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!

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Nara and Tracy's Baby Shower

After picking out a Christmas tree, the boys napped as we headed up to San Francisco for Nara and Tracy's baby shower. Only one month left until their lives are changed forever! We are living proof of that undeniable reality: neither one of us was able to have an adult conversation at the baby shower, constantly distracted by keeping the boys fed, active, and happy.

Best story from the shower was walking in with Tyler and having one of Tracy's friends exclaim that Tyler looks exactly like Karen Chang, a girl she knew in college. Well, Karen Chang is Eunice's cousin. How crazy is that?!?! We need Karen to send us a few pictures of herself when she was 2 years old to see if we've finally found who Tyler takes after!

A smaller group headed out afterwards to a fantastic, kid-friendly restaurant, Rigolo Cafe, in Laurel Heights. Gourmet food plus a kid-play-zone - something tells us Nara and Tracy will soon be regulars here. :)

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).

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Hudson's Birthday at Marvin Gardens

You might not guess it, but Marvin Gardens is just about the perfect venue for a kid's birthday party... Beer and pizza for the adults, a huge, contained play area for the kids, and, best of all, thundering trains that whiz by practically overhead. Hudson had a great day, as did his best bud Spencer. The favorite activity of the afternoon? Coordinated jumps off the side of the patio to the gravel below. Simple pleasures, what could be better?

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Julia's Princess Party

Our friend Julia has ALWAYS wanted to have a princess party. What better opportunity than her 40th birthday? It was a costume party, with the theme of "royalty." She encouraged creative interpretation, so the Nichols and Canadas came dressed as a pride of Lions ("king" of the jungle, get it?). The boys were adorable in their lion outfits, but their parents looked like complete freak shows at an event where most adults came dressed as princes and princesses... But the Princess party theme was flawlessly executed, with a castle jumpy house, pink decorations everywhere, and fantastic ribs to gnaw on, medieval-style.

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Lionesses Eunice and Grace get a photo with the birthday girl, pretty in pink.

Theo's Third Birthday

We were very happy to host Theo's 3rd birthday party at our place this year. It was a beautiful day to be hanging out in the backyard-- highlights included yummy BBQ, the balloon man's amazing creations, trying to get the kids posed for a group picture, and, best of all, some quality time with Spencer and the birthday boy in the hammock after it was all over.

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Our Little Tiger

After waffling back and forth all afternoon, Spencer finally decided he wanted to get his face painted while we were at our church picnic. He asked to be a tiger. Here are the results:

We love his expression in this photo - it's so...Spencer!

Spencer's attempt at a snarl...

Jen Quan, our friend and face painter, claims she learned how to do this a few hours earlier by watching youtube videos. We find that pretty hard to believe... We'll definitely be showing up on her doorstep for help with the boys' Halloween costumes next year!

Earlier in the afternoon, we took our turn getting a family portrait taken. Here, Spencer helps dad out with his wardrobe.

And the ridiculous end result...

Somehow, our kids ended up looking normal, and we ended up looking like goofballs. How did that happen? Perhaps that's closer to reality than we'd like to admit! :)

Tyler's 1st Birthday

In all this weekend's excitement, we almost lost track of the fact that it was Tyler's first birthday! Tyler's really come into his own these last couple of weeks: starting to walk, saying his first couple of words with conviction (e.g., "hi" while waving, and "yay" while clapping), and playing peek-a-boo with abandon.

He had a good birthday, starting with some quality time in the morning with Nai Nai, banana cream cake at Adam and Rachel's baby shower, a rendition of Happy Birthday that Adam claimed sounded like a professional choir, and best of all, he got to spend most of the day in his birthday suit thanks to our heat wave.

Sunday was more of a personal celebration, with a tasty 3-layer chocolate cake from Nara and some dedicated attention from us and our friends Andrew, Laura, Finn, and Abby in town from the east coast.

So let's hear it for Tyler... happy one-year birthday, little guy!

Adam and Rachel's Baby-Que

It's almost baby time! We helped Adam and Rachel host a co-ed Baby-Que at their new place in San Carlos, bringing together almost 40 friends and family for an afternoon of tasty BBQ, refreshing beverages, non-traditional games, and of course lots of thoughtful gifts for the little one.

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Adam and Rachel were remarkably relaxed, given they just moved into a new home and are expecting a baby in another month. Their new place was fantastic for a party... we spent most of our time either in the interior patio or on their wonderful deck.


Here's everyone on the deck, playing game #1... the Baby-Quiz at the Baby-Que! Everyone was asked to bring a baby photo, and the contest was to guess which guest matched with which photo. The full set of photos are below... see anyone familiar?


Here are the babies, in alphabetical order: Abbot, Adam, Alexander, Anna, Bob, Brett, Brin, Ed , Emily, Eunice, Meghan, Michael N, Michel, Mimsy, Nancy, Rachel, Rob, Ryan, Spencer, Steven , Susan, Terry, and Tyler.

Top prize went to Susan and Nancy... both of whom got 17 out of 23 correct!


One of the best parts of the day was getting the extended family together. Susan came up from San Diego, Bob and Kathy came down from Oakland, Nancy, Donna, Ed, and Mimsy came down from Marin...we even got to see Kevin M and Steven K, whom we haven't seen in ages.

