What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.

Todd R.: Really liking Hijack on AppleTV, and snooping around on that streaming service made us discover Shrinking, which was terrific. This Harrison Ford guy is great in comedy (listen to him on Conan O’Brien’s podcast for further proof) and Jessica Williams is as funny as anyone I have seen on TV in a long time. A great one-two punch. Just saw Oppenheimer, which was also great (we are big Cillian Murphy fans, but Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. are just as good), but without pairing it as a double feature with Barbie. However, the New York Times interview with Greta Gerwig is a really great look at how she pieced together what Barbie the Movie should be.   

Rich: July has been loaded with Forschler/Breen family fun. We started the month with a family vacation in the Hamptons (Long Island, New York). Kari’s sister and her spouse once again hosted our family at the home they rent during the summer. The Hamptons has beautiful woodlands with wonderful beaches for good measure. Our return to Minneapolis got delayed by a big storm, but our return was only delayed one day.

A week later, our children who live in New York (David and Emma) and their significant others (Ashley and Andy) arrived for a week in Minneapolis. The entire family was back together again.

Of course, all of this family time was filled with great meals, golf, remote work, connecting with friends and wonderful conversation. Most importantly, it reminded all of us how important family and friends are in our lives.

I hope you have found time to be with family and friends too.

Todd S.: For me, July was “welcome back, ‘What We Do In The Shadows” month. The vampire series is a favorite, though be warned, it’s a bit on the naughty side if you haven’t seen it. We also checked out what should be the last ride for Indiana Jones (better than the fourth film). And finally, I caught the new Mission Impossible movie – yeah, it was all about TV and film this month. I must say the Tom Cruise franchise continues to have legs. Very entertaining if you don’t score heavily on sensible plot. Big family trip to the coast of Maine in August. I’ll have pictures to share, I’m sure.

Jodi: At times it feels like having a cabin makes you an unofficial B&B operator. July has been quite busy with lots of visits from family and friends. Fortunately, everyone brings great snacks, new beverages to try and an “all hands on deck” approach when it comes to cooking, cleaning and activities. We once again enjoyed the incredible fireworks show our neighbors across the lake put on every year. I spent a fantastic weekend with friends for our annual girls weekend at the lake. We’ve lost count but this may have been our 10th year. I’ve been finding good reads in the free little libraries on my walks including Anxious People and Britt-Marie was Here, both by Fredrik Backman. I was about to start watching season four of the Jack Ryan series on Amazon until the Star Tribune came out with a list of the Top 15 breakfast sandwiches in the Twin Cities. So…it looks like I’ll be pretty busy for a while.

Sean: Summer is flying by. With Rosie’s maternity leave officially over, she’s gone back to work at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, leaving some fantastic (and exhausting) father-son bonding time for James and me. While the nights are long, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. He also started daycare this month, which was a lot more emotional for Dad than I expected, though I’m grateful to have some relief during the days.

We’ve been fortunate to be on the go this summer, with trips to cabins and various family events nearly every weekend. It’s been an action-packed summer and we’re trying to appreciate each day we’ve got together as a family.

Mom and Dad’s first date night out of the summer included a viewing of “Barbie”. While I was shooting for Oppenheimer, I know when to fold’em and thoroughly enjoyed the movie… even went so far as to paint my toenails pink to be part of the “in-crowd” (and win some brownie points with the wife).

A few more cabin trips, soccer games, golf and a lot of time with James ahead to close out the summer!

Anna: The month was punctuated by Owen’s first two teeth – mostly just figuratively. I caught up on two great reads from one of my favorite Minnesota authors, Allen Eskens. The Stolen Hours gave me goosebumps and kept me riveted, while Nothing More Dangerous was simultaneously poignant, funny and adventurous. Our families also enjoyed an army airshow, where I unapologetically geeked out about the Medevac helicopter demonstrations and the Chinook helicopter lifting a truck. Oh! And we busted up the concrete in our basement for drain tile (and by “we” I mean my husband and dear friends), which has resulted in dust, more dust and excitement for the renovations to come.

Meredith: This month I made an impromptu trip to central Illinois for my friend’s baby shower mid-month — I thought the shower was happening September 15th, not July 15th and realized my mistake when I received the “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow morning” text. Luckily, I was free that weekend, so I managed to make it anyway! Other highlights include visiting with friend from Massachusetts, harvesting herbs and veggies from my gardens, and seeing the movie “Sound of Freedom” in theaters. The movie doesn’t have a large advertising budget as it was created by a smaller group, but you can’t tell based on the quality of the film. It’s based on a true story about an FBI agent who quits his job of putting away child molesters to go rescue a child who has been trafficked and is lost in rebel-controlled territory in Columbia. The movie is well done and, while heart wrenching, sheds much needed light on the global issue of human trafficking. I would absolutely recommend going to see it.

