Caleb and James spent a lot of Spring Break doing this:
John and I decided to surprise the kids and take them on a real train!
We didn't leave the state or even the city. We bought an "all day" MAX ticket and rode downtown Portland for a day of stops along the river. There was truly magic in the kids' eyes as they boarded the MAX and we headed down the track over the Tillicum bridge, getting off in downtown Portland.
Before our excursion, I sat down and drew the kids a rough "map" of exactly where we'd be going and what we'd be doing. Admittedly, I wasn't quite sure exactly what and where everything was, but I felt confident that John and I together could successfully navigate the kids through a portion of the city.
Our travel time out on the MAX was a mere 20 min to our first stop; we jumped on and off at various points in the city to explore different sections and neighborhoods of Portland.
The kids were excited just waiting for the MAX to arrive!
Crossing the pedestrian bridge over the Willamette was a thrill in itself; we exited the train and walked on foot back over the top, observing boats, bridges and buildings.
Next, we got off at Clinton Street and had lunch at a place called Ford Fuel and Food. A huge, farm house sized table was available and fit our family perfectly.
We all sat around it, enjoying our lunch in this new section of town; thick grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids and organic bean and rice bowl for the adults, we all enjoyed lunch.
We climbed aboard once again and got off at Bybee St and walked about a mile to Westmoreland Park. A charming landscape of flowering trees, ponds, bridges and ducks, this place was bursting with spring.
The playground was inspired by nature. It was constructed with fallen tree trucks and sand. The kids ran around in the sunshine for awhile, climbing trees and building sandcastles.
Finally, we headed back to our initial stop in Milwaukie.
Overall, we kept it simple, cheap and enjoyed the small things, like walking over bridges and looking out the windows from the train.
This summer I plan on mapping out a few train adventures for the kids. It's a simple, inexpensive way to see the city, explore new places and have a good family time.
Another fun adventure I took the kids on was the Woodburn wooden shoe tulip farm. The kids enjoyed riding the hayride, bumping through the flower fields on a cow train and eating a corn dog in the sunshine.
Easter weekend had us searching for eggs at a local church.
We spent Easter day enjoying the special service at our own church and then having a nice Easter dinner with our friends and neighbors. We organized another egg hunt for the eleven kids. We hid the first batch of eggs in the house, all filled with vegetables! (April Fools!)
We then directed our disappointed kids outside to another batch off eggs hidden around the yard, this time filled with Easter candy. :)
This week we've been getting back into the routine of school and social fun! Its a windy day today but the wind sweeps the white blossoms off the trees around the house creating quite the magic show.
It reminds James of snow: "Is it almost Christmas time now? It's taking forever!"
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