Third Grade Play = All about Portland

The third grade play is also known as The Portland Play.  It is as legendary as any tradition that is only 9 years old can be... it is well known, and well loved in schools all over the city and now that I've finally seen it I can see why!  It was funny, and interesting, and faster paced than most school productions, and it really showcased the fact that our kids are getting older and more capable every day. Anyway, the kids in Eleanor's grade have been working on this play for about 5 months and yesterday was the BIG day.  Eleanor had one singing solo, one violin duet, and a bit as a narrator.  It was a good day, and this photo in no way captures the excitement of it all... but here it is anyway.

Stephanie's friends pay a visit

Friends and our daughters, and a too short weekend!

Run for the Arts Day!

Every year, kids all over Portland run to raise funds for arts programming in their schools. Some of you may remember that Run for the Arts was a 3/4 of a million dollar fundraiser I managed for the region, back in the days when I got paid for my labor.  If you'd like to sponsor Eleanor in this run some year, just speak up!  It happens every April, and while she is supposed to collect sponsorships from family and close friends, these days Stephanie floats the stuffed animals the money they want to donate.(Eleanor would be thrilled if someone else chimed in some year!)

It was almost 90 degrees the day they ran this year!  Eleanor set herself a goal of 10 laps (each roughly 1/4 mile).  Two humans and two stuffed animals set the incentive with a pledge to donate $2 for every lap she could run.  It looked a little doubtful in the beginning, but... she pushed through and ran 12 laps!

Art with Gail

Many Sunday afternoons, Eleanor goes over to Gail's house to do art.  And listen to stories.  And eat cookies.  We love Gail.  Here is a piece Eleanor just finished.

Hoppy Easter!

Tulips mean April

Stuff grows in this part of the country, where winter showers bring Feb-April-May-and-all-the-year-through flowers.  April brings the Tulip festival, and this year the school calendar gods did shine down on us, with one teacher planning day off from school right in the midst of peak Tulip bloom.  So we headed to a farm in Woodburn.

Spring Break in Colonial Williamsburg and DC

This spring break we left our home here in the northern-most Spanish Territories (or was this the southern-most Russian Territory?) and headed for the Colonies.  Then we leapt forward to present-day-America's seat of government and spent four days in Washington D.C.  It was all VERY cold (so much for the cherry blossoms) but still really good.  And tiring.

2.5 days in Colonial Williamsburg

We bunked in the historic district, in the upstairs of the historic David Morton House.  Luckily for us, it has been modernized somewhat with indoor plumbing, electricity, and heat (we really needed the heat). It was a great location, even if the layout was a little awkward.  Eleanor especially loved our canopy bed.  While visiting the 1780's we stormed the Governor's palace (to demand back our gun powder); heard the hot-off-the-presses Declaration of Independence read in Capital Square; bade farewell to George Washington as he led the troops to (what was to be) the deciding battle at Yorktown; interacted with a number of tradespeople at work, including spinners, a basket maker, a printer, a book binder and a smith; had a pub dinner and period music one snowy night in the tavern; and had just all-around remarkable interactions with a number of interesting characters.

Oh, and it turns out we just had to go back to the 1780's to finally find a shop selling wooden hoop toys, so we bought it and shipped it home.  (I'm not sure why I never found it online during my previous searches, 'cause it's clearly there.)

4 days in Washington D.C.

Our jump forward in time brought us the many benefits of the Smithson donation (= incredible, free museums) and a chance to see the St. Clair grandparents.  (They happened to have a trip scheduled for DC during the same time we were planning our trip!)  

While in the District we visited 6 museums (what?!?) ... Air and Space (for Amelia Earhart and Wright brothers' gear), Natural History (for dinosaurs, fossils and gems like the Hope Diamond), Archives (for the notables -- Declaration of Independence and Constitution -- but also for Charles Ingalls' homestead claim paperwork), National Gallery (a DaVinci and Van Gogh for Eleanor), American History (for Dorothy's ruby red slippers and Lincoln's hat), American Art (some Hoppers for Stephanie and a Grandma Moses for Eleanor).  Eleanor's tolerance for museums is a genuine grace (until those times when it uncomfortably surpasses my own).  We also toured the Bureau of Engraving (where Eleanor bought a bag of shredded money), and hit some of the more iconic monuments and memorials (Lincoln, MLK, Roosevelt, Vietnam).  Whew!  We came home tired.

The Eleanors

standing on the very spot