Finn goes Greek for a day.

So what do you do when you....stay up 'till 11:00 on a Saturday night assembling your overpriced, underbuilt, sweatshop produced, quasi zen bed from West Elm that has missing hardware-but it really doesn't matter because the mattress that was delivered the next morning had a big rip in it anyway....???

You say screw it, and head over to the 26th annual Greek Festival in Cardiff for some great grub and good times!

Mmmmmmm....pastries.

A cornucopia of pastries!

And souvlaki! And lots of Greek beer!

Finn will spare you the shot of the whole lamb spinning over the grill, but it was...uh...impressive. They sure know how to party it up at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. Check it out next year, and make room for all the pastry goodness you can shove in your gut!

Tiki Oasis 2009!

After a few weeks of recovering from all the mayhem, Finn wanted to share a few pics from his first ever Tiki Oasis extravaganza-the ultimate Polynesian pop surf tiki beach burlesque exotica go-go party in all the land. A weekend of shenanigans brought to you by the good folks at the Tiki News. Check it:

The Lively Ones played some sweet surf a go-go.

Finn and Mrs. Finn got on the stage for King Kukulele's costume contest.

Then we were treated to the finest in traditional Jewish folk instrumental surf rock to "re-jew-venate" us (their joke, really) - Meshugga Beach Party!

The scene, getting ready for the evening's entertainment.

Baby Doe and the Devil-Ettes!

After two nights of non-stop tomfoolery, the monkey was pooped, and we stumbled back up to beautiful Leucadia.

Tiki Oasis 2010 anyone?

Finn even made the L.A. Times (pic #8) !

lo-fi nipple at the Leucadian! One night only!

Come on down to the Leucadian for an evening with Leucadia's very own, world famous

lo-fi Nipple !!!

Stripped down, premium,

garage rock n roll.

Saturday Sept. 5, 8:00 PM,

Bar Leucadian

with supporting acts.

go-go dancing mandatory.

Finn chillin' in the Sierras.

Finn had a gas with the family a few weeks ago up in Tahoe, with a few side trips to Mammoth on the way and back. Dig the mountain man and his crazy cousins...

Mrs. Finn, enjoying Twin Lakes to herself.



Finn flippin' me the bird, and enjoying the sand box at Mammoth.



Nicely's in Lee Vining near Mono Lake. Insane fried chicken, the real deal.



Sophie, queen of the Truckee.



Hanging at River Ranch after surviving the grueling Truckee River. Ran into our buddies from San Diego And Long Beach!



Finn, taking a pass on the sippy cup.



Finn's swank couture for evening supper.



Look at the size of that cranium. Smart monkey.



Giving Gaga a goose!



Oh they look charming and innocent, but try living with them for a week. You'll see....



Finn, thinking of a diabolical plan that likely involves poop.



Twin Lakes again, all to ourselves.

Adios, until next year!

Best Finn present ever.

Big Bubby & family from Chicago gave us a heads up a few weeks ago that something big was coming in the mail for Mr. Finn....lo and behold, a ginormous mysterious box appeared then next day, with explicit instructions requesting that Finn should share this with the parents, if at all possible. So what is it? It's the best possible baby gift to get any infant, that's what.

It is...

The Heineken Beertender!

Finn rejoicing in the glory of the Heineken Beertender.

& Jake, after hitting the Beertender a bit too much.

I highly suggest that anyone reading this come over for a refreshment ASAP. Thanks Bub!!!

Finn's summer extravaganza.

Ok, ok, ok, ok. I get it. I'm a horrible blog slacker. Well we're back at it. It's been a crazy summer you see, and I'm still trying to get back to normal after the crazy 4th of July, Tour de France, iphone nerdfest, trip to Tahoe yahdah yahdah yahdah.....

Hey! Get back to my blog, Slappy!

Be prepared for a blog-splosion of Finn updates to catch everyone up. Starting now:

Finn decided that he needed to make a big statement for the 4th of July, so he decided to be in not 1, not 2, but 3 Fourth of July parades. Why you ask? Because that's how we roll in Leucadia...in a big, fat, Craigslist, vintage Sea World, dolphin stroller painstakingly restored to its new marine mammalian finish. First stop was the Del Mar parade at Powerhouse Park, then the world famous La Mesa St. parade in Leucadia, followed by the Neptune parade, which was a bit of a fizzer, but still fun.

Finn and friends at the La Mesa Street Parade.

I don't know what was more shocking-that we actually made it to 3 parades, or that we have turned into such parade weirdos. Anyway, if you see Finn rolling in the mammal, be sure to say hi!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July from the Cardiff Kook!

Happy Summer!

