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!

déjà vu

Greetings from Munich! It's been an eventful couple of weeks. As you may recall, we flew to Edinburgh on the 10th, which also happened to be our eleventh wedding anniversary. We loved Edinburgh from the moment we landed. Our apartment was in the Old Town so we were able to see a lot just by walking around our neighborhood. We only ventured outside of the Old Town twice: first to see the botanic garden and second to see the nearby coastal town of North Berwick.

 Brenda at home among the trees.

 Does this tree look familiar?

The Scottish Parliament Building was just down the hill from our apartment, and we enjoyed wandering around the grounds one sunny afternoon. Rowan decided to lay down on the sidewalk at one point. I think he was teasing his mom.

 The Museum of Childhood was also nearby, and we thought Rowan might enjoy checking it out. There were a lot of interesting toys on display (including this creepy doll room), but it wasn't too interesting for Rowan because it was definitely more museum than playground.

Across the street from the Scottish Parliament Building are paths that lead up to Arthur's Seat, a big hill with great views of the surrounding area. The path was paved part of the way, but the rest of the path was muddy and rocky. Brenda (and her rain boots) did an impressive job of off-roading, but ultimately the path became too rocky and muddy for us to make it to the top. Next time!

 The coast in North Berwick. 

Can you find Brenda? (Hint: you may need a magnifying glass.)

Once we got back to Frankfurt life returned to normal for a few days. Brenda did some work on upcoming roles, our friend Simone spent time with Rowan one afternoon so Brenda and I could go out to dinner, and we got ready for Rowan's second birthday. Rowan had a great birthday. He got to open presents, eat delicious cake (made by mom), and hang out with several of his grown-up friends. It's amazing how much he's changed over the past year.

The birthday boy blowing out his candles.

Earlier this week the three of us took the train to Munich for Brenda's next engagement. She'll be performing Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Bavarian State Opera in early April. We love Munich, and we're staying just a block away from where we were in November. It's all seeming quite familiar. Rowan and I have been frequenting the same parks we visited this fall, construction is happening at the same places, and it's cold outside. This time, however, I am prepared. I brought my winter coat, hat, and gloves and can spend hours with Rowan in the sand without losing a finger to frostbite. Our friends Dan and Whitney arrive tomorrow, and we're looking forward to showing them some of our favorite spots in Munich. 

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

diva/jewel thief

Hello all! It seems our recent sicknesses are behind us (knock on wood) and we're enjoying being healthy as spring starts to arrive in Frankfurt. The clouds have returned, but the temperatures are high enough that we can play with Rowan in the sand without our toes numbing. Brenda had a very nice time performing in Düsseldorf last weekend as a part of the German AIDS Foundation's annual gala fundraiser. By all accounts Brenda and the nine or so other soloists were very well received by the audience, and the gala raised around $180,000.

Brenda in concert attire in her dressing room. A jeweler provided necklaces and earrings for the women, and apparently the jewelry was quite valuable. When wearing the jewelry the soloists were accompanied by guards as they walked from their dressing rooms to the stage and back. Unfortunately, Brenda didn't get to keep any of the pieces as a souvenir.

On Sunday Rowan and I were waiting for Brenda at the train state when her train from Düsseldorf pulled in. We then picked up a couple of pretzels and hopped on another train headed to Marburg to surprise our friend Monika for her birthday. Her daughter Susanne and son-in-law Stephan were in on it and helped make the whole thing possible. We had a very nice afternoon with all of them, and I think Monika enjoyed the surprise.

Getting ready to hop on the train in Frankfurt.

On Tuesday Rowan had to go to the doctor for his most recent round of vaccinations, and afterwards we took him to the zoo for the first time. He loved seeing all the animals. Unfortunately, the bears weren't out and about. We'll have to go back again once they're done hibernating.

There was this bear, but he wasn't very active.

Tomorrow we're off to Scotland for a few days. We'll take plenty of pictures so we can share a few with you next time. Until then, have a great weekend!