Grace & Jason

Father's Day

jason — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:41:07 -0700

When I woke up on Sunday, I had no idea what was planned for Father's Day. Grace surprised me with a trip to ... the East Bay! We met Addy, Charles and the kids at Pizza Anitica in Lafayette. Charles and I left early because the real big surprise was golf! Steve invited us to play at his club with his dad - thanks, Steve - great course!

Not only did I get to drive Charles' new car (S5 - super hot), but I also got to behold all the new hardware in his golf bag. I'm pretty sure his Japanese irons were forged by Hattori Hanzo himself and the new driver is equally impressive. My clubs are almost old enough to drive, but there's still a lot of good hits left in them...

Afterwards, we went back to Addy and Charles' house for hamburgers off the grill. While we were gone, it looks like Olivia and Lucas got some joyriding in. All the kids were so cute playing together.

Thanks to everyone for a great Father's Day! And Happy Father's Day to all of our dads.

Mom and Dad Park Holding Down the Fort

jason — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:14:23 -0700

Grace's parents came up from LA to stay with Delaney and Cameron while Addy and Charles were in NY for Bianca and Joon's wedding. All of us had a lovely 7am flight back from JFK on Sunday morning. However, not only did Addy and Charles fly a different airline, they also stayed out all night (unlike us old folks with kids in tow).

When we got back, we headed over to the East Bay to have lunch and dinner with the family. It's good to be home.

Cousins

jason — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:41:44 -0700

On Saturday, June 5, after the wedding, we went back to Liz and Clarence's house to pick up the kids. We enjoyed one final feast with the family before we went back to Manhattan.

Dinner with Ellie, Sandor & Jen at Angelo's

jason — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 07:22:07 -0700

Ellie and Sandor were traveling over the weekend, so we didn't get to see them while we were in NJ. Sandor and I texted back and forth something to the effect of:
Sandor: sorry we're not there this weekend. are you free on tuesday?
Me: no worries. where are you? south of france? (i was kidding)
Sandor: paris

Hehe. I was close!

We met up at Angelo's, which was across the street from our hotel. Jen joined us, too. Great seeing you guys and thanks for dinner!

Memorial Day Weekend in Tenafly, NJ

jason — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:12:28 -0700

Liz and Clarence invited us to stay with them while we were in town. My parents drove in from Michigan and Jen and cousin Millie came in from the city. Both the first and second cousins had a wonderful time together. The only thing better than your mom's cooking is your mom and aunt's cooking. Special credit to Clarence for manning the grill all weekend (gourmet sliders, lamb chops, and Eemoh's famous spare ribs). We also went to their pool for a couple days, which was super fun.

Thanks to Liz, Clarence and Eemoh for being amazing hosts. Hopefully we'll be able to see everyone again before the end of the trip.

Good Times at Addy & Charles' House

jason — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:14:53 -0700

On Saturday, May 22, Addy & Charles had us over for dinner. Needless to say, the kids had a super fun time playing, eating and bathing. Thanks for having us over!

Mother's Day Dinner

jason — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:26:17 -0700

Charles and I decided to try something completely different for Mother's Day dinner: Il Fornaio ... in San Francisco! Okay, we're creatures of habit. But, the menu was a little different, and more importantly, there was a lot more interesting things to do outside for our kids, who don't sit very well. Lucas, especially, wanted to run around. Olivia and I took a couple laps around the Levi's Plaza fountain. At first, I insisted on holding her hand, lest she fall in, which would have been unpleasant given the 50-degree evening. Then, she insisted that I didn't hold her hand, so I tried to follow a step behind. Sure enough, on the 7th lap or so, she misjudged a step and stepped right between the concrete blocks. It could have been a lot worse (for both of us) - phew.

Dinner was enjoyed intermittently. It was nice to get together with the families, nonetheless. Happy Mother's Day to Addy, Grace and all our moms!

Jason's 40th Birthday Party

jason — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:09:28 -0700

Grace planned a pseudo-surprise 40th birthday party for me on Saturday, April 3rd. She knew that I wouldn't want her to make a big deal about it, so I was in the dark pretty much up until the event.

We had an early dinner with the family at Il Fornaio. Lucas likes to eat and run (mostly run), so I chased him around for most of dinner. Mom and Dad Park had to catch a flight back to LA and left right after dinner. Addy, Charles and the kids also headed back to the East Bay after spending the day with us.

I didn't know anything about the party until someone alluded to it my Facebook page on my birthday. Eventually, Grace mentioned that something was happening, but I had no idea who was coming. I was really happy and honored that so many friends turned out that evening. There were friends from childhood, college, work, parenthood, the neighborhood, and McK-hood.

The kids lasted for a bit and then my parents walked them home. It was great catching up with everyone, some of whom I hadn't seen in quite a long time. Grace got me an awesome cake and the service was friendly as always.

40 years has gone by quickly. Though in some ways, I'm just getting started. In any case, I always feel blessed by a loving and generous family as well as loyal friends who are near and dear, old and far. Most importantly, I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have such an amazing and thoughtful wife and two incredible kids who inspire me every day.

Thanks to everyone for coming and thinking of me and especially to Grace for bringing us all together.

Opening Birthday and Easter Presents with Family

jason — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 11:32:01 -0700

David and Mom and Dad Park flew up from LA for the day and Addy & Charles came over from the East Bay to celebrate birthdays. Everyone went in and got me a Canon 5D Mk II, which is a significant upgrade to my Canon 30D. I've had the 30D since Olivia was born and it has served me well. The main difference is that the camera is full-frame. I'm sure I'll play with the 1080p video, too.

I already blogged about Grace's iPad, which was a total surprise. Nice work Charles and family! It's still in the plastic - looking forward to seeing if this will change our lives...

Addy and Charles also got the kids easter presents, which was super generous and unexpected. Lucas received a guitar and Olivia received an Elmo laptop. Delaney got a pretty cool slider phone (her first, I believe) and Cameron is one step further to completing his LEGO Starwars collection.

Thanks everyone. The later photos in the album was taken with the new hardware. It should be noted that not only did Charles procure the camera and accessories, but he also charged the batteries for immediate use. Finally, as only Charles would know to do, he also scored me a super-fast UDMA FW800 card reader. Awesome!

Lunch with the Parks & Rhees

jason — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 10:32:07 -0700

Hanging at home before heading out to Tomokazu. Lucas is always on the run...

Addy's Surprise Birthday Party

jason — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:59:32 -0700

Charles pulled off a surprise birthday party for Addy on Saturday, March 20th, at Pizza Antica in Lafayette. About 40 friends and family were there to help Addy celebrate. She was truly surprised. Happy Birthday, Addy! Nice work, Charles!

Dinner with Parks and Hurs in Ann Arbor

jason — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:45:12 -0800

After Olivia's bowling party, we went home for a short rest before heading out to Ann Arbor to meet up with Grace's family for dinner. This was effectively party #2 for Olivia because she had ice cream cake and other desserts. I think she's getting into the birthday thing now.