I Love a Parade

 

Bend put on a very home-grown Earth Day parade this morning -- under clear blue skies kids and parents dressed up and marched. There were a few stilt-walkers and drummers, but primarily it was parents and kids in costume marching down the street. I liked it better than most parades.

Dinosaur Rider

 

The "boat park" near our rental house in Bend, in addition to the eponymous play boat, features a big rideable dinosaur. And ride it Elizabeth did!

The Quest for Ice Cream

This morning we got Elizabeth out of the house by promising her ice cream... after the waterfall. The she fell asleep on the way home from Mt. Bachelor, so after naptime she wanted (and deserved) her ice cream. We saddled up and rode a little ways to the Old Mill district which has a Ben & Jerry's.

Mommy got a traditional cone, but Elizabeth and Daddy both got ice cream in a cup with a straw.

Sun and Snow

This Bend vacation has had its share of disappointments. The Children's Museum we promised Elizabeth we'd visit had closed down -- it doesn't even exist, except in the tourist literature. The breakfast joint we tried to eat at had burned down -- at its address was a vacant lot. Today we tried to sight-see a waterfall, but the road to it was closed due to snow. We pressed on, looking for Sparks Lake. Oddly enough, the highway dead-ended in the parking lot of the Mt. Bachelor ski resort. By this time, Elizabeth was getting fed up with being in the car so long, so we got out of the car and into the snow and just played.

The weather was gorgeous: warm and sunny, with deep blue skies.

Hi, Desert!

This morning we went to the High Desert Museum just south of Bend. A good time was had by all, despite weather best described as drizzle and chill.

Elizabeth had a lot fun in the playroom that simulated an eagle's nest (complete with slide) and a packrat's den. She also hid with Daddy in the Old West bank, waiting very patiently for Mommy to discover her. The picture below is of Barb and Elizabeth in a Chinese grocery/laundry.

We saw birds of prey, an otter, and some interesting historical exhibits.

First Bike

 

OK, it's a trike, not a bike. But it's Elizabeth's first and Grandpa just bought it for her this very day. We secretly transported it to our vacation rental in Bend, assembled it, and Elizabeth took it for a spin. It's a bit too big -- we need to buy some blocks so her feet can reach the pedals. She was thrilled with the gift, though, and figured out ways to play with it despite not being able to pedal.

 

I have nothing to say. No excuse.

A Cry for Help

 

Clearly I need to stop blogging cute pictures of my child. This latest cutie-pie, dated 10-31-08, is no more than a cry for help.

Classic Elizabeth III

 

Stop me before I cute again! I started looking through the Picasa for older, good, somewhat unusual pictures of Elizabeth Rose. There are probably ten thousand of them. I will endeavor not to bore you with too many. I don't want this blog to be a slide show, but a logbook or diary of current event supplemented by pictures.

Damn, she's cute, though!

Picture dated January 12, 2009.

Classic Elizabeth II

 

This is kinda no fair because it's the same-era Classic Elizabeth as the last one I posted. But I was really suprised to discover this picture. I'm not sure I've ever seen it! But for those who are interested in Elizabeth, it's a kind of unusual picture, and thus I present it.

April Showers... of Gifts!

 

Barb's family and friends have been ridiculously generous with Elizabeth, showering her with Easter gifts. Michael and Tracy gave her a baby doll, family friend Pat gave her the Easter hat pictured above, she got an Easter basket with bunny doll, candy, coloring books, etc. It's been excessive, but nice.

Now we have to figure out which treasures come home, and which ones stay here. It's not going to be easy. Barb put a basket on the floor for toys Elizabeth wants to stay here at Pa's house, and I designated a place on the couch where toys going home would be placed. The basket is currently empty.

Easter Egg Hunt

The Braccos' neighbors across the court invited Elizabeth to an Easter Egg hunt. She got much-needed play time with other kids, ate her first lollipop (a ring-pop, no less) and had a great time finding a whole basket full of eggs, playing Duck-Duck-Goose, and just watching the festivities.