Month: August 2018

Photos

Custom Cruisin’

With Mom-O off working hard in LA, the dudes & I decided to head up the road on Saturday to check out the Good Guys hot rod show. Hen was in heaven, and I’m surprised he didn’t have to ice his thumb after popping it up in front of so many cars. 🙂 Despite the heat & his lack of interest in the subject, Finn was a great sport—encouraged a bit by the strategic application of a root beer float. Following the show we pulled the Westy into the adjacent RV campground where a lot of the ‘rodders & their rides were spending the night.

Check out this gallery showing some of the amazing rides we got to see.

Big G Photos

Picking a Winner

Antiques-loving Hen spent all summer vibrating with anticipation of visiting Antique Archaeology in LeClaire, Iowa, not too far from Galena. It’s run by Mike & Frank of American Pickers—his favorite show, and beforehand he read Kid Pickers—a birthday gift from Grandma Nack, written by Mike & Galenian Lily Sprengelmeyer.

When our trip finally arrived, we zoomed up from Springfield, then across the river to the shop. Hen was thrilled not only to find a great piece—the taillight (?) from a 1958 Buick, but to bargain with Mike’s childhood friend and shake on a great deal! Given that it was found in Illinois, we like to think that the Buick might’ve been sold by Great Grandpa Liggett, or possibly to Great Grandpa Nack. 🙂

Afterwards we stopped off for some German food while Hen picked some old railroad shrapnel near a thrillingly active train line. Check out the gallery here.

Big G Photos

Visiting The Pond

Much as we’ve done in 2014 (gallery) and last year (gallery), on this trip to Big G we had a blast visiting our cousins Tom & Sarah Nack’s pond.

As we approached this year, I found myself eyeing my rearview mirror thinking, “Huh, I didn’t know that Galena Trolleys came out this far…” Well, they don’t except when Uncle Ted is behind the wheel! He was in the process of dropping off Ruby following Jenna’s birthday party, so our arrival was followed by a bus full of tired but happy 7-year-old girls. 🙂

Finn & Gus did some amazing synchronized jumping; Hen revolutionized his kayaking game; the dudes fed catfish bread with the occasional side of toe (!); and Hen & Ruby constructed some superb earthworks before getting wild with the hose. Check out the gallery plus a short video below:

And heres’s a 360º panorama that you can click & drag to move around:

First Day of School Milestones Photos

First Day of School 2018

Look at these handsome gentlemen; just look at ‘em! 🙂

FDOS1

Here they salute us with “The Gentleman’s Dab.”

FDOS2

And finally they demonstrate some of “the freshest emotes of 2018.” (It’s a video game thing, Mom. :-p)

FDOS3

Big G Photos

Mom & the Valkyries

Ah, nothing like a glorious Sunday morning in Big G. to accidentally terrorize my mom with my drone. 😬🚁😌 Here’s a quick shot (music courtesy of Wagner) of the device approaching the house (“It looks like a giant insect!” she said before shutting the door), plus a nice little overhead image. Stay tuned for more soon!

NewImage