Grace & Jason

Dinner with Theresa & Matt at BLT Steak

jason — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:58:55 -0700

Last time we were in NYC, we had dinner with Theresa and Matt at BLT Prime. This time, we needed to change it up a bit, so we went to BLT Steak. Good food and good times...

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.

Amy & Lamarchial's Wedding in Jamaica

jason — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:56:45 -0700

Pre-Wedding Activities

After two awesome days in Miami, Grace and I took the quick flight down to Jamaica on Thursday morning. We met Amy's childhood friend, Brian, as well as Glenda and Steve, who was one of Lamar's groomsmen, at the airport while we waited for our ride to the hotel. The Ritz-Carlton was just down the road. Once settled, we had lunch by the pool and ran into Theresa and Matt, who had arrived on Wednesday. We also saw the bride and groom by the pool as our other friends started to trickle in. Fran and Jon, Andi and Greg, Amy and Scott, and Morgan and Greg all arrived during the afternoon. We all cleaned up for a reception where we met many of Amy and Lamar's friends and family. The evening lasted well into the night at the hotel bar.

On Friday morning, Lamar organized a golf outing at the White Witch golf course. It was a beautiful and challenging course, high up the hill above Rose Hall with views of the ocean on most of the holes. We quickly learned to do (or at least try to do) exactly as our caddies instructed, even if it wasn't intuitive. The greens were firm and challenging and many of the holes had elevation and sloped fairways with which to contend. We played with Thorne, who played well. I cannot say I played well, but it went much better than golf in Miami. Grace's round left her unsatisfied and she was determined to try to get a round in early Saturday to redeem herself, until she realized she needed to relax.

After golf, we met the rest of the crew, who was now heavy one Posse, at a cabana on the beach. We had some lunch by the pool and relaxed a bit before we had to get cleaned up for the rehearsal dinner.

Rehearsal Dinner

We boarded buses to the hip strip for dinner at The Native. The Jamaican dinner was amazing, along with toasts as well as some videos and a game, hosted by Amy's brother, Dan. A group of us headed back to the Ritz bar, where we solved problems like health care and education. Posse and Durbin dozed off.

Wedding Day at the Beach

We enjoyed breakfast with the Lobdells and Thornes before heading to the cabana again at the beach. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time in the ocean that day. Grace and I had some local fare at the Jerk Center, which was right next to the beach. It was amazing.

Wedding Ceremony & Cocktails

We boarded buses again to travel just down the road to the Rose Hall Aqueduct. It was a scenic venue right on the ocean. Amy and Lamarchial are beautiful people inside and out, and they made an equally beautiful bride and groom.

Wedding Reception & Afterparty

We enjoyed dinner outdoors on a gorgeous moonlit evening. It was the perfect Jamaican wedding. Eventually, we moved indoors to the reception hall where the party continued. We all had an amazing and memorable time and couldn't be happier for the newlyweds!

Amy & Lamar's Wedding Reception & Afterparty

jason — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:56:38 -0700

Ritz-Carlton, Jamaica

Amy & Lamar's Rehearsal Dinner & Drinks

jason — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:56:34 -0700

The Native Restaurant & Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jamaica

March 25, 2010

Amy & Lamar's Wedding Ceremony & Cocktails

jason — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:56:30 -0700

Rose Hall Aqueduct, Jamaica

March 27, 2010

Amy & Lamar's Wedding Day at the Beach

jason — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:56:21 -0700

Ritz-Carlton, Jamaica

March 27, 2010

Amy & Lamar's Pre-Wedding

jason — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:56:16 -0700

Ritz-Carlton & White Witch Golf Course, Jamaica

March 25-26, 2010

Harolds and Kumars Go To Vegas (aka Jin's Bachelor Party)

jason — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:03:03 -0800

Las, Vegas, NV

January 23-24, 2010

New Year's Eve in Ann Arbor

jason — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:02:54 -0800

We took advantage of our team of baby sitters and went out with the Michigan crew in Ann Arbor. We all met up at Marty's loft above Grizzly Peak. His place looks great and it looks like he's settled in nicely to Ann Arbor. We're still sad that he (and everyone else) has left SF. The crew consisted of:

Marty
Jim
Andi & Greg
Fran & Jon
Maya & Cory
Lisa & Mark
Char & Ryan

I don't know what Char and Lisa were discussing in this picture, but I'm not sure who would have stepped in if it escalated. My guess is Fran, because Andi and Greg are expecting a boy in May (so exciting). We all enjoyed an amazing dinner at one of Jon and Greg's new restaurants, Jolly Pumpkin Cafe & Brewery on Main St. My filet was perfect and the truffle fries were so good, we had to order seconds. Afterwards, we went over to another of their new establishments, Cafe Habana on Washington. It was an amazing way to ring in the New Year with old friends and new. We would have stayed out later, except that Olivia stayed on West Coast time and we received a text at 12:05 am that she was up and waiting for us. In reality, she is on Hawaii time, which needs to be adjusted in 2010.

(BTW, if it looks like the photos at Marty's place looks like there was a bunch of schmutz on the lens, it's because there was - sorry about that).

Happy New Year!

Mason's 2nd Birthday Party

jason — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:50:56 -0800

On Saturday, November 7th, Tam and Ben invited the gang over for a BBQ and to celebrate Mason's 2nd birthday. Happy birthday, Mason!

