Category: Milestones

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Birthdays Milestones Photos Videos

Lucky 17: The Finn-omenon Rolls On!

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. 🙂

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Milestones Photos

Operation Rolling Finnster!

Well, it’s official: we count Finn among California’s newest batch of licensed drivers!

After practicing quite a bit this summer on the roads around Leadville, he passed his test with flying colors, and he’s already been driving himself & Henry to school (much to the latter’s delight). Here are a couple of pics of their first commute together:

Finn’s also been practicing his Miata-shifting skills, and he took us on the twisty & challenging drive to and from Alice’s Restaurant:

Here’s to many years of (safe) motoring adventures together!

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Milestones Photos

The Iceman Cometh!

We’re so excited that Finn is now officially on the Bellarmine hockey team, getting out on the ice with them for the first game yesterday! He’s really been grinding & his hard work shows.

I’m still (happily) processing the unexpected phenomenon of being a Sports Dad™. 😀 Check out a gallery of shots from the game.

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First Day of School Milestones Photos

Bell Men, Ring In!

Raise high the roof beam, Bellarmine carpenters: our handsome sophomore (!) and junior (!!) are striding in. Here they are in casual mode…

…and then getting set for the first Mass of the year:

Always being one for nostalgia, I thought I’d gather up some previous “First Day of School” pictures into a gallery, as well as the posts below. “The days are long but the years are short,” always…

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Birthdays Milestones Photos

Hen15!

Wow, can it be—our once-small beamish boy Henry has been with us for a full decade and a half? Madness!

We’re so happy and lucky to have this charming chap in our lives. He spent part of his day exploring the rails (of course!), then returned for a feast featuring Chicago dogs, one of Mom’s famous KitKat-infused cakes, and some opening of presents. We put a bow on things with a spectacular sunset photo-walk with Seamus.

Here’s a little gallery of the goings-on.

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Birthdays Photos

F-16: The Finnster Keeps It Sweet

inn Forgets Fifteen, Keeps Moving On Up!

We of course can’t quite believe it, but our big (as in, 6-foot-plus) guy continues his march up the charts of age & height, marking a full sixteen trips around the sun.

We’re so happy & grateful to have this funny, wry, driven, studious, self-starting hockey lover in our home, and we’re excited (if a little scared!) that he’ll soon be behind the wheel, squiring his brother (or similar-sized hockey bag) in the Miata.

Here’s a handful of shots from our recent Death Valley sojourn (more on that soon!), plus a little set showing him opening gifts. Highlights of the latter included a beautiful handmade beanie from Auntie Laura & some delicious Lou Malnati’s pies courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa Nack.

Happy birthday, Squire, and many happy returns!

[See also: Birthday posts from over the years.]

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First Day of School Milestones Photos

Ring in the Bells!

Ding dong!
Who’s there?
Two Bells!

We’re so happy that as of today, we have a pair of Bellarmine Bells in our midst. Henry started his first day of high school while Finn kicked off his sophomore year. Check out a couple shots of our handsome scholars:

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Milestones Photos

Henry the Eighth (Grade Grad)!

It’s true—the Notorious H.S.N. has emerged victorious from Hoover Middle School & is on his way to high school!

The night before Hen’s ceremony at the SAP Center (aka the Shark Tank), we went out to our favorite Italian restaurant, Palermo, to honor the occasion as well as Margot’s birthday & the successful conclusion of Finn’s first year at Bellarmine.

The next day—Margot’s actual birthday—Hen gathered with his class & walked up to receive his certificate, a lei made of candy, and some congratulatory fist-bumps from pals. And from there it was immediate “wheels up,” as Hen, Seamus, and I departed for the first leg of our summer road trip (more on that as it unfolds!).

Check out our gallery of pics.

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Milestones Photos

Henry the Eighth (Grader)!

Check out our handsome G-Man, stepping into his own as the sole Nack rep at Hoover Middle School. Here’s to a great year, kiddo!

Here he’s rocking his “WEB” shirt, denoting his role as an ambassador to help younger kids get acquainted with the school.

And here he’s being Peak Hen, taking beautiful morning photos—including ones featuring insulators. 😌

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First Day of School Milestones Photos

Bring on the Bells!

Can it really be, we have a high schooler in the house?! And yet, the day has come—Finn’s first day as a Bellarmine Bell:

We were glad to help kick off the year right at yesterday’s picnic & Mass, where we met Bellarmine chancellor Fr. Wade. Here’s to a great first year!

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Milestones Photos Summer '22

A Golden Evening at the Brown Palace

After rolling into Denver on the Mountaineer, we were delighted to reunite with Margot & Finn (who’d driven down from Leadville), then rest up at our cool hotel just across from the Rockies’ baseball stadium.

From there we were off to Denver’s famous Brown Palace Hotel, an 1892 icon, to celebrate my folks’ 50th anniversary 🎉.

Though the hotel was founded by a Brown unrelated to Leadville’s famous Unsinkable Molly Brown, she did stay there just a week after escaping the Titanic (!). We were happy to add our names to the illustrious guest list, alongside everyone from the Beatles to Bill Clinton.

Dinner was exquisite, as you can see in the gallery. Thank goodness the chocolate truffles are exclusive to the location, as otherwise we’d all be equally round in no time. 😅

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Milestones Photos

8th Wonder Finn

We’re so happy to say that Finn has finished up his grade school career with flying colors! Over the course of several days last week, we got to join him to receive awards marking his accomplishments in bilingual learning & theater arts…

…plus his official graduation from Hoover Middle School!

