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Spencer's Banana Bread Baking Talent Show

Spencer has more interest and talent in the kitchen than any of his friends, and his absolute favorite thing to cook is banana bread.  What better skill to bring to the talent show?

Spencer shows off his bananas, his egg-cracking prowess, and some mean mixing skillz. But the proof is in the pudding-- how is the bread?

Well, his class was impressed.  Even though a riot didn't break out as the plate was passed, its clear that the kids of college park will never look at a loaf of banana bread in the same way.

Well done, Spencer!
 

Celebrating Mothers Day with Four Generations

We were thrilled to host Mimi, Nancy, Donna, Rachel, and the newest woman in our family, Lilah for brunch on Mother's Day!

Susan and Jim's Visit

We are so excited about the possibility of Susan & Jim moving up to the Bay Area from San Diego.  This house hunting trip gave us a little glimpse of what it would be like to have them in the area.  Just think of the babysitting... I mean the family camaraderie!

View full slideshow of their visit here....

Spencer's First School Picture

In this age of ubiquitous digital photography, where it feels as though every moment of our children's lives is being recorded for posterity (and blogged about by their inconsiderate parents), its refreshing to be reminded that there's still an industry out there dedicated to capturing the most forced, artificial smiles that our children are capable of producing.  Good thing we remembered to have Spencer wear his extra-special Puma t-shirt for his very first school picture. ;)

Haircuts for the Boys

Forget those specialty kids places that charge an arm and a leg for a haircut just because they show Nemo.  We're going to Great Clips.  And is there anything cuter than a freshly shorn 2 and 4 year old?

Ryan's 35th Birthday

Getting older happens to everybody, but not everybody gets the chance to celebrate their 35th birthday with friends and family watching a fabulous sunset from a catamaran underneath the Golden Gate bridge. It was a pretty amazing evening, and I'm very grateful my Dad for making this happen and to my sister-in-law Lauren for sharing her birthday with me!

The boat ride was spectacular, but the best gift of all was a happy birthday poster that the boys made for me-- the first time that Spencer had done so much writing.  Its still hanging up in my closet!

Check out the full set of photos....

Bouquets to Art

As Nancy has gotten more and more involved in the "Bouquets to Art" fundraiser, it became more and more embarrassing that we'd never gotten our act together to support the cause!  Finally this year we got Juanita to watch to boys and headed over to the de Young with Adam, Rachel, Phil, Nikki, and of course Nancy and the Barrons.

The premise of the event: floral arrangements inspired by modern art.  Highlights included the fashion show (all the dresses were made out of flowers), hob nobbing with the models & designers, strolling through the exhibits, swing dancing in the arboretum.... not to mention just getting dressed up and heading out for an evening of cultural entertainment!

Thanks for organizing such an amazing event, Nancy-- full photos here!

Reading Time with Rachel

We are just so0o glad that Adam & Rachel are still friends from us after that Hawaii trip... here's a cute shot of Rachel reading books to the kids at their place in San Carlos.  SO nice to have these guys just 10 minutes down the road...

Lake Lagunitas Hike with the Usual Suspects

This Bay Area adventure didn't get off to the most auspicious start-- Lake Lagunitas is deceptively far away, and we were all dealing with whiny, hungry children as we wound our way up the final road to the lake.  In fact the Canadas called to say that they were turning around and going home.  They ended up making it, but only after we'd ravenously eaten their lunch!

But a little food was all it took to revitalize the troops.... and lunch by the waterfall was just the thing to get us all ready for a fantastic walk around the lake.  Fond memories include epic battles between the kids for hiking sticks, an hour of fantasy fishing in the river, several near-soaked experiences (both from the lake as well as from potty training), one very real tumble from a log for Theo, and an even more real fire truck evacuation during our hike (fortunately, no one we knew!).

A great adventure, thanks for organizing, Nikki!

See the full slideshow here....
    

Spencer's Version of Wall-E

Over a year ago, Phil & Nikki gave the boys Wall-E on DVD for Christmas. It's pretty much the only kids movie we own, so suffice it to say Spencer has watched it a LOT. We didn't realize just how much until we saw this drawing on a pad of paper in his room.

