Free Portland Art museum Admission Tonight! (and other fun Free stuff to do in Portland/Vancouver)

Like so many families right now we're on a tight budget.  So I'm always on the lookout for cheap, or even better - FREE entertainment opportunities.  Especially now that T-ball and the Monkey's ballet class are both over.  Here are a few things that are on our radar for the coming weeks:

Tonight, July 23rd from 5-8 the Portland Art Museum is offering free admission and a bunch of kid-centered art activities. And Old Tyme music.  Who doesn't like Old Tymee music ?? (I'm hoping they sound like George Clooney and the Soggy Bottom Boys from "O, Brother, Where Art Though??" )  Apparently the museum has 4 free family days a year so if you don't make this one there will probably be another.

The Oregon Symphony will be having it's annual free concert in the park, by the way on Thurdsay, Sept. 2nd at Waterfront Park.

Along with many other SAH parents, Mr. Stang has developed a deep adoration for the Vancouver-Clark Parks & Rec "FunWagon".   Some of my fondest summer memories as a kid were when the BookMobile came to our little suburban town (we didn't have a library of our own).  I don't know if you can beat a bus full of BOOKS but I'm told the FunWagon comes pretty close with two hours of free arts, crafts and supervised play activities at ten different neighborhood parks every week.

I love the summertime free concerts at Esther Short Park - especially the "Riverview 6 to Sunset" Thursday night concerts.  Great music for the adults (even a beer tent...) and a great playground and splash fountain for the kids.  Grab your lawn chairs/blanket, pick-a-nick basket (or buy from the excellent food vendors there), the dog and the kids and you're all set to enjoy the oldest public square/park in the Pacific Northwest.

Finally! The Dog Days of Summer

Hi there.  Me again. I'm afraid when summer finally arrived I went a little off my rocker with sun fever and didn't want to spend one second in front of a computer longer than what was necessary for me to retain my job.  And barely that. 

After 3 good weeks of sunny weather, though (and a week in the high 90's when it's preferable to stay INSIDE with the AC) I'm back - at least long enough to rant about the ridiculous amount of freaking MOSQUITOS we have around here this year.  %#&$ record breaking wet spring!!!!!  I cannot begin to articulate my abhorrence to skeeters.  It's primeval.  Some people can't stand snakes, others mice.... the only thing I'm at all marginally phobic about are bugs.  And mosquitos are the worst.  I'm convinced I have some sort of super sweet skeeter-ambrosia flowing through my veins that makes my blood in particular extraordinarily tempting to the buggers.  I'm like the mosquito version of Bella for Edward in Twilight.  The second I go outside I'm attacked en masse, while dear hubby suffers not so much a nibble.

Let's just say this scene from Will Ferrell's remake of "Land Of The Lost" gave me nightmares.  And still does:



My goal this weekend is to do more weeding and spreading of bark dust in the yard, but if I must be eaten alive while doing so I may just let the whole damned place go wild and claim I'm trying native "nature scaping".  Just ignore the buckets of DDT in the corner, will you?

I'm off to Google symptoms of West Nile Virus.  And stock up on Calamine lotion and Cortisone cream.