Blog Hostage!

TWIN TIME!!!

Well howdy, folks! It's Drew, making another rare guest appearance in the Chenda blogisphere! The past week has been filled with lots of family fun, hence the tardy blog entry. The fun never stops at the Chenda Hostel, so without further ado, here is a recap of the week!

Friends!

In anticipation of the trip, I could not fathom sleeping the night before I left, so I arrived in Santa Fe feeling loopy but excited. After the drive from Albuquerque, Brenda and Chad showed me around their beautiful temporary home and then we headed over to Whole Foods to grab some fixin's for the grill! Plans had been in the works to meet up with their friends Paul and Jacqueline for quite some time, so the grill out was epic. I was able to enjoy their company for a bit, but retired to my bed and let the partiers enjoy the massive amount of delicious grilled treats on their own. It was a great way to start my trip to Santa Fe!

The next day, Brenda, Chad, and I made the trek to the Albuquerque "Sunport" again to pick up the Klinkert parents! Mom and dad were airport champions, having survived some re-routing and a long flight from Atlanta. After everyone had ample rest, we awoke to a beautiful day in Santa Fe and scurried out to one of the many beautiful hiking trails in the area. I always heard that a family that hikes together, stays together, and while it doesn't rhyme, it's absolutely true! What fun!

The Von Klinkert Family Singers! 

Chad collapsed from "fun stroke" hahaha! 

Different hike, different day, more good times!

Brenda and Karen!

Of course, we can't forget the reason for the trip in the first place - Opera! Brenda moved her entire family to tears with an amazing performance. This twin couldn't be more proud of her. In addition to having us in the audience, the Opera Props group from Madison made a plentiful showing! While I don't have an exact number, I'm pretty sure Brenda had at least 25 raving fans waiting outside her dressing room after the show, including a few familiar faces! It was great to be there that night to see my sister sing so beautifully and also to see the support she gets from old friends, teachers, and adoring new acquaintances! 

Brenda and Carol! 

Happy Wordsmiths!

In addition to hiking and the opera, we cooked many a delicious meal, explored a bit of Santa Fe, and, of course, played multiple rousing rounds of the family favorite Bananagrams. Even in the new environment of the Southwest, having all of us together really made it feel like home. Alas, all good things must end - we got my parents to the airport successfully yesterday, so it's just the three of us for another couple days. My partner Bettina will be joining the household tomorrow for a couple nights and I predict more hiking and opera! We'll be seeing Brenda's Friday night performance of La Traviata with Chad as our chaperone and then it's off to Taos for us! I'm still trying to convince Brenda and Chad to visit us on one of their final days in New Mexico, but as you can guess, they have a pretty full schedule already! Tune in next week, when you'll get Chenda's side of the story about my visit. I'll do my best to inspire lots of amusing stories!