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!

Chinese New Years at College Park

Spencer and all of his classmates got dressed up in traditional Chinese outfits for the Chinese New Years celebration at his school. The morning started with an assembly in the gym that included lion dances and martial arts demonstrations, followed by a parade around the school. The morning wrapped up with an amusing attempt to take a class photo. :)

New Years Eve at the Canadas

We kicked off 2005 with the Canadas in Baja; 2006 with the Canadas in Los Angeles; 2007 with the Canadas in Hawaii; 2008 and 2009 with the Canadas in Tahoe... Can you guess how we rang in 2010?

Yes indeed, with the Canadas! We celebrated at their place this time, with Lee and KB making the trek down from the city for a fantastic feast of slow-cooked short ribs followed by a rousing game of poker. It had to be rousing - unaccustomed to the break in the action caused by getting four little kids to bed, Lee and KB were quickly losing steam by 9pm. Some mental exercises (poker chip long division) whipped Lee back into shape, and he was winning money in no time. Although it was Ryan that came out the big winner this time around-- Eunice continued her trademark maneuver of going all-in just before midnight regardless of what her cards said.

Our boys looked so comfortable in the guest room when we finally wrapped up at 2am that we decided to crash there as well. But of course, oblivious to the fact that their parents had only been sleeping for 4 hours, they were up and at 'em at 6am.... several hours before Theo usually stirs (lucky Grace and Alonzo!). We knew we had to get the boys out of there fast before they woke everyone up.

But what does one do with two toddlers still in their pajamas at the crack of dawn on new year's day? Breakfast at Denny's, of course! We were quite a sight: 2 kids in their fleece pajamas, 2 bleary-eyed parents in the same clothes as the night before, and 4 healthy appetites. What could be more perfect to start off a new decade than a Grand Slam?


Click here for the full slideshow....





Click here for the full slideshow...

Christmas with Nancy and the Barrons

Christmas wouldn't be complete without some QT with the Barrons. The plan was to grab hot pot, but we'd all eaten so much already that we decided to just hang out at our place instead. We threw a log on the fire, exchanged some gifts for the kids (Spencer and Tyler got bean bag chairs for the play room!), and had Spencer show off some of his "yoga moves for kids" cards (that's what he's doing with his leg in the air). Best of all, Nancy and Donna now have a little girl in the family to buy clothes for-- Lilah will be well stocked with adorable outfits for sure!

Thanks Nancy, Donna, Thomas, and Michelle for making the trek from Marin! Christmas wouldn't have been the same without you!

Click here for the full slideshow...


Click here for the full slideshow...

Christmas with Michael, Therese, Lauren and Kate

For Spencer's first Christmas, we "played the baby card" and forced everyone to come to our place instead of making our usual pilgramage around the Bay Area. We were proud to see Adam and Rachel do the same, and thrilled that Therese, Lauren, and Kate played along with this Nichols "tradition" and made the very long trek down to San Carlos for Christmas brunch.

The boys were in fine form (mostly), Lilah was in a hilarious tongue-extending mood, and Adam and Rachel whipped up quite a feast. It was definitely special to have Lauren and Kate join us for what's always been a very special holiday in their family.

Click here for the full slideshow...



Click here for the full slideshow...

Susan's 60th Birthday Visit

December 22 is a pretty lousy day to have a birthday as my mom knows all too well. Her special day half-forgotten in the midst of holiday travel, I can't even remember ever having a birthday cake for her. Adam and I decided that this year-- mom's 60th-- would be different. We gathered a bunch of photos from each stage of her life, put together a slide show with music from each era, and booked a private room for close family on the big day, the night of her arrival from San Diego.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. A bumpy flight in meant that my mom was laid low for the evening (Remember, this is the woman who spent the night leaning over the side of the boat at her dad's Navy formal when she was a kid. On an aircraft carrier. In calm seas. At dock. In Pearl Harbor).

We didn't let that stop us from having a fantastic week. Dinner itself was a still a lot of fun with the Hills, and we did watch the slideshow with my mom on the couch later that night at Adam and Rachel's. We also got in a great hike at Edgewood, some quality time with the boys, some intense after-hours gift assembly of a cool workbench (an awesome Christmas gift for the boys from Susan and Jim), and of course the annual Christmas Eve party at Bob and Kathy's.

