ICU video/slideshow

Link to the ICU video/slideshow that Lei put together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReNEnCFg0Co

Thanksgiving 2010

thanksgiving 2010, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

We had a little smaller Thanksgiving this year. For dinner it was my family, Ivy's parents and her cousin Ken and his family. At 6 the rest of us got together for desert. I deep fried the turkey without burning the house down. Click here for more pictures.

Hats

Hats, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Our Christmas present from Mandy and Jerel. Mandy made us all these cool hats. Just like our family they are all different but work well together.

Cooper is a bit of a dancer.  He really gets into it.  My favorite part is how he holds his poses.

Arizona trip

Arizona trip, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Recently flew down to Sun City and drove back with Grandma's possessions. Including her new car. Which by the way has more buttons on the steering wheel than the uhaul had in the whole thing. Garry gave me some good advice on the route to take. I don't remember going up 84 before. It was a scenic drive. I took some pictures as I drove. I know you're thinking that doesn't sound very safe. Don't worry I put my cell phone down while I took the pictures. Click here for more pics.

Pumpkin carving

Pumpkin carving, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Bryson's invited us over to carve pumpkins. Jack used the sawzall to open them up. Click here for more pics.

Amazon prime

DSC_0268, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Thanks to lifehacker.com for letting us know, Ivy has a free amazon prime membership as a student. That means free two day shipping on all kinds of things sold by amazon. Cooper of course was more impressed with the box than my electric razor or Asher's binder. Maybe with free shipping I can still do all my shopping last minute but online.
-rick

national anthem prior to game.

Warren Avenue vs Chico C string

Warren Avenue vs Chico C string, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Undefeated Warren Avenue against the undefeated Chico C string. They don't have a scoreboard but I think it was 30-16 Warren Avenue favor. They have a nice announcers stand but need a scoreboard. They also had the DJ from trinity doing their game calling I think. Beautiful day and a good football game. Click here for more pics.

Ani dinner

Ani dinner, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Ani set the table and made dinner for Ivy's birthday. Good news for the rest of us that got to join in. Click here for more pictures

Jack Johnson 2010

Jack Johnson 2010, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Ok I know my eyes are closed. It's a good picture of the event though. A list of what made it a great day. In nor particular order:
1. Ivy
2. 80 degrees
3. the gorge is beautiful
4. Kim and Lynn
5. good music(booty call song was unexpected)
6. laying back in the grass watching shooting stars
7 our next door grass neighbors were nice and entertaining (of course Ivy chatted them up)
8. we got in and out of parking lot in just a few minutes(and was free)
9. I'm a guy and didn't have to sit in a port a potti
-rick

click here for more pictures

Ivy's birthday

IMG_20100926_162114, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Had birthday party for Ivy at the Hewlens. Continuing a long tradition Ivy was covered in frosting. A tradition I think she started years ago. Paybacks are a .......

Game against East Bremerton.

It ended with an awesome 38 to 8. Great recoveries and some good team work. This is Nick. He is Mason's buddy on the team. Played with him both years so far.

zoo with Ani and Elias

zoo with Ani and Elias, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Ani Brower and I took our little guys, Cooper and Elias, to the Point Defiance zoo today. It was THE perfect day. No school groups, slightly over cast so it felt cool, not many people there cause of the rain sprinkling, and the animals were active. We got to get right up front and not have to fight to see anything. It was very fun!  Click here for more pics

Point Defiance Zoo

100_1455, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

We again joined the zoo and are trying to use our membership more than once this time. We went with the Hewlen boys and Brysons. Cooper is in the background screaming somewhere. In hindsight it's a good thing we went when we did because summer didn't last long.
-Rick

Turkey fry

IMG_20100909_170610, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Glynn and family hosted a turkey fry. David cooked up the turkeys. Me and Ivy made the potatoes and stuffing. There was lots of other stuff to. Watched the first NFL game of the season and ate lots of food.

Our first bizarre foods. Join us.

IMG_20100902_155940, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

We started of easy with kippered herring on ritz crackers. Just tasted like smoked salmon/tuna. Mason struggled with the idea. If you want to join us here are the rules.
1 all participants get to take turns picking the item.
2. you have to eat the item you picked with everyone else.
3. post the picture of you eating the item.
4. food has to be intended for human consumption
5. food has to safe. No raw meat, spoonfuls of salt etc.
6. once you're in no backing out. You're chance for revenge is when you get to pick the item.

List of participants so far
Cory and Ani Brower

My second or third attempt at doing a brisket.  This time I decided I might have better luck with doing two at a time since they could drip onto each other.  Sort of self basting.  This is the spices I used for the rub.  Each brisket was around 7-8 lbs.  link to susanminor.org that contains recipe for rub and general brisket instructions.

I didn't do much prep.  Trimmed of some of the hanging fat.

I followed the very nicely done tutorial on the bradley smoker forum. click here for tutorial.  This is my briskets patted down with the rub and then slathered in mustard.

