Last few weeks in Santa Fe

Hello all! We’ve had a nice couple weeks since I wrote to you last. Brenda’s parents arrived a few days ago and will be staying with us until we hit the road this weekend. We all went for a nature walk today (Rowan included) at the Audubon Center in Santa Fe, and this evening Brenda’s parents are seeing the penultimate Candide performance. Brenda’s aunt Marilyn and uncle Ron (and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) were in town a little over a week ago to see the show, and we had fun spending time with them. Rowan especially enjoyed having Ron and Marilyn ride on his pretend bus, which is made up of several pillows lined up in a row.

On Sunday I went for a hike with two of Brenda’s cast mates, Alek and Kevin. We hiked on the Dale Ball trails up to Picacho Peak and then to the top of Antalya Mountain. It was a fun day. My only concern as we hiked was that we didn’t bring enough water. It wouldn’t hve been good if two of the stars of Candide were hospitalized for dehydration, but fortunately we all were in good shape after our almost five hour hike.

We did a lot of laughing on that hike.

Yesterday Jim and Joanne helped me face my fears by taking Rowan and me to the bug museum in Santa Fe. If you’re into creepy crawly critters, this is the place for you. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed seeing all the different bugs and lizards, but I was not about to hold a tarantula in my hand like Jim did.

Yikes.

While we were learning to love bugs yesterday, Brenda was at a photo shoot. She felt it was time to get some new publicity shots, so she made arrangements to work with a photographer in Santa Fe. I haven’t had a chance to see any of the pictures yet, but Brenda thinks they got some really good ones. We’ll post some pictures here as soon as they’re available.

On Sunday we fly to Philadelphia for Brenda’s next gig. It’s been a really nice summer in Santa Fe, but I’m ready to move on to the next thing. Rowan is quite a bit older than he was when we were in Philadelphia last, and I’m expecting that we’ll get to explore a bit more of the city this time. It should be a lot of fun.

Until next time, have a great week!

a month on the move

Hi all! It seems our blog entries have inadvertently slowed to once per month. I'm going to work on posting more frequently, but until then here's a run down on what we've been up to over the past month.

Brenda and I went on two big hikes while Rowan had his last week of day care in early July. Once Monsoon Season began, the powers that be determined the fire risk around Santa Fe was low enough to reopen the hiking trails. Our first big hike took Brenda and me up to the top of Atalaya Mountain, which overlooks Santa Fe.

Brenda at the top of Atalaya Mountain.

Our next hike took us to Tesuque Peak, which, at 12,040 feet, is one of the highest peaks near Santa Fe.

 Walking up the steep trail felt like walking up rocky stairs for ninety minutes, but the amazing views were worth the effort.

Brenda at the top of Tesuque Peak with Santa Fe Lake in the background.

In mid July we flew back to the midwest for two weeks, and after a short stay at our house in Minneapolis, we drove to Madison where Brenda made her debut with Madison Opera as a part of their annual Opera in the Park concert. We then visited Brenda's parents in Appleton, and they graciously agreed to look after Rowan for two days while Brenda and I stayed at our favorite B&B in Door County. It was his first time away from both of us at the same time, and by all accounts, he did great (and so did Oma and Opa!). After that we went back to Minneapolis for a few nights and then flew to Santa Fe. 

Fried cheese curds. A necessary part of any trip to Wisconsin.

 Rowan had a wonderful time with his grandparents.

 Breakfast on our balcony at the B&B.

 Al Johnson's. A necessary part of any trip to Door County.

 Happy vacationers.

Four days after getting back to Santa Fe, Brenda flew to Santa Barbara to sing at the Music Academy of the West's annual gala.

My parents have been in town visiting for the past week, which has been wonderful as always. We took Rowan on a hike on the Dorothy Stewart Trail, and my dad looked after him one evening while my mom and I went to L'Italiana in Algieri at the Santa Fe Opera.

Brenda has four more performances of Candide in the coming weeks, and other than that she'll probably continue to work on her repertoire for the upcoming season, which is actually not too far off. We fly to Philadelphia in less than three weeks for Brenda's next role, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor. Until then, we'll enjoy as much of Santa Fe as we can (meaning I'll be eating tons of red and green chile).

Until next time, have a great week!

two tots

Good evening! I'm enjoying another beautiful sunset in Santa Fe while Brenda puts Rowan to bed. Drew and Rachael, who are in town visiting, are in the process of putting Rachael's daughter, Iris, to bed. The two toddlers are just a month apart in age, and they've been having a great time playing together. They've been having so much fun that bedtime has become a little more challenging, but that's understandable. Who wants to go to bed when there's so much playing to do?

Brenda's third performance of Candide is tomorrow night, and Drew and Rachael will be attending. I don't know the opera(etta) well, but I enjoyed the first performance very much. I can't imagine a better cast. Brenda's friend Alek is singing the title role and her friend Kevin is playing Voltaire (plus a few other roles). They're all outstanding performers, and with the beautiful set and costumes it's hard to imagine a better production of this opera.

We fly back to the midwest next week, and we're really looking forward to a few days at our house in Minneapolis. Brenda is singing at an outdoor concert in Madison in a couple weeks, which should be a lot of fun. Our parents are coming to the concert, and we'll also probably see some friends and former professors from our college days. It should be a nice trip.

