We had a ball checking out Redwood City’s winter carnival yesterday with the Wiggii. The guys were delighted to get a pair of free teddy bears (“Oso” & “Teddy,” for those keeping track ;-)). We didn’t last long in the snow-throwing pit, but we had fun on the teacups & lots of other little rides. Check out a little gallery from the frigid good times.
The Casa de los Cacahuates is suddenly looking quite festive thanks to the Micronaxx tree-decorating efforts. Here’s a little gallery of the guys in action last night.
The lads have really been enjoying Katy Perry’s “Roar,” and never more so then when decked out in awesome face paint. Check out a tiny gallery from Saturday.
Tonight as we watched The Polar Express (a fun Christmas movie with more than its fair share of weird, off-putting moments), G-Man got a little spooked and retreated to a position of safety behind the couch:
We assured him that he had nothing to fear, and he quickly returned from his hideout to enjoy the rest of the show. 🙂
A couple of years back, a little dude (seen at right) became Internet-famous as “Success Kid.” This is what’s called a meme (I’ll note for my parents’ benefit :-)), an image or idea that people pick up & riff upon.
It seems that Henry’s born to be a meme—maybe as Success Kid’s grumpier cousin, Distress Kid. The latest entry in his infamous “Haircuts” series…
…caught the imagination of some of my Facebook friends. Now he’s been compared to the Italian enforcer Luca Brasi…
…transformed into The Man With No Name…
…a French tragic hero…
…
…and even an 80’s rock star. 🙂
Special thanks to Michael, Karl, Foster, and Chris for the fun Photoshoppery!
The dudes & I had a ball trick-or-treating last week—or as they put it, “Trick or Meat!”/”Trick or Mouse!” (y’know, being a lion & owl & all). This baffled neighbor after unsuspecting neighbor, but I loved that they stuck with it. When we returned home, the guys got their first shot at handing out candy themselves! Henry was so into it that when we ran out, he dipped into his own bucket to share with visiting kids. (Not bad—and quite charming—for a kid who’s always scrapping with his bro over who got more toast, butter, etc.) This quick video gives a taste of our evening:
Answer: This guuuuuy. 🙂
(Photo snapped in the immediate aftermath of trick-or-treating.)
The lads were excited to suit up & get down to candy-eating & crafts at their friend Ella’s house this weekend. Here are a few pics of the whole gang, including ma in her kerchief & I in my too-tight cap.
Boy did I have a high opinion of myself in autumns growing up: Every year “I” would win a prize for having the best costume (headless horseman, knight, California Raisin, etc.). Little did I realize, of course, that the honors should go to my tirelessly creative mom, wielder of felt, glue, papier-mâché, and more.
Now Margot has taken up the proud mantle & is making excellent costumes for young Nacks. Check out her latest handiwork! 🙂
When I came downstairs yesterday, Henry popped out from behind a door in full owl regalia. After wildly “hoo”-ing at me for a few seconds, he thoughtfully lifted up his mask and said, “Don’t worry, it’s just me, Henry—not a real owl.” 🙂
On Sunday we had a ball taking the lads to San Francisco’s beautifully redesigned & relocated Exploratorium. Here’s a little taste of the goings-on (minus the live cow-eyeball dissection or microscopic peeks inside termite guts!):
Who doesn’t love a Slinky?
Yesterday was a big day for Mr. Finnegan Nack – he mastered the art of two-wheeling!
Last weekend, after we got his flat tire fixed at the bike shop, he was eyeing a new “Mike’s Bikes” water bottle, and a new LED tail light for his bike. I told him that if he learned how to ride without his training wheels, he could get the bottle and light. Boy – had I known how well a little incentive was going to work, I would’ve done this ages ago!
We started practicing without his training wheels last weekend before I left for Germany, and spent about an hour going up and down the driveway with Finn pedaling and me holding him upright by the bike seat and handlebars. We had our second and final round of practice yesterday morning at the park down the street – which is perfectly laid out for bike practice! It’s essentially a big circular sidewalk around a playground. Finn rode to the park with the training wheels, and then when we got to the park, we took them off and started practicing.
I could tell it wasn’t going to take long, because I wasn’t really holding on to the seat very hard anyway. I was mainly acting as moral support – coaching a worried, semi-weeping Finny by running alongside and chanting a lot of “I think I can I think I can” (while he thought I was holding the seat). Of course he had a few spills and run-ins with the play equipment, but after catching his breath and wiping off tears, he was back in the saddle. I told Finny that he had to believe that he could do it – because if he didn’t believe in himself, it was going to be really hard to do it. He did not like that messaging, but it must’ve gotten through – because once he forgot to be worried and just focus on pedaling and staying upright, he did great!
The goal we set for earning the water bottle and tail light was two complete laps around the park without stopping. In less than an hour, our boy nailed it! We celebrated with lots of cheering and hugging, and Finny rode his bike all the way home – with many stops and starts, but without the training wheels! (You can see his happy yet exhausted-and-weepy expression in the photo gallery). We then proceeded to go to Manley’s for celebratory doughnuts before a stop at the bikeshop to pick out his prizes.
The lads & I had a ball on Saturday as we took their pal Magdalena over to the harvest festival at Roaring Camp Railroad. We got to build & stuff our own scarecrows (which lie disintegrating on our driveway now; oy, gotta do something about that), ride the railroad, and get pumpkins at the top of Bear Mountain. Check out the gang in action!
I’m pleased to report that our guys remain as goofy & playful as they ever were in the tub—maybe even more so now. Here’s a tiny gallery of the non-tiny dudes enjoying some mohawk action.
Crazy haircuts & beards aren’t just for punks & ZZ Top. Bubble bath helps our guys get stylish in the tub:
Meanwhile Finny has been singing the ABCs in Spanish incessantly, in a variety of crazy accents. Here he does his impression of “Chris Cornell” from Soundgarden:
…is for Happily Hiding Henry. 🙂
Plant-digging Finn doesn’t know his own strength. 🙂
The boys model some fetching party favors they scored at pals’ Dante & Vienna’s birthday party.
It’s a blessing & a treat to have Grandma Nack in town while Margot is on the road this week, and we’ve been having a bunch of fun this weekend. She’s an indefatigable gardener, so we’ve been running back and forth among stores to look at plants, etc. with the boys (who don’t mind at all). And, of course, there’s been a *lot* of story-reading. Here are a few shots from our days so far.
Just kidding—he’s the same colorful little grump as always! ;-p
During our recent SoCal sojourn, we spent a peaceful day noodling around LA, exploring local landmarks:
Here’s a little gallery from the adventure.