"Button down the hatchers!"===girls vs. Freddy in Astoria

While in Astoria, we tried to get the girls to really linger in the Maritime Museum (not just the gift shop), and to go on a scenic walk, but had limited success. The one thing that they were quite enthusiastic about,and which they played on for (cold) hours each day was a 1970s fishing boat set up for display, halfway out on the pier. It was named something else, but the girls declared it was named "Freddy," and then the captain and the mate went right to sea:

Here at the back they did a lot of eating of sandwiches and crab meat.

You might see what look like legs on top of Freddy's cabin in the picture below:

True dat.

Lots of shouting, lots of orders, lots of scanning the horizon from the Cap'n.  BUTTON DOWN THE HATCHERS!

The mate wanted to get the nets in.

Down here is where the fishermen stored the fish; the girls got in there and Ida swore Miki to obey the rules of the ocean.  Or something.  It was a ceremony, I just couldn't hear very well.

Freddy!

Welcome to Miki's World

Ella Vining, the birthday, part I

So, yes, have fallen a little behind. Much going on, and it'll only grow more hectic. But last week we spent a few days celebrating the hallowed birth of this celebrated woman!

She had a dream to go to Astoria, and (as usual) helped us realize it… first stop, the magnificent Astoria column!

Many bystanders huffed and puffed; Ida and Miki scaled it not once, but twice.

We also hunted around and found a slew of balsa airplanes.  Ida threw the furthest one I saw, way over the road and the treetops…

Again, the column.  A testament to Ella's birthday.

Ella herself.  She rented us this really fancy "Pilot House" at the Cannery Pier Hotel; we had a suite atop the hotel, at the end of the pier, where we could watch everything happening on the mighty Columbia.

Ella does not like that she is often pictured in this blog, while I almost never am.  This is simply the way I think most people like it.

What was coming?

Magnificent!

traveling and all

Lots of airport time on that trip.

Thanks, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Guilford!

People on the eastern coast were really hyping a storm, but we didn't care. We raced up to Connecticut, and what did we find? Hockey players:

Bro has built a whole ice rink next to his fancy house!

That's him.  Unnamed.  Related to Ella.  Got up in the middle of the night to shovel his rink.  REad a book about skating rinks.  Kept checking out the window.

We went out to a nice diner… I was sitting next to my two nieces and Ida , so they're not easy to see.

Giant cookies they had there.

Also, Casey the dog!  Excellent.  Took a lot of abuse, as you might suspect…

Cousin debriefed Miki about Star Wars.

Plenty of rough-housing.  Little nieces stayed clear of these banshees!

Also missed the incredibly cold yet successful sledding expedition.

Thanks, dudes!

Even if you're a little rough, DKV.

Haddons

Had a fantastic time in Haddonsfield! Thanks, Mr. Vining and G-Toko! Ida and Grandpa Vining spend a lot of tender time together. One morning they spent hours drawing and playing various games on the iPad. Also watching Bugs Bunny--I think he explained Elmer Fudd to her.

Yes, Miki is proud that she built the train track to look exactly like the box.  Creativity!

Ella was looking phenomenal and was, as they say in THE GARDEN THIEF, was cool as a cucumber.

Various playgrounds were investigated.

This looks like a shot from a very poignant movie:

It was cold, though not the Polar Vortex I'm heading off toward tomorrow.

These two also relived the 2013 Calendar, just as we took that old year down.  Onward.

Travel

Couldn't catch you all up on our travels this past week because I did not want to Alert Criminals that we were not at home. But we were away. Had to fly in (many tormented delayed) planes:

Thanks Bugs Bunny, Thanks Tom & Jerry, Thanks Elmer Fudd.

First thing I did in Haddonfield was break Arthur's three day old World Record for the mile while riding Mr. Vining's recumbent stationary bicycle.  Didn't break a sweat.

Ella and the girls lit up the electric floor at the Franklin Institute!

Ella's pants made the whole city of Philly happy.

Maggie got sick on the plane and was Furious that I broke Arthur's record.

This is the cover of next year's Vining Calendar.