Summerlake Park - Tigard, Oregon

Out friends were in town but we needed something close to show them. We've visited this park several times before but never when it was this cold out. It's still beautiful, but the name Summerlake is funny during the middle of winter.

Dirksen Nature Park - Tigard, Oregon

It's winter break and we are waiting for out of town guests to arrive to celebrate New Year's Eve. We had a desire to check out this newly created play area in Dirksen Nature Park. The City of Tigard did a great job. It is really beautiful and peaceful!

Cinnamon Bear Cruise - Portland, Oregon

I mentioned to the UCP Family Support Director how much fun we had on this cruise last year and within minutes she had contacted the cruise company and arranged a huge group discount. It was, of course, a lot of fun again and we were surrounded by so many families like ours. There were something like 100 people onboard that were families connected to UCP.

Winterhawks at Moda Center - Portland, Oregon

One of the wonderful secretaries at Charles F Tigard Elementary School gave us free tickets to see the Portland Winterhawks. It was our first time seeing a hockey game as a family. We didn't get to hang out with the mascot, but even better... we got to see two of the amazing CFT instructional assistants. They came all the way over from the other side of the rink to say hello. Awesome!

Audubon Society - Portland, Oregon

We were just cruising around in the hills and remembered the Audobon Society just as we were passing it. We turned around and parked to see their visitor center. We didn't stay too long because the trails were not paved. Inside the visitor center/gift store were many displays, including stuffed animals (toys and once living animals).

Milwuakie Riverfront Park - Milwaukie, Oregon

We dropped Kate off at Sibshops, a monthly meeting for children with special needs sibblings. This month the meeting was held at Providence Milwaukie Park Hospital. After a very yummy breakfast at a cozy restaurant, named Gramma's Corner, we walked up and down along the river at what looks like a newly constructed waterfront park.

Happy Halloween! 2018

Overheard Mr. Blasquez (aka Captain Underpants) running down the hall saying he "had to get a picture with Jilly!"

Fido's Taphouse - Tigard, Oregon

Wait! You are probably wondering why a family is going to a tap house. Let me explain. First, Fido's "The World's First Dog Tap House", was created for a purpose. Owner, Scott Porter, is a veteran and dog lover that is passionate about dogs as much as he is about beer. Fido's hosts dog adoptions and supports rescues and non-profits for the benefit of dogs.

On this day, Fido's was donating the day's profits to Canine Companions for Independence, Dundee's Alma Mater. We just had to go. We did so, not expecting to see CCI puppy raisers (and puppies) and learn how and why they generously give so much time and love for dogs that will move on to other things. The puppy raisers told us they really appreciated us being there because they got to see an actual CCI recipient with an actual CCI graduated service dog. 

Durham City Park - Durham, Oregon

Dundee needed some time to run and play since we were at the UCP Conference for a couple of days and he pretty much slept at our feet the entire time. We found an off-leash dog athletic field in a very small town almost enclosed by Tigard. Durham is about 200 acres and contains over 50 parks and trails. There are less than 400 homes. It's tiny but nice.

UCP Family Conference - Portland, Oregon

We attended our first United Cerebral Palsy Family Conference, an annual event that takes place at the Red Lion Jantzen Beach in Portland. This two day event was packed with useful seminars and browsing vendor booths, along with getting to know other families. The Keynote speech, delivered by a dad of a young boy with cerebral palsy, was one of the highlights of this event.

We plan on attending the conference as many times as we can.

The Pearl District - Portland, Oregon

We decided to go exploring in an area of Portland that we don't normally go to. Mommy's office is going to be relocating around here somewhere so we thought we get a little more familiar with it, especially coffee locations.

Vancouver Waterfront Park - Vancouver, Washington

We've been very excited to check out this new 7.3-acre Vancouver Waterfront Park since we first heard about it a few months ago. This community park is part of a 32-acre, high density, mixed use urban development, along the Columbia River. Portions of the park are still under construction, and a water feature is going to be opening in the spring.

The Columbia River Renaissance Trail connects Vancouver Waterfront Park to Wintler Park, which we visited previously during a hot summer day. See July 1, 2017 Wintler Community Park- Vancouver, WA

After our visit to the park we headed to a street market a few blocks away for food, coffee and some live entertainment.

Fanno Creek Trail - Tigard, Oregon

We took a late morning family stroll from our house to the nearby Fanno Creek Trail. The trail connects to Downtown Tigard conveniently close to Max's Fanno Creek Brewpub. So we stopped in for lunch, walked around downtown a bit and then walked home.

