"I have to tell you," Jonathan Coulton's wife said to me on the last night of the cruise, "how wonderful your boys are."
"I have two daughters," Peter Sagal's wife told Anne, "and I hope this isn't weird or creepy, but I really hope they meet guys like your sons."
"Dude, you know you raised your kids right when they are awesome and not lame even when you're not around," my friend Kathleen said.
In each of these instances, I was as proud as I was relieved. When they were growing up, it was important to me that I protected Ryan and Nolan's privacy, and I kept them out of the public eye (visually, I mean) as much as I could. I knew that #JoCoCruiseCrazy would be the first time a lot of people would actually see them. I knew that most of those people would have cameras, and I knew that it was unrealistic and unreasonable to expect those cameras wouldn't ever be turned on my kids. Before we left, I had long talks with both of them about all of this, and I urged them to comport themselves in a way that would make them and us proud. They assured me that they understood in their own way: Ryan told me, "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry." Nolan rolled his eyes at me and said I was being "lame."
Ah, youth.
Anyway, I had a great time on the JoCo Cruise, but before I actually recall it in my own way, I needed to get this out of the way.
I've waited almost ten years to do this. Internet, please meet my family:
That's Anne, me, Ryan, and Nolan.
This is probably my favorite picture that's ever been taken of me and Ryan:
Please enjoy the bonus Kevin Murphy photobomb.
So with this important formality out of the way, I can now get down to the very important business of recounting some of the things I loved about the cruise. Until I get the thoughts out of my head and into words, though, I highly recommend reading Stepto's and Molly's blogs, as well as JoCo's Open Letter to the Seamonkeys.
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I love the family photo! 🙂 You have a most handsome (boys) and beautiful (wife) family. Looking forward to tales from the cruise!
That is worthy of a 10×14 hung above the fireplace!
AHA! At last we meet Ryan of the “I occasionally hack my Dad’s twitter feed”! Beautiful family, Mr Wheaton. And of course, Anne is lovely…even with the unibrow!
Dumb question, but are the boys twins? They look SO much alike!
Fan.tas.tic family portrait — and omg, Nolan has a Grateful Dead dancin’ bear shirt! Could you guys possibly be any more awesome?
It was such a huge, huge treat to meet you and your family. And I’m so glad they all seemed to have such a good time. I agree; your family is amazing.
No, they're two years apart. When they were little, people *always* thought they were twins.
Anne is such a hottie wil! I can’t believe your boys are so grown now. amazing. They grow up way too fast. You are a very rich man my friend 🙂
Oh, sure, finally post a family picture and they are all in disguise! Tease! 🙂
Seriously, nice pics. Clearly proud dad. 😉
Dude you are SO out of your league with your wife!!!
And I have to agree with LyssaPearl, even with the unibrow Anne’s teh hot…
It was wonderful seeing you “out” your family. Angela has posted a video of you answering an “anonymous question” on the cruise, which put a tear into many of our eyes:
What a great portrait of a really lucky family (:
Stop making me feel old. Seriousy. I am more or less your age, and I can’t even begin to imagine having kids at all, never mind kids that age. Of course, my development was not so much arrested as it was abducted, dragged into the forest, chained to a tree, and left for dead. That might have something to do with it.
I am most delighted and humbled to be the photobomb in prized picture. Indeed, Ryan and Nolan are incredibly bright and charming and a whole lot of fun to be around. Indeed you and Anne should be proud.
-kwm
Awesome. That is an awesome family photo!
I can see the family resemblance. 😉
Very cool. I wondered if we’d ever see them and was happily surprised to see pics of them on the cruise. I’m betting they can handle themselves now. You’ve done well.
Great picture. Perfect, really.
Seriously, Wil – you look old enough to be their brother, not their father. 🙂 Good on you & Anne for raising such great kids!! 😀
-Alicia
I think its a credit to you that you care about your family enough not to have wanted to have them in the limelight.
An awesome meet the family photo.
Congrats, Wil. You have every reason to be proud.
What a lovely family. Anne and you have every reason to be proud, not only of your sons, but of yourselves, for being people of integrity and working so hard to insure that your boys are too. We have a four year old son and love spending time with him, he’s quite a little character – we are working to make sure that he’s always someone we want to hang around. Raising kids is also about raising a decent human being. 🙂 Bravo!
You have a very handsome family but, really, I didn’t think you were old enough to have kids that age.
Ryan and Nolan, it’s nice to “meet” you.
And Wil, by the looks of them, you have every reason to be a proud father.
Who’s the dude in the beard?
There were so many awesome pictures of you and your family in Atom’s photostream. You all look fabulous!
“You have a sweet daughter” is always my biggest ego-trip. Congratulations to you and your wife for dealing with the additional challenges.
