Our 2024

Both kids are in elementary school!

By Victoria & Michael Chou

December 25^th, 2024

Our Holiday Family Photos

Our puppy Chewie turned 8 this year and he continues to be our most well-behaved son. He had a really smooth year of joining Michael working from home and protecting the family from all Amazon delivery drivers.

Adrian turned 7 this year and started 2nd Grade. This year, Adrian has decided he wants to be better at basketball and is now playing basketball 6 times a week. Adrian also picked up piano this year. The 3 words we would use to describe Adrian this year are: "understanding", "enthusiastic", and "impulsive".

Avery turned 4 this year and joined Adrian at the same elementary school for Transitional Kindergarten! We were initially nervous about the decision to send him to TK vs. holding him at the preschool he was at, but it appears he's thriving there. The 3 words we would use to describe Avery this year are: "bright", "sweet", and "helpful".

Our highlights from 2024

Skiing

First trip of the year was to Lake Tahoe for the kids' spring break. Adrian gained a lot of confidence going down the blue runs at Northstar and Avery actually made it down the bunny slopes at the ski school! It was really gratifying seeing both of them excited about skiing this year.

Michael's new job

The company Michael was working at to start the year was acquired by ServiceTitan. Michael decided to continue his startup journey by joining BuildOps, a fast growing startup company in the commercial services and construction industry.

This is a photo of Michael giving a keynote speech at the annual user conference. This one took several dry runs since he was out of practice from presenting at large conference since 2019 (pre-Covid).

Lake Tahoe

When the kids' schools ended, we took the family to Lake Tahoe to kick off the summer. We usually try to start off the summer with some family time together and thankfully Victoria's parents were able to join of this year. The kids loved spending time with them.

And for whatever reason around this time Avery started to point to the camera every time we tried to take a photo.

Southern California

The week before new school year started, we took the children to Southern California with Michael's parents. First was a step in San Diego to visit LEGOLAND, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld.

We ended the trip with a visit to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Overall the kids had a blast but 5 parks ended up being way too exhausting for the parents.

Toronto Film Festival

Victoria came along when Michael visited his Toronto office. Coincidentally, the Toronto Film Festival was being held the same week so we took the opportunity to attend a screening of The Life of Chuck, a heartwarming and thoughtful film. The film actually won the People's Choice Award for the entire festival!

Dad's Camping Trip

Michael took the kids camping for the first time in September, as part of a Dad's trip organized by the elementary school. Overall they children really enjoyed themselves on the trip. When asked what their favorite and worst part of the trip, they mentioned that they loved the opportunity to run around with their friends but didn't like the flies.

High School Friends Reunion for Michael

In September, Michael traveled to Montana to spend time with his High School friends. It had been 7+ years since they had seen each other in person.

Note from Michael: As Adrian makes his way through elementary school, I've been increasingly interested in who he makes as friends. It's made me realize how blessed I've been to have surrounded by friends with great character & personalities. It would make me happy and relieved to see my own boys grow up with a good group of friends like I have.

Victoria's trip with Stephanie

Victoria was able to travel to Austin and hang out with her best friend Stephanie. It's actually been a great year in that Victoria actually got to spend time with Stephanie twice this year after not seeing each other for 13 years! (SeaWorld and Austin).

Thank you also to Brian (Michael's childhood best friend) for showing them around the city.

Fun family time with Victoria's family

It's been really nice that Victoria's side of the family been visiting us consistently. On this side of the family, our children are the oldest ones so they love showing the younger kids their toys and how to do things.

For whatever reason, Avery has been picking up the little kids... believing that they want him to do so.

Ending the year with Jack's family

It was awesome being able to end 2024 spending time with Michael's brother's family. We were able to celebrate some birthdays, exchange presents, and the kids loved spending time with their cousins.