Willamette River - Portland, Oregon

With time between appointments we had a picnic lunch and a stroll along the Willamette River near mommy's work.

Magic Wheelchair reveal at Rose City Comic Con - Portland, Oregon

By far, one of the most exciting days ever! So exciting that we came back for seconds the next day! We got hooked up with the best builder from an already great organization, Magic Wheelchair, to build the most epic Despicable Me Grumobile with sound system, lighting and button activated fart gun. We took over Rose City Comic Con. We could hardly get a hundred feet without someone stopping us to take pictures. Each time we stopped we were surrounded by cameras and cell phone cameras. All of the visitors and exhibitors were incredibly nice. Possibly the nicest large group we've ever encountered. Now we are anxious for Halloween so we can sneak this into the classroom!

Canby Ferry & Town Center Park - Wilsonville, Oregon

We had nothing else going on and wanted to get out of the house for a little while. We heard about a ferry that takes cars across the river for $5. It only took a two minutes but it was still nothing we had done before. After that we headed into Wilsonville for lunch at Shari's and played in the fountains in Town Center Park. 

Camping at Battleground Lake - Washington

Some new friends invited us to share their ADA campsite and experience camping for the first time. Not everything went to plan but we had a lot of fun. Yes, we did sleep on the ground inside a tent. Yes, it did rain on us one of the nights. It was still so much fun that we're looking forward to doing it again as soon as we can.

Catalyst Picnic at Willamette Park - Portland, Oregon

Mommy's new firm had their annual picnic at Willamette Park. We got to play some fun games like cornhole and ladder toss. Kate managed to get one of the rubber bolos stuck in a tree. It was fun and we were surrounded by nice people.

Gateway Discovery Park - Portland, Oregon

United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon hosted a barbecue at the grand opening of this park. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of wonderful people from UCP and Shriners Hospitals for Children. We even splashed in the fountains for a little while to cool off.

Lunch on the Willamette River - Portland, Oregon

We decided to have a picnic lunch and a walk at the river.

Wallace Marine Park - Salem, Oregon

After lunch we crossed to the other side of the Willamette River, to Wallace Marine Park. The beach had round rocks instead of sand but we were able to get the boats out into the water. 3 out of the 4 of us had slight sunburn.

Riverfront City Park - Salem, Oregon

After watching kayaks and boats last weekend, we headed out in search of a place to drop our inflatable boats into the water. We drove to Salem. The Riverfront City Park was beautiful but very crowded because there was a festival going on. We rode a carousel and splashed in the water on the splash pad before moving on for a picnic lunch.

Lewis & Clark State Recreational Site - Troutdale, Oregon

We had actually just left Ikea but didn't want to go home quite yet. We decided to drive out to Multnomah Falls. Crap!!! The parking lot was full so they were turning people away. We decided to make the best of it. We spotted a river and exited the freeway to investigate. In no time at all, we were playing on the shore of the Sandy River near where it meets with Columbia River.

Lan Su Chinese Garden - Portland, Oregon

We had a lot of friends from California visiting coincidentally at the same time. We met up as a huge group and took on Portland as tourists together. We started at Lan Su Chinese Garden. After stopping for lunch at Alder Street Food Cart Pod, we hopped on the Max train to go into Washington Park. From the Max station at Oregon Zoo, we hopped on shuttles to get around the park to destinations like the International Rose Test Garden. We stayed out very late into the night at a downstairs lounge area at Embassy Suites. Such an amazing day!!!

Providence Park - Portland, Oregon

Okay, so the staff at Providence Park are starting to recognize us. I think we've seen a few games here. We happened to be at a game during Pride celebration. It was a little rainy at times but still lots of fun!

Woodard Park - Tigard, Oregon

We got out our very old digital video camera, which unexpectedly attaches quite easily to a wheelchair with a mount intended for a food pump on an IV Medicine Pole. Here's a link to the bumpy video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNpkOfhv4lQ

Alberta Park - Portland, Oregon

We went to the park to watch a softball game (Pitch, Please!). Out of town extended family was there. We tagged along afterwords to Great Notion Brewing and then a backyard barbecue (actually, nap time).

Marshall Park - Portland, Oregon

We were attempting to find some wheelchair friendly hiking places. This wasn't exactly wheelchair friendly but we made the best of the bumpy ride. We looked like those videos of Jeeps in the desert doing slow rock crawling. It was worth it for the views we had. And we encountered many small waterfalls.

