Picnics ROCK!

Yesterday I went to our work picnic with my friend Kseniya and her three kids. We had a blast! They had a lot to do for the kids and adults. There was never a lack of things to do, see, and eat. The kids were always looking for the next thing to do and they had a great time.

The theme was Hawaiian and the band and dancers were so fun to watch. They were performing on a hill and one of the gals literally slid down the hill as she came out to dance. She didn't miss a beat, made it look really pretty cool, and after that she became my favorite dancer of all!

Pink haired vikings? Oh sorry, that was Flutag. Ignore this.

Carnival games were a big hit. The kids won every time they played. That is the best way to go in a situation like this. Gabe is playing the ring toss game.

And here he is looking cool in his new hat and lei. And a snow cone (perfect due to the VERY hot weather). There's a bit of blue on his face due to the snow cone and some sugar candy. He already had the cool glasses. And he already was cool.

I have decided that Larissa is the ultimate water princess. She loved the giant (and I do mean giant) slip and slide, and at the end of the evening, when it finally cooled down, she did NOT want to get out of the pool. She was having way too much fun sliding down a mini slide into a kiddie pool and catching multiple balls she had put in the pool. Man, don't you wish that was always the most fun a kid could have? Simple things. That's the best.

Look at that smile. This is what you look like right after you slide down a giant (and again, I do mean giant) slip and slide. This is one of my favorite pictures. What a happy kid.

And Jon is sporting his new hat, and he liked the fact it matched his shirt (we decided today was green day). He was my Frisbee buddy, and we had a blast seeing how many times we could catch a Frisbee that thought it was a spaceship. We decided it was a crazy spaceship cause it couldn't have been US that caused the issues with catching that spaceship Frisbee. Darn thing.

Smile for mommy!

There were ponies. Jon and Larissa liked that. I decided to change this picture over to a cartoon effect. I like it! Again, look at that smile. She had so much fun. She reminded me of Cari at that age, having a good time wherever she went, and living for the moment. And lots of activity. And enthusiasm. Life should be filled with that as much as possible, don't ya think?

There were cars to drive. Jon and I couldn't figure the darn thing out, and one of the other boys driving another car very kindly came over and explained it to us. He was a nice kid and he made sure Jon could drive before he went back to his own car. How great was that? Jon then caught on right away and went to town. Well, okay, you know what I mean!

But the old ways always seem to call out to us, and Jon found the wagons just as much fun, if not more. Larissa liked the ride.

Hula hoop contest. Years ago Kseniya beat me in a contest at a holiday party and she just HAD to get out there and try to showcase her talents.

She got a few practice rounds in, tried a few hula hoops out, and found that they were too light a weight to keep up for any length of time. OUCH!

Too bad Kseniya. I'm sure if I had tried I WOULD HAVE WON this time.

Yeah, right.

Big ole honking slip and slid. Very popular. Here my friend Ted and his daughter give it a go. Go Ted Go!

And even though he's a Forest Grove High School football fan, and roots against Tigard (boo!) when we play them, I still really like him. You would too, trust me. I got a chance to talk to his wife, hold his 9 month old son (way too cute), and I have to say, I now like the entire family.

A good time was had by all. Thanks Kseniya for letting me come along and have fun with the kids. They were all good as gold, and reminded me of why we have kids. I look forward to other trips, and maybe Jon and I will figure out the whole 'crazy spaceship' Frisbee thing.

It could happen.