Portland Art Museum

The Averys all left this morning, and we were sad. It was the best visit. The cousins were simply magic together; Christmas was festive and special; I reconnected and had some great conversations with my brother and sister-in-law; the adults each got some independent time to run and climb and shop; the kitchen hummed along smoothly; the local grocery store grew rich; games were played indoor and out; we adventured to Mt. Hood... You couldn't ask for more.

We assuaged our sorrows today with some croissants and cookies from Pearl Bakery, homemade hot chocolate and popcorn, and some movies. We also took in the special exhibit at the Portland Art Museum - landscape masterpieces spanning a few centuries. We managed to keep the kids entertained and engaged by playing games in each gallery - pick your favorite painting, guess each other's favorite one, investigate how old each artwork was, find x object on a painting in this room, etc. We stayed for about 75 minutes, which was pretty much the limit. Still, it felt more fun and interactive than last time, and I've got some tools to build on for our next visit.

In the afternoon, Sebastian and Liesl were super eager to show off their newfound skating talents to daddy, and so we made our second visit to the ice rink. Both children did great - they were much more confident and able to move without wobbling - although at the end they both fell and hurt their wrists and tailbones respectively, and we came home.

Cooking dinner for only four people was absurdly easy, although my elves have disappeared and the dishes await me...