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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!

Best of 2008

Our fondest memories from 2008...



2008 started out with big news... we're having another boy! What better way to celebrate than with a wonderful week in Hawaii. We flew out for Eunice's childhood friend Jerry's wedding, and stayed at the wonderful home of Susan and Steve.

Then it was back to life in the Bay Area: We continued to bond with our community of friends with kids, including hikes with Grace and Alonzo, date night swaps with the Wangs, trips to the zoo (many zoos!), museums, and visits from our old friends Brian, Cora, and Spencer.

Our next big trip was in March to Venice Beach-- another "Kibbutz" weekend with Jesse, Eileen, KB, and Lee. Po Po (Eunice' mom) came out for a solo weekend with Spencer, a welcome break for the expectant parents.

We spent Easter in Dallas, visiting Jennifer and David and agonizing over the right career move for Ryan. He came back, gave notice at SAP after 3 1/2 years, and joined a startup called Appirio to run product management. An exciting switch... no more trips to Germany! Ryan's other big milestone was his 33rd birthday, celebrated with a great dinner in the Marina and a romantic lunch with Eunice in Half Moon Bay.

April was our final month with 1 baby: a baby shower for us, a baby shower for Jesse and Eileen, some quality time at the lake, and lots of preparation for Spencer.... his first real bed and training for being a big brother. Here's our last dinner before Tyler arrived...

And then we were four! Tyler Lin Nichols was born at 6:51 on May 16 through natural childbirth (no epidural for poor Eunice) after 2.5 hours of labor, only 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital - we barely made it in time! Tyler's first moments included a wonderful day at Sequoia Hospital with mom and dad, meeting his big brother, and meeting all of our family in the area.

Back at home, Tyler had his first real bath , time hanging around the house, and lots and lots of weight gain. The big question: can you tell Spencer and Tyler apart?

It was so special to have Terry in town for the summer, plus Jennifer and David and all the grandkids! We spent a weekend with the entire Lin family in Napa. (Tyler's first trip @ 1 week!) Saying farewell to Eunice' mother at the end of the summer was tough... goodbye Po Po!

Spencer had a pretty good summer himself, for a 2 year old: his first backpacking trip with Adam and Ryan in Desolation Wilderness, a visit to a fire house, joy rides at the supermarket, pajama parties with Gaby and Theo, massive "mega bloks" creations, his first sleep away with friends, singing and hanging out with his little brother, concerts in Central Park, time at the beach, exploring the tide pools, time in the kiddie pool, time at the zoo, time at the farm, foosball and pizza at Dad's office, a very cool RC car from Juanita, and a great birthday party with our community group... complete with fireworks!

3 milestones in July: Spencer turned 2, Eunice turned 33, and our beloved Gong Gong passed away.

We ended our summer with a marathon trip: Labor day weekend with the Hills in Twain Harte, a week in San Diego for the Joyce family reunion and to see Ryan's Family, and a week in Boston and Martha's Vineyard to visit some friends and attend Jon and Alison's wedding. We came back and needed a break!

Our boys are growing up so quickly: Tyler is already rolling over, trying out his swing, sleeping at night, trying solid food .... even went on his first camping trip, with our community group at Casini Ranch. Spencer is a "big boy" in so many ways now. He loves singing happy birthday to Po Po, riding trains with his Uncle Morgan, and wearing his own backpack when we travel.

Fall arrived in earnest, starting with our church retreat in the mountains above Santa Cruz, Halloween with Cora, Thanksgiving with the Nichols, and an only-in-California sunny trip to the beach. We also worked on the less tangible things: deepening friendships, learning how to draw and make-believe (Spencer), and learning how to sit, laugh, and take a bath with his brother (Tyler).

How did it get to be the holidays so soon? To prepare, we did a family photo shoot for gifts to the grandparents, and picked out a christmas tree at Fort Mason. Then let the parties begin! The Gates, the Canadas, IDEO, and SNBC were highlights. We spent Christmas itself on a grand tour of the Bay Area-- Christmas Eve at the Hills, Christmas morning at home with Susan and Jim, brunch at Dad's place in the Marina, and dinner at Nancy's in Marin. Then it was off to a week in Lake Tahoe with the Nichols to celebrate New Year.

2008 was a year of great change, great challenge, and great joy for our family. We're finally getting the hang of balancing work and being parents of two little boys. Here's hoping for a slightly more RESTful 2009... [Though the RESTless side of us is kicking off the new year with a trip to Mexico. Oh well!]

Best of 2007

Our fondest memories from 2007...



