At the Fun Center

It's Rose Festival season in Portland, and that means it's time for the annual carnival on the Waterfront.  They call it "City Fair" now, but it will always be the Fun Center to us.

Somehow we wound up there on Memorial Day. We're not sure how; we were only going to take a walk.  We decided to walk over the bridge, and before we knew it, there we were- wearing the same clothes from the night before.  (But we fit right in with the rest of the crowd.)

Anthony's still too small for most of the rides, but we all went on the little mini truck roller coaster. Anthony was unimpressed with that one, but then Daddy and Anthony went on the big slide, and that was a huge hit.  Anthony thought it was like the slide at the park where you can just keep going up and down, but it costs 9 tickets to ride, so he and Daddy had to settle for just two times down.

The Fun Center runs through June 10th.  So come on down and treat yourself to an elephant ear and a corndog.  You won't regret it.  Or maybe you will.

Blog Hop!

Here's our first entry in With a Little Moxie's Blog Hop- enjoy!

Too Sleepy for my Chicken Nugget

Look Who's Walking!

We Put on a Show!

The Mr. Ben benefit concert was a resounding success!  We raised over $1200 for the NWDSA's literacy program, and we had a great party.

 

MC Dad E representing and pushing those raffles.

  

Adara shows us what the day was all about.

What an amazing group of folks worked so hard to make this happen. None of us knew nothin' about fundraising before this, but it all came together thanks to everyone's hard work, creativity, and all around awesomeness!

And no one fell off the stage.  

Except Archer.

...

...But that was on purpose.

Signing Time Live...Abbreviated

We were very excited to go see Rachel's live Signing Time show today.  Especially since this year, Anthony knows a lot more signs and songs than he did the last time Rachel came to town.

We arrived with eager anticipation. 

Cora was there!  And Anant too!

They started the show at 12:00 as scheduled, but there were technical difficulties with the sound system. So we waited.

And waited.

After 20 minutes (which is 4 hours in 3-year-old time) Rachel finally came out.  But by then, we were all pretty much done.  The sound system was so bad we couldn't understand anything Rachel was saying!  This, combined with the show coinciding with nap time, led to tears instead of cheers.  So we made a hasty exit, hoping they choose a different venue next year.

Conked out right away on the way home.

We still love Rachel, though.  And Anthony was happy because he got a stuffed Hopkins frog out of it.

Multi-Use Furniture

This train table is great. It has big drawers with plenty of room for all your trains and tracks. 

Plus the engineer as well.

How to Eat a Popsicle, by Anthony

 First, make sure you're on your front stoop.  They taste better that way.

This is the traditional method, which works well, but is for amateurs.

You can also try the more challenging upside-down method.

Whatever method you choose, watch out for brain freeze!

If Mommy asks for a bite, the answer is "noooo."

If you can't finish it all at once, it's okay to put it in your pocket for later.

If it comes off the stick-- as it inevitably will-- don't panic.

Go ahead and use your fingers to finish up.

(A bonus of this is that you are more likely to get a bath later.)

Don't forget to compost the stick.

And "Wash Your Hands When You're All Done."

That's all there is to it. Now it's your turn!

Mother's Day Merriment

My fellas gave me a wonderful Mother's Day-- I woke up to a beautiful sunny day, flowers, wind chimes and a new bird bath for the garden. And of course this, the best gift ever:

We headed over to have lunch with Grandma Jeanne.

Today was the Northeast Sunday Parkways, but we napped through it! Instead we went on a ride around the neighborhood in the late afternoon. 

Then we finished up the day with some eats and drinks (and crayons).

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all you Mommas out there.  I hope your day was as fun as mine.

Mr. Ben Sings and Strums for NWDSA!

Come out to support the NWDSA and have a great time in the process!

This is my first attempt at fundraising, so I'm hoping it won't be a big flop. Here's the skinny:

Mr. Ben, the wildly popular luminary of the Portland children's music scene, is holding a benefit concert for the Northwest Down Syndrome Association. Please join us for music, really cool raffles, and a rollicking good time!

Date: Sunday, May 20th
Time: 3:00-4:30 pm
Place: The Village Ballroom, 700 NE Dekum Street
Tickets at the door: $10 per adult, kids free.

All proceeds will benefit the NWDSA Reciprocal Learning Community Literacy Program-- Because all children CAN and SHOULD experience the joy of reading!

Along with Mr. Ben's always-entertaining show, we're planning a Children's Book Exchange and raffle packages including:

• Date Night Out, Date Night In
• We Can Pickle That!
• Kids on the Town
• Hipster Dad
• and more!

Plus, some guy named Paul Carson is going to be the emcee.

Please help us out by spreading the word about this event. We're looking forward to singing, dancing, and celebrating with you!