Trip to Whistler to visit with Paul, Anne & Alex

Snowing heavily in Squamish. It made for a very interesting drive to Whistler. Snowflakes as big as dinner plates!!

Shots from Paul and Anne's place.

Boxing Day trip up Island

Hi Clayton and Debra!

Family Christmas get together in Parksville (thanks for hosting it Ron and Corrine). These shots are from the top of the Malahat outside of Victoria heading up Island.

Merry Christmas from Victoria

"I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas......"

Trista got her wish!
Awww, isn't he CUTE!

Karma the red nosed reindeer??

She is not too impressed with her Christmas role.

Early morning sky

Nice morning sky. There is tons of snow on the mountains (Mt.Washington and Whistler / Blackcomb). The malls are busy with the Christmas rush, and both school and work are coming to an end on Friday for the Christmas break.
Here in Victoria we had a great wind storm (again) and lots of rain in the forecast.

Getting closer to Christmas

Couple of random photos from my office. Just to show that the weather is nice during December, not just rain.

Oh Snow!

Our first snowfall of the season

Today we are only expecting about 2 cm

We are threatened with 10 cm or more overnight

And then back to rain and a high of 13 degree's on Monday

You know you are getting older when......

Your youngest child gets his learners license and is now allowed to drive.
Congratulations Clayton.

Current pictures of Whistler Blackcomb - for Paul

Looking at Blackcomb from Whistler

Looking at Whistler from Blackcomb

Red Chair on Whistler

Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain

Dolls

Mom R has made over 750 of these dolls for underprivileged children throughout the world. Each doll is hand knit and no two are alike. These 75 little dolls will be held and loved by children in Ecuador.

Wild weekend weather

This tree took out the power to Deep Bay and blocked the only road in and out. We were on the wrong side of the log to get out.

The tree was cut in half to allow traffic to pass around Noon.

The entire South Coast (Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island) got hit by this first major storm of the season. It started up island early Sunday morning and got worse throughout the night. The power went out around 10 pm and came on for a few hours in the middle of the night. When we woke, the power was out again and when we left at 1 pm it still hadn't come back on.

Ordinary game, great atmosphere, got to see Beckham play.

This was taken from my camera phone. The stands were full when the game began. An announced crowd of over 48,000. Beckham played well, but did not have the opportunity to unleash one of his patented curling free kicks. The game had its moments with the Whitecaps awarded a penalty (shot right at the keeper) and a streaker in the second half. All in all a fun night out. I will post other pictures or video if I get them.

LA Galaxy v Vancouver Whitecaps

The high cost of ferry travel to the mainland means that trips are infrequent and it is usually a large event that brings you over. This one qualifies.
Clayton and I are going over for the match with some of our soccer team. It is being played in BC Place Stadium (45,000 tickets sold to date). The game gets underway at 7 pm, and BC Ferries has added an 11:30 pm sailing back to Victoria to accommodate island fans. (the last ferry is usually at 9 pm) It should be a fun event as David Beckham is one of the best in the world and always plays to win. Beckham was #7 for club and country with Manchester United and England. Clayton has worn #7 since as long as he can remember.
Question is, who to cheer for? The local club, or the soccer icon?

What a creation........

We had about a week of very nice weather here in Victoria. Last week we hit 20 degrees which broke a 40 year old record for the daily high. Cold crisp nights, even scraping the frost off of the cars in the morning. Yowzers! Back to the mild rainy weather today. Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour this weekend. Winter is coming fast.

On another note, I received a very pleasant call a few weeks back from a high school classmate I had not spoken to since 1978 (thanks Cathy). Our class is having a 30 year reunion next summer in Ontario. I have had the opportunity through email to connect with a number of old friends and even get some updated pictures of their families. Thanks for the notes and pictures Ken, Sharon, Mary, Cathy, Richard, Sylvia, Marg, Mike, Ethan, Wills and Lorraine. Of course I can't forget Henry, Maurice and Anthony. I may even post some pictures from our old yearbooks if I find the time. Ciao for now.

Japanese Maple

These blah, blah, blah, bladie blah blah......we have one in our yard.
This one is from M&D R's place (photo courtesy of Mom R)

Fall is here!

Not exactly the brilliant fall colours of Eastern Canada (and other parts), but it still is pretty. Loads of rain and wind lately. Speaking with my Dad on his birthday (Oct 18), he mentioned that Ontario is still enjoying warm fall weather. Unfortunately for us on the West Coast, summer ended and there has been nary a respite heading into winter. There is already snow on Whistler mountain.

From our family to yours

Happy Thanksgiving

Red sky in the morning.......

There is a wind warning for Vancouver Island and Victoria.

Mom and Dad

We hope that the rest of your West Coast visit goes marvelous!
With love, Ray Debra Rueben Trista and Clayton

Clayton & Pake

After a 5-1 thumping of Gordon Head by Clayton's Gorge FC team.

Looks good on you Dad!

Our pets enjoying the early morning

Mom and Dad B are on the island visiting us. They have been at Rob (my brother) & Delores' place in Alberta (Edmonton area) where they (R&D) are building a log home - pretty impressive. They have spent a few days at Nancy (my sister) and Fred's in Langley and will be back there on Monday night. At least the weather here in Victoria will be nice for their stay.

Weekend stuff

No pictures as I forgot where I put the camera. Debra and I went out to some garage sales on Saturday morning and got a bit more work done around the house. There still are a number of things that need to be finished before the rainy weather comes round.
Sunday morning was an early morning bike ride (as usual). Part of the downtown core was being cordoned off for a bicycle race later in the morning. The rain held off which was nice.
Clayton's team won their soccer game in light rain. That's all for now.

Happy Birthday MO!

Happy birthday buddy. My friend of many years from high school, through college, my best man at our wedding, a biking buddy, a good friend. Wishing you a great birthday.

Beautiful weather for the weekend

Gordon and I went for a ride around the Highlands and Finlayson Arm. We took Willis Point road and ended up at Tod Inlet. So many places I have never been to before. And this is after living in Victoria since 1994. Thanks Gordon!

What is a ride without a coffee?

Inner Harbour Victoria

Labour Day weekend. Wow, the un-official two months of summer (July and August) are over. Compared to last years weather, this summer has had a little bit of everything. It was nice to walk down to the harbour and take in the Classic Boat festival. Also on was the Blues Bash with live bands playing right beside the harbour. The rain held off today but it was still on the cool side.
On the home front, Trista starts Camosun College part time on Wednesday. She is taking a couple of Anthropology classes and an English course. She continues to work at the Poetry Institute part time. Clayton goes back to school (Pacific Christian) on Tuesday starting Grade 11. My new job continues to challenge me with new things to learn, but it is all good.