What better place to start off 2007 than in Kauai with the keikis, hanging out with our best friends and their babies, hiking to deserted beaches, riding helicopters over rugged coastline, and cooking ribs and seafood in a private beach house!

Back at home, Spencer became more and more of a little person every day, whether he was working out in his exersaucer, making friends on the couch, wowing us with his belly laugh, discovering his tongue, doing laps around the coffee table, posing as a flower child, learning to play bongo drums, trying on crazy sweaters, hanging out in central park, watching fireworks, or going for lots of hikes around the Bay Area.

Our next big trip of the year was to San Diego for President's Day Weekend. Jesse and Eileen were stranded by JetBlue, but we got lots of time with friends and family… and Spencer rolled over for the first time!

Ryan got in a few trips of his own—visiting with the other Spencer in Germany, and (much to Eunice’s chagrin), doing a day trip to Dallas to meet our newest nephew… Paxon!

Our summer started with a whirlwind 3 stage trip: First a fantastic long Memorial Day weekend with Jesse and Eileen on the Cape. Then Spencer’s first trip abroad—a 2 week trip to the incredibly kid-friendly town of Heidelberg, Germany (Spencer adjusted to the time zones better than we did!). Finally, on the way home, we stopped at our Williams 10-Year Reunion, a great chance to catch up with old friends and meet everyone’s growing families.

Spencer took his first steps at Bob and Kathy’s place in June, just before his first birthday celebration and 4th of July fireworks in the Marina. (Spencer's day care also threw him a wonderful party).

We had lots of other things to celebrate over the summer: Eunice’s first mother's day, Adam and Rachel's wine country engagement party, music in central park, Phil's birthday bike ride, Theo's 1st Birthday, Henry’s 1^st birthday… and of course Eunice's 32nd Birthday, celebrated at the clothing optional ocean-side spa in Big Sur.

Our next big summer trip was a family reunion in St. Louis and Eunice’s childhood vacation destination of Branson, MO. It was great hanging out by the lake, despite the heat wave!

A highlight of the year was Adam and Rachel's Wedding on a picture perfect day in Rachel’s hometown of Westport, MA. We were kept busy during the beachfront ceremony by our duties officiating (Eunice) and delivering a message (Ryan), but were definitely able to relax over a clambake and fireworks that night. We also spent a wonderful weekend in Sonoma for Matt and Julia’s Wedding.... Spencer is learning to have a good time at these events!

Not all of the action was on the road—over the course of the year we were very lucky to have lots of friends and family out to visit-- Dr. Hem (twice!), Grandpa Fran, Mamie and Cora, Nara, Adam, Fran, Adam, and Rachel , Susan and Jim , Karen and Erin, Josh and Kimberly, and Mimi, Steve and the kids.

Ryan was called for jury duty in the fall, and ended up taking 4 weeks off work to serve as Juror #7 on a murder trial. A once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it has to be said that the work/life balance of a juror isn’t so bad. We had lots of time to play in central park every day, eat our backyard apple harvest, (also every day!), enjoy Spencer's first puddles, try on adult shoes, hang out with the grandparents, and of course go trick-or-treating for the first time…with Spencer dressed as a lion.

We spent Thanksgiving in Vancouver (where it wasn’t Thanksgiving), eating monstrous amounts of food with Eunice’s family. Eunice’s mom came out for a fantastic visit in November, giving Spencer lots of time with all of his grandparents this year. He’d better enjoy the attention while he can, because our big news this fall was learning that we have another bun in the oven! Eunice is due in May, and we had lots of fun sharing our news with friends and family… starting with the New York gang at our Kibbutz LA road trip to Joshua Tree.

We got into the holiday season by finding the perfect Christmas tree to chop down in Half Moon Bay and attending the wild Ideo Children's Christmas Party thanks to Grace. Then we were ready for Christmas Eve Festivities with our community group (+ our traditional get-together at the Hills) and a 12-person crab and filet mignon dinner with family on Christmas Day. Then it was off to Tahoe with the Nichols for Spencer’s introduction to the snow, and more of the same with the Kiwi Hapa gang on Donner Lake for a Tahoe New Years. Eunice finished a great 2007 by going “all-in” on Texas Hold ‘Em… and winning!

Best of 2006

Our fondest memories from 2006...

2006 started out with us enjoying life without kids (despite Eunice’s growing belly!) We returned from our New Year’s Death Valley adventures only to head out again shortly to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, and to New York with Cousins Eddie and Nate for a Cousins Weekend.

But reality started to set in, especially when we found out that we were having a boy! It was time to move out of grad school digs in Palo Alto into our new home in San Mateo and start preparing for the sarrival of the baby.

