Picaso Jr.

Sawyer won 1st place, and more importantly, a Cold Stone Creamery gift card, in the K-3rd grade division of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese poster competition in Minnesota, and her work will represent the state in the upcoming National AATSP Contest.  Most of the ceremony was in Spanish, but I think they said nationally there are 150,000 kids in the AATSP's programs.

Mother's Day

Flowers and donuts for our Queen B on her special day

Happy 1st, Bussy Bear

Buster turned 1... and we celebrated with a special family trip to our favorite "DP", Minnehaha Falls (B's first time).  Buster hasn't yet mastered the recall when distracted or excited, so we were a little nervous with his free reign within the massive size of that park... but he did great, and LOVED the water (up to his chest at least).

Recital

E, Moonlit Waves.  S, Snake Dance.

Summer has sprung

Minnesota skipped spring this year, as there seemed to be winter seemed to "sublime" into summer on (way too late) May afternoon... and we caught it on camera!

(Speechless)

The least discussed mood swing of pre-teen girls is one where they go from relatively normal, partly proper, decently behaved to some combination of the extremes of crazy, silly and uncontrollable.  If you're lucky, this happens at home and not Target.  Here is a still glimpse into one of these days.

Griffin Bern, 2006-2018

On Sunday, April 30, late in the evening, our sweet Griffin died suddenly, and far too soon, in Lindsay’s arms at the Eden Prairie emergency veterinary hospital.  He was 11 years old. 

Griff was our “first born”, and really, truly, the most human, loyal, comforting, gentle, lovable and intelligent man’s best friend you could imagine.  Big G has been at our side through every step of our journey as a growing family… from moving into, exploring and making new homes and neighborhoods our own (Indy, Minneapolis, Maple Grove), to training in and raising additional canine companions (Maya, Buster), to welcoming and developing a deep bond with our two children, to all of the little daily moments in between (like his warm welcome home every evening, his retreat to his chair or corner by the piano once all were settled in, or the “arm rest” he played while sharing the couch during late night TV).  This loss leaves a void, and hit us hard. 

As we celebrate Griffin's life, the things we fondly remember and smile about the most are:

• His proud, “on guard” perches in Indy (the front stoop), Minneapolis (popping up to peak over the front gate door), and in Maple Grove (the crest of the hill, facing the wetland)
• His striking, ageless beauty, those empathic brown eyes, his amber-brown and white coat, and those adorable and distinct black freckles under his snout and chin (and the brown ones on his legs)
• His well-earned off-leash and un-gated life, as Griff was a social, community character, and a leader of the pack (he got into nothing off-limits, knew his boundaries, circled back when too far ahead, and was always a whistle away from your side)
• His uncanny communication skills, where he’d “ask” for more food, or water, or a walk, or a trip to Bow Wow, or a run, or permission to come on the couch, or play at the neighbors 
• His love of sitting “shotgun” when running errands (even better if on someone's lap), and that being the only position where he was a polite, and relaxed traveler
• His full-face, hard, rapid-fire kisses (especially when sweaty after a run, or working in the yard)
• His love of water, especially of dock-jumping at Nana’s, or belly flopping into the Minnesota River at the Minnehaha Dog Part, chasing his orange and blue Chuckit (and playing a floating game of tug-of-war with Maya when retrieving), or, back in Indy, helping himself to the Chipelewski’s pool
• His uncontrollable excitement, anticipation and stalker behavior before Saturday morning runs with Linds once he saw or heard his first clue (her yoga pants/sports bra drawer opening, the ear buds being scooped off the desk, etc.)
• His love of chicken, ice cream and smoothies, so much so that that look you’d get when eating these things that made it impossible not to share (fresh snow wasn’t far behind in his favorite food group... but he'd help himself there)
• The mutual adoration between Griff and the neighborhood kids, and the mutual feeling that he was one of them (e.g. he'd join the kickball game by squatting in the outfield, he'd followed the pack door-to-door while trick-or-treating, he'd stand in line with the crew at the morning bus stop, etc.)
• Related, the times he made himself at home in other people’s homes (or vehicles), hopping in the UPS truck, or popping onto the couch when someone would leave a door open to unload groceries or otherwise
• His playfulness around muskrats, chipmunks and coyotes (!), and hatred of squirrels, geese and cats (well, maybe he didn't hate them, but they clearly weren't welcome in our yard)
• His favorite pastime of meticulously destroying stuffed, by first removing the toys, then loosening the seams with a game of tug of war, and then quickly destuffing until every bit of cotton was removed 
• The way his ears would “cross” when excited, especially while on a walk, or tail would wag in circles, when seeing an old friend he hadn’t in a while 
• And, his morning (or in the middle of the night, if someone left the bed for a minute) snuggles where he’d steal an open pillow spot and spoon with Mom or Dad (and La, whenever crashing with the Heiderscheidts)

Our home will not be the same.  We miss you more than words can tell, Griffy Boy.  Rest in peace, sweet boy.

MSP>CVG>MSP>BOS>ORD>MSP

Business travel isn't a huge part of my day job, but I spent seven of 11 nights in Cinci, Boston and Chicago over the past two weeks for some pretty impressive experiences.  

In Cinci, I joined Eric Reis' Corporate Entrepreneur Community, and spent two days discussing innovation best practices with leaders from Vangaurd, Moody's, Hewlett Packard, MetLife, ING, GE, and this quarter's host, P&G.  We spent time at P&G's Clay Street "lab", Cintrifuse and in P&G's Board Room (you can see my hands as proof in the bottom right of the photo).  And, on our final night, wined and dined with Cinci's skyline in our view at The Celestial. 

In Boston, I attended the Front End of Innovation conference, which was headlined by legendary execs from places like Disney/Pixar and P&G, as well as disruptive startups like Nest, Kasita... and, my favorite, futurists (Magnus Lidkvidst was the keynote).  The highlight though, was cutting out to meet Dan (Indy) for the Celtics/Bucks playoff game (5) at the Garden.  That place is was historic, electric and chesty. 

And, wrapping up the road trip was GMI's National Foodservice Sales meeting in Chicago.  In total, not quite as remarkable an experience as the other two stops, but the stories we heard from three of our external inspirational speakers were, well, inspirational.  Meb Kebflezighi told his family's story of poverty and persecution in Eritrea to how his parents' insistence on always giving your all led to his accomplished Olympic and marathon career.  Desiree Linden shared how her "keep showing up" mindset let to a her unlikely blue collar "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" win in this year's Boston Marathon (the first for an American woman in 33 years).  And, Alex Sheen, told the story of how his father's commitment to promise making and promise keeping led to an overnight viral phenomenon that is now his life's mission (#becauseisaidiwould).  Oh, and the skyline "party boat" tour on Lake Michigan was fun way to see the city... and another side of my co-workers! 

Arboretum & Carnival

Linds chaperoned E's class field trip to the Minnesota Arboretum to learn about nature and trees and wellness, and then headed to the school's carnival (with the neighborhood crew) to apply chemical paint to cheeks and win gallons of processed, carbonated, sugary beverages.

Meet Colton Backer

On April 15th, E & S were blessed with another cousin, Colton Backer Heiderscheidt (La & Opie's second) to smother with love and attention.  He's pretty darn cute... like his uncle.