Eric's life in pictures...

Here are a collection of photos of me throughout my life so far that will give you a sense of who I am. Thanks for looking at my photo tour!

1. Me and My Wife, Taylor

   This is me on my wedding day, (May 24th, 2019) with my beautiful wife, Taylor. She thinks I'm weird. I promise the photographer told me to lift up her dress...

2. Me fishing for bass as a child

   I guess I always was a bit of a strange child, as you can tell by these rad pants. This was taken at Sheriff Lake near our family farm. I certainly caught quite a few bass that day.

3. My sister and I feeding the dairy cows

   I was born and raise on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota. At milking-time, my sister and I helped out as much as we could. Here we are feeding grain to some happy milk cows while my dad watched from the background. We had about 50 head and they were all friendly.

4. My dad showing my how to milk a cow

   Until I was older, my dad did most of the milking. Here he is showing me how to wash the teats to keep the cow's udders clean. It would be an "udder" mess if they were dirty!

5. Me raking hay under the hot summer sun

   Of course there was always plenty to do other than milking. Making hay was a favorite pastime of mine (not). Here I am raking hay in a field so we could bale it. I got to spend lots of hours driving tractor.

6. Me driving a tractor and round-baling

   When I got older, I was able to drive the big tractors. Here I am round-baling, which is much more favorable than square. Note the hearing protection, tractors are loud.

7. In a town of ~400 people, I attended grades K-12 in the same building

   I graduated with about 30 students. Some came and went, but those of us in this photo had been classmates for the entire 13 years. Having a small class for that long means everyone knows EVERYTHING about you.

8. The McGregor Mercuries football team goes to State

   There were a lot of good times, and I took part in many extra-curriculars to umm... avoid as much hay-making as possible. My senior year, was the first time our school ever went to state. I attrribute this to the number of farmboys involved, including myself. Simply put, if you can tackle a cow, you can tackle a person.

9. I graduated from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN

   I graduated with a biochemistry degree and a Spanish minor (muy chevre), and when I look back now, a terrible choice in lenses... Here I am on graduation day after the super-exciting graduation ceremony.

10. I met the love of my life in the Twin Cities

    I was working in the Biotech field after college when I decided it was time to go back to grad school. I started working a second job at _Planet Fitness_. The assistant manager was pretty cute and she couldn't resist me (nor I, her). Fast-forward, we bought a house in St. Paul, and I asked her to marry me our first Christmas in our house. Can you guess what she said?

11. Taylor and I got married on May 24th, 2019

    a long engagement (because it was hard to plan during the first years of grad school), we finally got married and had an excellent ceremony. My long-time friend, Tony, performed the nuptials. Here we are at the altar saying "I do". There was an A/C vent right above me, which is why it might look like I have tears in my eyes.

12. Taylor's and my wedding party

    Our wedding party consisted of very close friends and family. Mine included my best friend from high school, Myles (middle), and my best friends from college, Bill (right) and Myles (left). (yes 2 different, Myles. I have an affinity for them.) Taylor's included her sister, Olyvia (right), her awesome cousin, Victoria (middle), and my sister, Robin (left).

13. Taylor and I are complete opposites in almost every way

    This photo sums up the day, and our relationship nicely. Taylor didn't shed a tear and is never very emotional. I cried profusely (though I insist it was because there was dirt in my eye) and I suppose I generally do wear my heart on my sleeve.

14. A honeymoon in Banff National Park

    Taylor and I had an exceptional honeymoon in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Here is our favorite picture of Peyto Lake in Banff National Park. It's so amazing how blue the glacial waters are! I might have cried at this scene.

15. My wonderful family

    Here we are with our amazing family at the wedding. Pictured left to right: Taylor's sister, Olyvia; Taylor's brother, Riley; My mom, Sharon; Me and Taylor (obviously); Taylor's dad, Robb; Taylor's mom, Deanna; My sister, Robin; Taylor's brother, Brayden. They're all so great!

16. My mom and sister

    Fun fact: My sister and I both attended St. Scholastica. Here she is (right) with my mom (left) at one of her softball games. She played catcher and now has the bad knees to prove it. Since both of my parents are only siblings, and my parents are divorced, they are pretty much my entire family, minus my dad.

17. My mom is my biggest inspiration

    My mom has always supported me and my science and is the reason I am where I am today. She's a bit goofy and cries at everything, and I am sure that's where I get it from. Here we are after I ran Grandma's Marathon in Duluth. She supports me in everything. Thanks, Mom!