All posts by Jeff

Thanksgiving Vacation: Maryland

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday on the East Coast this year. We stayed the first part of the week at Grandma Carolyn’s (Emily’s mom). Grandma gave us a tour of her new digs. It has beautiful views including a scenic pond, but our favorite feature is the fireplace which turns on and off using a remote control.

And because we can’t go a week without getting books, we headed to the local library which so happens to be where Uncle John works (Emily’s brother). John quickly snapped Jasmine up to help put on a kids program, while Emily and I relaxed in some comfy chairs.

Party at Safari Sams

We had a great time at Ella’s birthday party today. Safari Sam’s has lot of stuff to do – glowing mini-golf, arcade, pump-ups and the largest play structure in Oregon. Although I think we got in trouble. Emily, Jasmine, Ella and I were so engrossed in playing a safari hunt video game that we missed the speaker announcement to return to the table for birthday cupcakes. Ella’s mom Beth had to come get us.

Polish Festival

One of the many reasons I love living in Portland is all the great festivals. Case in point, I did some web searching this morning for something to do and found out about a Polish Festival. One look at the photos of pierogi and kiełbasa and we were convinced to go try it out. We got there for lunch and I was in sausage and sauerkraut heaven.

The place had a wonderful vibe – filled with music and happily chatting people. The stage had non-stop dancing – all decked out in colorful wardrobe. And the perfect weather was a wonderful accompaniment.

Gymnastics Class Two

Jasmine was very excited to start her second class of gymnastics class today. This time, its girls only. Girl power! They did lots of warming up and what looked to me physically impossible stretching contortions. Then they did various tumbles, low bars, and balance beam activities. And yes, the class actually wore her out. Jasmine had to ‘rest her eyes’ on the ride home.