Silent Samurai and the Magnificent Rescue,” the books and DVD’s from ONCEKids are meant to expose children to Asian cultures. But the general idea is sharing, meeting new people, adventure, and more idealistic positive things that kids should learn. The stories are told with engaging, colorful images in quality printed books.

ONCEKids “seeks to expose and excite young readers around the diverse elements from several Asian cultures. Through the stories and supplemental activities and materials ONCEKids stimulates discussions at home, in the classrooms, and among educators and librarians.”

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My younger son enjoyed them – he is in 2nd grade, and a developing reader, so they are perfectly at his level. The DVDs are better for even younger children.

I have a set of ONCEKids books and DVD’s to give away to a local winner who would like to pick them up. Please leave a comment here and if you are chosen at random from all entries received before 11:59 PM on Saturday, May 9, I will arrange to get the set to you.

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2015 Conejo Valley Days May 7-10: Ticket Giveaway

April 27, 2015 by 19 Comments

Our version of a mini-state fair, Conejo Valley Days returns to Conejo Creek Park for its 59th year, May 7-10. It’s a huge carnival with epic rides, decadent food, live music, and more!

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Celebrating the area’s western roots and community spirit, CVD features entertainment for kids, teens and the whole family including carnival rides, games, live entertainment, a western saloon and a food court. Our family has been there twice, and we had a great time at both festivals. There is one big piece of advice I will share: bring plenty of cash.

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Even though Conejo Valley Days is pricey (food, experiences, shopping, and rides all cost extra on top of the $5 – $10 admission price and $5 per vehicle parking fee), for people who love fairs and thrill rides, it’s worth it. It’s close, it’s spacious even when a lot of people are there, and the live entertainment and demonstrations are fun to watch.

We went last year on Mother’s Day and bought a wristband for rides because really the whole point for us was for my younger son to ride as many as he could. Luckily, he wasn’t yet tall enough for the scariest (to me) ones, but he still got plenty of use out of it!

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These rides are amazing – my younger son, who is very adventurous, loved them! But if you go when wristbands are not available, they can be fairly expensive as rides go. Tickets cost 50 cents each, and the rides require up to 16 of them. The CVD has published a list of rides and their ticket numbers so you can be prepared.

Kids can earn 3 free rides with the CVD’s special new “Read and Ride Program.” Wristbands for unlimited rides are $40 and will only be available on Thursday, May 7 Family Night and Sunday, May 10.

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There are also plenty of opportunities to spend more money, at vendor booths that sell items or experiences, like rock climbing or the zany bubble rides.

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Entry: $10 for adults, $5 for kids 6 through 12 and free for kids 5 and under.

59th Annual Conejo Valley Days
May 7 – 10, 2015
Conejo Creek Park South
1300 E Janss Rd  Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
(Janss Rd./23 Freeway)

Agoura Hills Mom is giving away two family 4-packs of tickets! That will save you up to $40 right there. Just leave a comment here and tell us what your favorite thing about Conejo Valley Days is, or what you can’t wait to experience for the first time. One comment entry per person. Make sure your email address is entered (will not be published). For an extra entry, follow @agourahillsmom on Instagram and leave your handle in your comment. Winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries received by 11:59 PM, Sunday May 3. Tickets will be mailed to the winners.

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