Portland Parents

Here’s something fun to do-

Your kid, in grades 6-12, can enter a writing contest made possible by the Library Foundation. Gift cards from Powell’s Books is a great prize! The sections are divided by prose and poetry, and are also divided for grades 6-8 and 9-12. Get More Information!

Well, now, being a fan of Tommy and Grease, this sounds like a lot of fun!

The Corbet Children’s Theater is doing the Midsummer Night’s Dream as a rock musical with Beatles songs.

Come and enjoy this exciting adaptation of the classic to Beatles songs.
Costumes and music will be from the 60s and 70s; the music will be by a live
band.

Show will performed at the Corbett High School at 35800 E Historic Columbia
River Hwy in Corbett, Oregon.

To reserve your tickets call (503) 695-2296. Prices are $7 for children and $9
for adults. Special matinee group rates of 12 or more are available with
advance reservations.

Show times April 18th and 25th at 7 pm and April 19 at 26th at 1 & 7 pm.

For more information, check out their site.

FIRST is hosting a Robotics Competition the First Weekend in March; that is, Thursday Feb 28, Friday Feb 29, Saturday Mar 1. We went to a Robotics show at PSU a couple of years ago; it was pretty cool, but not quite “Competitiony”. This would be a great show to take your kids to.

From the 2nd to the first of September, you can travel back in time 200 million years and across the globe to witness China’s most spectacular Dinosaurs. China’s Ancient Giants features twenty complete skeletons ( casts and fossils ), interactive touch screens, and even a “dig pit” where kids can dig their hearts out!

Learn More!

[ The AAC is the American Adoption Congress ]

AAC’s 29th International Conference
Wednesday, March 26 - Saturday, March 29, 2008
Portland Downtown Waterfront Marriott
1401 SW Naito Parkway
Portland, Oregon 97201

Adoption in the Global Community:Redefining Kinship in the 21st Century

For more information, visit our website.

The AAC is comprised of individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform. We represent those whose lives have been touched by adoption or other loss of family continuity. We promote honesty, openness and respect for family connections in adoption, foster care and assisted reproduction. We provide education for our members and professional communities about the lifelong process of adoption. We advocate legislation that will grant every individual access to information about his or her family and heritage.

Thursday, March 27 Adoptive Families Day
AAC welcomes families formed through domestic and international adoption, including transracial adoptions, and families parenting children through assisted reproduction and donor conception. Sharon Roszia, MS, BSW - More Than Global: The Ever-expanding Constellation of Adoption!

Adoptive/Foster Parent and Youth Program - Workshops addressing significant issues in adoption, including identity and attachment, plus a specially designed series of workshops for youth. Teens are FREE with registered adult!

Friday, March 28 Professionals’ Day 
Dr. David Brodzinsky, PhD - Lifelong Development Issues for Adopted People and Their Impact on Best Practices and Policies 
Kevin Campbell - Family Finding: Strategies Being Used Around the Country
to Find Lifelong Supports for Children and Young People in America’s Foster Care System

Saturday, March 29 Celebrate Measure 58
10-year Anniversary of Access to Information for Oregon Adult Adoptees 
Barbara Bisantz Raymond, MS, BS, Author of The Baby Thief - Adoptive Mother/Author Discovers the Truth About Adoption
Alison Larkin, Author/Comedienne - Join AAC for a Comedy Treat! “Knock! Knock!” “Who’s There?” How My Adoption Turned Me into a Stand-Up Comic. Internationally acclaimed comedienne Alison Larkin entertains and reads from her hilarious, poignant new novel, The English American, coming from Simon and Schuster in March ‘08. In her novel, Larkin draws from her experiences as an adopted English woman who finds her birth parents in America, and weaves them into a compulsively readable work of fiction.

As you drive south on I-5, just as you pass Delta Park (heading from Vancouver), if you look to your right, you’ll see the gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian Mansion. Every year it’s lit with “the miracle of a million lights.” It’s $5 for parents and kids 11 and older, three bucks for seniors and kids ten and under.

It runs December 14-30, 6-10PM. When you’re overwhelmed with the beautifully twinkling lights outside you can go inside and take a tour of the mansion. It’s really quite lovely, and should be seen at least once.

If only to say “I’m glad I don’t have their electric bill!”.

The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation is running their Holiday Express train December 7-9 and 14-16. The passenger cars are lit and heated. You board at the Oaks Park station and ride north towards the Ross Island Bridge. You’ll see decorated trees, herons, ospreys and even Santa! You’ll be riding behind a steam engine, which is always a great way to travel.

You can get a Family Package for $39, but Parents and Grandparents are $14, kids are $8. Click on the link above to hit their site for more information and to purchase tickets.

This is the 53rd year for the Christmas Ship parade on the rivers. You can get a full schedule on their site. The only thing that can get in the way of your enjoyment would be the if the weather is too terrible. So just before you head out, if the weather outside is frightful, check their site (same link) for updates.

Large Animal Games has some fun toys to play with. A “mustachr” to add doodles to your online photos, for instance. And they have a nice “sharing” flash tool to display your creation.

If you want something more substantial than one of their widgets, they also have full games you can download or play in your browser. Definately something to take a look at; you could spend a few hours playing at their site.

If you’re a fan of role-playing games, I urge you to try out “Chore Wars.” It’s a site where you can create a character for each person in your house ( we set one up for Mom, Dad, and our oldest child). You band together as a “party of adventurers” and everyone creates “adventures.” (Subject to approval from the party leader; you probably want one of the parents to issue the party invites ).

Each adventure is worth an assortment of XP and treasure, defined by the adventure creator ( edited by the party leader ). Each adventure can be rated in terms of what “stat” (strength, intelligence, et cetera) is important, and those stats affect the characters that complete them.

For instance, if you have a high intelligence requirement for “paying the bills” then obviously the person who is paying the bills must have a high intelligence. Their stat block will be altered accordingly.

Finally, when the chores are complete, you can win treasure; gold coins or random items. In this treasure, you can assign real-world “loot” as well, so there’s a chance that someone can win a trip to the movies for doing their chores.

Our party is called “The Menagerie.” Who’s your party?