I hope you're all having a nice summer! Until next time, have a great weekend!

fun at camp

Greetings from balmy Santa Fe! It got up to 94 degrees today (34 Celsius), and my parents and I definitely noticed the heat on our hike this morning. Since they arrived last week, we've gone hiking every day that Rowan has had summer camp (AKA daycare). It's been a lot of fun even though we've been limited as to the number of trails we can hike. Santa Fe is currently experiencing a drought, and the dry conditions have created a high risk of fire in the nearby forests. Many trails have been closed as a result, although fortunately a few are still open for us to enjoy.

Brenda is in the middle of her final dress rehearsal for Candide right now, and my parents are there in the audience cheering her on. It sounds like it's a great production with a great cast. I'm really looking forward to seeing the first performance on Friday.

Rowan seems to love summer camp. Seeing as this is his first daycare of any kind, it has taken him some time to get used to the idea of being away from mom and dad for a few hours, but he's getting more comfortable with it all the time. He is engaging well with his teachers and fellow campers, and when I went to pick him up the other day he didn't want to leave. I took that to be a good sign.

My parents are here until early next week and then Drew, Rachel, and Iris come to town. We love having all these visitors!

Until next time, have a great week!

it's good to be back

Hello all and greetings from Santa Fe! We arrived almost two weeks ago and have quickly settled in to our home for the summer. Brenda's parents arrived a couple days after us, and we all enjoyed being together again and reintroducing Rowan to some of the toddler highlights around town. Brenda has just three weeks of rehearsal left before Candide opens at The Santa Fe Opera. She is working with some really good friends, and I get the impression they're having a lot of fun during rehearsal.

 My brother, his wife Tracy, and my nephews and niece came up to Minneapolis for a visit the day before we flew to Santa Fe. It was so wonderful seeing all of them, and we're very excited to have our home within driving distance of theirs.

 We were not looking forward to leaving Minneapolis because we get so little time there this year, but as soon as we arrived in New Mexico we were quickly reminded of how much we enjoy our summers here.

 I've been trying to go outside every night to watch the sunset, and so far I'm doing pretty well.

 Brenda's parents and I took Rowan and our friends' daughter to an outdoor sand play event last week. Rowan had a blast so I took him again today, and he loved it just as much the second time.

 Brenda's parents kindly looked after Rowan one morning while I hiked, which is one of my favorite things to do in Santa Fe.

This is what the sky looks like pretty much all day every day.

It's time to call it a night. I hope you all have a great weekend, and we'll talk to you again soon!

Minneapolis

Good afternoon, all! I see I haven't written a post in over a month. Sheesh! I'll try to do better going forward. We've had a nice month. Brenda sang five performances of La Sonnambula in Frankfurt, which all went very well in spite of having a cold (or perhaps sinus infection) for the last two shows. Rowan and I were also fighting the same thing, but after two weeks of runny noses we all seem to be on the mend.

We flew to Minneapolis last Monday, and we've been so happy to spend time in our house. Other than a few days in July, this will be our only time here this year. The weather has been great so we've been spending a lot of time in the back yard, and for the first time in my life I'm starting to think that gardening could be fun. My green thumb will have to wait until next year when we're here more often.

With Drew living in Minneapolis, as well as our friends Dan and Whitney, we've been doing a lot of socializing lately. Brenda's aunt and uncle were also in town this weekend, and my parents came up for a visit last week. It's been great seeing everyone. On top of catching up with friends and family, Brenda has been preparing for her rehearsals next week at the Santa Fe Opera. She'll be singing the role of Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein's Candide this summer. We're very happy to be staying in the same lovely house in Santa Fe that we stayed in last year. I'm wondering if Rowan will recognize it.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you again soon!

welcome guests

Hey all! How has it been close to a month since I last wrote? My apologies. Our already limited free time was spent having fun with our various visitors from abroad. Our first guests were our friends Dan and Whitney who, after a few days in Iceland, spent the rest of their trip with us in Munich. They managed to find a great balance between being tourists and actually getting to relax on their vacation. We all took a day trip to Salzburg, which, if I'm not mistaken, was everyone's first time being there. We made the steep climb up the hill to the castle (no small feat with a stroller) only to later learn that our tickets included a ride to the top in a gondola. Live and learn. Upon reaching the castle we were rewarded with some beautiful views of the city in one direction and the Alps in the other.

 A view of Salzburg from the castle.

Dan and Whit enjoying a beer at the Stieglkeller.

 Brenda (and sleeping Rowan) posing for a picture with a statue of Mozart in the Mozart plaza on Mozart street in the Mozart neighborhood of Mozarttown. Here's your fun fact of the day: Mozart is from Salzburg.

Uncle Drew was our next welcome guest. He joined us in Munich for a few days and then we all trained to Frankfurt so Brenda could start rehearsals for La Sonnambula (which opens tomorrow). Drew always likes to take a boat ride while in Germany, so we hopped on the boat across the river from our apartment and floated up and down the Main river for close to an hour. Spring has definitely sprung in Frankfurt (sorry midwesterners!), and it was great to spend some time outside enjoying it.

The twins on a boat.

Brenda's parents fled the snowy winter wonderland that is Wisconsin and joined us for the warm spring weather (high of 85 today). They'll see Brenda tomorrow night as she sleepwalks around the stage. (She sleepsings too.) Brenda's performances are quite spread out, and we're looking forward to some quality family time on her days off. She'll also finish preparing for Candide at Santa Fe Opera this summer. It's hard to believe we'll be back there again next month.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you again soon!