While we were down in Southern Oregon, we drove to Jasmine’s sister Selena’s home for a big Saturday playdate. First off, we took her out to lunch at her favorite restaurant that had huge portions as you can see by the photo of the chocolate cake dessert. We then visited three local playgrounds for some hearty playing. And Selena gave us a detailed tour of her school. It was a wonderful sunny day and we had a lot of fun. And yes, Emily and I both tried out the jump rope which greatly amused the girls.

[Show slideshow]

To finish out spring break we drove to Southern Oregon to visit Jasmine’s foster family. Jasmine had a blast seeing everyone and playing with Jaiden and Devon. And we enjoyed catching up with Kristi, Ron and Jasmine’s caseworker Kammie.

Jasmine was especially excited about this trip because it was a sleepover event. She was a bit nervous the first night so we stayed until she feel asleep. But the second night she was good to go.  And we got to sleep in at our hotel, we’ll at least until 8am when we got hungry for breakfast, since the hotel breakfast is quite good.

[Show slideshow]

Expert crafters Emily, Renee and Heather gathered to create Easter egg wreath creations.  Jasmine also joined in between playing with barbies, legos and other frivolity. Emily made her famous vegetarian chili and there were chocolate cookies for dessert. All agreed it was a productive and fun craft party.

[Show slideshow]

After seven weeks of classes it was time for Jasmine to show her stuff. Ballet slippers were prancing, scarfs were flying and ribbons were streaming. I wouldn’t really call it a choreographic event, but it was entertaining for the dancers and the audience.

[Show slideshow]

Spring is here in the Northwest, so Jasmine thought it was time to go to the zoo. And so we did with the rest of Portland. The main parking lot was overflowing, so we headed down the road to the axillary lots, which gave us a chance to ride the zoo school bus, which I think Jasmine enjoyed just as much as the zoo.

Upon arriving to the gate, we got to use the short line thanks to our zoo membership. After that, I let Jasmine lead the way. As you can see from the pictures, she made sure to climb every sculpture we encountered. She also discovered the sand pit and was intent on making castles for many minutes. She made friends with another girl, and they furiously guarded their pile of sand from those evil boy sand poachers with their dump trucks.

I’ve been to the zoo many times, even so I still see new stuff. This time around I got to see the bobcat. And of course we always make a stop to see the penguins – mainly because I think Jasmine likes to complain about the fishy smell.

[Show slideshow]