9th floor of the guthrie theater

Whenever we have out of town guests, Kev and I like to take them to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to show them the amazing view from the cantilever bridge. Standing out on that beautiful bridge you can take in the Stone Arch Bridge, the new 35W bridge, the old mill ruins, the Gold Medal Flour sign, and some of downtown.

Last month, when our good friend, Germán, was here from Portland, OR for business, we discovered that there is another amazing view to take in at the Guthrie - from the observation room on the 9th floor. The room has wall-to-wall yellow-tinted windows and offers a really spectacular panorama of the city. It also offers an opportunity to take some pretty cool silhouette photos. Case in point:

That's Kevin and me doing some mock-fighting. Awesome, yes? Here's one of Germán and me (notice that I am always the one kicking butt?). 

Germán with some pretty impressive gymnastics moves.

Germán and me on the cantilever bridge.

Kevin, me, and Germán on the Stone Arch Bridge.

It was so good to see Germán, and Kevin and I are super excited about seeing him and Sarah in Portland this summer (yep - we're planning a super duper "Travels with Charley" style summer road trip!), and then again in Orlando in November for Nicole and Ryan's wedding. What a great year this is shaping up to be! Also, how prolific I am turning out to be today (I even posted on the book blog I am part of). Yeah, baby, I am BACK!

layover

My uncle, Viesturs, and cousin, Luiza, were in Los Angeles last week, visiting from Latvia. Yesterday, on their way back to Latvia, they just happened to have a layover in Minneapolis. I drove over there after my workout, and Kevin met us there after work, and it was such a treat to see them, even if it was only for a couple of hours at the airport.

My uncle is my mom's youngest brother, and I have always loved spending time with him - he is super smart and fun to talk to. Luiza, at 10 years old, is my youngest cousin, and I love her! She is smart, fun, energetic (the last picture is of her speeding around the airport on her Heelys), affectionate, and she and I get along great (despite having only met twice now).

Luiza is moving to Holland with her mom next month, and Kevin and I are thinking a trip to Amsterdam just might be in order for next summer. Fun!

aunt jan visits

A visit from Kevin's Aunt Jan at the end of June. Twins game, trip to Duluth, and a 7-mile walking exploration of Minneapolis. Thanks for the fun visit, Jan!

star wars: return of the brother

Ryan, Kevin's brother, stayed with us for a couple of weeks back in June. He came out to visit us from Berkeley and it was awesome having him here for a whole two weeks. I know Kevin especially enjoyed being able to spend so much time with his brother - someone with that same Shevlin sense of humor to laugh at all of his jokes and fuel his adorkableness.

One of the things we did while Ryan was here, is go to the special Star Wars exhibit at the Science Center in St. Paul. I'll admit, although initially I wasn't as excited about the exhibit as Kevin was, I actually had a good time. All of my fears about being surrounded by a strange tribe of nerdy, overly-excitable, Star Wars fans dressed as Jedis and Yoda, dissipated once we were in the door. It was mostly just normal (non-costumed) people checking things out. Kevin and Ryan had a good time with all of the sciency interactive exhibits (lots of stuff involving robots,magnets, and building mini-hovercrafts), and I had a good time watching them and letting my not-so-inner dork roam freely (see pictures below).

We each got to ride a hovercraft, which was interesting and a lot harder to maneuver than you might think - Kevin was the best at it. I'm so proud. All in all, a great geeky day!

Ry, we miss you. May the force be with you, and may you soon return to Minnesota.

Doing my famous Chewie imitation. It's good, trust me.

Hovercraft driver.

Building stuff.

a sisterly weekend

My sister came out to visit us from Houston! Something happens when I'm with my sisters - we get a little weird, and I love it. It was so fun having Melissa here, and next time Kevin and I hope that Gigie, Alex, and Ryan can come out, too, for a complete brothers & sisters (in-law) reunion.

Thanks for a wonderful birthday gift, Kev and Mel!