PORTLAND PARKS SUMMER CONCERTS

For the past three weeks every Thursday night we have been taking the girls on an evening stroll after dinner to the park to listen to free music. Not only is there music (do we have to mention again how embarassed we are at the riches of Portland Parks?) but each week there has been a craft table for the kiddies to make a little bobble. The summer nights are long, the days are hot, the shows start at a family friendly 6:30. At locations all over the city, go while you still have the chance.

Good Sam's Lovejoy Station

It is hard to sell this without sounding weird, but there is no other way of selling it. The best family dinner deal in all of NW is at the cafeteria at the Good Samaritan hospital. We heard about it from some other blog post for cheap eats in NW, so we gave it a shot, and, indeed, it is.

If you enter through the garden off of 22nd ave., then you can deny the hospital-ity of the place, and, once inside, you're in a standard issue cafeteria with delicious grub at great prices. They have daily specials (the last one was prime rib with mashed potatoes and roasted corn and peppers, mmmm) as well as a stir fry station (my personal recommendation, where they make a stir fry from scratch) pizza bar, salad bar, mexi-station and burgers, fries and the like. And no one is ever there (well, not many) and there's space to roam and run (within reason, of course) while munching the tasty treats. Add on frozen yogurt for 30 cents an ounce, you've got the deal of the century. Or at least the neighborhood, for sure. Our last dinner bill, two full entrees, which included the aforementioned prime rib, really delicious chicken enchaladas, spaghetti for ruth and dessert for four totalled less than $17. (desert and milk and lemonade included).

Which, you know, is something, when you're eating out 5 nights a week because it's too freaking hot to boil water in the kitchen. We have even had full dinners for less than $10, if you just opt for the veggies and rice for three bucks.

SAUVIE ISLAND BERRIES

We have been out berry picking several times this summer, and each time we are always glad we made the trip. This weekend we gathered the last of the rasberries at Pumpkin Patch, our default farm for their friendly faces, excellent prices and homemade cobbler that is a steal at $3.50 (ice cream included). An organic farm (or, orgainc practices, rather) is right next door where you can stock up on blueberries, but for those with little ones, Pumpkin Patch has the ammenities you really need --bathrooms, snacks, gazebo, pigs goats and chickens. To be fair, Kruger's produced the most amazing strawberries earlier in the season and they sponsor concerts each Thursday all summer long for the low price of $5 a car. Wherever you go, go to Sauvie Island and enjoy the summer.

OAKS AMUSEMENT PARK

Every Tuesday and Wednesday all summer, Oaks Park hosts Preschool hours that invite your toddlers to come and enjoy all the kiddie rides they can stand, plus storytime and milk and cookies, for $5.50 a kid. We have gone several times and love it. For those who want to go on the "big" rides, (OK, so this throw back Americana park which thrills us with its genuine real-time retro groove is not really good for kids over 14) they have two for Tuesday deals that last until school starts. Located in Sellwood, you have to check this place out.

FIRST THURSDAYS IN THE PEARL

It's hot. It's really really hot. To escape the two hours between dinner and bath time that has been finding us arguing and cranky (after which falls the hour and a half of sweaty sleepless babies, which makes us even crankier) we have been packing picnics and taking the girls to nearby parks for dinner al fresco followed by walks through the neighborhood. Everybody cools off, enjoys the outdoors while the sun is more forgiving, and nobody fights. This strategy worked for first Thursday as well. After having our ham sandwiches and melon at Jamison Beach, where the kids enjoyed an evening splash, we walked home and stopped at the open galleries on the way to take a gander at what Portland is creating these days. The galleries have snacks and wine, the baby is contained in a stroller and Ruth is now old enough that we can tell her not to touch, and she doesn't. (OK, mostly) Ruth's edict on Portland's art scene: "These are nice decorations."