President's Day Weekend in San Diego

The trip we'd planned to San Diego was intended to be a wedding present to Jesse and Eileen, but they were stranded in JFK by Jet Blue! We made the best of it by spending the weekend with friends and family, but sure did miss you, Jesse and Eileen!


Highlights from the weekend include a wonderful day in La Jolla, fantastic dinners with Susan and Jim, a couple of "big nights out" while they babysat Spencer, a great hike / sunset on the beach at Torrey Pines, hanging out in Laguna Beach with our friends Jon and Alison, checking in with great-grandma Pinky in Rancho Bernardo, and seeing Spencer roll over the for the first time with his cousins 'Bella and 'Enzo at Grandpa Fran's place.




Brunch at Cody's, an outdoor cafe by the cove in La Jolla, near where we were supposed to stay with Jesse and Eileen. We found someone else to rent the cute cottage we'd found and stayed with Susan instead.


The minivan we'd rented still came in handy-- here we are with Susan and Jim on our way to take a hike at Torrey Pines State Park


We hiked the cliffs of Torrey Pines, saw migrating whales and dolphins off shore, and watched the sunset from the beach. Not a bad way to spend the day, huh Spencer? This guy is going to grow up to be a California kid for sure...


We spent a great day in Laguna Beach with our friends Jon and Alison, down from LA. We had burgers at a cafe overlooking the boardwalk and then walked along the beach, looking at the tidepools. The most exciting part was how the minutes kept ticking down on Jon's parking meter... it was just like the real-time TV show "24", but with meter maids instead of terrorists!


It was also neat to stop by and say hello to Great Grandma Pinky in Rancho Bernardo. Spencer's changed just a little since you saw him last, hasn't he Pinky?


We spent our last night hanging out with cousins 'Enzo and 'Bella at Grandpa Fran's place... hanging out with his two active cousins finally inspired Spencer to roll over for the very first time! Click here to see the video...

What a trip... hard to beleive that all of this came together at the last minute. And Jesse and Eileen... this was just a warm-up for the REAL trip sometime down the line!

Click here for the full slideshow and videos, or...

Spencer's Playmates

Spencer is getting more and more interactive each day. It's been particularly fun watching him around other kids... Click here for the full slideshow


Gardner, Theo, and Spencer chill on the couch.

Spencer's Exersaucer Workout

At first it was the Swing. Then the Jumperoo. Now the Exersaucer! Fun for Spencer. Freedom for Mom. Yet another win-win in the Nichols household.
Click here for a short video clip of Spencer's morning workout routine.

The Other Spencer in Germany

The bad news is that Ryan's work required a 1 1/2 week trip to Germany, the longest he's had to be away from Eunice and Spencer since the little guy arrived. The good news is that he was able to meet up over the weekend with the other Spencer, his Deerfield high school buddy from Australia, now doing a post-doc at Cambridge (he collaborates with a scientist in Heidelberg.... what a small world!).

We just got the great news that he and Marnie will be coming to Palo Alto for Spencer to start at Stanford GSB this fall... it will be fantastic to have them so close, and there was a lot of swapping-of-notes for him and Ryan to take care of in Germany!


We decided to swing by the medieval city of Freiburg... perfect for a walk to this lookout point overlooking the black forest.


The rest of the weekend was in Heidelberg. More sausage and beer for dinner and an evening out along the Hauptstrasse on Saturday, and a healthy walk up Philosophenweg on Sunday. Still sinking in that these guys will be in the Bay Area soon!


On this trip Ryan also decided that it was ridiculous to have flown into Frankfurt over a dozen times without ever having seen the city itself. So he spent the night before flying out up in the city... it doesn't have the reputation of being very exciting but I thought it was a nice city... interesting juxtaposition of the modern banking center Frankfurt is today with some ancient remnants of its past.

Still... I was happy to say Auf Wiedersehen, at least for now!

Fran's Visit

What a treat! Fran came out for a weekend visit up from San Diego, and as usual we put him to work on a variety of home improvement projects. The big one this time was installing ceiling fans, a gift from Susan and Pinky after we sweated through the heat wave last summer without AC.


