Memorial Day weekend 2026

I didn't take a ton of photos, but Memorial weekend was nice. We grabbed pizza with friends:

 

We got some things done around the house and also relaxed with coffee...

... and with drinks:

The kids had piano lessons (this is Omri waiting in the car during V's):

We had a fire and did some grilling... and generally spent a lot of time out on the deck!

Read more...

Rookie of the year

MPA's rookie of the year in theater goes to...

 

Veronica!

Here's the plaque:

She also received recognition for her number of volunteer hours (in the top 5 of the freshmen class). Way to go, V!

Read more...

Percussion, no concussion

Omri had the school's first-ever Newspaper Club injury last Thursday, colliding with another kid on the playground and ending up in urgent care to get checked for a concussion. Thankfully, he tested out okay and he's the same goofy kid he's always been. The biggest bummer is that he missed the upper elementary play where he had an important part as a percussionist in the accompanying band. So that all of his hard work didn't go to waste, R recorded this video of him playing his part to The Monkee's "I'm a Believer" at home. This part does not contain the melody, but if you know the song, I think you'll recognize it anyway. It's quite impressive how he has this whole thing memorized, along with other music that would have scored the show. I'm very proud of my boy!

Read more...

Spring choir concert 2026

Just a short clip from the choir performance at V's school:

Read more...

R turns 46

It was our second weekend in a row of celebrating this lovely woman!

This time it was her birthday.

It was a busy weekend but a fun one. R and Omri met up with R's sister's family in Shakopee. Veronica had dance and voice lessons and attended an ice show and a sleepover (that started at the Mall of America). Omri had a friend over and also went to the same friend's house. We had a glass of champagne with friends. We made blueberry pancakes and grilled some steaks. 

One highlight was dinner at Myriel in St. Paul. I highly recommend the place!

Here's R enjoying a drink and a record of our stop at Cafe Latte:

Happy birthday again to this wife and momma. She leads a full life and we're lucky to have her as a part of ours!

Read more...

Mother's Day 2026

Poor R was sick with a bad cold on Mother's Day this year. On the positive side, it resulted in her staying in bed long enough for the kids to join her there like the old days!

Since we might not make it to Folk Fest this summer, I made her a book of photos from all the times we did go up there.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

We also made some fresh entries in the Mother's Day journal.

Veronica "arranged" for some Crumbl cookies for mom:

And we got out to brunch at our favorite neighborhood restaurant (Churchill St):

Also wanted to shout out a happy Mother's Day to my own mom!

And to my mother-in-law!

Wonderful ladies, all of them!

Read more...

Veronica's confirmation

Veronica was confirmed at our church on Sunday!

It was a nice ceremony.

My parents made it down for it.

We went to Brickhouse in White Bear Lake for a tasty brunch afterwards. The rooftop deck was wonderful in the sun.

I wish I had taken a few more shots (I was bummed I forgot my proper camera at home). Anyway, we're super proud of our girl for taking this next step in her faith journey!

Read more...

Celebrating 21 years

Well, we didn't get to Key Largo this year, but we did grab some dinner and take a walk in Minneapolis. There's nobody I'd rather go on a date with.

Read more...

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd was an ambitious show put on by Veronica's high school. She killed it in an ensemble role. I did not take these photos but wanted to share them in order to give you a look and to mark the show on our timeline.

Read more...

Widji return

Omri had a good week at Camp Widjiwagan with his class last week. This photo was not taken there, but it captures the outdoor spirit!

  

Read more...