June, 2010
NYC | Tenafly, NJ | Burlingame, CA
205 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Welcome to the personal website of Grace and Jason Rhee
Olivia - Month 41
By jason · September 1, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,346 Views
May, 2010
Burlingame, CA & Tenafly, NJ
I'm a little behind - sorry.
181 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Sugar 4-Year Party #sugarbday
By jason · August 17, 2010 · 0 Comments · 3,003 Views
This afternoon, we celebrated 4 years of Sugar Inc. at the Presidio Log Cabin. It's no secret that Brian loves tacos, but having the taco truck at the event was both a secret and brilliant. Kate brought Olivia and Lucas up to join in the festivities.
We've all come a long way together, yet it feels like we're just getting started.
Good times!
57 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Dinner at Chez Cinader
By jason · August 17, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,430 Views
On Sunday, August 15th, Heidi and Arthur invited us over for dinner. This was our first time visiting them in their new home. Although they are still settling in, there is no doubt the grill is working perfectly. There is no superlative adequate to describe the awesomeness of every detail of the house. We hadn't seen Rachel and JOECHANG in a while, and it was our first time meeting Mark, who loves the toy kitchen and stroller as much as Lucas does. Ellie and Todd were also there with Lila. Here's Todd laying into Arthur about how RichRod won't make it to the start of the season (Okay, that's not what they're talking about and Arthur doesn't know RichRod from a tie rod. Okay, Arthur doesn't know what a tie rod is either). Speaking of which, I didn't get a chance to check out the real garage, but we did get a demonstration of the appliance garage, which rises from the island. I'm told its capacity is 3.7 Vespas. The only thing that could make it cooler would be smoke coming out as it rises.
Dinner was delicious, by the way. Meat and meat was served.
29 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Cate's Birthday Party
By jason · August 17, 2010 · 0 Comments · 701 Views
Olivia was invited to her first big girl birthday party. Olivia's friend, Cate, from Gazelle, invited her to her birthday party at her parents' lovely home. Although the kids seemed obsessed with the Tooth Fairy, this fairy told stories, did magic and played with the kids. Olivia's friend from school, Timothy, was also there. She had fun playing with him on the jungle gym and in the jumpy. The fairy also painted all the kids' faces. I wasn't sure if Olivia would be into it, but she said she wanted to do it and was really excited about it. She was especially excited to show Grace when we got home.
Cate was like Olivia's big sister at school, but now's she's graduated. We hope we can see her often.
Happy Birthday, Cate!
23 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Burlingame Art Fair
By jason · August 17, 2010 · 0 Comments · 191 Views
It's always hard to believe when it's "that time of year" again, because it always seems it was just yesterday. On Sunday, August 8th, we met the Moons out on the Ave. for the Burlingame Art Fair. This year, there were more balloons gathered and lost. Olivia was also old enough for some rides. We ran into the Trammels with their crew. The twins are getting big.
Thankfully, it wasn't too hot - beautiful all weekend (we were out there on Saturday, too).
12 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Natalie Merchant at Mountain Winery
By jason · August 10, 2010 · 2 Comments · 759 Views
A couple weeks ago I heard Natalie Merchant was playing at Mountain Winery in Saratoga. A week ago, I had an impulse to check it out and asked Grace if she could/wanted to go. I went on StubHub and found some 2nd row center seats. Done and done. We were a little late getting to the venue, which is pretty high up in the mountains above Saratoga. It was beautiful up there. We had just enough time to buy the most expensive concession food ever and take our seats before the Natalie and the band came on stage.
I was tapped on the shoulder by someone sitting next to my old colleague, Phil, who also happens to be a fellow Wolverine. The last time I ran into him was at Somerset in Michigan during the holidays a few years ago. Small world.
It's been over 10 years since I last saw Natalie live. It must be over 20 years since my first 10,000 Maniacs concert. Natalie was as captivating as ever and her voice sounded great. However, we may all be getting a little older because she forgot the words to the 3rd song, but played it off well. About 1/3 of the show as a lecture on British and American poetry, from which her latest album's lyrics are taken. Because of the late start, she only had time for a few oldies in her encore and some of her solo and 10,000 Maniacs favorites were notably curtailed from the set list. It was a great show, nonetheless.
Even though we were slightly below the median age of the audience, this was a wild and crazy night for us on a Monday. We need to do this more often...