The best part? Susan and Jim were inspired to start a house hunt up in the Bay Area.... let's see if we can get them up here for good!

Here's the birthday slideshow:

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And here are some great photos from Susan and Jim's visit!




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Tyler's Week with Dad

While Eunice and Spencer were in St. Louis, Ryan and Tyler had some fantastic bonding time - really the first time that they've been together for an extended period without Spencer in the picture. And what a difference! It ends up that Tyler knows all the words in his favorite books. He just never gets a chance to say them before Spencer blurts out the answer. And when Tyler doesn't have to compete for attention all the time, there's no reason to shriek or whine...

So what kind of trouble can an 18 month old and his dad get into when alone for the week? Not much, it ends up. Work/daycare ate up most of the time during the week, but Ryan was definitely ready to pack in fun activities and quality time with Tyler come the weekend. A Christmas party at the Canadas, brunch with Adam and Rachel at Alana's, a family-oriented Christmas service at church, lots of walks around the neighborhood.... single parenting is a piece of cake with only one ;)

Pre-Holidays in St. Louis

Eunice took Spencer on a trip to St. Louis to visit Po Po right before the holidays (she hinted that it might, just might, be her last in St. Louis!). It was a mini-reunion, with Jennifer and David's family coming up from Dallas and cousin George and Lindai's family driving out from Peoria.

Click here for the full slideshow....

Eunice and Spencer arrived a few days early to get in some quality time with Po Po. We had fun visiting a butterfly sanctuary, riding the merry-go-round at historic St. Louis Carousel, listening to Christmas music at Eunice's childhood church, eating lots of yummy home-made food, and of course, making a special trip to McDonald's for the a nostalgic McRib. :)

With the arrival of the Tangs and Lins, the relative quiet of the house exploded with six kids chasing each other around the house and putting on "shows." We also took them on some fun outings riding to the top of the St. Louis Arch and making two visits to the truly magical Magic House, one of Jennifer and Eunice's childhood favorites!

Try explaining the elevator ride up the arch to a bunch of nervous kids!


Best of all though was the quality time spent with old childhood friends and family. Thanks for hosting a very special Christmas, Po Po!

Click here for a slideshow with more photos.

Decorating the Marina House

One of the few Nichols family "traditions" is to head down to Marina Boulevard in December to help Ryan's dad, Michael, get the house spruced up for Christmas. We string up lights outside the house, set up the glowing snowman and drummer boys, take turns selecting ornaments and putting them on the tree, hang up each family member's stockings, listen to Christmas music, drink eggnog, and eat a tasty meal together. This year, we added Lilah and two rambunctious boys to the mix. A few broken ornaments aside, the energy of the kids helped to make it really feel like Christmas.

Click here for the full slideshow....

Click here for more photos.

Home Group Christmas Party

We hosted our home group's Christmas party this year to give the Gates a break. We did it pot-luck style, with tasty appetizers, cheesy potatoes, spinach and raisins, corn on the cob, chicken pesto pasta, German chocolate pie, ice cream, and berries. Add to that plenty of wine, egg nog, mulled apple cider, gifts for the kids (thanks, Julia!), a fun white elephant game, and good conversation.... The perfect way to get the holiday season kick-started!

Click here for the full slideshow...

Click here for a slideshow of more photos.

Trip to Santa's Tree Farm

Ryan and Adam took Spencer and Lilah out to Half Moon Bay to pick out Christmas trees from Santa's Tree Farm in what is turning into an annual tradition. Spencer had fun running around the hills helping his dad and uncle look for the perfect tree: it just so happened that the first one was perfect, then the second one, then the third one...

Adam and Lilah with their first real Christmas tree! Just right next to the fireplace in their home.

Ryan and Spencer found the best tree yet for our house-- very, very narrow, like it was made to fit into the corner of our living room. Can't wait to decorate it!

Halloween in San Carlos

We spent Halloween in San Carlos this year, helping Adam and Rachel celebrate Lilah's first Halloween (and first Halloween in their new home)! We started with some pumpkin carving before getting dressed up in our costumes (yes, we're still dressed as a pride of Lions!), mixed up an outstanding batch of Dark 'n Stormies, and then heading off to famous Eucalyptus Avenue, where the neighbors go all-out for Halloween.

