Q. What’s the best possible gift for Christmas? A. Getting the Notorious M.O.M. back with us!
We’re so happy to report that we were able to spring Margot from the hoosegow on Tuesday, and we’ve all been chilling this week, thanks especially to pals bringing us all manner of delicious chow. The plan is to keep laying low, and honestly the human boys are relieved to skip a post-Christmas road trip for once.
Here’s a little gallery showing all six of us enjoying presents around the tree. As always, here’s to gratitude, and to a healthy & happy 2026 and beyond!
Sharing Notre Dame-related experiences with the boys & my folks has made this fall truly one of a kind.
In the last few years I’ve been pleased to drop by an ND MBA class held in Silicon Valley, sharing some hard-won & hopefully entertaining insights I’ve picked up over the years. This year I was surprised & delighted to receive an invite to return to campus on a football weekend (which somehow I hadn’t done since graduating!) and once again address the class, and to speak with a large group of faculty & staff who are wrestling with AI and its implications for education.
The boys joined me for a redeye flight to Chicago (sorry for slumping over on your tray table, Hen!), where we met up with my folks, then drove down to South Bend.
Our whirlwind four days included:
The boys touring campus
Running into my old roommate Ed and his son, doing the same!
Dropping by my old friend & boss Kevin’s house for pizza
Hen getting to walk through the stadium tunnel
Finn squeezing in an early-morning SAT (which he nailed)
Touring the Studebaker museum
Seeing the football team & band walk right past us (hi, Coach!)
Beating the pants off of Boise State (whose fans are very nice!)
Quite predictably, Hen & I took such a debilitating number of photos (!) that it’s only now that I’m getting around to sharing them. Without further ado:
We headed back west on Sunday, stopping off at cousin Liz’s house in Chicago for a great Lou-Malnati’s-infused gathering; see pics here.
The rest of our trip was thankfully uneventful, and a few weeks passed before the Irish flew west for their season finale at nearby Stanford Stadium. The lads and I got to enjoy the ND tailgater, where Hen got to meet the famous Leprechaun!
Afterwards, as we still had some time & it was pretty darn cold (at least by our Cali standards), we quietly snuck into a Stanford tailgater—where we met none other than the famous Andrew Luck (former star quarterback at Stanford & in the NFL); hence “Luck with the Irish.” He graciously came over and shook Finn’s hand, despite our copious ND paraphernalia!
Once the game finally started, we enjoyed watching the team again beat the brakes off their opponents. You can check out our views in this gallery.
“I’m just the kind of guy who looks real good in a suit!” — Henry, quoting Uncle Ted at the same age 🙂
Our handsome gents recently escorted the lovely Brianna & Mandy to Bellarmine’s winter formal, as you can see in the photos below & in this little gallery.
We weren’t able to get a photo of the boys together, so being the geek-dad I am, I couldn’t resist asking AI to imagine them in a winter wonderland. Not bad, I (and perhaps only I ;-)) think!
“Gratitude is alchemy,” they say: it’s a transformative practice which, much like traditional alchemy sought to turn lead into gold, helps us see the extraordinary in the everyday.
Pulling together a year-end photo gallery for Margot to use when selecting Christmas card pics, I was struck by just how many cool (literally & figuratively) experiences we’ve gotten to share with our dudes this year. Among them:
…and that’s just the experiences for which we have pics! 😀
Man, we couldn’t be happier with the chaps or more grateful for the times we’ve gotten to spend together. Here’s to more adventures in 2026 and beyond.
Man, could we possibly have lucked out more in getting our friend Mr. Seamus, aka Smilin’ Jim, the fancy gentleman & employee of the month? Absurd question: of course not! 😀
Our buddy remains a genial delight, gamely accompanying us on adventures near and far, and now putting up with his perpetually nippy (if well meaning) new little brother. Check out this gallery showing some of our favorite moments with him in 2025.
Every day with this chap—from our first meeting to today—remains a gift. Here’s to many more, curly pal!
Yesterday, Hen (known as our Licensed Adventure Catalyst™, for reliably getting us out of the house & doing fun things) was inspired to suggest that we return to the USS Hornet up in Alameda.
I love having a MiniMe who shares my loves of photography and arcane plane facts. Sunset ended up being the perfect time to capture some striking silhouettes—and props (heh) to Hen for spotting some puddles that provided us with great natural mirrors. Check our our gallery for all the shots.
PS—This time around, despite having just seen Dr. Strangelove for the first time, Hen did not do his best Slim Pickens impersonation. 😉
Back in 2019, en route to & from Legoland, we found an out-of-the-way vineyard where Hen was the surprise beneficiary of a low-speed tour in a ’52 lowrider Chevy; see photos and video.
Building on his longstanding enjoyment of classic cars, especially of the artfully modified variety, we dropped by a lowrider gathering in San Jose on Saturday, taking in the lovingly hand-crafted rolling art.
Hen’s eye for detail is really coming along, as you can see in this gallery of great images he captured.
Man, it’s surprisingly bittersweet to realize that our dudes—who’ve started school together since what seems like the dawn of time—have just had their last joint FDOS (First Day Of School).
With the Finnster starting his senior year (!) and Hen being a junior, this marks what’ll almost certainly be their last joint starting day (well, unless Hen follows in Finn’s footsteps to a school to be named later!). Sigh… the days are long but the years are short, always.
We’ve long been intrigued by Donner Pass—named after the ill-fated (as in, cannibal) expedition that became stuck there, and which the transcontinental railroad was able to surmount through immense skill, effort, & will.