10 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Charles' Birthday Party
By jason · August 8, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,339 Views
Addy hosted Charles' birthday party at their house. Aside from David, who flew in from LA, and us, there were many neighbors and colleagues helping to celebrate. Olivia and I went swimming late in the day. I would say it was just barely warm enough, but I was grilling Korean BBQ, so the dip was in lieu of a proper shower.
Happy Birthday, Charles!
27 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Sailing for Ben's Birthday
By jason · August 8, 2010 · 0 Comments · 706 Views
Dora arranged for a group of Ben's friends to go sailing with him on the bay for his birthday. Jon, Rudy and Ed (Ben's friends from college), and I joined Ben for the trip. Captain Greg stressed he did not intend to teach us to sail, but rather to show us. That said, we all learned several knots, a bit about the boat, and the basics of the physics of sailing. We motored out of South Beach Harbor to the bay and sailed around for about 90 minutes. Most of us were prepared for some pretty unfriendly weather, but it turned out to be a sunny and beautiful day. There wasn't, however, very much wind. When we motored back in, we took a quick spin around McCovey cove behind AT&T Park.
Afterwards, we had a nice lunch at Tres Agaves. Great day.
Happy Birthday, Ben!
37 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
APB: Lost Lovey!
By jason · August 2, 2010 · 2 Comments · 55 Views
Lucas' lovey was nowhere to be found tonight. Olivia said she lost it at the swings. I wasn't sure if the intel of a 3 1/2 year-old could be trusted, so we continued to look. Grace pinged the person who watched them today, but before we heard back, I had to go looking for it. At 10pm, armed with a flashlight, I drove over to Washington Park. I checked everywhere and peeked inside all the trash cans, but eventually gave up.
On the way home, I got a text from Grace that the lovey was indeed taken to the park, but its return could not be confirmed. I then felt compelled to go look again, and this time I actually went poking through all the garbage cans with a stick.
Lucas actually has two loveys - one green and one yellow. They are non-descript little rag dolls with no brand or other markings. We have no idea where they came from. Grace has searched high and low for replacements, wanting to avoid Olivia's kitty debacle. My mother went so far as to knit him two replacements, and urged us to attach them to his real loveys. Unfortunately, Lucas would not give the impostors a second look.
To be honest, the yellow one has always been #2, which is why I didn't go diving into the bottom of all the garbage cans with my hands (I can confirm that there was a lot of yogurt and diapers in every one). I also refrained from posting something on craigslist, when I saw that most of the lost items were dogs, cats and 14K gold keepsakes. Some of you may know that the lovey is worth more than its weight in gold. This is a dark day.
We still have hope that it will turn up.
Gazelle Fieldtrip to Roaring Camp Steam Train
By jason · July 31, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,021 Views
On Wednesday morning, we went on a Gazelle field trip to Roaring Camp to ride a real steam train. Clara, Mike and Alex picked up me and Olivia. It was Mike's birthday, which I happened to mention to Teacher Gloria. At lunch, Teacher Jon led the group in a chorus of "Happy Birthday" and all the kids gave him a hug.
It was a beautiful day as was the scenery in the mountains. Afterwards, we continued down to Santa Cruz for a bit. The kids had fun playing in the arcade on the Boardwalk. Great day.
Thanks to the Moons for the ride. Happy birthday, Mike!
95 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Kate & Ben's Wedding
By jason · July 26, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,638 Views
On Saturday, July 24th, we were honored to attend the wedding of Kate and Ben. Kate has been our nanny since Grace went back to work after Lucas was born. Both she and Ben have shown Lucas and Olivia love, patience and fun during this time and we all love them for it.
Kate and Ben were married in Pacifica, where they live. Kate was beautiful and both were so happy. The kids napped a little between the ceremony and the reception, which was at Nick's, right on the water. We all had a great time and both Lucas and Olivia enjoyed the music (some of which were Ben's original compositions) and dancing.
Congratulations to this very special bride and groom!
73 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Shaving Strike Is Over
I rarely shave on vacation. I had a small headstart and decided to let it go for a week when I got back. 2 1/2 weeks. Not the longest, but definitely the grayest. I had to clean up for Kate's wedding. Olivia was upset and wanted it back.
Posted in: random
Introducing Our Newest Tea Collection Model
By jason · July 22, 2010 · 0 Comments · 79 Views
No, not Lucas. Grace! They just launched a women's line. Sweetie, you look beautiful. Who is that impostor daughter?
