Month: December 2018

Merry Christmas 2018

I feel so deeply fortunate to say that this year our little gang is once again healthy & happy & having a ball. Although we couldn’t be together in person with our far-flung family, it’s been great to trade phone calls and some pretty excellent gifts—not to mention a little good-natured long-distance trolling (e.g. Ted sending me pictures of our mom’s shrimp dip, and me replying with shots of hot tubs in California sunshine) 😌.

We’re off to the Grand Canyon (!) bright and early tomorrow (sporting our custom Westy caps from Mom-O), so I’ll keep things brief for now & share a few shots from yesterday. Keep an eye out for, among other things, Finn reading his amazing letter from Santa (more on that soon); the leash for our future dog Séamus (!!); Henry getting the currency proof set Auntie Laura got as a baby; Finn “fishing” via a clever Nintendo add-on from Grandpa Liggett; the boys dueling in geography via a globe from Grandma & Grandpa Nack; and more.

Much love to you & yours from Nacks Micro & Macro!

Miscellaneous

Catching up with the Gingerbread Men

Post author By The Nack Daddy
Post date December 23, 2018
No Comments on Catching up with the Gingerbread Men

As the boys swore to me last year (see below), they will never get over the time long ago when I munched off the head of one of their gingerbread men. 🙄

This year they had fun bringing up this bit of history while baking & frosting a new crop of gingers. In honor of the decapitated dude, they even made some faux-gruesome additions to the crew. Check out the gallery to see more.

Videos

A Willow Glen Caboose (!)

Post author By The Nack Daddy
Post date December 12, 2018
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Who knew that for the last 10+ years, we’ve been living just walking distance from a 100-year-old caboose? Henry & I dropped in on last Sunday’s potluck meal for the Silicon Valley Lines & were treated to a tour of our neighbors’ restored machine-turned-office. Here’s a quick peek:

Videos

Backyard Beatdown

When life gives you lemons in the form of a back yard that resembles an urban war zone—well, make it a Nerf war zone! Our trusty neighborhood horse-headed gunslinger “Horz” is back in action against neighborhood menaces “Doggo” and his sister. Enjoy!

Photos Videos

The G-Man Mission Plan

It seems that every kid who grew up in California remembers (often fondly) creating a fourth-grade project that explores the complicated history of the state’s Spanish-built missions. With the help of Legos & some oversight from foreman Mom, Henry produced a pretty great one to turn in today. Check it out:

Photos Thanksgiving Videos Westy

SLO Beach Bros

Cabin fever, at least in the days post-Thanksgiving, has proven no match for us the past couple of years, seeing the fam head out to Yosemite, Hearst Castle, and Point Reyes. This year we fired up the Westy and headed down to San Luis Obispo & stayed right by the water & the famous dune of Oceano Beach (see 360º panorama from my drone, at bottom). During the days we checked out SLO’s mission, butterfly grove, and antique shops (you’re welcome, Hen 😉), and at night Finn & I enjoyed some epic long walk-and-chat sessions to the beach and back.

The highlight, though, had to be renting a squad of 4-wheel ATVs:

We tore around the beach amidst thousands of other folks riding dune buggies, motorcycles, trucks, and RVs. Although we experienced a few close calls, Henry does not remain at the bottom of the Return of the Jedi-style Sarlacc pit into which he & his machine plunged, and remained un-crushed by Finn’s stranded vehicle. At the end everyone emerged happy if sandy. (“My legs feel like jelly!” reported Hen.)

Check out this album showing the whole weekend’s worth of adventures, plus our videos from the beach & from the air: