Following a little outing yesterday to see mechanical dinosaurs, the lads watched some Dinosaur Train & got into sidewalk chalk with Mom-O. Watch as Finny questions her grasp of dino species. 🙂
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Author: The Nack Daddy
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Training Days
As Margot detailed the other day, we had a ball traveling to Sacramento by train with my folks. Here’s a gallery from the excursion, showing off the deservedly famous California State Railroad Museum.
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Of Pride & Protein-ous
Just like their human master, Finny’s lion pride is blonde & meat-lovin’. As Henry would conclude the ABCs song, “…next time won’t you sing with meat.”
“Equal parts grumpy old man and delightful, snuggly, hilarious kid,” says Margot of Henry*, and I fully agree. Amazingly it’s been a full four years since our crazy little “El Segundo” barnstormed into town. What a crazy ride…
We’re a bit pooped from taking the lads out for some celebratory sushi, but here’s a little gallery of the terrific party we had on the Fourth with our wonderful pals, plus some delightful present-opening with my folks & then this morning.
And from memory lane:
* She also says this about me 😉
This year marks the second year we’ve taken the Micronaxx camping at Big Basin with a bunch of our Las Madres friends and their kids. Last year John was flying solo with the boys because I had a weekend workshop. So, this year was my first time going! We had a blast! We were the first ones to arrive at the camp site on Friday afternoon, so we had our pick of places to pitch our tent. The boys always get really excited about setting up and then testing out the tent and air mattresses, and then proceed to running around and exploring the campground.
There were tons of things for everyone to do, thanks to many of the crafty and camp-expert moms who helped plan the trip. We checked out a tipi made of large branches at the edge of the campground. And of course, we had s’mores after roasting hot dogs for dinner on Friday night. Then the kids ran around in the dark with their headlamps on – which looked like a giant swarm of fireflies.
On Saturday morning, the kids got to paint some bandannas and water bottle holders, which they then took on a short hike to the little waterfall down the trail. We also looked for, and found, banana slugs, which are now known as “bonobos” based on a TALB that was borne out of last year’s sighting.
Here’s a little gallery of all the proceedings.
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The Bifurcation Sensation!
As you may well know, Margot & I have long enjoyed calling one another “Peanut” (feel free to roll your eyes—I’ll wait ;-)), and long before we were even engaged, I made her a sort of bizarre “peanut car” from Legos. It carried peanut M&M’s, and I added the license plate “BIFURC8” for fun:
Here’s a clip of the boys discovering it yesterday in Margot’s office.
Anyway, it only took us the better part of a decade, but we’ve now kitted out a real car (the A8) with “BIFURC8”! That is some nerdy, nerdy family love—i.e., just our two-lobed cup of tea!
Henry Nack: Nothing if not theatrical in the barber’s chair. :-p
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Happy Father’s Day, Finnegan-style
“Dad-O, this is me, thinking of you,” says Finn. Aw shucks—is this a great first homemade card or what? 🙂
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Offbeat Monologues in the Dark
For some reason a couple of months ago, Finn decided that once a month, Mom-O should do a sleepover in his room (cuddling with him all night). Never one to be left out, Henry decided that he should get a similar arrangement with Dad-O, and thus on Monday night we each headed to one of the dudes’ rooms.
Henry persuaded me quite foolishly to agree to stay in his room after I tucked him in, doing “homework” on my laptop in the lower bunk. Even after I shut its lid, he was so jazzed about my presence that he couldn’t stop monologuing into the darkness. Later I jotted down some of his bizarre utterances:
- Dad-O, why do you love Manti Te’o so much?
- I love Manti Te’o, too. We all do, ’cause we’re Irish people.
- [singing] I just haaate my daaad doing home-worrrrk…
- Your computer keeps winking at me!
- When do construction workers build volcanoes?
- Lava & magma are cousins.
- Sometimes when smoke detectors get dusty, they freak out.
- I’m playing tricks with that light [crossing his eyes]. Do you see??
- Air conditioning sprays out ghosts.
And so on, and on, for hours. I was of course tired, trapped, and frustrated (just go to bed, Goonie!!). And yet I finally just laid back & resolve to enjoy the ride. We won’t have the wee man just like this for long. 🙂
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If the Micronaxx sported jewelry…
…it just might look like this. 🙂 Their desire for cheese sandwiches knows no bounds. Margot thinks they should start a tiny, orange-bandana-sporting gang, throwin’ cheese-signs and getting into scuffles with rival preschoolers (the Colbys vs. the Muensters, etc.).
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Aquaman Jr.
Watch your back, Esther Williams. 🙂
Comrades in silliness. 🙂
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Kindergarten-bound!
Well, our first (pseudo)academic milestone has come and gone. Our man Finny “graduated” from preschool last week, and is now officially on his way to Kindergarten in the fall. The Maestras at Pasitos put on a really fun little ceremony and potluck dinner for the graduates and families. All the kids got to make gold cardboard mortarboards and decorate them, and they each got to walk up and receive a little certificate while the Maestras said something nice about them. It was very cute and Finny was very proud. At the end, all the kids and Maestras danced to “Guantanamera.”
Henry, on the other hand, had a complete and utter meltdown just before the ceremony started. Tons of shrieking and crying to the state of hyperventilation. (Of course, this happened front and center next to all the waiting families…) “No one is paying attention to me, Mom-o! No one is playing with me! Why don’t I get a present?” I think we finally got a big ol’ glimpse of sibling jealousy. I got him calmed down enough with a little lap time, and then he was off riding a tricycle behind the ceremony until it was finished and the rest of the kids could play.
Here’s a gallery of the afternoon’s proceedings, including a fantastic surprise visit by some Mexican heritage dancers in full costume. As Henry noted: “Mom-o, they’re not wearing pants, or shoes and socks..or shirts!” But they had some mighty cool feathered headdresses and rattles on their ankles.
May I interest you in a refreshing, ice-cold Lego on this warm day? 🙂
Henry being the young king of the goofballs. 🙂
As Margot likes to note, Henry loves physical comedy & inciting his brother. Here those two great tastes go great together, with the big guy inspecting the little one for toe jam:
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Lizard Kings
Behold, Finnster & Dad-O tame the snake rollercoaster at Gilroy Gardens. 🙂
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Recent silliness
Finny enjoys an ice cream-induced “brain freeze”:
Henry attends the Preschool of Rock:
Hans & Franz, The Next Generation:
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Snuggleando
Oh, hello there. 🙂
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A new perspective on gardening
Why hello there, Henry. 🙂