Big Island Adventure

Hawaii... what could be more relaxing?  Unless you decide to go to the big island, bring along 3 kids under 3, and eschew the fancy resorts in favor of a couple of "Westy" WW camper-vans. Then, not so relaxing. But an adventure? Absolutely.

We did actually start our trip at a resort-- enjoying a night at the Sheraton Keauhou outside Kona.  The swimming pool was nice, and seeing manta rays from the restaurant was cool, but we were here for some adventure. So off to "Happy Campers" we went to pick up our Westies!

The next couple of days were pretty memorable: we ate, slept, and played from these little vehicles at some of the most spectacular beaches around the island.  We saw huge waves, amazing rainbows, spectacular sunsets, and tremendous vistas.  We BBQ'd some amazing meals, and loved being able to roll out of our Westie in the morning to have breakfast on the beach.

There were definitely some rough moments: Tyler was eaten alive by the bugs.  Adam and Rachel would move their Westie to a deserted corner of the parking lot since Lilah was up so early.  And I don't think either one of us really remembers Volcano National Park thanks to a massive toddler meltdown in the parking lot of the visitor center.

After a couple of sleepless nights with all 4 of us in the van, Ryan took the boys out to camp on the beach.  A great plan, until a storm came through and knocked over the cheap rental tent!  Ryan will never forget ferrying the Spencer back to the Westie in the rain, and coming back to find a now-awake Tyler screaming at the rainclouds in confusion.

We even had a breakdown-- one of our Westies overheated on Easter Sunday, stranding us on a desolate stretch of highway outside Hilo.  As luck would have it, there was a charming Hawaiian church across the street that took us in for an amazing brunch and afternoon of hospitality while Happy Campers tracked down the right parts.

The grand finale?  Tyler took a fantastic nap on the flight home, only to wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  He was unconsolable for the last 2 hours of the flight.  It was horrible.

Well, you really do get to see the Big Island in a unique way from the back of a camper van.... a lot of fond memories from this trip, but suffice it to say that it took us nearly a year to brave getting on a plane again after this Big Island Adventure!

Full slideshow here....

Newport Beach with the Brackenburys

With the Brackenburys expecting twins, we knew that their trip to Long Beach would be the only chance until the kids go off to college to catch them on the west coast.  So we found a beach house on VRBO, rented a minivan, and made a week of it (combining the trip with a visit to Eunice's grandparents in Monterey Park).

We learned that when you have 3 under 3, there's a world of difference between 3 blocks to the beach and beachfront... treking down to the beach felt like planning Normandy.  But the beach was beautiful, and the kids loved it... memories include beers on the deck, watching sunset from the cliffs, BBQing in the alleyway, a night out to a local Italian place (where we spent half the time walking the kids around the block to watch the boats), and lots of time in what was truly a fabulous house.

Slideshow here....

Po Po (1917 - 2010)

Not quite two years ago, I wrote a tribute to my grandfather, Gong Gong, when he passed away at the age of 93. I am saddened today to write another tribute, this time for my beloved grandmother, Po Po, who passed away on Sunday. I feel so incredibly fortunate that Ryan, Spencer, Tyler and I happened to be passing through Los Angeles this weekend and had a chance to eat lunch with her at her favorite dim sum restaurant two days before she died. The photo above is the last one ever taken of Po Po.

In Remembrance of Po Po (1917-2010)

Faith and strength. I’d be willing to bet that these would be the first two words that would come to mind if you asked anyone to describe my grandma Hung Chen Tao (or “Po Po” as her grandchildren called her) – it wouldn’t matter if you’d known her for just a few minutes or if you’d known her for her entire life.

To enter into Po Po’s life was to be prayed for by her. She was as old school as you could get, starting and ending every day on her knees by her bed. I always suspected that if anyone had a direct line to God it would be her, and felt blessed knowing that not a day in my life went by that my name was not lifted up in prayer by my grandmother.