The fans went up without (much) of a hitch, and we are well prepared for the seasons to change. Thanks Fran! Thanks Susan and Pinky!

Visit from Dr. Hem

Eunice's college roommate, now Dr. Kristin Hem, came out to visit and meet Spencer for the very first time.


We drove straight from the airport to Ano Nuevo State Reserve to take a late afternoon walking tour of the elephant seal breeding grounds. (Can you see Spencer's foot in the photo?)


Beach full of elephant seals weighing between 1,000 - 2,000 pounds each!


Sunset in Half Moon Bay... not a bad way to welcome someone from Indiana to California!


We rounded out Kristin's visit with a trip to Berkely to hang out with our other college roommate, Faith. We took a fun tour of the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory where we sampled chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Thanks for coming out to visit, Kristin!

Click here for the full slideshow, or...

Kauai with the Keikis

We started off 2007 with our first big trip with Spencer, an adventure on the garden island of Kauai, one of the Hawaiian islands.

We traveled with our good friends Grace and Alonzo (+ their 3 month old son Theo) and Phil and Nikki (+ their 1 year old daughter Gaby). 3 couples, 3 hapa babies .... this certainly was a new type of adventure travel for us! See below for slideshows of our motley crew of travelers, our adventures across the island, and our dramatic open-air helicopter tour.


Our home base was a fantastic beachfront house we rented in the south-shore beach town of Poipu, perfect for breakfasts on the deck overlooking the waves, strolls with the babies down to "children's beach" to see the sea turtles, sunset drinks at the local resorts, and card games and conversation by the sound of the surf after putting the kids to bed.
Click here for a slideshow of photos of life with the keikis in Kauai.


Poipu was a great launchpad for adventures all over the island. We loaded the babies (+ enormous amounts of gear) into our trusty SUV for all sorts of excursions. Highlights include finding a sheltered cove on the dramatic coastline of Mahu'ulepu Beach for Spencer's first dip in the ocean, hiking to the top of Waipo'o falls at the edge of Waimea Canyon, eating fish tacos and snorkling at 'Anini Beach, getting caught in a dramatic rainstorm at Secret Beach, hiking the first few muddy miles of the Na Pali coast trail, and getting pounded by the surf at Queen's Bath.
Click here for a slideshow of our island adventures.



The biggest adventure of all was an open-air helicopter ride across the island... nothing between us and the dramatic landscape but hundreds of feet of space. We zooomed up the "grand canyon of the pacific," discovered hidden beaches under the cliffs of Na Pali, hoovered in a lush crater laced with dozens of waterfalls, and even made a landing for lunch at a completely isolated waterfall of our own.
Click here for a slideshow of our helicopter tour.



So how was our first big trip with Spencer? Well, we think that this is a pretty adventurous kid: He didn't wail (much) on the plane, loved going on long hikes carried by his dad, and laughed at the noise of the rain when we got caught out in tropical storms. Hard to ask for much more (except for more sleep at night!). Look out, adventure travel... we're back!

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!

Spencer's First Christmas

This was our first year celebrating Christmas at our place... we decided that since we had a cute baby this year, people would come to us if they wanted to see him!


And come they did: we spent the day with family, starting with a hearty brunch of sausage and egg casserole, french toast with blackberries, and mimosas.



Then it was time for the gifts! Nancy made Spencer a very special stocking, Jim and Susan gave Spencer a fantastic exersaucer and helped decorate our house with ornaments, Adam and Rachel got Spencer his first pair of shoes, Michael got us oranments and a Yahtzee set, and we showered everyone with pictures of Spencer.


Susan and Michael, Ryan's parents, enjoying a moment with their grandson.



What better fits the season than a Christmas Day game of Yahtzee over gin and tonics? Here, Rachel rolls a Yahtzee.... but its too late! She's already scratched out all three. Sad face indeed.


Time for dinner: we tried the traditional American feast for Thanksgiving... for Christmas dinner we had Chinese Hot Pot.


