We've been doing so much with Ezra out of the house lately, that I've realized that Magda has been getting the short end of the stick. And she's turned into such an amazingly sweet and great dog (man those first months were rough!), and I want to be sure to keep her fresh in your minds. Plus, I'm feeling guilty about leaving the sweet girl out of the posts lately.Our walks this week have been shorter than usual due to the absolutely ridiculous and cruel humidity here in Minnesota right now, so I shot a few images of her around the house.
For your internet shares of the week:+ This piece on listening to people with opposing viewpoints was interesting to me. I am seriously doubting anyone out there could convince me to vote for Trump, but I would be interested in having the discussion. And let me be clear, I would want that discussion to revolve around why you WOULD vote for trump, not why you would NOT vote for Hillary. Those are different topics to me.+ I am super afraid of messing with electricity and killing myself, but if you are not and would like an awesome light fixture, I loved this DIY project for such wonderfulness. And this reminds me that I should probably install that dimmer that I bought 6 months ago for the dining room....+ Middle Eastern Nachos? Let's make this for dinner now!
Eeek! How fast can I write a blog post?! That is the question!You see, I'm out at a coffee shop working today because I cracked my iPhone screen (again). Don't worry, I have a new case on the way ... sadly giving up on my current one. But I digress.I dropped off my phone for repairs, and I knew I would have an hour to wait at the coffee shop across the street. So I brought my laptop but, sadly, forgot my charger! And I only had 14% left when I began to post. So as you can imagine, I'm typing as fast as I can here.These photos are of the lovely Arya, who is a 2 year old rescue. She is amazing and funny and so, so sweet. I cannot even begin to tell you about all the kisses I got during this shoot and how much I liked this girl. And those eyes! Be still my heart!
Ah! I'm down to 7%! Better get you your internet shares of the day, eh? Here you go!+ I'm certain you have seen Michelle Obama's speech at the DNC by now (
On Sunday, we decided to check out the new U.S. Bank Stadium (aka the new Vikings Stadium) downtown. We are not Vikings fans (sorry!), but since roughly $500 million of taxpayer money went into building this thing, we thought we should check it out. And yes, I have opinions on $500 million of taxpayer money being spent on a stadium to house roughly 10 football games a year. Oh sure, I know more events will be held there. But how many sellouts? I cannot imagine more than 1-2 sellouts per month on average. The cost just seems ridiculous to me.Also, Metallica is one of the first concerts being held at that stadium, and I am curious what that will sound like in a pointy room full of steel and glass. But I digress.
It drives me nuts that the ceiling beam there is not in line with the center of the field. But that's probably just me.I should say something nice though. Right when you walk into the place, this is about your view. It is open and airy and it feels like it's outside (even though it's clearly not). I do like that about the design.
Only in Minnesota, am I right?
I thought this was interesting -- I expected concerts to be in the end zones. I don't know if this was set up to illustrate what concerts would look like or not, but it was fascinating to think about.Ok! Internet shares of the day:+ We in Plesserville (especially the youngest) are enjoying 
This weekend was one of discovery around town. On Friday, Nyberg and I took Ezra to a local nature center (it was a bazillion degrees out), where we ate a delicious take-out lunch and watched the outside bee hives and nature from the air-conditioned room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. Yeah. I'm a wimp in the heat. (One of the many reasons Miami was no good for me.)
Besides the bees, Ezra loved watching the squirrels steal food from the bird feeders. Also, you can see here how successful he was with a blueberry smoothie in a regular cup and straw. Answer? Not very.
After watching the nature outside, we went to the playroom to discover dress-up wings, puppet theaters, books, puzzles and aquariums filled with turtles, frogs and snakes. Of course he wanted the yellow wings.
This was taken on the way back to the car. That smile melts my heart.
Later that weekend, we all went to check out the new Vikings Stadium (which I'll show more of tomorrow). These are my boys seeing the field for the first time. No, we are not Vikings fans. But since our tax dollars were used to build this thing, we thought we should at least see it in person.
This is the outside of it, in case you are unfamiliar. Hideous, in my opinion. However, I will say that the inside is filled with lots of gorgeous light since there are so many windows. I will also say that I fear for the many birds who will meet their maker by flying into said glass.
Besides the field, the kid's favorite part might have been riding on the escalators.
Oh, and the windows that looked out on the light rail tracks. As we all know, trains are very important to this one.
After the stadium, we walked over to the Guthrie. The falls in the Mississippi were super fast that day!
Here Ez is waiting for the elevator. I don't know why, but he looks like such a big kid to me here.
We went up to the Amber Room to explore, and Ezra loved the window that looks down at the ground far below. Jamie and I are far too wimpy to play around on that glass, so I loved this photo of him tentatively testing the floor.
And, you know, I just love shots like these.
And as we left, Ez insisted on riding the escalator on his own (not being carried). So here he is.
Hey-oh! I shot this image at the end of our trip up north a few weeks back. We drove up to the harbor to watch a ship come in (thanks to 
Yesterday, sweet Wyatt dropped by the studio for some photos. OMG, he is the sweetest, most chill puppy I have ever (EVER) met. Normally, I am chasing puppies all over the studio just trying to freeze the frame enough to get the little suckers in focus (which, btw, is so much fun -- please don't take that as a complaint). Wyatt here strolled into the studio and pretty much just laid down to pose. It was amazing.Enjoy!
For your internet shares today:+ 
Last night, we had the beloved Nyberg come over to babysit so Jamie and I could head out to a concert. We were excited to see the new buzz band Carseat Headrest, and it had been awhile since we'd been to a show at the Triple Rock (one of my favorite spots in town). I brought my camera and while I had pondered pitching this show to local publications to make a little money off the photos, I decided I'd rather come home after the show and go to bed (instead of staying up an additional hour or two processing and writing captions).GOOD DECISION, LESLIE.This band, while sounding fantastic, was sooooooo boring to photograph. They stood perfectly still, barely bobbing their heads for the first 40 minutes of the show. At which point, I put my camera away and wandered to the back of the club to say hello / have a drink with my friends.And with THAT sales pitch, if you'd like you can go 
I have huge goals for photographing the Milky Way. We all know I'm a space nerd and a photography nerd, so this all makes sense, right?It does. Except for the fact that this kid we made wakes me up every day at 6 am (or earlier), and I cannot seem to stay awake past 11 pm. Which makes photographing the Milky Way tough in the summer when the sun sets so late. But I decided to give it a try last week while I was up north.While I can technically (barely) see the Milky Way in these photos, I would consider this to be a pretty big fail considering my end goal is something 
For your internet shares of the day:+ I think