Best of 2009

2009 started off with a blast from the past: Back in 2004, we roadtripped down Baja for New Year's in Cabo with the Brackenburys and the Canadas, swapping high fives at sunset throughout. 4 years and 4 kids later, we wanted to reassemble the crew in Mexico again. A lot was different this time around, but the critical things stayed the same: sand, surf, fresh grilled tacos, and cold Mexican beer, all enjoyed in the company of good friends.

The rest of winter was bearable thanks to visits from Cora, Kristin and Faith, , Gillian and Maureen, time with local friends and family, including Nara, Tracy, Lee, KB, the Hills, and Therese, and of course lots of time playing with Gaby and Theo. Eunice started back to work in January, making time at home with the Boys even more precious. Spencer started to get more interested in Chinese and his skuut bicycle, and Tyler really came into his own as a toddler.

We were very happy to welcome Adam and Rachel to the peninsula-- they moved to a really cute place in San Carlos, just 10 minutes down the road from us, and we loved welcoming them to our community. We were all eagerly awaiting the arrival of their baby girl -- we hosted a pretty unique baby shower in their new place (a game of "birth canal," anyone?)

As the weather got better, we started to get out and about with our newly mobile family. We'd head out to the beach on a Sunday afternoon, go hiking at Edgewood park with Grace and Alonzo, check out the local cultural attractions, and take our out-of-town friends Jon and Allison to Sawyer Camp. We even got away for a fantastic spring Tahoe Weekend with Lee, KB, Nara, Tracy, and Charu. The kids are getting more and more into the holidays, so finding an Easter egg hunt for them to participate in was a big deal for the first time. Everyone seemed to have kids at Ryan's Five-Year Stanford B-School Reunion, as did Ryan's old William's buddiesAndrew and Brian.

Tyler wrapped up the spring season with some significant milestones: his first steps, followed closely by his 1st Birthday. He was lucky to have visits from his Nai Nai, his Po Po, and Cora.

But the most important baby of the year was Lilah Beth Nichols! Born on June 16th at 2am after 18 hour of natural childbirth (go Rachel!), she weighed in at 7 pounds 2 oz, sporting a shock of white-blond hair. Welcome to the club, Adam and Rachel-- if you only knew what you were getting yourselves into!

A year and a half after Tyler's birth, the boys are finally starting to play pretty well with each other around the house. That made father's day this year an especially important one for Ryan, his first as the father of two.

We got the summer off to a roaring start-- a special overnight trip to the hostel at Pigeon Point Lighthouse and a fantastic Memorial Day at the Canada's cabin on Donner Lake. Closer to home, we made our annual trip to theMaker Faire and got outdoors as much as possible, whether at Seal Point with Grandpa Nic, our church picnic,the Japanese Tea Garden in Central Park, goofing off outside with Theo and Gaby, or playing in the yard.

It was a big summer of music: we hit concerts in San Carlos' Burton Park with Adam and Rachel, saw the Steve Miller Band up at Mountain Winery, and went to our good friend Corey's band performance on a warm summer evening at Lakestock.

The summer also marked some birthday milestones - Eunice's 34th, celebrated with the old city church crew and again with a night in SF with the gang. We had a whole host of other July Birthday Parties at Little Kingdom Daycare, and Spencer's 3rd birthday at the Gates (yet again!). Spencer turned three just in time to enroll in the Mandarin immersion preschool program at our local public magnet school College Park. He gets to do a specialcooking project each month, which he loves! We celebrated Hudson's birthday at Marvin Gardens, Theo's birthday in our backyard, and Julia's 40th....princess style.

Then, let the summer travel begin! Highlights included our first family backpacking trip to Coast Camp, the 20 person Tao Family Reunion at Lake Travis TX (preceded by Spencer and Eunice's Trip to San Antonio), the Joyce Family Reunion in San Diego, and Labor Day in Twaine Harte with the Hills. And when we weren't visiting family and friends, they were visiting us: Po Po came out for a visit, as did the former pastor of Eunice's church in St. Louis.

Closer to home, we finally finished the conversion of our garage to a playroom, and participated in the launch of the new campus of our church!

The Bay Area's Indian Summer is always the best time to hit the beach, and we made the most of the opportunity this year: trips to Dune Beach, Roosevelt Beach, and Half Moon Bay with Todd & Jenny, as well as an outing to Chrissy Field with KB and Lee.

October brought Adam & Therese's Birthdays in the Marina, Pumpkin Picking in Half Moon Bay, a crazyHalloween in Adam's 'hood, and the usual daycare Halloween festivities.

Then it was Dreamforce season, Ryan's busiest (and most exciting!) time of year at work. We needed a long weekend up in Russian River to recover.

One of our conclusions for 2009 is that divide and conquer is sometimes the way to go. Whether it's the boysplaying with each other (or with their friends) while the adults socialize, or us splitting up the kids and doing something fun with them separately... sometimes anything is easier than having the 4 of us all together. Case in point? Before the holidays, Eunice and Spencer spent a week in St. Louis with the Lins, letting Ryan and Tylerhave some serious bonding time back home. Good times all around.

Queue holiday madness: getting the tree at Santa's tree farm, decorating the Marina house, hosting our church home group Christmas party, celebrating Susan's 60th birthday, and enjoying the holidays with Michael and Therese, and Nancy and the Barrons. We needed some R&R after all the craziness and were very happy to escape to a fantastic beach house near Stinson with the Nichols clan. We closed out the year at the Canadaswith Lee & KB playing our now traditional midnight game of poker.... ready for a new decade to begin!