The Sleeping Beauty

Yesterday Elora Kay got to fulfill one of her "lifelong dreams" by attending The Sleeping Beauty ballet performed by the Oregon Ballet Theater. The girls' cheers and applause were contagious as they watched the performance, completely enthralled.  We watched the performance at the Keller Auditorium in downtown Portland, and had a little chance to play over at the Keller Fountain, across the street.  Elora repeatedly showed us her "moves", curtsying and doing plies all over town.  I think it was a hit. (Even Joel had fun, and was willing to admit it!) Now we can't wait to go to the Nutcracker!!

Mr. Lizard

This morning we had a field trip to visit Mr. Lizard's Mobile Zoo.  We learned about snakes, lizards, tortoises, and one little Chilean tarantula!  Amarra, our bravest, held everything and begged me to take pictures of every animal (I'm only sharing the favorites!).  She wasn't sure about the spider at first, but after Mama held it and she touched a leg, she decided to go for it, and was quite proud of herself. Her sisters would have nothing to do with the spider and were quite impressed!  Seleia and Elora hoped and hoped that there would be a blue tongued lizard there today, and were ecstatic to meet a blue tongued skink! There was a 40 year old tortoise who weighed 25 pounds and a gigantic pixie frog that Amarra was the only child brave enough to hold.  (After she led the way, though, some teenage boys decided to save face and give it a go.)  We all had a wonderful time! Now everyone wants a pet lizard......

Hiking in the Rain!

Today we braved the unseasonable weather and headed down to Sherwood, OR, for some fun and learnin'.  After a class on trees and forestry, we hiked through the wet, wet woods and learned so much!  We learned about the wildlife (clear down to buds and slugs!  Did you know that when you rub a millipede it releases a form of cyanide that smells exactly like almond extract?  Is it wrong that I thought the poison smelled delicious?) plants and trees.  (What to eat, what not to eat, how to handle nettle, what to wipe with -if necessary- and how to cure bee stings were just a few of the items covered.)  Our guide was amazing...knowledgeable, patient and very, very fun. We want to go back and take Daddy on a drier day so we can catch snakes and lizards, too!  It was gorgeous...no one even minded the storm!

Columbia Springs

Today we visited a hatchery right off of the Columbia River.  First was a class where everyone learned all the parts of a fish, inside and out.  That knowledge was immediately put to use when everyone got a tiny little steelhead (3 months old) in a cup to draw, trying to get every part in the right place!  Next we went on a gorgeous hike through the forest, split up into groups.  Each group had a clipboard and instructions to mark down everything they saw, whether plant, animal, or evidence thereof (Elora found a tooth.) because each thing there was a part of the ecosystem for the fish.  After hiking for about a half hour, we came to an observation platform and everyone, after stating their most interesting discovery, was given a handful of food to throw to the trout.  Everyone was extremely excited as rainbow trout eagerly came to the surface, gobbling up their snack.  It was so much fun, the girls want to take Joel back, if only for the hike.