What a day... time to wind down the evening with an intense conversation about the meaning of it all, followed by a relaxing glass of wine by the fire. Merry Christmas!

Click here for the full slideshow, or...

Visit from a red sleigh on Christmas morning

A special Christmas morning visit from jolly Gaby in her red sleigh, drawn by 2 reindeer named Phil and Nikki, all the way from the North Pole of San Mateo!






I guess Spencer was nice this year, since Gaby shared her brand new red wagon with him.


The new year is looking bright.... Spencer has to wear shades!


Thanks for stopping by, Phil and Nikki... now off to visit all the other boys and girls. Just don't let Gaby go down the chimney on her own!

Click here for a slideshow of Spencer and Gaby on the wagon or...

Christmas Eve at the Hills

The annual tradition of Christmas Eve at the Hills continues... Eunice and I finally feel like we fit in because we have a kid of our own to join in the kid-madness (Adam and Rachel, you might consider renting one next year)!


Eddie and Nate made us a music mix to make sure that their older cousins aren't too out of it. Not sure what Eddie's thinking about in this picture, but it must be mischevious since he has sprouted a pair of horns!


And what holiday celebration is complete without a cut-throat basketball game of "knock out"? Adam and Rachel reported that there was a definite home court advantage for the Hill family...


In the always-lively no holds barred white elephant gift exchange. Adam and Rachel struck out with Christmas ornaments (who has room for a tree in Manhattan?) and a Santa casserole dish... Rachel tests to see if the oranments have some redeeming value as dessert. As always, a great celebration. Thanks Bob and Kathy!

Christmas Party at Dad's Place

Party at the Nichols pad in the Marina!


In the back: Jon McLaughlin, visiting from Bend Oregon, Eunice, Jim and Susan, visiting from San Diego, Matt, Dad, Paul, and Ryan. In the front are Rachel, Adam, and Kevin. Not pictured are the real stars of the party: Sophie and Pax, authors of "Body for the Ages: From Heart Surgery to Bodybuilding Champion." Grandpa Nic has been bartering an education in the stock market for personal training sessions with these two. And they are a couple of characters-- Pax showed up in blue tights and a santa hat!

Celebration Dinner at Nancy's Place

On the 23rd, Nancy hosted a fabulous Christmas dinner for her family at her new place up in Larkspur... the perfect opportunity for Adam and Rachel to share their exciting news with the Baron clan, and for everyone to see how much Spencer had grown.


Dinner itself was out in Nancy's backyard studio... very cool to walk into a candle-lit artist studio and dine amongst her art!


Spencer opens his gift from great-grandma Mimi-- a set of bathtime ducks that flash in psychodelic colors whenever they get wet. Very cool.... thanks Mimi!


Cousin Thomas holds Spencer for the first time. Good form, Thomas!


And thanks for the great gifts, Nancy - they'll keep us warm this winter!

Decorating Dad's Tree

After sharing their big news, it was time for Adam and Rachel to get down to business-- hanging the ornaments on Dad's Christmas tree.


This is a much less haphazzard affair than at our house: the lights are clipped to the branches, not just laid on top. The bubbling candle lights need to facing upwards to boil properly. The Native American angel needs to perched on top, preferrably with a songbird over her shoulder...


A fantastic shot of Spencer and Grandpa Nic by the fire.


Smile Spencer, its almost Christmas!


Hanging the final ornaments.


And checking out the view from the street. Looks good from here, Eunice!

Adam and Rachel are Engaged!

Great news... Adam and Rachel are engaged to be married! During their recent trip to the Bay Area for the holidays, Adam took Rachel to the top corner of Dolores Park, site of some of their earliest memories in San Francisco together. He dropped to one knee under a tree overlooking the San Francisco skyline... and she said yes! They came to Dad's place on the marina afterwards to share the good news, and we went out to take some pictures as the sun was setting over the bay. How romantic!

Click here for a slideshow, or...

Late evening light over Alcatraz (not meant to be symbollic that marraige is like a prison, you guys!)


A big smooch in front of the Golden Gate bridge.


Don't be bashful... congratulations Adam and Rachel!