Donivee's Drift: January 2014

December 14 on the road again, foggy Malahat on the way to Victoria

Victoria's Inner Harbor, reflections even on a cloudy day

Christmas has arrived in Victoria.

Here comes Santa Claus

Buck and the Empress

Yours truly

After a delicious lunch we are off to Port Angeles on the Black Ball Ferry. We probably should get frequent sailing miles.

Good spot for a coffee/tea/bathroom break on the Hood Canal

Photo into the sun with good results

Fog again, this time on the 101 along the Hood Canal. That fog bank looks a bit formidable.

Quick stop in Portland -Thad puts Marnie's butterfly on the top of the tree

Jackie and his grandfathers

Jackie has inherited Thad's love of tinsel.

There he is ready to toss it on to the tree!

Dec. 17 on the way to Knoxville. Hello Mt. Hood.

Knoxville sunset and highway

Kali in the kindergarten holiday program. She was the star, of course

Kali did a wonderful presentation about Canada. She knew her material well and made her grandparents (and mother) proud.

In her Santa hat

Afterwards she did a reenactment of the program at home.

With her good friend Hazel

Four cute kids, Christmas Eve, Lulu, Hazel, Kali and Ollie

Lulu and Kali all dressed up..wow!

Buck and Ollie playing the guitar

Rick and Ollie playing

Getting the snack ready for Santa and his reindeer

Sprinkling reindeer food..oatmeal and glitter

The next morning...Look the snack has been eaten

Brooke is watching for Santa and the neighborhood dogs

The stockings are full

Helping Brooke open her present

Singing into the karaoke machine Aunty Shiya (Katharine) gave her

Reading a story to Dad

Dec. 26 on the way to Portland

De-icing the planes in Knoxville..go figure!

Airport Children's Museum - Chicago

Frozen America

Kiss from row 17

Hello again Mt. Hood. Portland here we come.

Celebrating Second Christmas in Portland

Modeling her new hat - from Linda and Larry

Checking out Jackie's present

What is in Kali's pakage?

Gift from Sara and Rick - memories of 3290 to hang in Quadra

Then a dancer party broke out - they do that you know.

Busting out the moves!

Sporting their new hats and ready to go to Linda and Larry's for brunch

Serious about decorating a gingerbread person

Carefully squeezing out the frosting

Adding sprinkles....still serious work

Working hard

Guess where the frosting is going?

Kali's final result

Meanwhile at the table...

Cooking with Thad

Thad's new guitar...Buck giving him pointers

Playdough sundae making - a huge hit for all ages

Yum?

Kids love it,

Grownups love it

Off to Cannon Beach with a stop to see the remains of a gigantic tree. Fog in Portland, sunshine on the coast

Girl in pink

Cannon Beach from Ecola Park..breath taking

From The Internet:

Tillamook Rock Light is situated on less than acre of basalt rock in the Pacific Ocean. Construction of the lighthouse began in 1880 and took more than 500 days to finish. The Light was lit on January 21, 1881. At the time, it was the most expensive West Coast lighthouse ever built. Due to the erratic weather conditions, and the dangerous commute for both keepers and suppliers, the lighthouse was nicknamed "Terrible Tilly". Over the years, storms have damaged the lighthouse, shattered the lens, and eroded the rock. It was decommissioned in 1957, and has since been sold to private owners.

I hope Jackie never out grows that hat.

Kali and Sara

Lovely

More lovely - an inspiration for a painting?

A Captain sized Bloody Mary

Beach, bare feet, December..cold?

Come on, let's run

Love the reflections and silhouettes

How deep is it?

Both kids took their shoes off and didn't mind the cold

Another neat reflection

Haystack Rock

Can't resist the reflections

Cannon Beach looking back towards Ecola Park. The lighthouse is on the left at the very edge of the photo

Look what Deedo caught in the sand

Big Game hunter!

Little dancer on the sand

Now Deedo has caught two

Bundled back up and ready to go. The end of a fabulous, beautiful day

Three techies

Tub full. They probably won't like this photo when they are teens

What is Unkie (aka Deedo) up to now?

Being funny, funny, funny

As usual...

Cute little nerd

After attending the play Peter Pan Kali and Jackie decided to act it out. Here they are flying

Captain Banana Hook!

Peter protects Wendy

A thank you kiss from Wendy

Wait a minute, says Wendy. That's not how to kiss. Make your lips like this.

Peter's lips are properly pursed

The kiss.. Wow..Wendy!

Peter Pan is still bemused as the fans take photos and ask for autographs


These fans get their photos taken with the stars. (After the hilarious performance there wasn't a dry pair of pants in the house or ribs that didn't ache either.)

Wine training 101 - Madam your bottle of wine

Sir, would you care to sniff the cork?

And then there was a trip to the zoo

Cougar..good for us to see what they look like, there have been sightings of them in our neighborhood. Certainly hope I don't see one unless I'm indoors and it is out.

Captain drives the stroller.

As mentioned, I love reflections

Kali rides a lion

At the park on a sunny afternoon - sun was pretty rare this time we were in Portland

Who needs sunshine with that smile around?

Two sweeties in the sunshine...

New Years Eve! All dressed up for sushi dinner at Wassabi

After dinner - let the wild ruckus begin

Popping poppers is a bit daunting

But dancing isn't

Everybody dance

Celebration - it is midnight! (Actually 7:30 pm-feels like midnight)

Cheers and Happy New Year and to bed! Welcome 2014

Jan. 3 - sunrise in Port Angeles, WA

Washington State, US and Canadian flags

Black Ball Ferry and the new Garmin we got for Christmas from the kids

With passport and our invitation to be Landed Immigrants (AKA Permanent Residents) of Canada in hand we approached customs/immigration in Victoria. We were warmly welcomed and emerged from the immigration office half an hour later two happy people - at last we are permanent and landed!