But not before celebrating the weddings of some dear friends (in Eunice’s 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th month of pregnancy!): Brian and Ellen's Wedding in Gettysburg, Jesse and Eileen's Wedding in Cape Cod, and Sunru and Anne's Wedding in Boston.

Spencer Lin Nichols was born on July 4th, just in time to see the fireworks from Sequoia Hospital! The first month at home was magical… We’ll never forget his first bath , his funny faces, and his rapid growth from tiny infant to chart-busting buddha baby. We were lucky to have the support of so many friends and family.

Soon Spencer was hanging out with his new buds Gaby and Theo, enjoying sunset hikes, and even taking his first plane flight to Vegas, Baby! His first roadtrip was to meet the Great Grandparents down in southern California.

So many memorable “firsts,” especially with the holidays: Spencer's first Halloween, first time meeting cousins Melody and Valerie, hosting our first Thanksgiving, decorating our first Christmas tree, and celebrating Spencer's first Christmas.

But this year wasn’t all about Spencer—the best part of the holidays was celebrating Adam and Rachel’s engagement!

Best of 2005

Our fondest memories from 2005...

Our fondest memories of 2005: Long ride home from Baja, diving back into work...

Ryan's 30th birthday-- celebrated with family by swilling vodka and dancing to Russian music at Fandorin, and with friends during a weekend trip to Sonoma (competing for who gets what room through an olympics of board games?? "hey, its my birthday!").

Eunice's 30th birthday-- started with a bittersweet trip to Tahoe cut short when we heard about the death of our dear friend Tess, continued with a backpacking trip in Santa Cruz, and culminated in an evening boat cruise on the Bay with friends and family (Dad said to the captian: "I want to go under that bridge" as waves crashed over the front of the boat!).

Terry's 60th birthday-- celebrated with family in a beach house in Galveston, Texas.

The celebrations continued all summer. We danced: under the dome of City Hall in our evening-wear finest at the Black & White ball, under the fireworks to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Stanford's July 4th celebration. We swam: jumping into the Pacific with Jesse and Lee during a trip to LA, at night in Lake Sonoma from a camping spot accessible only by boat. We even flew: finally collecting on a fantastic wedding present of a "flight to Monterey for hamburgers" from Alexander and Sheryn.

Ryan also finally saw something other than SAP headquarters during his frequent business trips to Germany-- an afternoon of wine-tasting in the Pfalz, and a weekend hiking the Swiss Alps around Wengen. And then there was the stop-over on the way home from Germany to join the Sabato Boy's annual outing to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis.

The big trip of the summer was to Indonesia. We remember evening strolls down Kuta Beach, the terraced rice paddies and magical Hindu temples on the mountains of Bali, the charming artist's town (and monkey hangout!) of Ubud, the open air luxury of our bungalow at the Alam Jiwa, our first glimpse of our catamaran (the Moggy) and quirky Captain Don, the sun setting over the volcanoes of Lombok, diving into the magical colors of the coral reef, breaking down cultural barriers with the Muslim children in a beachside fishing village, and finally arriving at Komodo and tracking real-life dragons through the desert.

Upon our return, we connected with long-lost family at Pohley's wedding and bid Adam and Rachel farewell to San Francisco as they headed off to New York. Eunice even had payback for all those boys weekends as she headed to Utah for a girls weekend at a Green Valley Spa.

Back in Indonesia, we had spent some of the long hours between the Indonesian Islands deciding that we were as ready as we were ever going to be to start a family-- two months later we discovered that we were expecting a child!

We wanted to celebrate the holidays sharing our news with family and friends-- it was too soon to spill the beans during a Thanksgiving trip to Vancouver to visit Eunice's family, but we finally told Ryan's Bay Area family in person over Christmas by giving our parents "grandma" and "grandpa" frames containing our first ultrasound.

What better way for us to celebrate pregnancy than with our favorite kind of travel: a big roadtrip-- we spent a couple of dusty days camping in an old miner's cabin overlooking Death Valley, and drove into a posh Hollywood hotel for New Year's Eve... Our last one we'd celebrate with a family of 2!

Best of 2004

Our fondest memories from 2004...

Ahhh... the second half of the second life of business school: Good memories indeed. Spring Break '04 staying at Jerry's place in Honolulu and touring the Big Island, Pinky's 80th Birthday Party in San Diego with the Hills, Spring in Tahoe skiing with friends, and Memorial Day Camping in the Sierras.

Then came the graduation festivities: a week of "Disorientation" events, followed by the Graduation itself. An end of an era!

Before Ryan started work again, there was still time for Karen and Alex's Wedding in Houston, and a Backpacking to Minaret Lake with Jim Sharky.