The street was closed to make room for the hordes of pedestrians, and some of the houses actually featured performances throughout the evening (think fire-eaters). The boys were much less fearful this year, and really got into going door-to-door with their baskets. Our favorite picture? The angelic Lilah oblivious to the fact that her mother has transformed into a faceless Mexican wrestler (lower right photo in the collage above).

Click here for a slideshow....

Daycare Halloween Party

It's time for the annual Little Kingdom Daycare Halloween party, complete with lumpia, spaghetti with hotdogs, fruit, cupcakes, and of course lots of cute kids in costumes. Animals were the theme this year-- Rosalyn was Minnie Mouse, Isaac was a Bunny, David was a Kangaroo, and Kaira was a Hippo. And of course, our boys were re-using their lion costumes from Julia's birthday princess party. And the zoo-keeper of this wild bunch? Juanita, dressed as Snow White.

Spencer Turns Three on the 4th

Why mess with success? The Gates were kind enough to offer to host a 4th of July party for Spencer's birthday again this year, and we couldn't refuse. An afternoon in the pool, an evening of Nichols family ribs and margaritas + lots of other goodies, and a house fit to host our crowd of 50 friends and their kids.

Spencer relished the attention, mostly. We've been preparing him for months that his third birthday would be marked by fireworks, cake, the loss of his beloved pacifier AND the transition from his "office" at daycare to Mandarin immersion preschool.... so we weren't so sure how he'd react to the big day.

Success on all fronts-- he lost his pacifier the week prior, making the transition a non-issue. We made a successful visit to the playground at his new school to get him used to the new environment. AND, on the big day itself, Spencer didn't seem to mind the fireworks at all... the bigger issue seemed to be the birthday singing, which put him in a VERY serious mood, as you'll see in the video below. We like to think of it as serious contemplation of the meaning of turning three.



Here's a shot of the birthday boy, getting his favorite present, a big bear hug, from Theo.


And here are some shots from around the party: swimming pool fun, Ryan and Corey manning the grill, Tyler and Evan cruising around in the wagon, Spencer and Joey playing in the dirt,Spencer sampling the feast, red white and blue Nichols boys, Spencer watching fireworks with mom, and the crew assembled for Eunice's trademark homemade banana chocolate chip birthday cake.


Three sets of special guests worthy of special mention: Cora flew all the way from D.C. to join us for Spencer's birthday festivities. Adam and Rachel brought out 2-week old Lilah for her first public appearance... she completely stole the show. And Nara and Tracy came down from the city with our friend Lee-- they're expecting their first soon, and we thought a little shock and awe was in order by inviting them to a party with so many toddlers!

So happy birthday Spencer, and happy 4th of July, everyone! Click here to see a slideshow of more photos from the party.

Father's Day 2009

Eunice put together this great collage of me with the boys when they were just born in honor of my 2nd real father's day. What better day to reflect on what I've enjoyed most about being a father? These photos of them as little ones start to capture it-- its the one on one moments when they look at me with a dependence that no one has ever had on me before. That, and afternoon naps on the weekend. Those are pretty great too.

As far as father's day itself went, it was a pretty typical day of highs and lows as a dad. Great morning cooking omlettes with the boys, horrible attempt to take a hike out at Seal Point (they boys were not at their best... but we're glad we made the attempt), excellent nap and afternoon hanging around the house, dinner and a movie with Eunice after the boys went to bed. About as perfect an end to the evening as it gets these days!

Easter 2009

Easter madness! This was the year Easter went from being a laid back time of reflection to being an insane holiday for the kids. Spencer participated in not one, not two, but three different egg hunts, starting with the largest in the Peninsula at our very own San Mateo Central Park. See below for details, or click here for a slideshow!

Nancy and Donna came down to join us for the celebration... highlights included arts and crafts tables all over the park, sitting with an enthralled Spencer watching a little girl sing Anne of Green Gables on the community stage, and eating yummy Thai food for lunch upon learning that there was a 1 hour wait to do the Easter Egg hunt. The hunt itself was a well oiled machine: batches of 100 kids line up, fetch all the eggs in 5 minutes, and line up to return the eggs as they file out of the baseball diamond.