Now for the update I know you have all been waiting for: Between the weather, air quality and travel, my July training miles (bike) only totaled 46.5 miles, but still went out to RABRAI (the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). My mom flew out to visit then joined me on the RAGBRAI adventure. We rode Wednesday, which was the 58 miles between Ames and Des Moines and, while I kicked biking butt, the heat kicked my butt in return. By 11 a.m. it was 96 with a “real feel” of 110 plus heat coming back up off the pavement! For health safety reasons, I chose not to ride Thursday which was even hotter and hillier.

RAGBRAI Stats:

·         Was a part of a 60-person team (The Clydesdales)

·         Completed 58 miles

·         High speed of 31.2 mph

·         1,085 Ft of elevation gain

·         Rode 18-20 mph for a 7-mile stretch

·         An estimated 50,000-60,000 other cyclists rode Wednesday’s route

·         Pulled the Peloton line for nearly 25 miles

Cullen: July was the best kind of busy. To start, I spent a weekend camping in the Black Hills with three good friends where we hiked (briefly through pea-sized hail) up Black Elk Peak and fished the Deerfield Reservoir.

A few weeks later, Lauren and I spent an entertaining weekend out in Boston where we enjoyed lazy walks down Newbury Street, a visit to the Isabella-Stewart Gardner Museum and a day trip out to Salem highlighted by the best seafood I’ve ever had. We also caught a game at Fenway Park, which was amazing until it was rained out.

To close out the month, we drove down to Kansas City for a (very hot) reunion with long-time friends where we caught a game between the Royals and the Twins and enjoyed some very tasty BBQ at Q39.

Back in Madison, I caught the Please Don’t Destroy comedy trio for the start of their U.S. tour, the Art Fair on the Square and treated a few Minnesota friends to Fete de Marquette. Lauren and I also enjoyed eats at Bar Corallini, Little Tibet and Heritage Tavern. I was admittedly shocked when Minnesota was snubbed in this year’s nominations for the James Beard Awards, but I’m starting to understand why Wisconsin wasn’t…

Between things, I finished reading Crooked Kingdom and promptly dove right into Shadow and Bone trilogy. I’m also working my way through Evicted, a truly brilliant work that I can’t recommend enough. I’ve been enjoying Quarterback and the final season of The Witcher, but Barbie and Oppenheimer are next on my list.

Kaylee: Any time friends from previous seasons of life come to visit, I count myself lucky. After a year of not seeing each other, two of my best friends from Berlin were in town and it was a grand ol’ reunion. We didn’t do much other than eat a fair share of Minneapolis’ delicious food, taking a few strolls around my neighborhood tour and playing a few games. Other than that, I’ve been laying low this month and reading “Becoming Fluent: How Cognitive Science Can Help Adults Learn a Foreign Language” to get a better understanding of barriers to and opportunities for improving language learning skills. I love science and language, so this book continues to keep me engaged.

Colette: July brings another month of trying to make the most of summer while we have it. Independence Day weekend was spent and my grandparents’ cabin, where my family and I spent time on the boat, enjoyed lake sunsets and each other’s company.

I also managed to squeeze in a weekend trip to Sioux Falls, SD, both to help Dylan’s brother move, but also to spend time together. We ate at Roots of Brasil, a locally owned Brazilian restaurant with delicious risotto and Caribbean Jerk Chicken on the menu. We ended our night at Highball, a trendy and upscale cocktail joint downtown.

It goes without saying that my two younger sisters, my mom and I attended the Barbie movie, at a theatre so packed that there was not a single spot in the parking lot left. Surrounded by pink, we enjoyed the buzz of the theatre filled by such a fun show.

The month ended with another trip to the cabin, this time with two of my childhood friends for a girl’s weekend.

Alex: What a phenomenal July. To kick off July, I spent the 4th in the Iron Range. They have an annual Street Dance in Eveleth, MN which is always a blast. On our way up, we stopped at my girlfriend’s parents’ new house near Cloquet. Just a beautiful new home they got.  

I went out for my friend’s bachelor party where we enjoyed Spitz, which is delicious Mediterranean food. We also toured the Surly Brewing facility, went to Top Golf and went back and hung out at an Airbnb with a lot of our good friends.

Next stop for me was Ironton, MN where my girlfriend and I stayed at a cute little cabin on Little Rabbit Lake. While we were there, we played mini-golf, went kayaking, went hiking and mountain biking on the Cuyuna trails which were stunning.

Finally, I got to witness and be part of a beautiful wedding ceremony celebrating two friends who are very dear to me. The wedding venue was in Welch, MN, and the venue itself was amazing. Getting to celebrate with such a fun group of people will be the highlight of my summer, maybe even my entire year.