Jasmine and I rocked the 2011 Parks & Rec. annual festival. Each year it gets more popular and action packed. So much so, that it took quite a while to find a parking spot.

Jasmine loved all the giant inflatable play structures – they certainly were quite colorful and fun to look at. I was amazed at how patient she was waiting in the long lines – if only she exhibited such reserve for the other obstacles in her life – such as cleaning her room.

We enjoyed a police dog demonstration, an Irish dancing show and a stroll through the hotrod/vintage cars. She liked lots of vehicles, particularly the pink car that matched her shirt that day.

There was even an charismatic Elvis impersonator taking requests from the audience.

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Emily had a craving for some soup and salad, so we went to Sweet Tomatoes. We took our neighbor Grace with us. It’s always interesting seeing what kids select from the buffet – these two kids definitely like cucumbers and pickles – and pizza – and of course icecream. I was really digging the southwest lime chicken bean soup. Emily liked the vegy medley soup – which I also liked. Emily, Jasmine and Grace all enjoyed the mac & cheese.

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I took Jasmine and our neighbor John to the downtown dance festival. We watched some great solo acts from modern ballet, native american, to korean.

Poor John got a bit homesick so we headed back home early. Where I found out this was his first time away from his parents with a non-relative. Considering we were gone for an hour and half I think he did pretty good.

But when we got back home, he didn’t want to leave our car until he finished his coloring book page. Kids… its like they have a mind of their own.

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Emily took Jasmine over to her sister Destiny’s home for a get-together. Along with Patty, they had lunch at a waterfront restaurant with a fabulous view. Then they headed to a local lake for some swim time.

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The perfect Portland weather demanded a BBQ and so we did with our friends Kristin, Mac, Eli and Claire. We had chicken with either bbq or satay sauce. Several of the skewers burned up, which we thought was quite funny – I suppose we should have soaked them in water longer but we got impatient. There was also potato salad, sweet potato bake, and assorted raw veggies. And of course smores for the kids and chocolate covered graham crackers for the adults.

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