23 years ago

Our actual anniversary is today, and you know I love to bring out old photos to mark the occasion (see my history tag for more). This year's selection was taken at the Como Park Conservatory late in the spring after we first met. We were just a couple of kids!

We've lived a lot of life since then and have a ways to go. It sure is nice to have a lovely partner like R to experience it all with. Happy anniversary, my dear R!

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Anniversary at the Four Seasons

We celebrated our anniversary a couple of weeks early this year in order to time it with a concert we've had on our calendar since Christmas. We stayed at the Four Seasons in downtown Minneapolis. It was luxurious hotel, the likes of which we could really get used to. We stayed on the 30th floor next to professional basketball players in town for the Timberwolves game. It was a great view -- we could see St. Paul (10+ miles away) from our window!

The concert was a solo show by Aoife O'Donovan (formerly of Crooked Still) who covered Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album in its entirety (followed by some of her own material).

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The next day, after some room service, we enjoyed the pool/spa at the hotel.

The cherry on top was a couples' massage. It was a lovely way to relax and celebrate our marriage.

Thank you to my parents for the concert tickets and for watching the kids!

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Piano recital - spring 2023

I am so proud of the kids. Omri started playing the piano a year ago, and Veronica started a year and half ago. They had their first, informal (very informal--Omri wore his 3D skateboarding dog shirt) recital today, in front of a big crowd. These are not songs they have been laboring over for months but rather just the songs they are currently working on. They did great!

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Meeting Adelyn

We have another niece!

Her big brother's birthday is the day before hers.

Photos are limited because the little one was hungry, having just woken up from a nap.

Looking up at her daddy:

Girl cousins:

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Okay, I guess I didn't take many photos on Easter morning. The egg hunt is always difficult to capture.

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Attending the Lamb of God concert

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Egg dying 2023

It was kind of a packed Easter weekend, but we did fit in this fun tradition.

We tie dyed the eggs this year, which was a controversial move, veering from the usual style.

I think they turned out okay. 

Grandma Linda was in attendance too!

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Lamb of God highlights from 2022

This is the longer version of a video I spent the last year working on for the Minnesota Saints Chorale & Orchestra (a shorter version was posted on Facebook). This one is more of a highlight reel from the 2022 concert. It has a slower build, which I fear might lose people's attention, but it includes a little more drama in the middle that I miss in the shorter promo.

I recorded all the audio and video with a single camera in an intense couple of hours, relying heavily on instinct. The editing afterwards was a slow process in part because I had to learn some new editing software (a downgrade from the professional edition I used previously) and because I made a point to avoid repeating any ideas I used the last time I made one of these. Putting something together like this is a huge, open-ended puzzle. I love and strongly dislike working on them.

But I finished it on time. This year, the whole family is going to attend the concert, while I limit myself to still photos only. I am not ready to take on another video challenge like this again anytime soon.

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