Goodbye Feleses and La Jolla
By jason · July 22, 2010 · 0 Comments · 383 Views
After breakfast on Sunday morning, we all packed up and left Hotel Parisi with the Feleses. They were off to catch their flight back to Detroit and we were driving back to San Francisco. They beat us by about 3 hours. We did stop in Los Angeles for lunch with Grace's parents and brother, Dave.
What a great trip. Something I wish we could do every year. Laura and Chris are moving to San Diego soon, so it isn't too early to start planning for next summer... Good times!
13 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
West Bloomfield Reunion at Kristen and Scott's House
By jason · July 22, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,031 Views
On Saturday afternoon, Kristen and Scott hosted a BBQ at their house in La Jolla, and by BBQ, I mean they brought in some authentic Kansas City ribs, chicken and brisket. They overestimated how much Steve and Chris would put away. We had the whole gang there, including Joanne, Andy and their two boys (their daughter had a sleepover), who came down from Irvine. This was the first time this whole group was together since our wedding.
Kristen and Scott's backyard is full of fun activities for the kids. We took advantage of the cooler weather and their new fire pit to make some smores. Before we left, the girls broke into the costumes, which made it difficult to pry "Princess Olivia" from the action. Princess - uh oh...
Thanks to Kristen and Scott for hosting all of us.
26 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Posted in: Travel, friends
Tagged with: california, West Bloomfield, Feleses, Beuerles, La Jolla, Sahams, Abramses, Terners
Tagged with: california, West Bloomfield, Feleses, Beuerles, La Jolla, Sahams, Abramses, Terners
La Jolla Cove
By jason · July 22, 2010 · 0 Comments · 476 Views
On Saturday, July 17th, we had a late start before heading out to explore La Jolla Cove. We took a quick lap and then spent some time in town while the kids napped/rested.
28 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Dinner in the Gaslamp District
By jason · July 21, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,141 Views
On Friday evening, we arranged for a sitter to come to the hotel to stay with Sebastian, Eve, Lucas and Olivia in the Feles' suite. We drove over to Kristen and Scott's house and from there the six of us went down to the condo Laura and Chris rented downtown. After drinks, we walked down to Blue Point in the Gaslamp district. Dinner was excellent (and surprisingly quiet).
Afterwards, we went over to Vickie and Steve's condo at Petco park. This isn't the first property they've owned near the park, but it is the first one inside the park. Steve described the elaborate method he used to determine the optimal unit to purchase with the best views while the development was only a hole in the ground (balloons and long string were employed). They use it mostly to entertain and also donate their space to many local charities throughout the season. It seems to keep them very busy. Their philanthropy is admirable.
Everyone enjoyed an adults-only night on the town. When we got back, we determined that the best way to transfer Lucas back to our room was to wheel him away in his pack-n-play. He never stirred.
35 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
La Jolla Shores Beach
By jason · July 21, 2010 · 0 Comments · 781 Views
A haiku:
we went to the beach
kids and dads played in the sand
moms guarded our stuff
And another:
sand was very hot
forgot my flip flops
ouch! run to water
Oh, why not...
sebastian asleep
stroller stuck in sand
does not roll - pick up
26 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Doherty Elementary Reunion Dinner
By jason · July 21, 2010 · 0 Comments · 687 Views
The purpose of our trip to Southern California was to meet up with our friends from West Bloomfield. On Thursday night after the zoo, all the families got together for dinner at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza in La Jolla. Chris arranged a private room for our group.
We all started Doherty Elementary Kindergarten together in 1975 - 35 years of friendship! I know Chris and Nick were in AM Kindergarten with me and I'm pretty sure Steve and Scott were in PM Kindergarten. How far we've all come. To prove the point, Chris gave a beautiful toast, in contrast to the infamous 6th grade "Lincoln speech" we all recalled.
Steve and Vickie capped off the occasion with Alan Trammell autographed baseballs for all of us. Very cool.
We ended the evening by taking over a local yogurt shop down the street. All of the kids and adults had a wonderful evening together.
29 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
San Diego Zoo with Feles and Abrams Families
By jason · July 20, 2010 · 0 Comments · 880 Views
On Thursday, we met up with Laura, Chris and Cooper at the San Diego Zoo. It was hot. Lucas might have sweated out half his body weight in his stroller - poor guy. He called someone to complain. We were hoping the polar bear exhibit was cool, but it wasn't. Olivia and Grace rode the cable car with Eve and Nick across the zoo to the exit. Melanie and I strollered the little guys back. There were a couple escalators to make the trek easier, but Mel's double stroller wouldn't fit. The hike up the hill was my exercise for the year.