Egg hunt #2 was at church, and egg hunt #3 was over at the Gates house, where we went for Easter dinner. This was a much more laid back afair: the dads hid a bunch of eggs around the Gates' backyard.... including several in perches with shell-dropping views of the bay.

Easter Dinner itself was a lot of fun: we brought over our enormous rib-boiling pot to cook 6 racks of ribs for the assembled masses, and whipped up some Nichols-family margaritas to complement the mexican-themed dinner.

Spencer and Tyler were both in fine form. Spencer and Ryan had gone shopping that morning for supplies, and Spencer kept his Heidi's Pies and Safeway stickers on all day. He had a ton of fun playing with the other kids.... finally winding down under a blanket with the others watching a video while the adults cleaned up. Thanks for hosting, Corey and Maggie... what a party!

Click here for a slideshow!

Valentine's Day

We had a somewhat untraditional but fun Valentine's Day this year. We spent the morning playing with the boys. Then we dropped them off with Juanita (she runs the day care they go to during the week) from noon until 5pm for a "date day."


Ryan got all dressed up in his black Euro turtle neck and drove Eunice to Milagros in downtown Redwood City (guess we didn't get our fill of guacamole, tacos, and margaritas on our recent trip to San Pancho!). We made a quick stop at Beard Papas for a chocolate cream-filled cream puff and then caught a matinee showing of "Slumdog Millionaire" - a visually stunning movie with a storyline perfect for Valentine's Day. We took a nice walk around town before picking up the boys. Back home, we read bedtime stories, put the boys to sleep, and then cooked up some yummy red snapper for dinner. Mmmm!

New Year's in Tahoe

We celebrated New Year's this year with a week up in Lake Tahoe, staying at a fantastic cabin right on Donner Lake with Mike, Therese, Adam, and Rachel. We were just down the street from Grace and Alonzo's family place. Phil and Nikki also came up for a few days... Add 1 dog and 2 old college buddies / new colleagues to the mix (Bill & Chico), and you have quite a crew!

Click here for a slideshow, or see below for more...


The location was perfect, especially since it was so beautiful for most of the week. Spencer loved exploring the snow in the backyard, making forts, and throwing rocks in the lake... he even spotted a "reindeer" one morning down by the water. Not pictured is the jacuzzi under the deck, perfect for the apres-ski soak as the sun sets over Donner Pass.


We made use of the inside of the cabin as well, of course, with lots time playing with the kids, cooking/eating fantastic meals, and playing a couple of epic poker games, including a late-night game on New Year's Eve. We made it out for 2 dinners: the Truckee Diner one night and Moody's Bistro the other (Moody's had a jazz band that the kids loved dancing to, much to the chagrin of the other patrons!)



Ryan and Adam did get a couple of days in at Sugar Bowl, plus a couple of days cross-country skiing (much harder than Ryan remembers now that he's towing a 50 pound sled!). We also made it out sledding almost every day: Spencer loved falling off the sled and rolling down the hills, and Tyler seemed to be having a pretty good time as well.

Ryan was often up early with Spencer, but was rewarded on New Year's morning with a gorgeous sunrise over the lake. He and Spencer watched it from the dock-- the perfect way to start 2009!

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Christmas dinner at Nancy's

We finished our Christmas day journey at Nancy's place in Corte Madera for a fantastic turkey dinner with the Barrons.



Highlights included Mimi hiding under a napkin to talk to Uncle Tom, Nancy's special gifts from Nepal, Spencer's continued crush on cousin Michelle, Tyler happy for hours in Nancy's yellow armchair, lots of puzzle time on the carpet, and Nancy playing "train" with the boys... thanks for hosting, Nancy!

Christmas Brunch in the Marina

After a low key Christmas morning in San Mateo, we headed up to the Marina for a delicious crab salad brunch with Michael and Therese. Our special guests were Jimmy, Adam's fraternity brother at Tufts, and Abhinav, Ryan's colleague out for a 6 week visit from India.



Highlights included the delicious meal, watching Abhinav make friends with Abby the Boxer, Ryan and Eunice disappearing for a 2 hour nap with the boys while everyone else went for a hike, and helping Abhinav plot his path back to San Mateo via public transit (don't worry, he made it!).