Right out of the smoker.  Picture makes it look a little too black but it had a perfect bark. I put it in at 8pm and it came out of smoker around 3pm the next day.  Most of the time smoker was between 200-225F.  I followed the instructions linked above.  Used a water tray in bottom and rotated so they would baste each other.  Took out at internal temp of 190F.

This is my first attempt using the "foil, towel, cooler method."

Here is the finished product.  Bark was perfect.  Much better than my previous attempts where I finished in oven using the "texas crutch"  My issue was they were a little dry on the bottom.  The rest was beautifully moist and tasty.  I think I will leave them on the top two racks instead of the bottom ones next time and see if that helps.

Either way was a good dinner.  The Browers came over.  She brought red rice, fresh rolls and corn on the cob.  Ivy made loaded mashed potatoes.  I have become a big fan of having rice and mashed potatoes mixed together?
-rick

football 2010 jamboree

football 2020 jamboree, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Football season is here again. As usual we start with the 95 degree practices and by the time it is done are hoping it doesn't snow. Good business for underarmour since we have to buy a set of hot and cold gear.

Mason and his team did great. Mason got lots of playing time which makes it fun for his parents to watch. He even touched a couple of people. We have yet to figure out how to get his aggressive side out on the field. He seems to have inherited his moms athleticism but combined it with this dad's mellowness(not to be misinterpreted as laziness). Click here for a few more pics
-Rick

Mariners vs Twins

IMG_20100827_182314, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Jacey invited us to a Mariners game. I forgot my camera and the only picture I came away with was one of David and Asher. As usual had fun. Spent more time talking to Jacey than actually watching the game. Thankfully Dave was there to explain the rules to Asher. Maybe the next generation of Greene's will actually know something about sports.

On our way back from Mammoth we had to wait during construction. Zach, Big Mason, and Anthony got out and danced a little. Ivy was in the car in front of us with her sister. I was in our car with Geddy. As I was telling Geddy that I was surprised Ivy wasn't out there dancing she hopped out. Eventually a car of people in front of us and behind joined in. I took the video with my cell phone through a dirty windshield. It is Zach, Ivy, Mason, and Anthony. You can tell Ivy because of the curly hair.

Silverwood 2010

On our way back from Yellowstone we met Kim and her family at Silverwood. Nice ending to a all ready good trip. Had nice weather almost the whole time. I even had someone to ride some of the rollercosters with. Not my kids because they are chicken but Luke was brave so that made 4 of us. I did skip out on the big green one and the free fall. Maybe next year.

Yellowstone trip

Day one of yelowstone trip. We drove from Bremerton to Missoula and stayed at the Cmon inn. Looked like a cabin on inside. Had big pool and 5 hot tubs. Click here for more pictures

Day two of yellowstone trip. Drove from Missoula to Island Park Id. about 25 miles from west yellowstone. We stayed at the Carolina Cabin That Leah had rented. Made a nice base for our adventures. All of the boys were in a room with two bunkbeds and each couple had their own room. Thelma and Doug stayed at Macks inn down the road. Click here for more pictures

Yellowstone 2010 day 3. First time going into Yellowstone. Saw some Elk off side of road first. Drove up to Old Faithful. As we drove up a large crowd of people were leaving. We hung around had lunch and waited for the next eruption. On way down we stopped at some springs and everyone except me and Cooper hiked to a waterfall. Cooper and I played in the river. Click here for more pictures.

Day four we did the river raft. A very leasiure trip. At one point we even had to get out and push. Got one 8 man boat and 2 kayaks. The kids trades out the kayaks. Geddy and I took a turn. My turn was brief since I was sinking the kayak. Near the finish we say a moose on the shore. We got close but I was assured he wouldn't come after us in the river:? In the evening we went to west yellowtone and got ice cream. Click here for more pictures.

Day 5 of Yellowstone trip we first went to Steamrock hotspring. Nothing like a 90 degree day with some warm steam in your face. I think today is where my stuffed up nose really became and advantage. I hear they smell like sulfur. Was a easy short hike to the springs. Cooper thought it was really easy since Ivy and Grandma Thelma carried him. Then we drove up to Mammoth hot springs. I came out of the gift shop to find Geddy on side of road with a crowd. Him and Zach were chasing down a snake. From there we drove out of park and stopped and the Grizzly and wolf center. Click here for more pictures.

We left on this day and headed towards our next adventure at silverwood. I'm not sure who took these pictures but they came out nice. Except the one of the testicle festival the rest are of flowers. Click here for more pictures.