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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!

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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!

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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!).

Christmas Eve at the Hills

We continued our annual tradition of spending Christmas Eve at the Hills with Uncle Bob, Aunt Kathy, and Kathy's extensive family!

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Highlights of the evening included Adam and Rachel sharing their baby news with the family, Spencer and Tyler making a Kathy sandwich (see bottom right photo), finding Spencer upstairs with his female cousins with his pants off (don't ask), Ryan beating Eddie at foosball, and Susan and Jim winning the award for worst white elephant gift-- difficult to describe, but basically a gaudy, light-up model of a casino. Merry Christmas, everybody!

Hudson's 2nd Birthday Party

Today, we headed over to the Gates' house for an impromptu birthday party to celebrate Hudson's 2nd birthday. Click here for a slide show of the party.


Spencer spent the evening "cooking" french fries with Hudson and Gaby on a toy stove, jumping on an exercise ball, playing house, and forming a jam band. Tyler spent the whole time in the arms of some wonderful women, including Po Po, Madison, and Mariana. After a pizza dinner and chocolate cake, Hudson opened up his gifts, the kids played some more, and we finally dragged a protesting Spencer out of the house to head home for bed. Another fun evening at the Gates'!

Theo's Second Birthday Bash

Theo celebrated his 2nd birthday in Los Gatos at Oak Meadow Park, a sprawling toddler heaven complete with life-size airplane and firetruck play structures on the playground, a carousel, and a real steam-powered train.


Grace and Alonzo grilled up some phenomenal BBQ (we would expect nothing less!) and topped off the afternoon with some delicious cupcakes, courtesy of Sibby's Cupcakery. Mmmm!!! Happy Birthday, Theo! :)

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Spencer's 2nd Birthday

It's hard to believe that two years have gone by since Spencer's entrance into the world on July 4th, two years ago. It has been fascinating and fun to watch him grow from a baby into a little boy.


We started out the day by getting Spencer dressed in his trademark "Born on the 4th of July" t-shirt and having Susan read books to Spencer and his bears. Once Adam and Rachel arrived, Spencer tried out his cool new balance bike. We went to Nini's for brunch on their back patio before heading home to make sure Spencer got in a "disco nap" before his big party. Click here for a slide show and videos from Spencer's birthday morning at home.

Later that afternoon, we headed over to the Gates' home in Belmont for a fantastic birthday party, complete with yummy BBQ ribs and cornbread, fun in the pool, a dip in the jacuzzi, games in the backyard, summer sangria and Nichols family margaritas, a boisterous rendition of "Spencer's song" (aka "Happy Birthday to You"), two homemade birthday cakes (a banana bread cake for Spencer, and a chocolate cake for good measure!), gifts, glow-in-the-dark necklaces, and of course, fireworks! Special thanks to the Gates for co-hosting such a memorable 2nd birthday party for Spencer. Click here for a slide show and videos from Spencer's Birthday BBQ/Pool Party.

Ryan's 33rd Birthday - Part 1

We had a small family celebration in San Francisco on Sunday as an early kick-off to Ryan's 33rd birthday with Ryan's dad, Adam, Rachel, and Rachel's cousin Emma (visiting from New York). We had a great time lounging in the sun, taking a 2-mile stroll through the Presidio, enjoying good conversations, and whipping up a delicious home-made meal of grilled steak with salsa verde, a tasty salad, and Rachel's quinoa concoction with avocado dressing. The evening ended with vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge cake, and some decadent chocolate peanut butter cookies fresh off the plane from Levain Bakery in New York!


Ryan makes a wish!


Hanging out with family after a perfect meal. Left to right: Adam, Ryan, Rachel, Eunice, Spencer, Michael, and Emma.


Spencer had a great time hanging out with dad on this special day!

Eunice's Baby Shower

Nikki coordinated a fabulous baby shower for Eunice. A group of girlfriends whisked Eunice away for a fancy dinner at Le Colonial in San Francisco where they sampled delicious French-Vietnamese cuisine, shared humorous stories from their past, opened gifts, and celebrated a night out without men or kids - something Eunice might not get again for quite a while once baby #2 arrives in a few weeks... Thank you for a perfect night out, ladies!


From left to right: Julia, Amber, Grace, Eunice, Maggie, Blanca, and Nikki.

Nancy's Birthday

It was great to get together with Nancy and the Barrons to celebrate Nancy's birthday-- the first time we've seen her since her big trip to Africa to investigate microfinance. We celebrated in Marin with Donna and Tom, Ed and Mimsy, Betsy, Nancy and Michelle. It was a special day for Uncle Tom as well-- he hit his first hole in one! It was March 8th, Tom hit his hole-in-one on the 8th hole, his overall score was 80, Nancy turned 58... Could this possibly be coincidence?


After a yummy lunch of Chinese chicken salad and Donna's special Angel food cake, we headed out for a hike at China Camp. It was a fantastic day to be outside for a stroll along the coastline to the beach. Despite the jellyfish washed up on shore, Spencer had a great time throwing rocks into the bay. A great day to be outside... Happy Birthday Nancy!

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