Charley and Jackson

Day 2 Iceland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 01:43:00 +0000

Our last day in Iceland

started with breakfast

at this cool-looking bakery.

Then a nice drive to a national park.

Þingvellir National Park.

Where we did some snorkeling . . .

. . . in the glacial waters of a fissure . . .

. . . between two tectonic plates.

It was cold

and very cool.

Day 1 Iceland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:31:00 +0000

This was a big day.
The golden circle tour.

The first stop was a crater lake.

We walked all the way around it,

admiring the dark turquoise water.

Numerous areas of Iceland on built on geothermal hotspots.

It's these hotspots that help power the country

and allow them to grow much of their produce in greenhouses.

They also support the country's

extensive swimming pools

or lagoons.

This Secret Lagoon is one of them.

They pump in COLD water to keep it safe to swim in,

otherwise it would be too hot.

After a swim in the lagoon,

we stopped by an active area of geysers.

You can see the broken rock
that came from the geyser's force.

The only drawback was
the sulfur smell from the steam.

There was a short hike
to the top of high hill
(not a mountain) . . .

. . . but you can see mountains

and other sites from the top.

Then it was on to a waterfall.

It's a glacial waterfall

and unlike anything we've seen.

The amount water,

the sound,

and the mist.

Unbelievable.

There are countless streams.

Some fed by glacial waters,

others fed from underground.

These underground ones

are warm to the touch

and feed all kinds of unique

algae and plant life.

After all that,
we headed back to our "hotel".

It's one of the little houses on the right . . .

With beautiful views

of the mountains and bays . . .

. . . and the ocean.

I think we'll be back.

Day 5 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:06:00 +0000

Our last day in Amsterdam

started with finding Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis.

There was more walking, of course.

Down a lovely alleyway . . .

. . . and across another canal.

There was a duck on a post in that canal.

Thankfully it was a lovely morning.

Eventually we made it upstairs.

There are a total of 4 tables in the entire restaurant.

It's in a typical Amsterdam house dating back to 1539

It's the smallest pancake restaurant in Europe.

With a lot of teapots in the ceiling.

Day 4 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:40:00 +0000

Day 4 started with a train ride.

(Most days started that way).

The public transportation is awesome.

And another walk across a few canals . . .

. . . to a fantastic pancake bakery.

With a very short door.

Then, we did more walking . . .

. . . stopped for a drink on a patio . . .

. . . and swung past the memorial for Chet Baker.

Then we went through a few neighborhoods.

Past a garden store . . .

. . . and dinner on a another patio . . .

. . . and more walking

past more canals

on our way to the

Anne Frank Memorial.

It was very moving.

Day 3 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:24:00 +0000

Day three was a long day

of touring the Dutch countryside.

First stop,

a tulip farm.

It was unreal.

Truly unreal.

Next a boat tour.

Thankfully not on that boat.

The countryside is beautiful

and so, so flat.

The last stop was Keukenhof.

Nearly 80 acres of beauty.

Initially we were

greeted by this guy.

He was very busy.

The place was packed.

With flowers and people.

There were a couple pockets

where you can see
the nearby tulip farms.

Not that we needed to see more flowers.

Each display was

a little different

than the previous one.

We maybe saw two-thirds of it.

Words and pictures

struggle to capture

the beauty.

After nearly 9 miles of walking,

we finally sat for a bit for dinner.

And then an evening boat ride

back to our hotel.

Day 2 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 18:34:00 +0000

The next morning was dedicated to

sleeping in and sightseeing . . .

. . . and breakfast at a

lovely neighborhood restaurant.

Rijksmuseum was our next stop . . .

. . . we took in some Rembrandt,

along with other art.

This is not Rembrandt, it's Heineken.

In the lobby of their brewery tour.

After the tour
we spent some time
on the rooftop deck.

The views of Amsterdam

we pretty spectacular.

Even so, I think we preferred
the street and canal views.

Getting to Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 17:39:00 +0000

A first for this blog.
Adventures without
Charley and Jackson.

It was an inauspicious start

our brief layover met us with

no working station at passport control.

We made it to Amsterdam eventually.

Out first stop was Vondelpark, near our hotel.

