Lisa, Tim, Hank and Sean Hi! We are so happy to introduce our family and tell you about our life and the special times the four of us share. Soon we will become five as we add a child through the gift of adoption. As a family we love to spend time outdoors, enjoy nature, and go on adventures in remote and scenic places with our two boys, Hank and Sean. We are thrilled to be able to share our adventures with a new little brother or sister. Our Home We live in a wonderful town in the North Bay area of California, and people here make an active lifestyle a priority everyone walks, bikes, or jogs, and we do too! Our home is on an acre of mostly-wooded land, and we have parks and open space close by. It's a beautiful setting, and the boys and Lisa like to garden in the yard. Our home is built on a hillside, but we have the good fortune of having a flat backyard a feature that is definitely unique to homes in the area. This and multi-level patios under old-growth Redwood trees make our outdoor space even more of a perfect complement to our lifestyle, which is to spend as much time as possible outside. Getting to Know Us Both Tim and Lisa were born and raised in California, Tim in northern California near the Oregon border and Lisa in San Diego. This state feels like home to us! We met at Stanford 1
Our home and wonderful back yard and decks, all under the Redwood trees when we both were getting our undergrad degrees, and soon we will be celebrating our 14 th wedding anniversary. Wow! Our philosophy as a family is to spend quality time with each other while doing what we love. We have much to be thankful for. Tim works in venture capital and Lisa is a lawyer. All our free time is spent with the boys. We take a lot of family vacations, always with an outdoor-centric theme. Recently we bought a place in Utah for a four-season destination that is a quick flight away. Depending on the time of year there is swimming, fishing, hiking, golf, skiing, or ice skating. We love to keep busy! Our family Lodge in Northern California our favorite place to fish and spend time with family We have a second home in Northern California, close to where Tim grew up. It's a great story when Tim was a kid, his family owned the Lodge and operated it as a destination for fishing on a great fishing river. Times were hard so the family sold it. Luckily for us, it went back on the market a few years ago. We bought and renovated it and now it is a home away from home and without a doubt one of our favorite places to go. At the Lodge, our policy is outdoor time all the time! The boys ride their ATVs, toss sticks in the river, fishif the salmon are running, and be country kids; our days often wrap up with s'mores around a campfire and a soak in the hot tub. Tim's family lives nearby and it is a great gathering place for us. 2
Meet the Boys The guys love to fish! Our boys are so excited to become big brothers! Hank, who is 10, has had some practice with this already, but Sean, who is 8, is thrilled to no longer be the baby. The boys go to a private school in our town, and both are involved in after-school activities. Hank, the oldest, loves karate and is a strong skier. He's always the first to give someone a compliment really a friendly and empathetic guy. Sean is a little quieter than his brother, plays soccer and baseball, and will still hold his mom's hand in front of his friends. Watching our boys grow into the young people they are now has been an amazing gift, and we are so excited for a new baby to love as well. The boys started going fishing as soon as they could hold a rod. We make a point of being at our Lodge during October for the salmon runs; the boys can work a rod and reel pretty well but Tim has to hold onto their pants to keep them from going overboard as they reel in their huge fish! A Bit About Lisa Salmon runs on our favorite fishing river Hi, I'm Lisa. Thanks so much for taking some time to get to know our family! My three siblings and I were raised in a tight-knit and loving family. My mom was a schoolteacher and my dad worked for the FBI; between the two of them I always felt safe and loved. As a mom myself, I focus on raising my own kids in a similarly positive environment. My family lives in San Diego, and we often visit them. My mom is a great-grandmother already and can't wait for a new grandbaby to spoil and cuddle. She loves to brag to her friends about her grandkids and gives them way too many presents. She's a perfect Grandma! I am planning on The eyes say it all... taking three months off for that special bonding time when the baby arrives, and I know she will come up to be with us. After that, we have a full-time nanny who is really wonderful; she's Peruvian and speaks Spanish to the boys. She's looking forward to a new baby in the house almost as much as the rest of us are. Lisa with her mom selfie at Muir Beach. We often take 3 Hondo and the boys there.
Tim and I both make our family a priority. We have a daily tradition of doing a home-cooked family sit-down dinner, with place settings and candles. Tim is a great cook, so I help out as his sous chef and he makes dinner for all of us. Sean is involved in soccer after school, and I've volunteered to be his soccer team manager. I love watching him out there on the field, working with his teammates to win the game! A Bit About Tim Hey, I'm Tim. Great to meet you! Thanks for getting to know our family. I grew up with a dad who fished and a mom who was a real estate broker, close to some of the wildest and most beautiful country on the West Coast. I was definitely a country boy, and am still an outdoors-man today. It means a lot to be able to share with my kids the same things I loved growing up fishing, hiking, and camping to name a few. Two years ago I Happy birthday to our favorite guy that's a lot of candles! took Hank on his first backpacking trip into the Shasta-Trinity Alps, and I took Sean on his first one last year. This year, we are all hiking Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe. My mom still lives on the ranch where I grew up, and we visit there often. She keeps horses, dogs, and cats, and Hank and Sean love to ride horseback with her. She's a very traditional type of mom she made the cupcakes for Hank's 10th birthday. Fishing the rivers at our Lodge with the boys is wonderful, but it's a real treat to be able to do some big-time deep-water fishing. Recently we took a trip to Turks and Caicos Islands with some friends, and I caught a nurse shark and a black-tipped reef shark. Great experience! Poolside fun with dad A Family Together We have so much we want to share with a new little one, and very much appreciate the gift of a child that adoption can give us. We are ready to welcome our new little one into our home and hearts and start on this next wonderful adventure that life offers. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about us and get to know our family, and we hope to hear from you soon. Deep sea fishing off Turks and Caicos ~ Tim, Lisa, Hank, and Sean 4
Our Photos, Our Adventures Beach sunset in Hawaii Skiing day in Tahoe what a view! Spider-Man/Power Rangers on Halloween On top of the world in Yosemite Field access tickets at the Big Game - Stanford vs. Cal. Go Stanford! Boy-sized ATV! Cousins from Lisa's side of the family Sean on our chartered boat of the Grand Caymans 5
A family moment under our Redwoods Sightseeing in Cabo Sean in his baseball uniform Tim's side of the family at a Christmas gathering Let's hope something big is on the line! Fishing off Turks and Caicos. Lisa with Tim's mom Sean's soccer team he's a competitive soccer player 6
Taking a break from ice skating at our place in Utah The boys loving on their dad Hank at MEGA gymnastics in San Rafael With our dear family friends on a ski trip in Montana Hiking the M in Missoula, Montana Lisa's family at her dad's memorial golf tournament in San Diego 7
We love a good campfire! Camping in the Trinity Alps Our wonderful dog Hondo Lisa's mom on her 70th birthday watermelon and wine! Catching some winter rays in Utah A summer hike in Whitefish, Montana 8