Winter Dance

Stanley's elementary school had their winter dance, and of course Stanley was there to boogie down!

Lisa the Gymnast

Here's a glimpse into Lisa's gymnastics activities:

Symphony and Art Museum

Stanley and I went to a kids' symphony concert in downtown Portland. It was called Musical Zoo, so all the songs had an animal theme. After the concert, we walked to the art museum and looked at some favorite exhibits, as well as a new one called the Cosmic Cavern.

Getting ready for the symphony

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Going up to the balcony

Our view of the stage

The program

The show is starting!

Portland Art Museum

Beautiful exhibit

Stanley's favorite painting of the day

Inside the Cosmic Cavern by Kenny Scharf

Making Art

Lisa and I went to a fun place called Art a la Carte. They have different art supplies and art activities set up for the kids to explore. Lisa painted, created, glued, and listened to stories.

Going out to lunch

We dragged the kids along to a home and garden show, so we decided to do something fun afterwards. We had lunch at a beautiful restaurant on the Columbia River called Beaches. Along with the kids' meals, they got a trip to a treasure chest to pick a prize and to go to an ice cream bar. The best part is the waiter took the kids for their treats, so Matt and I got to sit and relax for few minutes by ourselves.

Playing with the toy buckets

Slinky eyes

Stan picked a tiger mask from the treasure chest...

...and Lisa picked a bear mask.

Gymnastics Class

After our not-so-successful experience at ballet class, Lisa wanted to try gymnastics class. It went so much better! She had so much fun running, jumping, and climbing throughout the gym. She's been to two classes so far, and she asks every day if it's gymnastics class day. I think we've found something she likes!

Ballet Class & Library

Lisa went to her first ballet class today! She really looked the part, with her ballet leotard and pig tails. However, that was about as close to ballet as she got. During the whole class she sat in the corner with me and wouldn't go near the teacher and other kids. This really sums up her personality....she is quite the observer! Afterwards we decided to go to the library to get some new books. While we were there, story time was about to start, so we went in. Lisa did so well, and loved singing, dancing, and reading with the librarian. When she's comfortable somewhere, she shines!

Ready to start class...but not this time. :)

Reading books at the library...one of Lisa's
favorite things to do!

Listening to the librarian read a story

Snow Storm

We woke up this morning to a blanket of snow! This is such a rare event here. So, of course we needed to go outside and play.  It's always fun when we actually get to experience a stow storm. Well, except that Lisa hates wearing her snowsuit!

Lauren: Hey, kids! What do you think about the snow?
Stanley: I love it!
Lisa: I don't like the snow.

So, there you have it. Our Washington snow day!

Lisa isn't too excited about the snow,
but she's trying to make the best of it.

Snow at our house!

The two snow-lovers

Glory loves playing in the snow!

Lisa and Daddy getting ready to go inside.

Stanley and Mommy getting ready to go for a walk!

We thawed the feeder, so the poor
hummingbirds have something to eat.

Happy New Year!

Hope you have a great beginning to 2016!