Speaking of grand moments with grandparents, at the start of the month we spent a wonderful whirlwind weekend celebrating Grandpa Nack’s 86th birthday with our huge extended family in Galena.
We’d originally discussed the idea all the way back in 2019, planning to mark Dad’s 80th the coming year—but Covid had other plans. Sometimes good things just take time, and late last year when my cousin Joe proposed a celebration, we were all too happy to get the ball rolling.
Grandma Nack and the local catering team did an amazing job making the house & yard shipshape for the gathering of what must’ve been nearly 100 (!) family and close friends. From Chicago to Texas, Minnesota to Georgia, and beyond, Big G welcomed a big and boisterous crowd.
For many years the Liggetts’ license plate was “2BUFFS,” as in two University of Colorado Buffaloes. Now, we’re delighted to say, the herd has a third, with Finn joining Grandpa and Mom.
Over a lovely dinner with Auntie Laura last week, we got to snap a few pics, including all three generations together. Here’s a little gallery.
Q. What did the buffalo say when his son went off to college? A. Bi-son.
Wow—after months of planning and years of anticipation, our grand journey to take Finn to college is now in the history books.
As Johnny Cash would say, and as you can see in our epic photo gallery, we’ve been everywhere (even Winnemucca!)—ranging from Lake Shasta to Crater Lake (“…for Pete’s sake!”), Boise to Yellowstone, and Jackson to Boulder.
Our long journey began as Finn bid a fond farewell to Seamus—who, clearly knowing that something was up, made a beeline to the gazebo and refused to move. We then carefully rolled out in the van, with Mom directing traffic while Maria filmed.
At Shasta we made a spontaneous side quest, taking the van offroad for the first time & exploring the area by the old train bridge. (Henry later provided a detailed assessment of the insulator array. :-))
We grabbed dinner at the original Black Bear Diner, then slept among teepees, deer, and trains. In the morning we stopped by the Hi-Lo Cafe & thrift shop in Weed (revisiting our activities from two years ago), then continued north to Lava Beds National Monument).
Margot & Finn first explored Lava Beds on their road trip following his freshman year. We alternately scurried around the wonderfully cool subterranean chasms & baked in the sun as we marched (sometimes in the wrong direction) from cave to cave.
The next morning, we again retraced Mom & Finn’s footsteps from 2023, this time heading up to Crater Lake. Sadly the view was heavily obscured by wildfire smoke that only grew thicker as the morning progressed. I was able to clean up the visuals a bit in Photoshop, and our little Lego selves made a first appearance atop their van.
A long, hot day of rural driving finally brought us to Boise, where Coach Dave (who’s relocated there from San Jose) pointed us to some great pizza in the cute & very clean downtown.
Finn’s buddy Gunnar is another recent SJ->Boise transplant, and he suggested checking out birds of prey at the local sanctuary. We had a ball doing so (including meeting Finn the Raptor!), after which we grabbed some Mongolian BBQ before Mom flew in to join our crew.
After enjoying some separate evening adventures (Finn hanging out with Gunnar; Margot & I having dinner with Coach Dave), our newly expanded crew headed east the next say. At Brianna’s recommendation we swung through Twin Falls—which, happily enough, features some beautiful actual twin waterfalls. They provided another cool welcome respite from many hours plowing through largely hot, flat countryside. To my light chagrin, I was outvoted on making a pitstop at the Idaho Potato Museum (“Free taters for out-of-staters!”).
On day 6 we at last arrived in Yellowstone! First up we surveyed the beautiful meadows & rivers with their resident antelope and herons.
Next we made our way around various hot springs, which featured numerous cautionary signs (one depicting “Henry” falling to his demise in the boiling brew! :->).
From there it was on to Old Faithful, where we’d taken the dudes nine years ago. Clapping a hand on Finn’s shoulder, I reminded him and myself, “We may never pass this way again.”
Side note: It’s really fun to see how the guys looked at Old Faithful back in 2017. Check out this post and gallery for some shots there & around Yellowstone
Our long, winding path out of the park for the night took us past many beautiful rock formations en route to Gardiner, Montana, where we wolfed down some brisket before finding a restorative shower at the campsite.
Day 2 in the park took us to some thrilling vistas—and then finally to our first encounter with buffalo!
Much of our drive featured lashing waves of rain, but the weather broke just in time for us to revisit the beautiful hot springs around Yellowstone Lake.
We wrapped up the day in Jackson, WY (one of Finn’s most fondly remembered places), then mounted a rather grueling ascent over the Tetons en route to our campsite. The next morning we explored valley towns before again traversing the mountains back to Jackson for their annual art fair.
That evening we took in a colorful (in every sense) photo safari. It featured friendly driver/navigator Joe plus an endlessly talkative retired carpenter and bizarre tales of harrowing wilderness survival.
And then, it was time for Bison Round 2! We loved every minute of it.
After camping for the night, we made our way down to see Auntie Laura & Grandpa Liggett for dinner, then say with Laura and quickly gather the college supplies she’d amassed before we finally headed to Boulder.
And with that, the big day arrived… We got Finn ensconced in his new digs, met his roommate Reed, and then bid a quick and not overly tearful goodbye.
To our new bison: “Bye, son.” God bless. We miss you already.
All of us were so pleased to join Finn in celebrating the conclusion of his final (!) year of Bellarmine Hockey. Each graduating senior was honored by the coaches, players, and parents, and we especially enjoyed mortifying Finn & the other players by holding up giant-sized photos of them as their littler selves.
Check out our gallery from the evening, as well as some appreciative & supportive words from Finn’s coach:
Man, could we possibly have lucked out more in getting our friend Mr. Seamus, aka Smilin’ Jim, the fancy gentleman & employee of the month? Absurd question: of course not! 😀
Our buddy remains a genial delight, gamely accompanying us on adventures near and far, and now putting up with his perpetually nippy (if well meaning) new little brother. Check out this gallery showing some of our favorite moments with him in 2025.
Every day with this chap—from our first meeting to today—remains a gift. Here’s to many more, curly pal!
Man, it’s surprisingly bittersweet to realize that our dudes—who’ve started school together since what seems like the dawn of time—have just had their last joint FDOS (First Day Of School).
With the Finnster starting his senior year (!) and Hen being a junior, this marks what’ll almost certainly be their last joint starting day (well, unless Hen follows in Finn’s footsteps to a school to be named later!). Sigh… the days are long but the years are short, always.
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. 🙂
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!
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.
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…
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.
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.
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:
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!).
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. 😅
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!
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.
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!!
