Whidbey Island 2012

Just got back from 5 days at Dave's place on Whidbey Island. We had lots of fun...Brennan had a blast playing with his Bapa and Uncle Dave and Aunt Traci. Read the captions for more about the trip and the pictures...
There's another 120+ pics to see by clicking on this link!!!

Trip got started with Brennan being pulled by Bapa, who
had a rope around his "motrocycle"

Weather was mostly great...these colors were pretty to look at each day (Dave's neighbor)

Got to ride the Elephant

B got his first "boat ride" and loved it...

Dad's big catch...a gigantic dogfish, or "shark" as we told Brennan

And yes, B got to "drive the boat" and loved it...

Julie and I got a chance to go to Coupeville for a very nice dinner

This can't be legal? This plane was "buzzing" a wedding (reception/party)
that was going on at a house on the beach

B's first fishing ever...caught a bull-head

Last night had a gorgeous sunset

Old Window Project

Hey there world! My incredible wife just finished this project. The inspiration came from her sister who just moved onto 20+ acres. They found this old window on the property so Julie decided to turn it into something as a gift for her sister. Here's how she did it...

[Julie]: This window was found in one of the old barns. It was in pretty ratty shape. It had to be cleaned, scrubbed, and the 100-year old caulking chipped off. I had to clean the glass multiple times. For the reconstruct, I used materials that were rustic that would fit in with her old farmhouse. The materials for the total project cost less than $20 and included linen, burlap, cork-board, a few printed photos from CostCo, some miniature clothespins, and a few other things. I used a hot glue gun and a staple gun to put it all together (during naps when the 2-year-old was sleeping!)

It has four panes: two with glass and two without. I used one glass pane to make a whiteboard (you can write on glass with a whiteboard pen) and one glass pane to overlay a photo collage, which was mounted on linen. One empty frame was made into a board with miniature clothespins to display coupons, receipts, permission slips, etc. The other empty frame was made into a cork-board. The cork-board is covered with burlap, as is the clothespins board. It should be an all-purpose organizational and communication board for their family.

[Mike]: WAY TO GO Julie - you rock...(it's why I married you).

The ZOO!!!

For Brennan's birthday this year, his Grandma and Papa Greene gave him a trip to the zoo. We went yesterday (Monday) and had a blast, even in the rain. Skip everything (lame) and click here to see all the pictures. Some of the highlights:

• The Zoo itself, compared to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, has a much different feel. You're way closer to the animals, way less crowded, not as big...
• Travel was a breeze. 45 minutes to get there (including a boarder crossing), and 40 minutes to get home. A first - on the way back (through the Lynden boarder crossing), we were the ONLY car. I pulled in and two boarder agents were chatting with each other because there were no cars in line. Going into the Canada, the line was about a mile long.
• Nap: we were not sure how B would do at nap time and lo and behold, he fell asleep in the "Bob" and slept 2 hours solid as we walked around.
• The Train: The Zoo has a train that goes all around the perimeter and of course, Brennan loved it. He kept saying over and over, "I'm on the train, I'm on the train."
• They have an incredible Raptor show that featured an owl, hawk, falcon, and one other bird I can't remember. The birds swoop right over your head, literally forcing you to duck a little...you can feel the breeze from them. Julie was chosen to be one of those who had a bird land on her arm. Pretty cool!
• Also got to see the lions get fed...super fun.
• And got up and close to a Grizzly Bear.