Master Gardner

My grandfather has a beautiful garden and Myrna is extremely interested in it. She loved helping with the watering, composting, and daily (or more like hourly) she was on a hunt to find the bunny rabbit that calls the garden home. She is very insistent though that the tomatoes are for little girls, not bunny rabbits. If we were lucky, we might get a taste of the cherry tomatoes she would sneak off the vine.

Over our time there, she learned the names of the flowers (much more quickly than I did). In fact for a few days, the word of the day was hydrangea. There really isn't anything cuter than hearing a 2+ year old talk about petunias and hydrangeas with her great-grandfather.

National Railroad Museum

While still in Seattle we stumbled upon my old photo albums. We found a photo of myself at 8 and my sister Christina with the caption "at the train museum in Green Bay." One of Myrna's favorite spots in Stockholm was the Transport Museum, so there was no question that we would be visiting the National Railroad Museum. I guess I don't really remember what it was like 25 years ago, but I'm fairly sure it got a lot bigger and a lot cooler since then. We were fans of the drumhead collection.


There were lots and lots of trains to run around in. Myrna tested out a sleeper car, but only after she stopped to take off her sandals, as shoes are not allowed in beds.


She's still learning how to work the engine, though.


And what trip to a train museum wouldn't be complete without a ticket for a train ride.


This was the first outing just the three of us took in the midwest, and we were thankful that Myrna wasn't too disappointed about the lack of non-parent-company. Keeping in the railroad theme, Chris and I enjoyed a late lunch at Titletown Brewery (housed in an old train station a few miles away) while Myrna slept off her train frolicking. Not quite sure which would be more (un)-comfortable: her stroller or that sleeper car.

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

By Tuesday, July 19, most everyone had headed home, with the exception of Chris and Myrna and me and my mom. The house quieted down a bit and we were so lucky to take a trip to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. We were accompanied by the best guide, my cousin Kristen, who knows the park inside and out and could tell us all about every animal we saw.


We had a great time running around the park, meeting an opossum, giggling at the otters and feeding the ducks shelled corn.

Bay Beach Amusement Park

Before everyone left Green Bay, we did get in a trip to Bay Beach Amusement Park. We were spoiled as the Monday heat kept the crowds away, and Lisa, Nae, Myrna, Chris and I never had to wait for a ride. Of course, Myrna now thinks she can always get her first choice of color of lady bug, or airfighter jet, helicopter, or race car...


And it's always nice to return to an amusement park where the price or rides hasn't changed since I was a kid; Myrna got lots of 25 cent rides.

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandpa

My mom and her 3 siblings (plus their families) descended upon their childhood home to help celebrate their father's 90th Birthday. We were no exception and as I write this we are still sitting in the beautiful sun on the patio in Green Bay. We had a "great big party," as Myrna would say, to mark the day.


We had lots of fun visiting with family that we don't see often, and Myrna not only had Isaac and Nae to keep her busy, but also her second-cousins Kristen, Grace and Nick. Stay tuned for more on our Green Bay adventures (or just check out the July picasa album, as the photos are always more up-to-date than our blog).

Door County

Our first stop on our midwest adventure was Door County, Wisconsin. My grandfather's 90th Birthday brought everyone to Green Bay, but before we celebrated that, my parents arranged a few nights in a "cabin" in Sister Bay. We (my parents, Nae, Christina & Eric & Isaac, and Chris & I & Myrna) relaxed in a large house and explored Door County.


We basically did what you are supposed to do in a vacation town: eat at fun restaurants, golf, make s'mores on a campfire,


watch the World Cup, go boating,


play at the beach, ride bikes, and ride on funny horses.

Fun times indeed without super hot weather (it was only in the low to mid 70s) or mosquitoes.

Belated Update

July has been a busy month for us, juggling family, friends, vacation, and preparations for a move to Indiana. At the beginning of the month, Kelly and I spent a healthy chunk of time working on this project:

Our boxes acquired variously from the Episcopal Bookstore, Zumiez, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board, we found ourselves wishing we'd invested in uniform boxes, or at least spent more time playing Tetris. Myrna, meanwhile, spent some quality time with her Oma, gardening, feeding squirrels, and even visiting the elephants at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.

From

After our boxes and furniture were finally rolling eastward, we still had a weekend left to see people and more or less relax. Among many others, we got to spend an afternoon with Douglas, Kim and Davis, which yielded this adorable photo.

From

And then we were on a plane to Wisconsin. We'll have to save stories of those adventures for another day, but there are already lots of pictures in our July Picasa gallery.