Following the ceremony we forced him to hold still for a few family pics😉…

…and then headed to Palermo Italian Restaurant for a joint celebration of his milestones + Margot’s birthday. Check out the gallery!

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Birthdays Photos Videos

F-14: TOP SON

(…among those born in 2008, anyway!)

We are equal parts delighted & amazed to wish a very happy 14th (!!) birthday to our tall drink of water, aspiring DJ, and doodle-wrangler par excellence Mr. Finn Nack!

Ahead of his birthday, Finn let it be known that he’d like to expand upon his recent piano-learning forays by getting a little MIDI mixing device. He was chomping at the bit to order it himself, not knowing that Margot had pulled the trigger some days earlier—so it was all we could do to delay him until it arrived, as shown below. 😛

We planned to celebrate the birthday itself in pretty low-key fashion—but before we headed out to dinner, Seamus made things unexpectedly exciting by helping himself to a big chunk of the cake!

Thankfully the chocolate didn’t do him any lasting harm, and we enjoyed a lovely meal out at Palermo, followed by the opening of presents. Finn’s now in receipt of some great books and a puzzle from Grandma & Grandpa Nack, plus a root-beer-making kit from Auntie Laura & Uncle James. Check out some pics from the occasion.

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Milestones Photos Seamus

Gotcha Day 3!

Wow—I can hardly believe that today marks the three-year anniversary of our fluffy, goofy, once-little guy arriving at our home!

It’s insane to remember how small he once was & just how quickly he zoomed to AT-AT Size (maybe 6 months, tops):

Finn & I took him on a three-mile walk this morning, and I type this our man is noisily chomping his way on “The Bosstrich,” a giant leg bone of an ostrich that we bought to celebrate the occasion.

Here’s a little gallery showing our celebrations. Here’s to many happy returns, curly amigo!!

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Birthdays Colorado 2021 Milestones Photos Videos

Birthday: Two + 10 for Hen!

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, the boys & I rang in Henry’s 12th birthday with some high-flying zipline adventures:

After we came home tired & happy, it was time to celebrate officially. Here’s a handful of shots, plus the total highlight of the day—Henry getting his great-great grandfather Liggett’s railroad watch! Check it out:

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Birthdays Milestones Photos

Lucky 13: Finn is a teen!

Amidst all the excitement of changing jobs, flying to Illinois, and more, I’ve been remiss in marking Finn’s thirteenth birthday. Happily we weren’t belated in celebrating the day, as you can see in our photo gallery from his big day.

Highlights included getting a pair of cute dog bookends that have been in Grandpa Liggett’s family for generations; scoring great new mystery stories (and Sherlock Holmes socks!); getting my old Cranium game from Galena; reeling in the big Lego police station that Henry had requested for his own birthday (but graciously deferred to Finn to get); and dining on a choco-tastic cake from Flower Flour—which was about the size & density of a manhole cover!

Happy B-Day, Finnster. We love you so much, and we can’t wait to see what adventures await.

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Birthdays Milestones Photos

Seamy’s Second

Our big, bounding, curly boy has turned two!

“The days are long but the years are short,” and that applies to four-legged kids just as much as the two-legged kind. We can’t believe this lovable man has been on this planet for two years, and in our home for nearly that long. We couldn’t ask for a better quarantine buddy.

To celebrate we got him a smart-looking kerchief & party hat, plus a new chew toy he immediately put into play. Check out a little gallery of the good times.


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Birthdays Colorado 2020 Milestones Photos

Henry goes to 11!

How can it be a decade plus one since our crazy young amigo charged into the world (photos), trailing clouds of silliness & strong opinions? 😛 What a ride it’s been.

At the moment he’s off on a surprise mission with Auntie Laura, Finn, and Charlie to ride the glass gondola in Vail, and soon he’ll be back in Leadville to enjoy some cake & presents with the rest of us. Yesterday he & I spent hours exploring some abandoned railroad tracks just outside of town, picking up treasures (? 🙃) much as I did as a kid. Here are a few photos showing that outing, plus some late-night stargazing with our friends the Wiggii.

[Update: Check out some pics of Hen unwrapping gifts (including the super cool vintage train photo Mom-O found in nearby Buena Vista, showing a 19th-century train traversing tunnels there) & enjoying cake.]

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Birthdays Milestones Photos

Finnster By The Dozen!

Though it technically happened just this month, Finn’s 12th birthday—about which I neglected to post amidst all this craziness—feels roughly 1,000 years ago. Be that as it may, let’s take a moment to celebrate a dozen years of enjoying our crazy-verbal, floppy-haired, bedimpled amigo!

We partied first with the gang (including Seamus!) at home, enjoying what felt like a 50-pound Meat Monster pizza and cake. The next night (Finn’s actual birthday), Mom-O was out of town, so the guys (minus Seamus!) and I headed to the mall for round 2 of pizza & cake. Check out some views of our celebrations.

Beclowned

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Birthdays Milestones Photos Seamus

Seamy’s Fur-st!

Our big furry boy Seamus turned 1 year old on Friday, December 6th! We are so happy to have this fuzzy goofball in our lives. Hard to believe he’s been with us since February! We have all come to love him so much, and he is the perfect addition to our family, especially our Westy adventures.

Finn was so excited to celebrate the big day with his dog – he’d been talking about it for weeks! We found a recipe for a dog-friendly “pupcake,” complete with frosting, to make for him, and our lovely dog-walker Terry brought him a bag of treats, balloons, and party hats to help celebrate. Here is a gallery showing our buddy on his big day.