Cooper's 3rd birthday party

Cooper had his 3rd birthday party. It was well attended by his many friends or buddies as he would say. He got car stuff, bowling set up and some tools. Perfect haul. Click here for more pics

Seahawks Gatorade camp 2010

Seahawks Gatorade camp 2010, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Mason went to the Seahawks Gatorade camp at quest field. Click here for more pics

Fourth of July 2010

Fourth of July 2010, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

It's becoming a tradition. The Thomas's invited us and the Hewlens over for the fourth again. As usual had a great time. Click here for more pics

Utah trip 2010

Utah trip 2010, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Ivy didn't bring the camera(or diaper bag which I put camera inside of) to utah so I collected some of the cell phone pictures she sent me. Usually we are good documenters of events. Probably to the point of annoyance. This may go down as our least photographed event ever. A whole week and I think I have 15 photos. We take more photos in a week when we aren't on vacation. Oh well. Hopefully next time I'll be able to go. I don't think I've seen April since the year we got married. I do usually see Leah once a year when they come to visit us. Long time for Clare and Melody to. Click here for more pictures
-Rick

Owen Beach Point Defiance park family picnic

Mandy and I made an effort to organize a family picnic.  Usually these types of things have fallen to my grandma to organize.  Since it seemed that the next generation was not much of organizers(Mike and Garry I'm looking at you) we decided to give it a shot.  We have family from Eastern Washington and Tacoma that we don't see too often.  We don't want to lose touch though.  So Mandy and I will attempt this once a year I think.  I did try to get Theresa involved but she lacked the organizing spirit required, or she's smart.  I think around 30 people showed up some from as far as Yakima.  We smartly planned it on the nicest day of the year so far.  So nice that I'm currently sporting a sweet farmers burn.  Click here for more pics

Ocean Shores 2010

Ocean Shores 2010, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Glynn invited us to Ocean Shores to celebrate her birthday. Even though Ivy was wore out from her recent trip to Utah I convinced her to go. I'm sure it helped that her friends were going. Was 55 degrees but not too much wind and some sun. Not bad for Ocean Shores. Click here for more pics.

Dave's going away party at Jaceys

Dave's going away party at Jaceys, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Jacey and Jack were nice enough to let a bunch of us come over for a going away party for David. She also yet again smoothly pulled off the challenge of mixing her social groups. The groups attending were her work friends, her neighbors, Jack's work friends, church friends, and Davids friends. I think there was a Seinfeld about this. Guess about 50 people were there. We had to leave early because of Cooper and being worn out from our vacation. I hear the party lasted till 130. That's what happens when you party with night shifters.  Click here for more pictures

The Alaska cruise 2010 photos

I made an effort to only include the interesting photos and not the huge number I actually took.  I broke them down by days of the cruise.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Day one of cruise. Leaving seattle and setting sail. Our first dinner which went well because Cooper fell asleep.  Click here for more pictures

Day two of cruise. A at sea day. Sort of rough day. Lots of barf bags posted all over. Asher was a little sea sick in the morning. Then he had snails for dinner. 
Click here for more pictures

Day 3 was spent in Juneau. We rode the Mt Roberts tramway and did a hike up there. Nice views of town and our ship. There were at least 4 ships in port. Lots of tourist.  Click here for more pictures

Day 4 was spent in Skagway. I'm not sure of the population but the cruise ships must have increased it 10 fold. I spent most of the day on board hanging out with Cooper. Boys did a little swimming since it wasn't as windy in the open pool. 
Click here for more pictures

Day 5 started early at about 6 with the Tracy Arm fjord. Very narrow and lots of ice. Ship went near to the glacier then turned and came back. In the afternoon Josh and and Andrew took the boys rock climbing. Click here for more pictures

Day 6 was at sea. Had icecream for breakfast. Had the service for Grandpa which was nice. Went around the room and everyone shared something about grandpa. Ivy and the boys went to the show after dinner.  Click here for more pictures

Day 7 was in Victoria. One of my favorite cities. Ivy and I had our honeymoon here and have visited several times since. We tried to go to the Crystal Gardens but it was closed. Then the undersea museum people said it was too cloudy to see anything. We did the water taxi tour instead. Click here for more pictures

Got off ship about an hour late at 9. Two ships getting unloaded at once. Found our luggage and Grandma and Aunt Dean. Thankfully Perry pulled up and helped me figure out how to fit 7 peoples luggage and 8 people in the suburban. Click here for more pictures

Some youtube videos.  They are from a flip cam and are pretty shaky.  You can see a little bit of a whale on Asher's rock climbing one. 

Asher rock climbing youtube video click here

Mason rock climbing video click here

Tracy Arm Fjord glacier video click here

Alaska 2010 cruise portrait

Alaska 2010 cruise portrait, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Portrait we had taken on cruise. Cooper was not interested. It was our 4th attempt and we just had him take it. Tried on both formal nights and a group with all the cousins. Then another night before dinner. It is representative of our trip at least.

Asher's 5th grade graduation

DSCN1964, originally uploaded by ebeegrn.

Asher had his 5th grade graduation yesterday from West Hills Elementary. Now on to middle school. Ivy managed to only cry a little. Asher was one of the people signing during the friends song.