A beautiful oasis in the middle of urban energy.

We took a lovely walk . . .

. . . on the way to dinner

at a neighborhood restaurant.

We didn't know it then,

but it would be our best meal

in a long string of excellent meals.

Exhaustion set in early.

Jetlag is real.

Bedtime was before

the sun went down.

Freshman success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Charley's first collegiate season has ended.

Three-meter, in particular,

went very well.

At the conference meet,

Charley barely missed the finals . . .

. . . by just FOUR points.

Pretty darn good for a freshman season.

Kansas City nonsense

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 14:01:00 +0000

We took a little trip to Kansas City

and brought our nonsense with us.

We were a big hit . . .

. . . maybe not with everyone.

We all had a pretty great time making horns

and an even better time making noise with them.

Always judgemental

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 13:55:00 +0000

During winter break

we had an alumni meet.

It was family judged . . .

. . . but still a lot of fun.

to be back in the high school pool.

Toilet seat and head-swapping Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 16:11:00 +0000

Charley wins.

He bought about a dozen stuffed animals,

swapped all their heads,

and gave them as gifts.

Then there's the toilet seat.

That was from Dad.

It's a long story.

And Derrick figured out

how to wrap a gift.

Sort of.

But before all that,

we decorated cookies.

There were regular ones

and some not regular ones.

That's another long story.

Thankfully, Santa did bring us stuff.

So much candy.

It's awesome.

Back to the head-swapping.

We each chose our 5 gifts.

And it was on.

Each one . . .

. . . was weirder than the last.

Later that day,

we headed to Grandma and Bumpa's . . .

. . . for the usual nonsense.

It was great.

Christkindl Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 01:56:00 +0000

We took a little trip downtown

while we were back for Thanksgiving.

First, a train ride in the snow.

Then some sliding down the sidewalk,

also in the snow.

Once we got there,

it was time for some snacks.

Roasted nuts . . .

. . . french fries . . .

Mom and dad has some mulled wine . . .

. . . while Derrick made sausages

and pretzels with cheese for everyone else.

That's the main reason we went,

to visit Derrick.

Then a quiet train ride home,

at least for a stop or two.

Northern light ... in the city

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 01:36:00 +0000

One night the northern lights decended.

We could see them right in our backyard.

Amazing.

Overheard: October 25, 2025

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 01:23:00 +0000

"I could be in a room full

of drunk teenagers right now

and it would less hilarious than this."

Charley while playing Uno Spin

with Jax, Mom, Dad, Grandma and Bumpa.

Family weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 01:23:00 +0000

It was family weekend at UW Oshkosh

Naturally, the family showed up,

driving Charley just a little bit crazy.

But first there was a

and dive meet.

Charley was in great form . . .

. . . supporting his teammates

and the other team . . .

. . . and getting some great height on his dives.

After the meet

we gathered for some gifts . . .

. . . some treats.

. . . and some Uno Spin fun.

The next day we took a little tour . . .

. . . and Bruce the Skeleton Ghoul at Target.

Weekend getaway

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Last week Jackson headed to the woods with dad.

After a late arrival and a paddle to the campsite,

we set up camp and headed to bed.

The next day was windy.

The plan was to paddle again,

but we opted for a hike instead.

It was a beautiful day,

except for the wind.

But that's OK.

Jax had a bag of chips

he ate out of his front pack

We more or less wondered

and took breaks all morning.

Did some wondering . . .

. . . and took some more breaks.

Fall color was pretty good.

And we ended up hiking for nearly

15 MILES

The next day we paddled back out . . .

. . . and took a quick hike

across the headwaters of the Mississippi.

One visit and two meets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 02:30:00 +0000

About a month ago

Derrick came over for a visit

(mom and dad came too)

In addition to bubble hockey,

a little ping pong was played,

and pool was attempted.

Charley has had two meets already.

An alumni meet . . .

. . . and another one against Eau Claire.

Not bad for a first time out.

Move-in excitement

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 00:49:00 +0000

Charley is off to college.

He is thrilled.

But before we got to his school,

we stopped a few places along the way.

Played a few games . . .

. . . and sat on a few patios.