Finn wanted to get some pics in to let everyone know about his busy summer thus far...

After two months, the sun finally came out, so we've been hitting Stonesteps and Cardiff quite a bit. Here is Finn in his cool sun sombrero from Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dan:

Finn, gettin' his SPF on.

We also hooked up with the rest of Finn's family to say a final goodbye to our beloved Gramps and Aunt Linda, who both passed away recently. Finn was able to meet a bunch of family for the first time, including Chicago cousin Ari at the Blue Plate Diner for breakfast:

Easy on the pointing, pal. I'll gum that finger clean off.

While it was good to see family, it was great to be home-and just in time for the fair. Finn's cousin Sarah cruised down from Santa Rosa to hang out with us before starting nursing school at USF this fall. We went on a few gnarly rides, including the Zipper. Twice.

Has anyone seen my spleen?

Mrs. Finn kicked our butts at Skee-Ball, and scored Finn a stuffed swine from a full on carnie. We also checked out the Swifty Swine racing pigs, and my favorite-the goats. Man I love goats.

The other reason Sarah came down was to check out the Switchfoot Bro-Am at Moonlight beach last weekend. We were lucky enough to meet up with lead singer/heart throb Jon Foreman after his surf heat, then saw the rest of the show on the beach. Rob "The Drifter" Machado and his big fro made a guest appearance, and I got to see my longtime hottie Tristan Prettyman play,

while the girls enjoyed Jon and the rest of Switchfoot:

But wait...something's missing...what about Jake you ask? He's fine, but he had a scary trip to the vet and got knocked out to remove a nasty foxtail and a few lumps, get his teeth cleaned, and score some new arthritis meds. It was rough for a while, but he is like a puppy again-a 14 year old puppy!

Dig my pimp canine purple bandage and pearly whites.

Cheers and happy 4th. Finn.

Finn's Retro Family Wayback Machine, Circa 1974.

Finn and I just got some 35 year old slides scanned at North Coast Photographic Services in Carlsbad that my Mom was kind enough to share with us.  This is just one of the fabulous pictures that turned out:

It's pretty cool when you realize your parents were hotter, hipper, and had more style than you will ever have-even after 3 kids.  That's me in my Mom's arms (not to be confused with my big Sis...hey, it was 1974 in Marin County man, as if you couldn't tell by our sweet threads and moppy hair).  My Pop is looking smoking hot in that tight shirt, kind of like the funky trombone player in Sly & the Family Stone.  And my brother Bubby is pissed because all he got from the Tiburon Fire Department photo shoot was a little plastic fire helmet (and that he was probably missing an Oakland A's game).

Cheers to hot parents.  Hopefully I will turn into one some day.

Happy May in Leucadia.

I don't even know where to start...Finn's first swim lessons, solid food, a nice visit with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dan, Mother's Day, Swine Flu, the idiot who hit & run my car, our storage shed rat infestation....ahh yes friends, another fine week in Leucadia.

So Finn and Momma Finn got hooked up at the Ecke Y for his first baby swim classes.  Being the good little stalker that I am, I bailed out of work early to sneak a few pics of the boy's first outing in the pool.  Finn totally dug it!  After only 25 minutes on the first day, the instructor started dunking the babies underwater with no problemos-not even a peep! We're stoked he's turning into a good little fish (as if he had a choice).

Finn also helped his good friend Anto sell some handcrafted pottery at the Encinitas Street Fair, while Momma Finn and buddy Rachel checked out the Cardiff Garden Tour.  Anto was one of the few true artisans selling original handmade designs amidst all the other poop being peddled.  Check out her Etsy site at cobblestoneclayworks for some pics.  

  

Finn loved the pottery, but really wanted this:

Giddy up.

All this action was making Finn hungry, so he decided on a nice supper of organic sweet potatoes and a milk chaser.  

I think some made it in the piehole.

Getting in touch with his primate side, Finn decided to check out the playground at Moonlight Beach and went for his first ever swinging session. His parents had a blast.  Finn, not so much.

Hanging out at Moonlight. You talkin' to me?

So I'll keep the drama short, but in between all this fabulosity, Mrs. Finn got a gnarly flu (don't worry, it wasn't the swine), some drunkard whacked into my awesome family heirloom '97 Honda ("The Champagne Supernova"), our other car crapped out (thank goodness for Hugo's), and the neighborhood rats moved in to our Halloween decoration bin.  C'mon...first raccoons, then Mr. opossum, toss in a few skunks, and now rats? Really??? What are we, the Leucadian freakin' Hillbillies?  And what is the wookie doing to combat our vermin issues? Oh yeah, this:

Thanks pal.