And then, of course, the epic Nichols family trip to Tibet: we traveled to the roof of the world and discover for ourselves legendary cloud-shrouded mountains, the mysteries and realities of Buddhism, and the spirit and strength of the Tibetan people as they confront a modern China.

We ended the year with the ultimate roadtrip, from Palo Alto to the tip of Baja and back: 4 nights sleeping on the beach as we work our way south, an unforgettable New Year's Eve celebration in Cabo San Lucas, 4 days of recovery at a beachfront condo, and 3,579 miles under our belt before getting home. Our partners in crime? Jesse and Eileen on the drive down and Grace and Alonzo for our time in Los Cabos.

Click here for a close-up of the collage of the best of 2004.

Best of 2003

We started 2003 in San Diego, recovering from our big night out with Adam, Fran, and Morgan. On New Year's day, we woke up early for an 8 hour drive to San Francisco, a 2 hour flight to Vancouver, and a 3 hour drive to Whistler. We joined 200 of Ryan's GSB classmates at Whistler for 4 days of skiing and some time with family in Vancouver.

Then it was back to the "grind" of the first year of business school and our life in Palo Alto... with lots of little breaks to keep things interesting! We made a winter trip to New York where we visited Ryan's old roommates, ate at Peter Lugar's, and caught up with lots of good friends. We stayed closer to home on President's Day Weekend, hosting dinner parties and hanging out with David and Jennifer (getting bigger and bigger!) before heading off to Pinnacles National Monument for a weekend of camping, just the two of us.

Of course there were also loads of business school events: One Tuesday night later in February, 300 of Ryan's business-school classmates dressed up in 70's gear and headed to Las Vegas for a one-night party called "Vegas FOAM." Eunice decided to jump into the fray and became the head of the business school partner's group, planning parties, events, and outings (including a trip to see the elephant seals at Anu Nuevo State Park). And no spring would be complete without a late-season trip to Tahoe with friends, a baseball game at PacBell park, a ride on a segway, and beers with friends in the backyard of our cottage in Palo Alto.

Melody was born in April.... and we were at the hospital moments after her arrival! How exciting to have our first niece so close to home! And Benson and Danielle were married later in July, bringing lots of Eunice's family to the Bay Area (and our house) for more celebration!

To celebrate Dad's 60th birthday, the Nichols boys took a 10 day road-trip through the north and south islands of New Zealand (boys only, much to Eunice's chagrin!). We drove 2000 miles, landed on a glacier in a helicopter, swam with dolphins, climbed a volcano, kayaked to a remote beach, jumped off an underground waterfall, and sampled lots of excellent food and drink. Happy birthday, Dad!

We spent more and more time outside with the arrival of the Bay Area spring. We took a great family hike through Big Basin, meeting Adam's girlfriend Rachel for the first time. Jesse and Lee came out for a visit from New York to visit wine country, do some volunteer work with Eunice, and do some incredible hiking in Yosemite. Susan's visit over the summer was a great chance to enjoy the arrival of summer in the city and cool off in Stanford's fountains. We relived our days in San Francisco for Eunice's Birthday, staying at a B&B in North Beach, having a wonderful meal at Cafe Jacqueline, and enjoying a great hike out to the beach.

We went out to New York again in July to celebrate Tej's Wedding and to spend July 4th in the city, watching the fireworks from a swimming pool by the river (thanks to Jesse's park's department connections!). We finished the summer with a weekend visit to San Diego and a weekend trip to Virginia for cousin Carrie and Pete's wedding.

Ryan spent his summer trying out product management at Intuit, but September brought the start of his second year at business school. It started off strong-- he led a mountain biking trip
up in Lake Tahoe for the new first year students.

We went back to New York in October to see Mamie's dance performance and connect with the New York crew again. We spent our first Halloween in the Castro with Josh and Christine, using Adam's house party as a base to avoid the madness.

Thanksgiving was a huge family event-- the Nichols, the Barons, AND the entire Lin / Tang family, all at Dad and Nancy's place for dinner! After an epic day in the Marina, we went with Eunice's family down to Carmel.

This was also the debut of Eunice's first short film, "New Beginnings," about 3 generations of mothers in her family. You can check out the film here (give it a couple of seconds to load)-- its only about 12 minutes.

After Christmas eve with family at the Hills, the two of us escaped for a week-long road trip to Death Valley. We fell in love with this place-- camping in the desert in the winter is a magical experience. Then it was back to the craziness of the Bay Area for a New Year's Eve wedding: Patricia and Adam threw a fantastic party, providing the perfect finale to a great year.