Hen’s buddy Peter had previously hiked the 3-mille trail that now runs where the original rails once lay, and on Saturday the three of us made the long drive (nearly all the way to Lake Tahoe!) to hike it ourselves.
As you can see in our gallery, we enjoyed the immense tunnels & snow sheds, popping out perodically to enjoy some spectacular views en route to the current railroad—which we caught in action!
Yes, we’re terribly behind on updating the ol’ Micronaxx—but in our defense, as soon as Hen turned 16 (technically earlier, even), we skipped the continent! 🙂
Here’s a quick gallery of El Segundo celebrating in Leadville with the fam, including cousin Kristen visiting from Illinois:
And, making up for a bit of lost time, here are a couple of galleries that gather shots Hen & I took on the Fourth of July—first at the parade, and afterwards at the airport BBQ.
And boom goes the dynamite! For the last what feels like forever, Hen has been dutifully squirreling away in the basement, building up an amazing Butch-and-Sundance-themed diorama to enter into the Walthers National Model Railroad Build-Off.
As you can see in this gallery, the plan really came together in a spectacular blaze of glory, re-enacting one of the movie’s famous train robbery scenes. Way to go, Henry—we’re so proud of your hard work and craftsmanship! (And as our friend Jodi just remarked, “There is no person more qualified to create a model train diorama!!!!” :-D)
PS—Mom adds, “OMG SO FREAKING OUTSTANDING!!!! Hen, I could not love this more!”
As I type this, Finn is working to distribute food from the Bellarmine garden to area folks in need.
This is the culmination of his year-long project that focused on remedies for food insecurity in our area, which included a group trip to Washington, DC to advocate to lawmakers. On Tuesday he and his classmates shared their work at Presentation High School. Check out some photos as well as his great short speech below (written copy).
We’re so proud of this articulate & socially conscious young man, and we love that he’s stepping up next year to lead the group’s ongoing work!
On Sunday we wrapped up Finn’s first season of hockey by celebrating with his teammates. Little did we know that he’d be honored by them as the “Most Inspirational” player of the year! It was great to see his courage and hard work recognized, as you can see in this little gallery of shots from the day. Way to go, kiddo!
On Thursday night we had the pleasure of walking around San Francisco’s North Beach area, getting a guided tour of the area’s rich design history from the preservationists at SF Neon.
From the famous City Lights bookstore to Golden Boy Pizza & beyond, we loved hearing the many stories behind the faded facades—and then getting out of the chilly SF night & into a cozy Italian restaurant. Check out our gallery to see the sights.
On Saturday, the whole fam (including Seamus) had the pleasure of heading over to Santa Cruz to meet up with Finn and help him get prepped for a super fun prom with the lovely Brianna.
Finn had gotten to spend the day on the beach with pals, and the rest of us transported his formalwear over the mountains to help him look sharp. As he headed off to the dance (at the historic Santa Cruz Boardwalk) with Brianna & her mom, the rest of us drove off to explore sunset in Capitola and Santa Cruz.
Much as we did last year, Hen & I brought ourselves (Lego & human) up to SF for the annual St. Paddy’s parade. This year, though, we had the pleasure of Margot/Mom joining us. From bacon-wrapped street dogs to Irish coffees at the Hibernia, we took in the treats & sights. Thanks largely to Hen, we’ve got some fun photos & vids to share from the beautiful day.
And just in case you’re feeling nostalgic, here are some celebrations from years gone by:
A couple of weeks ago, I took the dudes (under some good-natured protest) over to Bellarmine’s annual “Bell Wars” (father/son tests of ironic-athletic skill). Finn utterly crushed us at the “high striker” strength test, and he got me on the first of our best-of-three arm wrestling contests—until I deployed devious mind games to prevail in the final two!
Now that I’ve finally gotten the blog train rolling, let’s keep the momentum going!
For the last three days of Bellarmine’s appropriately named Ski Week, I headed up to Tahoe with Finn & his pals Malachy and Leo (a teenaged human, not a beloved old stuffed lion). Our 48-hour whirlwind featured donut-shop refueling, ironic pogo stick acquisition, and way too much hip hop (“Not nearly enough” — Finn, probably :-)).
Finn hadn’t skied in two years, and prior to that he’d been out for lessons just twice as a tiny dude—first at age 5 and then at age 10. Thus I was genuinely impressed at the rapid progress he made over two days, as you can see in the video below & in our gallery.
Honestly it’s not that far to get up to Tahoe, so we’re hoping for many snowy returns!
Man, it’s hard to believe that fully 17 years ago today, “our little Finnmaster General” (as we called him in the very first post here) came storming into the world at 4:54am. Our adventures with him in just the last year—to say nothing of all 17—have been too numerous to count, but we’ve put together a not-so-little photo gallery covering the last 12 months. Highlights include:
Our inaugural Airstream adventure (out to Death Valley)
Our family camping trip to Yosemite
Grandpa Liggett coming to town & taking in a Sharks game
Finn-Dad adventures around Lake Shasta
Finn-Mom explorations of Boston, Rhode Island, and Maine
High times in the mountains with cousins (and foul fish!)
The Changemakers class trip to Washington, DC
Thanksgiving in Galena & Chicago with all manner of fam
Finn’s inaugural season of hockey, of course!
Our great, weird Christmas road trip down to Palm Springs
Snowy fun in Tahoe with the Ski Amigos
…and, finally, cake & presents with pals at home this weekend (see vid below).
We sure love you, Squirrel/Squire/Finno. Here’s to another terrific year ahead. 🙂
