I’ve learned the secret of getting a 5 year out the door with no fuss. “Would you like to go to the park after we do some errands?” There was a cartoon puff of smoke and Jasmine was miraculously dressed with brushed teeth and hair at the door ready to go.

As you can see in the photos, Jasmine is becoming quite the monkey bar expert. The other kids her age  attempt to match Jasmine’s skills on the monkey bars but end up walking away in shame. (Hmm, I wonder if I have developed the “my kid is better than yours” syndrome.)

Emily and I also got into the swing of things trying out some of the playground contraptions.

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Kinder garden graduation with cake and icecream.

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Today we ventured to the Portland science museum OMSI with Jasmine’s friend Avery. There was a brief delay as we had to turn back because someone left the tickets on the kitchen table. But that gave me an opportunity to tease the kids by saying “Wow, OMSI sure was fun we should do it again.”  They were amused.

We arrived to the museum and headed upstairs via the escalator because kids love them almost as much as ice cream. The first exhibit hall quickly bored them so we diverted to the science play center. That place was packed with happy kids playing in the water works, sand box, craft area, puppet theater, and chipmunk tree hideouts. After lunch we explored the downstairs science labs including an earthquake house which made me nauseous but Jasmine and Avery loved the shakiness. Then we went back upstairs (by escalator of course) to explore the earth and life sciences exhibits.  The kids really like the ball rolling contraptions. I really liked the ocean wave simulator and the colored light music instrument – very zen.

My favorite quote of the day was Avery saying to Jasmine “You sure have a lot of energy.”

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For many years now we have wanted to attend one of the Portland Rose Festival events. And this year we finally did. We were invited to attend the Starlight Parade by our friend Sam. She did the hard part by arriving very early to stake out a prime location, so all we had to do is take the Metro (mass transit) into the city. Jasmine was looking forward to the train ride all day.

We arrived downtown to hoards of festive people and kids running around with glowstick necklaces, waving lightsabers and tossing frisbees.  First up was the Starlight Run, which was a combination of serious athletes and comedic costuming including Wonder Woman, togas, cranyons, Pacman, and much more. Jasmine got into the action by extending her hand out to offer moral boasting high-fives to any runner needing some 5 year old good luck. As the sun went down the parade started with marching bands, entertainers, and various floats all of which were lighted up.

It was a great time and Jasmine had the extra bonus of staying up past her bedtime!

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Memorial weekend arrived and we hadn’t planned anything. So I suggested to Emily that Jasmine have a playdate at the zoo with our friend’s son Andrew. Jasmine and Andrew were very excited and had lots to chat about in the back seat. Particularly how well each could count to 100 in various increments.

We visited the tigers, parquets, insects, and penguins. The insect demonstrator gave us special attention taking us around all the little displays and letting the kids pet the creatures (when they were brave enough). Then we were off on the zoo train ride.  Emily and I were underwhelmed by the ride, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

After lunch we watched the birds of prey show. The birds were especially uncooperative, never quite going where the trainers wanted them, which we think made the show more entertaining. We walked through the African section viewing hippos, zebras, gazelles and giraffes.  Before leaving the zoo, we visited the bats, which was the kids favorite animal of the day.

We drove to the nearby monster playground, where the kids had a ball while we supervised from a shady bench. When the kids actually looked to be tiring out, Emily suggested we meet with Andrew’s parents at the Dairy Queen. And so the playdate with Jasmine and Andrew had a frosty and delicious ending.

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