Father's Day - Portland, Oregon

We started out with a walk along the western shore of the Willamette River at Cottonwood Bay. It got a little hot so we made our way downtown to play in Keller Fountain before having lunch at Veggie Grill.

Oregon Zoo - Portland, Oregon

Charles F Tigard Elementary School - Mrs. Foote's class, took a field trip to Oregon Zoo. They had a full size school bus with a wheelchair lift in the back so the whole class could ride together. No parental chaperone this time!

Providence Park - Portland, Oregon

How could we pass up on free tickets to watch San Jose Earthquakes here in Portland. The Timbers won, but they deserved it. They just played better. Still, it was great to see Chris Wondolowski on the field. One of the highlights from this game was getting to meet Timber Joey.

Jr. Rose Parade - Portland, Oregon

We were given a chance to walk with United Cerebral Palsy in the Junior Rose Parade. After agreeing to go with UCP, we were asked to walk with Shriner's Hospital for Children. We walked with UCP but got to hang out with Shriner's staff before the parade started. This was all in between other appointments today.

Hoover-Minthorn House Museum - Newberg, Oregon

We were on our way to Dundee, Oregon to snap a picture of our Dundee in front of the city sign (which never happened). We found the Hoover–Minthorn House, a museum in Newberg, created from the house of Herbert Hoover, thirty-first President of the United States. Hoover lived there from 1885 to 1891, with his uncle and aunt John and Laura Minthorn. It was closed for the holiday so we weren't able to tour inside. We walked around it and headed to Herbert Hoover Park just across the street.

Westmoreland Park, Portland, Oregon

Kickball, climbing trees like a monkey, and throwing a frisbee for Dundee. It was a short but sweet visit to this nice open park and field.

Jenkins Estate - Beaverton, Oregon

We decided on going outdoor for our annual spring photos this year. We couldn't think of a better place than Jenkins Estate. Even Dundee got in on the fun.

Food Trucks & a View - Portland, Oregon

We had family staying with us for a few days. Although it was a serious trip to Portland for them, we managed to have a lot of fun and laughs while they were here. We all got food at the Alder Street Food Cart Pod and ate on the rooftop patio at Park Avenue West Tower.

Providence Park - Portland, Oregon

Portland Thorns were hosting United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon and Shriner's Hospitals of Portland. We received a UCP scarf with Thorns logo on it. It was a great game even though they didn't win.

Jenkins Estate - Beaverton, Oregon

Once again looking for coffee and we spotted another place to visit. Jenkins Estate is a tranquil country estate with renovated stable & wooded grounds that are open for self-guided tours. The gardens are breathtaking! Our pictures really don't do it any justice.

Fowler Middle School - Tigard, Oregon

Kate had been very eager to show us a hiking trail that runs through her school and connects with Dirksen Nature Park. The wheelchair was sliding around in mud but that didn't stop us from having a good time.

Providence Park - Portland, Oregon

Our first soccer game of the season was Timbers vs New York City FC. Timbers won 3-0. We finally caved and bought some Timbers gear to wear at the games.

Cooper Mountain Nature Park - Beaverton, Oregon

We needed to get out of the house for a little exploring. We kept hearing about Cooper Mountain Nature Park. It is a very nice park with lots of trails running through the 330 acres of land.

End of the Oregon Trail - Oregon City, Oregon

This was another place we just happened to stumble on while wasting time. Kate was in a meeting, called Sibshops, for siblings of special needs kids. We had a couple of hours to kill but it wasn't worth driving all the way home and back again.

End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive and Visitor's Center has costumed guides & interactive exhibits showcasing life in the mid-1800s.

Meet the Timbers at Shriner's Hospitals for Children - Portland, Oregon

We finally timed it right to catch a special event at Shriner's on a day that we were already scheduled for physical therapy. Several players from the Portland Timbers were at the hospital to meet patients and their families. They signed autographs and gave hats and scarves.

Lakeshoe Park - Woodland, Washington

We set out not knowing exactly where we wanted to go. To be honest, we were trying out a temporary feature in Google Maps that allows you to follow Mario, of the Super Mario Bros franchise. We were looking for coffee when we spotted this nice little park. The highlight was using the wheelchair in the skate park. It must have looked weird, cool or both because we drew a large crowd and people began filming us.

Assistive Technology Resource Fair - Portland, Oregon

FactOregon and Shriner's Hospitals For Children hosted a resource fair for Assistive Technology. It was a fun evening with demonstrations and activities from some of our favorite Shriner's therapists.