All of us had seen enough, except Olivia, who insisted we see tigers and toucans. We went back in search of both and after barely seeing the tiger, we ended up on the other end of the zoo again. We convinced her that some other large-beaked bird was a toucan. This time we did take advantage of the escalators, but it was still a hike.
On the way out, Olivia reminded us that we did not see any giraffes. She was right. We continued to hear about it all the way back to the car, and even a little bit the next day. Now we have a reason to go back.
Seriously, impressive zoo (though Nick said the Detroit Zoo's polar bear exhibit kicked this zoo's exhibit's ass).
42 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Hotel Parisi Apartments in La Jolla
By jason · July 20, 2010 · 0 Comments · 954 Views
We stayed at the apartments at the Parisi Hotel in La Jolla the last time we visited, so reserved one again for this trip. Unfortunately, we booked the last one, so Mel and Nick and Laura and Chris didn't have one. Laura and Chris decided to rent a condo downtown instead. Melanie worked her magic and secured the penthouse suite, which was ridiculously big and nice. We all piled in there a lot of the time. Eve even shared her bed with Olivia for pretend nap time.
We all settled in after LEGOLAND and ordered in some food. Every morning we had breakfast together at the hotel. It worked out great.
28 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
LEGOLAND with Feles Family
By jason · July 19, 2010 · 0 Comments · 1,214 Views
On Wednesday, July 14th, we started to head down south from LA. We left Grace's parents' house in the morning and stopped in Huntington Beach, where Grace had to meet a colleague. Her daughter, Sarah, helped entertain Lucas and Olivia at their neighborhood park while we waited. After lunch together at ... wait for it ... McDonald's, we were off to LEGOLAND to meet Melanie, Nick, Sebastian and Eve, who had come to our reunion from Michigan.
We went a little "backwards" around the park (i.e., counter-clockwise). The last time Olivia was at the park in November, she barely passed the 34" mark, which is generally the minimum height for many of the rides. For the medium rides, the minimum was 36", which both she and Eve exceeded, thankfully. The first ride was a fairly subdued safari car adventure.
We popped out and the next ride was a roller-coaster and without hesitation, all of us were in line. It was a first for both Eve and Olivia and they both had a thrilling ride. My camera was confiscated before we departed, so I had to rely on the iPhone camera, which I almost lost on the first drop. There was some screaming. Eve and Olivia made some noise, too. I thought we may have peaked the second ride in, but the kids had fun all the way around the park.
The best part was that Eve and Olivia were able to go on some rides by themselves. Can't wait to bring Sebastian and Lucas back when they can ride some stuff, too. Next year???
72 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Meeting Friends in Santa Monica with Lucas and Olivia
By jason · July 18, 2010 · 0 Comments · 738 Views
Grace was working again on Tuesday. I felt guilty leaving Lucas at home all day on Monday, so I decided I would try to entertain both kids all day. First, I needed to get some coffee and snacks for them. I thought I would try to find something civilized on or around Montana in Santa Monica. By the time I rolled up to Caffe Luxxe, Lucas had fallen asleep. I parked in front and Olivia and I scouted it out. It didn't really look stroller-friendly, so we left. I drove a round a bit, contemplating Starbucks when I realized the only practical option was drive-thru. I searched for the nearest McDonald's, feeling defeated.
I headed over to the only park to which I've been in LA, which is near where Mallika and Sumant (used to) live. On the way over I gave her a call and found out they had moved a month prior. We still went to the park for a bit and afterwards, we went over to Mallika and Sumant's new home in Santa Monica. It's stunning. Sumant's parents had just arrived from India, so the whole family was home and Mallika was kind enough to invite us for lunch. Lucas made fast friends with Yoda, their new dog, and both Olivia and Lucas had a great time playing with Tara and Leela. It was great to catch up with my old friends.
Afterwards, I went back to the same park to meet up with a friend from home, Joanne, and her beautiful daughter, Evy. We determined that we were in 2nd grade together, so we go way back. It was amazing to catch up on the 20+ years since high school. We're determined to get both families together next time!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I needed more snacks for the kids, so of course I went back to the same McDonald's drive-thru. Am I out of the running for parent-of-the-year?
21 Photos: View as Gallery | View as Slideshow
Latest Comments