The new Nerf gun

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Phoebe Bridgers concert

Veronica and I were lucky enough to attend Phoebe Bridgers' sold-out show at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. No phones were allowed in the venue, so we were only able to take a few photos on the walk there. This was fun. Phoebe's new album is easily one of the best of the year!

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Omri turns 12

Our little guy had a big birthday. We mostly celebrated over the weekend.

But on his actual birthday, we went out to the Burger Dive:

And opened some gifts afterwards:

One gift was his sister's old Gabb phone, which he was not all that interested in, but we'll be able to use to track him!

On Saturday, Omri and two of his best friends went to Activate in Roseville:

It involves a series of game rooms, like this one:

Here's what one of the sixty minutes looked/sounded like (the boys were pretty excited):

We love you, buddy. Happy birthday!

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Labor Day weekend at the lake

Thanks for hosting us, Linda!

Some good smiles were had by all.

Classic s'mores by the fire:

The sky was on fire:

Showing us the latest moves:

I'm mixing some iPhone shots into this post:

Omri and I played a lot of ping-pong!

Found an artifact from an earlier time:

It was a good weekend!

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First of 6th

Omri is back at school now too. I dig this guy's unpretentious style.

 

Have a good year, buddy!

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Minnesota State Fair 2026

Because school has already begun for Veronica, we braved the fair on a Saturday for the first time in a while. We got there early to beat the rush, but not too early to have cookies for breakfast!

 

Proud to be Minnesotan:

There was a 2.5 hour wait to see the crop art, so we walked through the scarecrow exhibit instead, which was close enough to spot the Laura Palmer crop art portrait:

Veronica with her friend Sydney. The two of them met up with Dottie and wandered around together.

Omri stuck with us. We found a car from the Fast & Furious movies:

My aunt Gloria won third place for her amazing potica bread!

Omri tried a waffle on a stick and a bunch of other new-to-him foods.

Gotta see the fish:

And this moose?

It was fun hanging with our little buddy.

Photo evidence of my presence (taken by R):

There are always a good number of marching bands in the parades at the fair:

Okay, here's one of the four of us too, although this was taken on the walk back to the car :-)

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Camp Du Nord 2026, part 2: iPhone shots

I didn't bring my big camera out on the water, just in case I happened to go in, so this is where having a camera on my phone is sure convenient.

Omri and I went on a kayak adventure to Blueberry Island:

It's not really pictured here, but we swam around the whole island!

And we climbed on the rocks:

On a separate adventure, Veronica and I hiked the goat trail to Pine Point and kayaked back. The water was so calm that evening!

While the kids were with their age groups, R and I paddled across the north arm of Burntside AND took a hike to the scenic Chant Lake:

Then there was our lunch cook-out at a campsite across the lake. A couple of counselors helped guide us.

We made pita pizzas made over a little gas stove:

Then we have a few random photos like this one of the gray hoodie triplets:

On the left, we have V relaxing in a hammock. On the right, we have her looking like her yarn weaving.

One of our bug experts with an apparatus for attracting moths:

Ready for age groups:

R walking through the Sentinels:

We completed two 1,000-piece puzzles:

Our family reading nook:

Sauna time:

This year's polar plungers (we ran into the lake every morning at 7:45):

A fire on our last night:

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