Sunday at the Orchard

We joined a group from St Andrew's to head out to County Line Orchard, for apple picking and more. Myrna found trouble as we waited for everyone to arrive, and tried hard to steal a staff cart (sadly it was empty, and not full of apple cider).


Then it was off into the orchard on a, as Myrna describes it, "really scary ride" (a tractor) "so scary that we needed to have a service man" (a priest). The big kids all got off for the corn maze, but we headed straight to the orchard to do some exploring. Immediately Myrna was picking apples off the ground to taste, and her parents finally gave into temptation and tasted a few off the trees (I needed to know what a Blushing Gold tasted like before we put some in our bag to buy). We didn't, however, break the rule "no climbing in trees," though we came fairly close, letting Myrna climb up on her dad.


We picked only 3 lbs of apples - 4 Jonagolds and 4 Blushing Gods - which set us back a good $5. Then it was into the Kid's Area for lots of playing in hay.


Chris and Myrna tried the hyped up apple donuts - and later that evening we enjoyed some apple pie (made by the orchard - not me). I think come lunch time, I'll be ready for another apple.

Indiana Dunes

We waited until a misty and cool Sunday to get ourselves to the giant Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan. So, it wasn't a perfect weather day, but we had lots of fun. Myrna was a bit nervous at first

But in no time, she was frolicking in the water and stripped of her clothes (at which point our public sharing of photos stops). I guess it wasn't that cold, but we certainly were not looking forward to having to jump in the water to grab her.

And as an excuse for why we are so behind on the updates; after sitting through endless Myrna accounts, we're just tired:

White Dresses, Cakes, and Dancing Shoes

An added bonus of moving to Indiana was that we were able to attend my cousin Becky's wedding in Peoria, Illinois - something that certainly would've been more difficult had we still been in Sweden.

It had been over ten years since I'd been back to IL, and entirely too long since I'd caught up with all the good folks on my Dad's side of the family. And so, in addition to going to the wedding, we had a great opportunity to spend some time with my grandmother, catch up with aunts and uncles, and sort of meet my cousins all over again as adults. The wedding turned out to be a very thorough family reunion, and Myrna got the full Burkhalter introduction in one quick weekend. This was, in fact, even her first time meeting my grandmother. Here's four generations of the Burkhalters:

Here's Myrna with the adorable Martin girls, inspecting Aaron's camera.



And a nice shot of Aaron and Norah with my grandmother ("G.G.," she's called these days).

Meeting the full Burkhalter clan wasn't Myrna's only first that weekend, either. She pulled her first fire alarm - but let's pass over that story for now. This was also Myrna's first wedding. In the month leading up to Becky's wedding, Kelly helped form impressions of all that a wedding is, and Myrna definitely took in the ceremony and reception with keen interest. Dresses, cakes and dancing seem to be the salient points she walked away with. She talks about these things often and in detail, and also pretends to talk with Becky and her husband Toby on the phone. They are usually invited over for dinner.

As for the dancing, well...



Ben even caught a video on his iPhone:



Myrna was doing this til about 11:00. She even got in a request (Rihanna's "Umbrella," one of her car stereo favorites). A month later, she still dons her pink dress and starts bouncing around the livingroom every time she catches a danceable rhythm. And she was quite irritated to find that, with all the records I have crowding the walls of our new apartment, there's not a copy of "Boogie Shoes" to be found.

The whole weekend was a great time, and we were so happy to be there for the wedding. We took a couple pictures during the weekend, but Aaron's are way better, so I've stolen some of his for this post. Further documentation can be found here.

We've also finally put up a few photos for August, which you can see here. We'll try to catch the blog up as we settle into the new apartment, job, etc., u.s.w.

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.