It didn’t matter that Po Po had suffered significant tragedies in her own life, fleeing to Taiwan during the communist takeover of China and dealing with a failed cataract surgery that left her legally blind while raising four young children. During these difficult times, instead of becoming disillusioned with the world, she found faith and strength in God that resulted in deep compassion for others.

Her final act the night before she passed away was to write a check for a struggling seminary student – someone she had never met but had heard about that week. Po Po didn’t have a lot of money, and the check might not have seemed particularly large, but I hope that seminary student will understand the significance of the gift. I would want to convey to him what a treasure my Po Po was, a unique person of wonderful contradictions - a woman with cloudy eyes but a clear mind, a strong will but a warm heart, a social butterfly yet a prayer warrior.

With Po Po’s death, it feels like the end of an era – the passing of a giant. On one hand, this image seems odd: my grandmother was humble and never would have seen herself as a giant. On the other hand, it is incredibly appropriate, for she was very much a giant – a pillar of faith and strength – in our family and in her community.

My aunt fittingly noted that Po Po left us just as she had lived every day before. Engaged, active, faithful, generous. On Sunday morning, Palm Sunday, a day of Victory no less, she got up, prayed, and dressed to attend her church service with a special check tucked into her purse. While eating breakfast, she clutched her heart, took three breaths in my mom’s arms, and left to attend a far grander service in heaven.

* * * * *

I made a short film several years ago, documenting four generations of women in my family: Po Po, my mother, my sister, and my niece. More than anything I could write or say, this film conveys the spirit of the woman I have respected and loved for so many years and the legacy she leaves behind...

Morning in Montery Park

For the first leg of our 2-week spring vacation, we flew to Los Angeles, crashed at Eunice's mom's apartment, and then spent the morning living life-as-usual in Montery Park. This entailed playing in the park where Eunice's mom does tai chi and Chinese dance starting at 7am in the morning and hanging out with Eunice's grandma (Po Po) at her hair appointment.


Of course, there was lots of eating, eating, and more eating.


Topped off with even more eating at our favorite dim sum restaurant.

Sadly, two days after our visit, Po Po passed away. What a blessing to have just been with her, doing some of her favorite things. Eunice has written a tribute to her beloved Po Po here.

Williams Gathering

The last time the Vosburgs were in town, we pulled together a mini-Williams gathering of folks in the Bay Area. Spencer was just a few months old. Nearly four years later, it has taken another visit from the Vosburgs to pull this group together. This time, with a lot more couples, and a lot more kids. :)

 

Ryan with his Boys

Well if we had two mama's boys back in the early days, the tide has clearly shifted. These days its all Daddy, all the time.

Here's one of our favorite photos of Ryan playing with the boys (or more appropriately, serving as pack mule). The double-decker piggy back ride is indeed a back breaker, but essential at times to prevent sibling rivalry. ;)


And here's a photo of the boys playing with Ryan. (Hmmm... future dentists in the making?)

Hiking in the Belmont Foothills

Susan (Ryan's mom) and Jim are moving to the Bay Area! We've been having fun house hunting with them and dreaming about what it will be like to have them here. Ryan took these fantastic photos of the boys on a trail just steps away from a condo for sale in the Belmont foothills. They put in an offer, which was sadly turned down, but know they'll find their perfect Bay Area home soon.

EncoreConnect and Silver Lining

We have often talked about whether or not we could/should ever work together, professionally. Well, after 13 years, our work worlds have finally collided. EncoreConnect, one the programs Eunice runs at Aspiranet has been contracted by Appirio, Ryan's cloud computing company, to provide outsourced volunteer coordination for Appirio's community engagement initiative, cleverly called "Silver Lining."

The first Silver Lining event that EncoreConnect helped plan was a food sort at Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos. A team of 25 Appirians sorted and boxed nearly 7,000 pounds of food (or approximately 5,500 meals) in two hours. That's a LOT of food! It's going to be fun helping Appirio do more good in the days ahead.

Nikkita and Prairie at Spencer Maughan's place

Saturday was a blast from the past for Ryan - we had a fun morning hanging out with Ryan's old high school friend, Spencer Maughan, his mother, and his sister and her two adorable daughters, Nikkita and Prairie.