Dear Kyle,
I am writing this to you because all the other cousins are here in Portland!
Your cousin David and his daughter Liza flew up from Salinas. The first morning after they arrived, Auntie Bridgett and I took Liza down to Slappycakes on Belmont. It is a fun place where you get to make your own pancakes, with different flavors and colors of batter. You can add toppings and syrups, too, but the fun is in the making.
We got there just after Slappycakes opened, so we didn’t have to wait for a table, and we got to relax and play with our food. We all got very creative. Liza made a heart and happy face. She also added a wing into the unicorn I made her to create an Alicorn, which is her favorite animal.
We made spirals, circles, and even a My Little Pancake, which we thought would be a good cartoon series, about pancake ponies that go on adventures…and then get eaten.
On the walk home we passed some beautiful gardens in people’s yards, and got to tell the people how much we enjoyed them. Portland in summer is a beautiful place!
We continued towards home, stopping at Laurelhurst Park to play on the swings. Liza is only six and can pump herself really high! We also found the Catsura tree, Portland Heritage Tree number 160, which has big bumpy roots to walk on. Then we walked through the foresty part of the park.
After some rest and art time with Auntie Bridgett, we all walked to Blackbird pizza for lunch. Liza got to play her first game of pinball. It went by so fast! But she got to hit the ball quite a few times before it escaped down the hole.
Walking home, we stopped at Colonel Summers Park to play in the small splash zone area, where water squirts up and splashes you. You can get as wet as you like, and Liza got VERY wet. I just got splashed a bit. None of the other adults wanted to.
Once we here home, it was time to rest before the next part of the adventure.
Uncle Nelson and I drove across town to fetch Cousins Jasper and Kestrel from Trackers camp, and all the kids got to play. Jasper and Liza both love Minecraft, so they built houses, grew sugar cane, and fought fire zombies. They really hate fire zombies.
Cousin Kestrel prefers to sew, so she found a tiny toy puppy in the basket and made him a warm bed. I loved seeing the cousins all happy and playing.
After we all had hot dogs and fruit for dinner, hide and seek was the game. Kestrel won because she hid in such a tiny place no one could see her. Then Jasper and Kestrel’s dad Dave came to pick them up, and the evening slowed down until it was bed time.
More adventures tomorrow!
Love,
Aunt Judy
Dear Liza 