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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After school today, I took Jasmine to the Beaverton park fountain. The place was packed with kids and parents enjoying the warm sunshine.

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We had a wonderful day with Jasmine’s foster family and younger sister Destiny. We met in Eugene at a pizza parlor with a big kid play center. Jasmine’s foster brother Devon gave me a thorough tour of all the features of the indoor playground. He also convinced me to wiggle through the tunnels and intricate levels of the play structure. I felt like one of the mole rats on display at the zoo. I was happy to make it out.

It was great meeting Jasmine’s sister Destiny who was recently placed into Kristi and Ron’s foster care. Jasmine jumped right into the role of big sister by leading Destiny hand in hand around the playground and also sharing their beverage at lunch. And Destiny was referring to Jasmine as “sissy”.

After lunch we headed to the park to take advantage of the perfect weather – sunny 80 degrees with nice breezes. The ladies (Emily, Cara, and Kristi) relaxed in the shade, while the guys (Jeff and Ron) tried to get the kites to work for the kids. Although observers might think the guys were having more fun with the kites than the kids (Jasmine, Jaiden, Destiny, and Devon).

We said our goodbyes after a stop at the local ice cream shop. We made plans to visit each other again in June, this time with a trip to the zoo.

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My friend Joni threw a “little girl” shower for me. Jeff and I brought Jasmine and she had a ball. I leave the pictures to tell the story.

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