Mini Williams Reunion

Kate and Dave Vosburg, classmates from Williams, were in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving, with their newborn son, Nathan - a great excuse to host a mini-Williams reunion at our place.


Left to right: Dave Vosburg, his son Nathan, Spencer and Ryan, Franklin Mullins, Eunice, Faith (Cinquegrana) Gong, Steph (Min) Harman, and Kate (Hedden) Vosburg.


Spencer and Nathan, not yet 5 months old, show that you're never to young to show your Purple Cow pride. Go Ephs!!!

Hosting Our First Thanksgiving

We hosted our first Thanksgiving this year-- the three of us were very happy to be able to introduce Terry, Michael, Jennifer, David, Valerie, and Melody to our version of the holiday classics.


We did the meal "America's Test Kitchen"-style... they've applied the scientific method to determine how to optimize the classic dishes, so we thought that we'd do it by the book this first year. Our menu: a modest 12-pound turkey that we'd brined the night before and roasted in butter, a rich gravy made with the giblets and drippings, home-made stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with pecan streussel, green beans with shallots and vermouth, and a '98 Howard Park Chardonnay brought to us from Australia as a gift at our wedding from our good friend Spencer Maughn.


Here's Ryan doing a little planning on the kitchen floor.


Eunice preps the sweet potato casserole and stuffing.


Meanwhile, Melody enjoys hors d'oeuvres outside on our patio.


Time to set the table... Melody and Valerie picked a selection of fall leaves from our yard for the centerpiece. Pinky's silver provided some wonderful flatwear, but everything was served on the mishmash of dishes we've collected since college. We just call our style "ecclectic."


Melody helped us decorate our pumpkins with smiley faces.


When asked which pumpkin represented Eunice, Melody pointed to the small one. Guess that's to be expected given Eunice is the only relative in Melody's life without a proper title. For some reason, it's "Uncle Ryan," but just plain "Eunice."


Grandpa Nic pitched in by carving the turkey. Mmmm!!!


After a fantastic meal, we all went for a late afternoon walk in our neighborhood. Here, Melody and Valerie try to get Abby's attention through the window before coming inside.


Grandpa Nic organized a rousing game of Yahtzee, complete with hand-made score cards and a Williams CUPPs cup as a shaker. Terry had the hottest hands-- 2 Yahtzees!


Of course, no Thanksgiving is complete without some traditional (?) Thanksgiving carols, organized by the Tangs. We sang "Over the river and through the woods, to the Nichols house we go" and other classics. Click below to check out the video!

Half Moon Bay Hike with Terry

While the Tangs were out visiting friends, we took advantage of a beautiful fall day and went for a walk along the beach in Half Moon Bay with Terry.


Ready to go in the parking lot.


The wind ended up being a little stonger than we thought, so we moved Spencer from his exposed perch in the backpack to a cozier carrier on Dad's chest. Of course, that meant that he fell asleep instantly.


Terry and Eunice were bundled up as well-- Terry had an Asian-grandma-rap-star look going on with the funky shades and all black attire :)


Our walk down the beach was impeded by a flock of thousands of seagulls. We decided to blaze a path through their midst even though, as Eunice pointed out, "they have us out-numbered."


Sure enough, the seagulls yielded. We made it to the edge of the stream before the threat of being dive bombed became too extreme, and we beat a hasty retreat to the cliffs overlooking the beach.


Much better. What a perfect day at Half Moon Bay!


Our rock star son finally woke up and demanded: "Where are my sunglasses?!"

Tang Family Visit

Eunice's mom, sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces came to stay with us over the Thanksgiving holiday. This was Spencer's first time meeting his cousins - what a crazy and fun week! Click here for a slideshow.


Click above to play a video of Melody announcing that she's taking an airplane ("feiji" in Mandarin) to visit her cousin Spencer.


When Melody and Valerie arrived, Spencer was fast asleep, so they sat quietly in front of him waiting for him to wake up.


Imagine Spencer's surprise upon waking up and seeing his cousins for the first time. What fun to have big sisters around!


Auntie Jennifer finally gets to hold her nephew for the first time.


Lots of love for Spencer from the Tang family. :)


Jennifer is pregnant with #3 (a boy!), so this is a sneak preview of her not-too-distant future...


The day after the Tangs arrived, we took the kids in strollers to explore downtown San Mateo.


First stop: toddler sing-along time at the San Mateo public library.


Melody and Valerie, getting into "head and shoulders, knees and toes."


We stop for some silly photo-ops before heading out (we have no idea how the little girl on the left got into our picture!)


Spencer, up close and personal...


Valerie, starring in the little-known action movie, "Runaway Stroller"


After grabbing lunch at a sushi restaurant downtown, the kids took naps while we walked through the rose garden.


Spencer loves the weekends because he gets lots of daddy time. Here, Spencer enjoys a bowl of cereal with Dad (i.e., whacking the spoon, launching cereal and milk everywhere).


Melody helps Spencer choose an outfit for the day.


Lots of play time every day...


We didn't know so many kids could fit on Spencer's play mat!


Melody loves holding Spencer...


...even if he might be a little bit too heavy for her!


Ryan uses his storytelling skills while reading one of Spencer's books to the girls.


Jennifer set up a play date with some old family friends from St. Louis that have ended up in the Bay Area as well. Here we are with Wen and his daughter, Emily.


Wen's wife, Wendy, made a fantastic homade meal of sushi and salmon. Mmmmm...


Never a moment of rest in the Tang's schedule: The next day, we hosted some old friends of Jennifer and David's from Mountainview. Above: An impressive parade of strollers and kids!


We walked downtown and bought bento boxes to eat in Central Park.


Later that afternoon, we drove up to San Francisco to meet up with Ryan's dad, Michael, for a walk along the Marina Green.


Valerie enjoys the fall leaves and sailboats at dusk.


Timid at first, the girls had fun meeting Abby!


Michael with his two loves: his grandson, Spencer and his dog, Abby.


Despite her shy demeanor, Melody is actually a total ham. Clockwise from upper left: Melody taking a bow. Melody being scray. Melody being scared. Melody being stern.


Valerie can be pretty silly, too!


After nine days of non-stop craziness and fun, Spencer was sad to see his aunt, uncle and cousins leave. (But we know they'll be back for good some day, right?!)


Parting family portraits: The Nichols with cousins Melody and Valerie.


The Lin women


The whole clan, left to right: Jennifer, Ryan/Spencer, Terry, Melody, Eunice, Valerie, David