Mason's 2nd Birthday

jason — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:48:48 -0800

November 7, 2009
Burlingame, CA

ASU vs. Stanford Football Game

jason — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:33:59 -0700

Someone decided that we (Burnetts, Idemas, Patches, RT & Beth) should all get together for a Stanford football game. So Posse got the tickets (with important input from me), the sitters were dispatched, and Grady and Amy got all the food and beverages . We all met up for a real tailgate, and by tailgate, I mean white wine, hommus and Enya playing out the rear of someone's 7-passenger German crossover. Okay, so I'm exaggerating about the Enya, but there was also a store-bought bean bag toss game (I was pretty sure those are meant to be home-made only). All joking aside, the food and company were great, and no one could escape the 2 bags of iced circus cookies.

Regarding the game, I showed up and didn't know for whom to root. Ironically, out of the 10 of us, Grace was the only one to have actually attended Stanford, but she doesn't have a lick of gear. Perhaps her 7 years was enough for all of us?

I found the new stadium to be a bit sterile for my taste. I also didn't find the Stanford half-time show very sporting or gracious towards the ASU fans (especially as we were sitting next to all of them). We left shortly afterwards to resume the buffoonery (eating circus cookies) at the tailgate.

Thanks again to the Burnetts for hosting. When's the next game?

Farewell, Marty

jason — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:18:36 -0700

As is the trend, most of our friends in SF eventually return from whence they came. Marty is the latest (and most surprising) to follow. On Saturday, October 17th, Simone organized one last get-together at La Barca in the city. We couldn't find a sitter, so I represented the family. What I didn't know was that I was representing the entire 650 of the Man's Meal crew. Don (the instigator) brought some props, some of which I had to edit out from the photos. Somehow, the mask and cape were a big hit. I did sense special powers from it.

Marty left for Michigan on Monday. Man's Meal won't be the same without him. He's been wearing the same shirt at every Man's Meal for the last decade. Word is, he never washed it. Talk about special powers...

We're going to miss you, buddy.

Golf with Beth and Ryan at Half Moon Bay

jason — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:04:31 -0700

While Kate and Ben graciously took Olivia and Lucas to the zoo, Grace and I enjoyed a rare day of golf together at Half Moon Bay with Beth and Ryan. It was nice to be outdoors despite the overcast conditions. We could have been watching the President's Cup at Harding Park, but I'd rather play golf than watch it anytime.

U of M vs. MSU at Posse's House

jason — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:07:24 -0700

Ben invited us over to catch the game at his house. Olivia and I went over to catch the second half. Blaine was already there while Tam and Morgan were out the door to her soccer game. Mason was very nice in sharing his toys with Olivia. Olivia has some work to do.

The game? It was almost awesome.

Tam's Surprise Birthday Party

jason — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:49:37 -0700

On Saturday, September 25th, Ben threw Tam a surprise birthday party at Hotel Vitale in San Francisco. He's been planning this for months and he pulled it off flawlessly. Tam's entire family was in from Nebraska to celebrate with her.

Grace was heavy on the wine and light on the food, so we made an 11pm stop at In-N-Out on the way home. I think we were the riff-raff.

Happy birthday, Tam!

Tam's Surprise Birthday Party

jason — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:13:49 -0700

Dinner with Theresa & Matt at BLT Prime

jason — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:16:18 -0700

We tried to rally the troops for dinner on Wednesday, September 9th, but it proved difficult for those with little ones. Theresa and Matt were still up for it so we headed downtown to BLT Prime. It was great to catch up with them and the food was great.

Crawfish Boil at Crissy Field

jason — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:22:08 -0700

Emily, O'Brien, Simone, Marty, Kim, Kurt, Jen & Don hosted another Crawfish Boil at Crissy Field on Saturday, May 30th. It's hard to believe it's been 2 years since the last one they held at the same spot. From what I understand, they cut down on the amount of food because they were eating crawfish for a year. Olivia and Lucas got their first good look at a crawfish. It was great to see everyone, including Stephanie and Jack, who we haven't seen together since Grub's wedding. The Patches and Idemas also made it up from the 650.

Olivia had fun playing in the sand and kept saying she wanted to go "into the ocean." A wave did sneak up on her while she was standing on the shore. That was the end of that outfit (thanks aunt Jen for that one). I will now refer to it as Olivia's Cobra Kai outfit. This may be the first time she's worn black.

Good times! Thanks for having us.

Man's Meal Firsts

jason — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:54:55 -0700

Though they've lived in the Bay Area longer than most of us, Jack and Hans made their first ever appearance at Man's Meal. It was great to see them and catch up. And, for the first time ever, I won the closest to the bill total bet (after having to borrow the ante). Woo hoo.

Lisa & Mark's Baby Shower

jason — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:07:17 -0800

Fran, Jon and the gang hosted a couples baby shower for Lisa and Mark at their restaurant, Bastone, in Royal Oak. We're very excited for the arrival of their baby boy!

Olivia's First Michigan Tailgate

jason — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:00:00 -0700

The Big House, Ann Arbor, MI

Jude Carlson's Dol (1st Birthday)

jason — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0700

Fran & Jon's House, Ann Arbor, MI

Labor Day BBQ

jason — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0700

Idemas' House, Burlingame, CA