Starlight parade

Liesl had an amazing weekend of fun activities - softball games on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, soccer scrimmage on Sunday, Oaks Park amusement park on Sunday afternoon with Ella and AnaLucia, and on Saturday night, marching in Portland's Starlight Parade.

The parade is part of the annual Rose Festival and winds a few miles through downtown streets, usually at dusk and in the dark (so the floats are all lit up). Ella's mom Sassa works at a nonprofit called Nordic Northwest, and they had a Viking boat float participating in the parade. They asked if Liesl wanted to participate, and she was all in. They got dressed up in borrowed Viking costumes, and then they were on local tv -- we got to watch Liesl spinning and stabbing at the crowd with her wooden sword as she walked the parade route. Amazing.

There was a lot of fake stabbing going on.

Cliff with his daughters Ella and Lotta, and Liesl. They make an awesome Viking quartet.

They took the Max train to the start of the parade, dressed like this.

Liesl and Ella were sword-fighting for the whole parade, with occasional breaks to threaten the onlookers.

Victorious, into the sunset.

Sunday afternoon at Oaks Park. Liesl rode the giant roller coaster pictured behind the girls!!!! She went upside down and around and dropped... she was terrified. But she did it twice, at Ella's urging.

After dropping her off, I took Jasper to the Sellwood riverfront park so he could swim in the Willamette River for an hour. He was so happy - splashing and swimming and fetching sticks and rolling around in the sand. Good times for the young fry.