Wait- is Ryan wearing the ThinkGeek 8-Bit Tie?
Yep. It was a gift from me.
Wow, that is seriously moving. I’m around Nolan’s age, and to hear a step father think/speak so highly of his kids is just…..awesome! I have a step father myself and I could not love him more. Like how you described Nolan and Ryan’s way of communicating, I too use that ‘youth’ language. I often wonder if he knows what I’m ‘really’ saying, but I think he does. So to hear you understand their….our….lingo is really cool. 🙂
PS – I recently purchased Just A Geek, and am almost finished. I read it on the train on the way to work, and today I got A LOT of weird looks because I could not stop laughing at what you wrote. Only book that’s EVER made me do that! *Pat on the back for Wil Wheaton*
Congratulations for your beatiful family. Thanks for sharing this part of your private life 🙂
Im surprised! your kids are very big, you had them very young? how old are they?
Blessings to you and your lovely family.
you will all now definitely get the family inheritance along with Thad, Peter’s evil twin brother.
Lovely photo of a beautiful family Wil. You and Anne should be very proud. Those are handsome young men you have raised.
Wow, they’re so blond. My daughters are two years apart and I also get asked all the time if they’re twins. I live in Ohio now which is, interestingly enough, awash in twins. It’s a little strange. I knew one set of twins growing up. Here in Ohio? There are a few sets of twins in each of my kid’s classes. Weirds.
Very cool that you are back online.
I had two questions that are a little off topic but acting related:
1) Last year I read that a couple of Actors and Actresses were retired, thinking about retiring or semi-retired. Is there anything about the process that gets old after a while?
2) Watched a movie the other day with an actor that has been around since he was 13. It seems like his acting skills have shot way up since the 70’s/80’s. What are some things that every actor learns or picks up after doing it a while?
Sorry to go off topic…
Beautiful picture! Will Ryan or Nolan ever Enforce like you once mentioned? Miss ya!
So nice to see all of you! (btw, you and Anne don’t look old enough to have kids of that age #justsayin’)
Wow, for whatever reason I always pictured them as much, much younger.
Wil, you have got a beautiful family.
That video is awesome! What a sweet story. I have to go, I have something in my eyes.
Aw, thanks for sharing Wil! ::::: internet hug :::::::
(an internet hug is an “I get that we’re strangers and all but we read your stuff a lot and like you and feel as if we are a distant but somehow connected friend in a not at all creepy way, really”)
Gorgeous photo. Plus, I love that Ryan is wearing the Think Geek 8 bit Internet tie, but was he as disappointed as my husband was to find out it was a lame clip on?
I hope my little peanut turns out as well as your guys. Good job dad and mom!
Oh, I’m so happy to finally “meet” everyone!
Lovely photos!
Nice picture! Thank you Wil, for introducing your family. From my part of the internet, I am very pleased to meet you all!
Nolan talked about it with Liz on the cruise. I think he may end up Enforcing at Prime, if his application is accepted.
This might sound idiotic but, when the hell did you grow up? I mean, looking at that picture, your wife looks like a beautiful woman and your two sons look like growing-up boys, but you? You still look like a boy. I sincerely don’t mean that rudely–you can grow a full beard, for crissakes–but don’t you ever look at your life and say, “Am I old enough to be doing this?”
You have raised a handsome family, both inside and out. It’s nice to finally get to see them!
Wow! I haven’t seen your sons in 9 years. They are now all grown up! Good job, Dad!
I’ve commented about this before, Wil, but I’ll say it again: my absolute favorite blog posts of yours are the ones about you and your sons. I’m also a step-father who became a “real” father (like Pinocchio, I guess) and I absolutely understand the pride and love you have for Ryan and Nolan, because I have the same feelings for my daughter. I bet you’ve had people tell you the same thing they tell me: you’re a good man for taking these kids into your heart and making them be a part of your family. Which is weird, because how could you not? How could you not love these kids with all of your heart? How could you not feel grateful that they accepted you and chose you to be their dad?
Keep writing about being a dad. Keep writing about your love for your boys. And keep being the awesome dad you are.
Yaaaaay! …but I’m not going to Prime. 🙁
What a lovely family! I started following you on Twitter for the geek factor, but it’s been the deeply felt love and liking for your wife and kids that keeps me interested in what’s going on with you. All of you are blessed to have each other.
PS, I think Ryan’s mustache might be fake.
It’s so awesome to finally get some faces to the names I’ve heard so much! …though now I think you should post some younger pics, though, so that way, when I read stories about them in Elementary and Middle School years, I’m not seeing these college students acting like 11-year-olds. XD
Oh, don't worry … they still act like 11 year-olds from time to time.