Pearl Plays PDX #4 - PDX Lil' Kickers

Pearl spent her Fridays for the last few months doing Lil' Kickers soccer classes at Portland Indoor.  We wanted to get her into something active that might also help with her listening skills.  These classes far exceeded our expectations.

We signed her up for the Bunnies league which is for kids 18-36 months and includes parent participation.  I was nervous because I knew there would be weeks where I wouldn't have Jeremy or one of Pearl's grandparents to help me out.  I had no reason to be concerned though because I could easily manage the parent participation stuff with Axel in the Ergo.  He actually loved it too.

The class is exactly the same every week which is great for kids Pearl's age.  She got to a point where she knew what to expect and would get excited for her favorite activities when it was time for them.  Having that structure helped the classes run smoothly.  The classes flowed extremely well for being full of unpredictable toddlers.

There were times where Pearl would start to pout or throw a fit and the coaches always seemed to tune into that.  They clearly had experience with kids in her age group.  Whenever a child needed the extra attention, someone would come over and give them one-on-one time.  There were definitely times when Pearl did not want to listen to me, but one of the coaches managed to get her back on track.

The classes did help with her listening skills as well as her coordination.  She also had a great time.  Pearl's favorite part of class was probably parachute time, but she also loved red light - green light, and doing power headers with the "squishy balls."

I don't have a single negative thing to write about the experience.  They even have a parking garage.  If you are considering signing your toddler up for some type of developmental class, I highly recommend PDX Lil' Kickers.

-Kira

Portland Timbers Ad Campaign

 I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I want to be.  The Portland Timbers will soon be playing their first season as an MLS franchise, and they are ramping up their advertising.  I think it's one of the coolest ad campaigns I have seen in some time.

Their billboards feature local Timbers fans holding saws, axes, and chainsaws while wearing their game faces.  To me, it looks like a very "Portland" campaign, and I think it even resonates with those of us who have never been to a Timbers game.  The fans look like fun people so I have a hunch the games are pretty fun, too.  The Timbers website has a post about the campaign as well as profiles on some of their fans turned models here.

You can view the rest of the photos on Lisa's Flickr page.  She was nice enough to let me share a few with you.  If you are interested on where they are placed around the city she has the location called out with each photo.

Jeremy and I are going to check out a few games this coming season. I'm excited!
-Kira