Happy 6th

Six years ago today, Linds & I tied the knot in Indianapolis, IN... and it's been happily ever after since.  


Well, at least 95% of the time... 


I love you, LMB.

O Canada

And, as if the fishing wasn't amazing enough, Canada's spectacular scenery may have been worth the trip by itself. 

Catch of the day

The 13 hour drive was a doozy, and fishing was slow for a few days while we felt out the lake... but the last two days were absolutely unreal.  I personally caught nearly 100 fish in a 24 hour period.  My trophies were a 10" perch, a 24" walleye and the fattest, dinosaur-headed 34" northern.  

And, of course, I had a "the one that got away" story that continues to haunt me.  I fought with a monster-of-a-fish for a solid minute or two, finally getting it to the surface when it gave one last yank busting my line (and pole).  My boat partner, Doug, and another crew we were anchored up to swear it was easily a 30-some inch / 5 lb walleye!  

I've never seen anything like it... and probably never will again.

Gone fishin'

After five years officially/legally "in the family", I finally earned the invite to join the Maxwell Men in the biannual Canadian getaway near Hornepayne, Ontario.

The crew's been making this trip for decades, always staying at PK Resort for fly-in fishing on Granite Hills Lake... and it was quickly clear to me why.

Great times, Bob & company.  Thanks again for the invite!

The old ball game

Evie entered the world of "organized" team sports last week, joining a t-ball league at the local Y.  

At the same time, I entered the world of "coaching" organized team sports, captaining E's team... and Sawyer entered the world of "youngest kid getting drug all around town to watch the oldest kid's stuff".

Dog fight

Griff and Maya can't get enough of Minnesota's lakes... and their favorite water sport is a hybrid of fetch and tug-o'-war.

Ski Mantrap

Linds got up on water skis for the first time on Mantrap Lake this weekend, with a little instruction and inspiration from Coach Furber (shown ripping across the wake).

Escape to Mantrap

L & I joined the Furbers and McNerneys for a kidless weekend on Mantrap Lake, at the Gorman family cabin.  So eager to start the party, we pub crawled our way through Northern Minnesota's hole-in-the-wall bars en route... including Motley's Bear's Den for their Friday night pig races.


The Coors Light tasted so great, we didn't even mind that we were two hours early!

5th of July

Stop #2 was in New Ulm for some pool time with Grandpa... and North Mankato's Fun Days parade (as you can see, the Shriners were not E & S' favorite entry!).

4th of July

The fam' took in the 4th this year with a quick trip to of southern MN.  Stop #1 was Fairmont for a little time on Nana's lake... oh, and of course, with sparklers and fire crackers.

Sea Salt

A favorite, kid-friendly summer spot of ours is definitely Sea Salt in Minnehaha Park.  Great food, great scenery (the Falls are just feet away), live music... and plenty of outdoor space for kids to be kids.


Pictured above are Evie, Sawyer & their pal, Maddie Rae.


(P.S. Can you tell which kids are suffering from the "multiple kid household effect"?  Hint: They're the unkempt ones covered in chocolate ice cream and/or fluorescent red marker)

David Gray

L & I caught the very underrated David Gray at the very underrated MN Zoo amphitheatre.  


DG put on a spectacular show... mixing classics with new material, and crowd-pleasing singalongs of 'Babylon' and the Beatles' 'Money'.  If you've never heard of him, check out one of my favs here.

Mr. & Mrs. Turner

The ol' SCSU band got back together, after a (gulp) thirteen year hiatus for a night in Brooklyn Park to celebrate Stephen's and Ashley's wedding.


Great to catch up, fellas.  And, thanks for bearing with "glory days" stories, ladies.

Take me out to the ball game

Admittedly, I'm no baseball fanatic... but watching the home team take down a Division rival, in a state-of-the-art outdoor stadium, on a cloudless 70 degree night, from the front row, with great friends and cool drinks... well, I'll hop on the bandwagon for that! 

Sprinkler dash

Meanwhile, back on the home front, Evie cools off with the classic "run through the sprinkler" game.

Little squirts

Sawyer and her friend Bennett cool each other off during a recent "water day" at school.  

Farmer's Market

The Fulton and Kingfield farmer's markets are popular weekend stops for E & S, mainly for the live music.


Actually, the girls wind up being part of the free, live entertainment.  Evie's dance moves often draw a few eyes and smiles... and our, um... shall we say "opportunistic" Sawyer gets a quite a chuckle from the crowd with her new trick of grabbing a handful of bills from the guitar case "tip jar"and dashing off squealing for joy.