Monkey King

What better way to celebrate Chinese New Year than with a puppet theater performance of Monkey King. We hadn't been to Tear of Joy since they moved from downtown. I never know where I am once I cross the river. We found it easy enough, and the parking is free. That's always a perk in Portland.

They had puppet making in the lobby before the show, but Bayley and Hayden decided they were a little too old for that. One of the staff noticed them and came over to talk to them about the history of puppets in China. Who knew Communism dictated the puppets be larger so more people could see them? I really appreciated that.


The performance was very artistic, great for the boys but it didn't really hold Grace's attention. She was good though, just cuddled on my lap.

Since we were already over the river, I decided to try something fun for lunch -- food carts! We've seen them on TV, but Jeff's not into getting his food from a truck. But he was home, so we found one we'd been wanting to try - The Grilled Cheese Grill!

They make their fun grilled cheese sandwiches in an Airstream, but there is a double decker bus that you can sit in to eat. The boys went upstairs, where neither of them could stand up, and Grace stayed on the lower deck. We really enjoyed the novelty of it.

Grace had the Elvis -- grilled bananas, peanut butter and bacon. Hayden had the Cheesus -- a burger with grilled cheese sandwiches instead of a bun. Bayley made his own concoction -- All-American Double Decker with Bacon. Did I mention Hayden put bacon on his Cheesus? My kids love them some bacon!