The next day

was move in day.

It was all

a bit

overwhelming.

But little by little . . .

. . . we found a place for everything.

It was kind of exhausting.

Then it was time for goodbyes.

Two of them.

One last finishing touch . . .

. . . and Mom and Dad were out.

Watching sunsets . . .

. . . visiting the butterflies

at lavender gardens.

. . . and watching the northern lights.

We're all gonna be fine.

Hugs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 00:19:00 +0000

It happened.

Jackson left for

St. Cloud State.

But not before hugs.

Even a bro hug.

Then it was off to campus . . .

. . . and eventually moving all his stuff into his dorm.

But that was the easy part.

Setting everything up

was the hard part.

But we made it happen.

Then came more hugs.

That's enough hugging.

College looks good.

Overheard: August 2025

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 20:02:00 +0000

"My math woulda been correct

if the numbers were different"
Charley explained

while describing

a trip to the bank.

APPLEBEES!!??

Mom exclaimed

while driving to Thunder Bay.

C'MON CANADA!!

She continued.

DO BETTER!

Going north

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 02:42:00 +0000

We took an end-of-summer trip

to one of our favorite areas on earth.

There's nothing quite like

the north shore of Lake Superior.

We spent some time

skipping stones . . .

. . . before heading to Palisade Head.

It's a VERY high cliff over the lake.

We also stopped by

Caribou Falls on the way up.

It's a gorgeous waterfall

tucked in the woods.

We finally made it to our cabin

which overlooked Caribou Lake.

Oddly enough, it's not where Caribou River starts.

The next day,

we took off for Canada.

Thunder Bay to be exact.

The highlight of Thunder Bay,

and possibly the entire trip,

was mining amethyst north of Thunder Bay.

There was a lot of hammer swinging.

On the way back from Thunder Bay,

we made a pit stop at the Casino in Grand Portage.

It was our first, and likely last time gambling.

The next day

we spent a little morning time

in Grand Marais . . .

. . . before taking a great hike at Judge Magney State Park.
That's where Devil's Kettle Falls is.

It's this cool rock formation where water disappears.

Unfortunately, the water was so high from the rain

that we couldn't see the kettle.

The water was filling it and flowing past it.

It was a pretty good day for hike.

Though we could've used a few less stairs.

300 less stairs, to be exact.

After Devil's Kettle, we headed back to Grand Portage.

This time to the historic site where they had some demonstrations.

On our way home,

we stopped at Gooseberry Falls.

Another one of our favorite places.

100% Dells

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:52:00 +0000

We took a little post graduation trip to Wisconsin Dells.

It's our happy place.

We endeavored to 100% the Dells.

Here's what that means:

Get dumped on by every giant bucket.

Ride every water slide, including kids slides, we're allowed to go on.

Swim in every pool and hot tub.

Shoot at every basketball hoop.

"Float" through every route on each Lazy River.

Walk across each "lily pad".

We were not allowed on this one.

It was a pretty epic day.

It took a solid 6 hours

to hit all 7 waterparks.

It was amazing . . .

. . . and intense . . .

. . . and a little goofy.

It felt like we were 10 again.

It was awesome.

Can we go back sometime?

GRADUATION!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 02:39:00 +0000

We did it.

Everyone was very happy.

It was a pretty long ceremony.

There were a lot of graduates.

Can you spot us in the crowd?

Our principal did what he could

to keep us engaged.

Eventually, we got to walk across the stage

and receive our diploma.

And then we were greeted by our friends.

This guy, Raul, we've know since first grade.

He's been a teammate and a friend ever since.

Did we mention family was in town?

This is the Meehan clan.

We are so appreciative everyone came to celebrate with us.

This is the Strosnider clan.

And this is the Cook clan.

And this is us.

Graduation weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 02:06:00 +0000

It's graduation weekend.

Root beer for breakfast.

And family is in town.

Lots of family was in town.

Which is awesome.

Lots of games were played.

Which is also awesome.

Did we mention lots of games?

After all that.

Time to donn

our graduation best.

Last last day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 18:55:00 +0000

. . . of high school.

It was a good run,

but we're ready for what's next.