Author: gundara

Summer Vacation 2025

| gundara

Jatin, Nick and I had a lovely trip up north for our usual California Xtreme video game hangout and family time! We broke up the journey by staying in Pismo Beach on Thursday night. We spent the day at the beach and dinner followed by some pool in the evening. We also went to see the rocks where hundreds of birds live. Beautiful and smelly!!! I love Pismo Beach. Can’t wait to get back out there.

We had matching jackets made for the boys to wear with the SlikkNikk brand and a custom sweater made for me 🙂 Jatin officially “debuted” as Slikk-J rather than SlikkNikk Junior 🙂 The boys also were trying to figure out a “sign” for “SlikkMob” which lead us laughing a lot 🙂 We had a lot of fun joking about that throughout the trip! read more

Jatin’s High School Graduation

| gundara

Our kiddo has graduated from Chatsworth Charter High School from the Magnet Program. He worked so hard throughout his grade school years, even during virtual covid school! We are so proud of him and excited to see what he accomplishes next. We hosted a Graduation Party for him the Saturday just before graduation *which fell on a Monday evening. Neera, Nikki, Naya, Naveen, Mommy and Daddy joined us for photos at the house before the ceremony. Aanika and this kiddos stayed home while we attended the ceremony. The most fun part of the day was after the ceremony running after Jatin for an hour through the crowds and just watching the pure joy and excitement on all his friends and families faces. Pure love, nostalgia, and open hearts knowing that this chapter has ended but new adventures are coming. Congratulations Jatin!! We love you! read more

Jatins High School Graduation Party

| gundara

Since Jatins actual graduation ceremony fell on a Monday we decided to host a family graduation dinner celebration at our home the Saturday evening before. There were about 40 of us in attendance. We had stone fire cater the evening, said a few words and debuted Jatins 4 part band movement he conducted at the spring convert this year. A lovely, low key evening to celebrate the graduate. I got to make memory tables showing off all his accolades, and some cute posters to commemorate the day. 🎓

Jatin’s Senior Awards Night

| gundara

Jatin was amongst those in his senior class who were invited to a special Senior Awards Night the Friday before graduation. Parent’s don’t know what the kids are being honored for. It was a garden evening event at Chatsworth High in the quad. Jatin and his friends were honored several times for everything from academics, clubs, AP scores, perfect GPAs and Valedictorians. Jatin finished 5th in his overall ranking and was surrounded before and after by all his best friends which made it extra special. He was also given the highest honors by Mr. Choi the Band Director. The kids took all kinds of photos during and after the ceremony and took an adorable photo with them all sitting at their lunch hangout spot. Jatin’s best friends gifted him an Anteater to congratulate him on his next move to UC Irvine. Hard to imagine they are graduating in a few days. read more

Jatin’s Senior Prom

| gundara

Jatin attended 2 senior proms. The first one was Taft’s prom. He created a lovely promposal experience for Natalia and they attended her prom together at the Santa Anita Race Track. 2 weeks later we hosted Jatin’s closest friends and parents for a Prom Send Off Party at our place. Jatin’s prom was at The Skirball Center. The kids were beautifully dressed. We had setup a few different photo ops for them with the classic gold and black prom backdrop and then some beautiful photos outside in our yard. I also purchased these huge silver orbs which ended up being a really cute prop for selfies for the kids. We served cider and a bunch of fancy small bites. The era of tuxes and short dresses have passed…these kids were all dressed sharply in suits and gowns. read more

First Quarter 2025

| gundara

The first quarter of 2025 has flown by. It’s been eventful, a mixed bag of good and bad but I’ll focus on all the positive stuff that happened here. Nick and I took Jatin to his first official concert at the Crypto Area *formally staples center. We attended Tyler the Creator’s Chromokopia Tour. It was AWESOME! We had front row Mezzanine seats. Couldn’t have had a better vantage point. LOVED IT!

Aanika and I attended her school field trip to the Manhattan Beach Aquarium. I was the lucky parent who got invited to chaperone. She did great. At first she was a bit scared of all the fish tanks but eventually warmed up to the place. It was a cold and rainy day, but a lot of fun! read more

22nd Wedding Anniversary – Rancho Mirage

| gundara

Nick and I enjoyed a quick getaway to Rancho Mirage at the Westin Golf Resort. Celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary with a lot of rest and relaxation, sunshine, and watching the beautiful view from our room, the ducks, water, golfers and more. We attended the Glowfest Evening at the Palm Desert Zoo the evening of our anniversary followed by In-N-Out and milkshakes in the car while charging *just like old times 🙂 The zoo had the most beautiful Giraffes I’ve ever seen and so close up! They also had a beautiful light display of the Chinese Zodiac Signs. The descriptions are pretty spot on. Happy Anniversary to Us! Cheer’s to many many more! read more

Nutcracker Decorating Party 2024

| gundara

So typically I host a yearly gingerbread decorating party just before Christmas. But this year I discovered the fun in decorating my own custom nutcrackers so I thought it might be fund to extend that into our party this year. Something where everyone could decorate, party but also have a keepsake that doesn’t have to be thrown away in a few days 🙂 Well, everyone brought their A game and they were so creative with how they adorned their mini nutcrackers! The usual decorating crew gathered: Kohli’s, Gundara’s and Nani joined us this year! read more

Aanika’s Awards 2024

| gundara

Aanika received 2 awards today at school! 1 was for excellent attendance *thanks to her mama 😉 and the other was for maintaining a certain gpa. The true win was her attending, walking up with a smile, no anxiety, exciting to get her prize and pose for a few pictures. Proud mama moment. She did great and she won the “best dressed” award hands down!