Tastiest fruit salad ever

Local strawberries and raspberries, fresh from the farmers market (you cannot believe how sweet and red they are!!), plus bananas and mango, tossed with some plain non-fat yogurt and a little Stevia. On a whim, I tossed in a handful of Grapenuts. So amazingly delicious and perfect for a hot summer afternoon like we had today!

City of Roses

We were downtown Portland a few weeks back on what was quite possibly the first really gorgeous day of the year and we weren't the only ones! The Rose Festival was in full swing and folks were lining the streets all over downtown in preparation for the Starlight Parade, which began after dark. Thankfully, it seems that all our walking was against the crowd and we got our of town just before the real craziness began. Seeing the parade would have been fun, but getting a good night's sleep before church was better! We enjoyed such a lovely walk around the city and enjoyed some local Pizzicato Pizza and ice cream sundaes from Burgerville--fresh strawberries are in season, mmmmm......

Believe it or not, I was there, too!

Almost summer!

I'm very sad that not only is the school year over for PODER, the family literacy program where I've been teaching English to adults for the past two years, but the program is ending due to a lack of funding. I have had such a wonderful time getting to know the women in my class and have been inspired by their commitment to learn and to grow as people and as parents. Here are some of my students with poems they wrote after reading the book, The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald. I will definitely be keeping in touch with some of these amazing women who have become dear friends.

Reyna, Clara, me, Maria, Lucia, Selene:

Eric fixing up his bike in front of the four freezers in our garage. Never thought I'd have freezers full of meat, but having a food pantry changes things :)

Walking on a rainy evening through the beautiful, historic Irvington neighborhood of Portland.

The houses were just gorgeous, the streets tree-lined and many of the yards full of native plants.

After a beautiful sunny day today, the clouds returned and the rain will likely stay for a couple more days. I'm ready for summery weather, but boy is the grass green!

Overheard at Quatama Elementary

Just a few of the recent moments that remind me why I love working with kiddos:

Teacher: "I'm thinking of an animal with a long tail that likes to swing from tree to tree."

1st grader: "A pony!"

Teacher: "I'm thinking of an animal that is long and green, has big teeth and lives in rivers or swamps."

1st grader: "A rooster!"

Teacher: "The farmer is holding a pitchfork. Do you know what a pitchfork is used for?"

Kinder kid: "They're gonna eat some really big pitches!"

After being shown a picture of a potato, a kinder kid: "I love kopatos!!!"

2nd grade boy looked at me and demanded: "Why are you always smiling???"

Me: "Because I'm happy." I smiled.

Boy: "See--just like that!"