Kokanee Cafe is open for lunch as of June 1!

The Kokanee Café is a rustic restaurant nestled amongst the ponderosa pines in the enchanting forest surrounding the Metolius River. They have been serving fine Northwest Cuisine for over two decades, and  now offer a full bar to compliment their menu and eclectic wine list.

Returning for his sixth year at the Kokanee Café, award-winning chef Roscoe Roberson has artfully created a menu that stays true to the Northwest Tradition of quality locally-grown and raised meats, fish and produce with a unique, artistic flair.

Whether you are celebrating one of life’s special occasions, or just looking for a spot to enjoy an exceptional meal while taking in the beauty of the Metolius River Basin, the Kokanee Café is the perfect spot!

Adventures in Parenting - on Vacation. By Kimberly Teichrow

Sometimes you get lucky in Vegas. Sometimes, not so much. I suppose it’s all about the odds.

We have been vacationing in Vegas for 6 years now – and yes, we take the kids. Neither my husband nor myself gamble, but we all really enjoy the city. It’s typically our one true vacation, where we lounge by the pool, take in a few fun sights, and enjoy the wonderful food that Vegas has to offer. Most of our other vacations take a certain amount of energy and this one – well, we work really hard at relaxing.

Our boys look forward to Vegas every year – mostly for our traditions. We always get Gelato at the Venetian in honor of my husband’s and my trip to Europe before we had kids (although Max likes to claim he was there – at 9 whole weeks in my belly). We always visit Circus Circus and win way too many (but way much-loved) stuffed animals. We love buffets, and full days at the pool at our timeshare, M&M World, and one big show each year. I’m sure you can understand the draw, and how much the boys anticipate the trip.

 Needless to say, my oldest son was completely distraught when, upon landing at McCarran Airport in Vegas, he proceeded to get completely sick in the men’s bathroom. I wish there was some way of tracking down the poor soul who had to clean it up. The rest of the evening was, and I’ve given him permission to say it without reservation since it truly was, hell. Poor kiddo – up all night. Clearly not food poisoning, I crossed my fingers that the bug would stop with him. He was a trooper and managed a dip in the pool the following evening, but we were down one day of relaxation and fun.

We rallied the troops once Max felt better and knocked off a few of our traditions, including a full day at the pool, and even a trip to the Hoover Dam, where once we were down in the “belly” of the Dam, the elevators malfunctioned and we “evacuated” out through areas where the public rarely visits. Which was, in a word, cool!

By Tuesday evening, we were feeling great and looking forward to the rest of the week when, alas, poor Dave was bug-struck. Poor hubby. Up all night. One more day out of commission. Dave was a trooper, though, and joined us for a bit at the pool the following day.

A day later, just when we were all ready to press forward and visit the much-anticipated (well, by the Mom-tographer at least) Valley of Fire State Park, followed by our big show, the Jabbowockeez the next day. I get bug-struck. Poor me. Up all night.

Really? Three of us? On our favorite (and not exactly cheap) vacation? I guess the odds were not in our favor this time.

The boys took it all in relative stride – and while we did have to take it a bit slower than normal, we did manage to have a whole lot of fun. Maybe not as many gut-busting meals, but is that such a bad thing? We managed to cover a good portion of our traditions – we ARE hauling back to Bend a fresh crop of well-loved Circus-Circus stowaways. I did manage to get myself out of bed, slowly, and make it to the Jabbowockeez show at the Monte Carlo – which was, by the way, amazing.

 

I’m considering this vacation an offering to the Gods (we’re Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series fans) – and will hope that the next few years of vacations will be full of health & wellness!

I mean really, the odds are in our favor, right?

Kimberly Teichrow, staff photographer for True North Parenting, lives in Bend, Oregon with her family. They love to take adventures, and Kimberly loves to capture them through her lens. You can see more photos, and read more about their travel adventures at Wildfire - Kimberly's new travel & photo blog.

Peter & the Wolf Ballet at the Tower Theater Friday June 17th!

Characters from Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" will be represented by an orchestra instrument and danced by students from the Academie de Ballet Classique.


You will be delighted by this musical story by Sergei Prokofiev and adapted to dance. Each character is represented by an orchestra instrument and danced by Students of Valerie Holgers’ Academie de Ballet Classique. The dancers present the story of a young boy, his animal friends; Duck, Bird and Cat, a worried grandfather and a menacing wolf. Set in Russia, the story comes alive with dance and the rich musical composition of Sergei Prokofiev.

Tickets: Reserved Seating $11.50, Children 5 and under are FREE with a paid Adult, Day of Show $13.50

KITS FOR KIDS HOLDS PIZZA NIGHT FUNDRAISER FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN JUNE 21, 2011

Kits For Kids will hold a fundraiser June 21 5-8pm at Abby’s Pizza on NE 3rd St in Bend. Abby’s Pizza will donate 20% of the night’s proceeds to help purchase hygiene products for some-900 homeless children in the Bend LaPine, Sisters and Redmond school districts.


The Kits For Kids group annually sews bags, fills them with everyday hygiene items and donates them to the Family Access Network (F.A.N.) who distributes them through local schools.

For more information about needed supplies or how to help contact project chairwoman Helen Smith at 541 382-8502 or hsmith@bendcable.com

Sweet Peas & Cascade Couriers Make Cloth Diapers a No Brainer!

Weighing the options of disposable versus cloth diapers for your baby? Sweet Peas Diaper Service makes the decision simple: Clean cloth diapers dropped off at your door, dirty diapers picked up by the bicycling eco-warriors at Cascade Couriers. Done. Contact them today!

If you're not sure about the effect of disposable diapers on our planet, here's a little information via Wikipedia:

An average child will go through several thousand diapers in his/her life. Since disposable diapers are discarded after a single use, usage of disposable diapers increases the burden on landfill sites, and increased environmental awareness has led to a growth in campaigns for parents to use reusable alternatives such as cloth or hybrid diapers. An estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used each year in the US, resulting in a possible 3.4 million tons of used diapers adding to landfills each year.


The environmental impact of cloth as compared to disposable diapers has been studied several times. In one cradle-to-grave study sponsored by the National Association of Diaper Services (NADS) and conducted by Carl Lehrburger and colleagues, results found that disposable diapers produce seven times more solid waste when discarded and three times more waste in the manufacturing process. In addition, effluents from the plastic, pulp, and paper industries are far more hazardous than those from the cotton-growing and -manufacturing processes. Single-use diapers consume less water than reusables laundered at home, but more than those sent to a commercial diaper service. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days, which is roughly equivalent to flushing the toilet 15 times a day, unless the user has a high-efficiency washing machine. An average diaper service puts its diapers through an average of 13 water changes, but uses less water and energy per diaper than one laundry load at home.