Jamie Thingelstad

Homemade pasta night.

Without a question this was the best concert that I’ve ever seen at the Minnesota State Fair, and for Brandi it was one of the best shows of hers we’ve been to. The night started off different with Brandi singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, not at the end in an encore, but instead it was the 2nd song of the night. An early nod to the set list ahead and the special night.

Brandi recounted how 15 years ago they performed free shows at the Minnesota State Fair. She also shared her love of fairs and highlighted that her very first concert was seeing the Judds perform (Wynona Judd opened up for her!) at a fair in Washington. The set list went deep. Her wife Katherine came out for a song. Wynona came up for three different songs. It was an epic night filled with love.

See list of Brandi Carlile shows.

What do you do when the only opportunity for the State Fair is to arrive a couple hours before the Brandi Carlile concert in the Grandstand? There is much to do, and not much time. Move fast!

✅ Sweet Martha’s Cookies
✅ Meet old friends at Lulu’s
✅ Dinner at Baba’s
✅ Giant Sing Along
✅ Fine Arts Building
✅ Prize winning student art in Education Building
✅ Cheese Curds from Mouse Trap in Food Building
✅ Crop Art in Horticulture Building
✅ Butter heads and Ice Cream at Dairy Building
✅ Giant Slide

We made our regular visit to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival today! We hit all of our favorites. Both kids made their regular attempts at Jacob’s Ladder but it still eludes them. Cheese curds, Turtles on a stick, and a Beef Stick for me.

_Family selfie at the King's Gate._ _Knights Guard._ _There was a race up the climbing wall, and then Mazie and Tyler both did it again._ _Tyler trying out the archery._ _Tyler likes to whip tomatoes while being insulted._ _It is a tradition that I have to do the sledge hammer each year. [I dinged it!](https://www.thingelstad.com/2023/08/27/annual-tradition-at.html)_ _Both kids love the trampoline jumping._ _We see Tuey everytime we go to the RenFest. He's been performing at the RenFest for 42 years! (He's 61 years old!)_

A few years ago we got a simple flat top grill at the lake and it has become one of our favorite ways to cook outside. I decided to upgrade and ordered this Blackstone 36" with a ton of accessories and air fryers which is a new thing for me to try. 🔥👨‍🍳

Made Swedish Pancakes this morning with my Mom. She prepared the batter and I worked the flat top. These pancakes are one of Tyler’s very favorite things.

Tammy and I have both been digging into Peter Attia’s new book Outlive. The way he frames these health and wellness topics resonates strongly with me. So much that I decided to subscribe to gain access to the deeper dives on specific topics like blood pressure.

Picked up Mason Jennings records and a songbook.