Grace & Jason

Goodbye Feleses and La Jolla

jason — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:40:39 -0700

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!

West Bloomfield Reunion at Kristen and Scott's House

jason — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:23:02 -0700

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.

La Jolla Cove

jason — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:34:57 -0700

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.

Dinner in the Gaslamp District

jason — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:45:27 -0700

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.

La Jolla Shores Beach

jason — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:21:08 -0700

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

Doherty Elementary Reunion Dinner

jason — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:25:45 -0700

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.

San Diego Zoo with Feles and Abrams Families

jason — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:45:35 -0700

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).

Hotel Parisi Apartments in La Jolla

jason — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:29:14 -0700

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.

LEGOLAND with Feles Family

jason — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:22:49 -0700

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???

Meeting Friends in Santa Monica with Lucas and Olivia

jason — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:38:27 -0700

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?

The Grove with Laura, Chris & Cooper

jason — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:12:45 -0700

After Freg Segal, we went over to The Grove to meet Laura, Chris & Cooper who were staying in Santa Monica and heading out to explore LA. We had intentions of joining them in Hollywood, but Olivia was too excited about her Hello Kitty watercolors and wanted to go home to paint immediately. We missed Lucas so were happy to go home and see him.

Santa Monica and PopSugar Studios with Olivia

jason — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:14:55 -0700

On Monday, July 12, Grace was working in her LA office. Grandma and Grandpa stayed home with Lucas and I decided to take Olivia out for the day. I had high hopes of taking her somewhere interesting for breakfast, but I couldn't really find anything in Santa Monica. Sadly, we ended up at some place on 3rd Street Promenade (so touristy), but the good news is she ate like a champ, which is a victory in itself.

Afterwards, we stopped by PopSugar Studios on 10th St. in Santa Monica. It was my first time visiting our LA office and I also got to meet several people to whom I've only spoken on the phone. Great office space!

O and I then went over to Fred Segal where we got some refreshments. O also scored a Hello Kitty watercolor paint set and book. We got Lucas a stylish Sesame Street t-shirt.