Bringing in the new year

We headed over to mom and dad's place a few days after Xmas. Our trip over was a bit more adventurous than we wanted--no accidents or anything exciting, but we (meaning Conrad) drove 9/10ths of the way on snow/ice. It was slow going...and it's a wiiiiide, lonely state when you're doing 40 mph. Luckily we brought Daniel along and he kept us entertained.

Anyway we hung out at the home ranch, hit our fave Sunday brunch spot (Studio One--yummmm), played an afternoon's worth of Rook with Michael S. Lovely, lovely. Monday we hit Trader Joe's and Cafe Yum and Tuesday we headed for the coast (which is when I remembered that people do things with cameras other than carry them around in their purses). It was wet and windy over there--not too surprising.

We ate at another fave, Kyllo's, our first night there. (And if you're thinking that all we do is eat out, that'd be about right. I have several must-stops in OR, including at least one drive-through latte a day. I do not do this at home; it's a vacation thing.)

Then we *attempted* a beer-cheese fondue on New Year's Eve. We'd watched one made once but hadn't tried it ourselves. Needless to say I didn't quite hit it right but Daniel and Conrad got some cornstarch and saved the day. We'll have to try again next year...I only need cheese fondue once a year anyway!
Some folks lit fireworks on the beach right out that window behind Daniel, so on New Year's Eve we actually made it to midnight and watched the show with the waves behind. We had peach champagne and thought of the first time we enjoyed it years and years ago in Switzerland.
On Thursday we packed up and then had lunch at Kyllo's again before heading down the coast for the Newport Aquarium. I'd never been, and it was really a nice spot. My pictures don't do it justice as I was trying not to use the flash. So most of them are dark or blurry:


Most of the aquarium is indoors, but the seals and otters and other creatures are outdoors. It was pouring sheets of rain, but the kids must've inherited web-footedness from their mom as they insisted on traipsing to every single exhibit. We talked them out of the park, though.


And then we came home, cozy and dry, and visited other creatures. On Friday Con and I ditched the kids with grandma and Daniel (who had to go back into town) and headed for Portland. Con needed some trim at Ikea--we escaped with only one bag's worth of stuff, a new record of constraint for us. We then hit Penzey's -- so fun to see it in person, but now I'm happy to just buy through their catalog. If you haven't had Penzey's spices, give them a whirl. The prices are great and the stuff is great too! And then we were off to the Hanna Andersson outlet (50% off clearance--sweet!) and Columbia (new snow gear for both of us. Once every fifteen years is about right, right?) and then a few more stops on the way home. We made it to Dim and Jana's for dinner and it was great to see their new house all spiffied up!

Saturday was an extra-early start; we made it to Bend for a 9:00 breakfast with Callie. Then we were on our way home, on dry roads--what a relief. We came home, unloaded, and started the ol' washing machine up. And now it's back to school and work -- and we're rested and ready (and several pounds heavier!)