Jatin, Nick and I flew to India for Arjuns wedding in December. We were anxious and excited to embark on our journey ahead and boy was it a wild and memorable experience. We flew through Dubai to Delhi and then stayed for a night and day in Delhi at the JW Marriott before pushing off to Ludhiana for the wedding. In Delhi Kiron Buaji hosted the local Sodhi family for tea so we got to visit. I hadn’t been in 25 years which felt like I hadn’t been at all!
The Krishnan and Sodhi crew got together and rented a home in Escondido California this year to celebrate Daddy’s 75th Birthday. We had a lovely birthday lunch at Hacienda de Vega in Carlsbad and Daddy got a lovely surprise from the Maniktalas and Mathurs joining the festivities!
The rest of the trip was spend sunning and splashing around in the pool, visiting the beach (dog friendly and not dog friendly, eating out at the habit), and hanging out with the family surrounded by the beautiful mountain views.
Nick was awarded a top performer in 2017 award with his company and as a result we were invited to “THE MAIN EVENT” this year to join in the festivities with the other recipients. We decided to extend our stay by a few days (Thanks to my lovely Mommy) so we could enjoy some fun in the some post company activities as well. Miami was absolutely beautiful. This time of year the weather ranged from 75-85 daily with little humidity. It only rained one night and the rest of the trip was ideal vacation weather. Below are some of our favorite memories from the trip!
15 years has passed so quickly!! We knew we had an upcoming big trip to Miami next month so decided to spend a day in Bakersfield as tourists! I know it sounds strange, but it was beautiful! We had a lovely lunch at Luigis followed by indulgent ice cream at Dewars, a walk to the Fox Theater, a bike ride through Cal State Bakersfield, a walk through the beautiful Seven Oaks estates and more. All in all a beautiful memory and way to ring in 15 years married!
Thanks to our lovely Mommy (Nani), we got another trip to Vegas this year while she watched the kiddos! THANK YOU!! Below are some highlights from our trip. Bellagio Gardens Stunning Whimsical Characters, Mecum Car Auction, gorgeous views from our suite at the Cosmopolitan, saw Adam Sandler live, and a lot of Netflix and Chill (Stranger Things 2) while eating our favorite pizza from Cosmo! Nick also sat in a drift race (video below) at the convention center!
September 10th – 12th, 2017
The Party Goers: Nandini, Nalini, Kalpana, Zita, Neera, Vani
Destination: LaQuinta, Palm Springs
Reason: The Natraj Twins turned 65!
Highlights: A private mid-century modern 3 hour tour, watching silly hindi movies at home, swimming, dancing, dinner at the cliffhouse and adobe grill, hanging out with just girls.
Twins rockin their matching birthday hats!
Sisters getting ready with captain hats for our 3 hour tour!
Enjoying the gorgeous scenes from the backyard of this mid-century modern home.
Okay only true gamers out there will understand this mini excursion of ours! We headed to Eagle Idaho for a 2 day extravaganza called GrinkFest. Like minded gamers from across the country get together each year for a fun tournament, chopped pickle sandwiches, and non stop gaming. It was a blast. Met so many new people and loved seeing Nick in his element. He scored first place at his game “Pole Position.” It was pretty much like being thrown back into 1985 as a teenager would have experienced going to a local arcade with over 200 machines. Our walk from the hotel to the arcade was lovely and crisp every morning and evening. Oh and let me just say people in Idaho are so friendly!! Our waitress at the Griddle basically sat down with us like she had known us for years. AWESOME PEOPLE, AWESOME TIMES!
We started a new tradition this year. Mecum auction comes to LA once a year in the fall, so the boys get their auction / car fix while we get our yearly Disneyland trip! This year it was extra special being Aanika’s first time to the Magic Kingdom. She absolutely loved meeting Goofey, Pluto, Mickey & Minnie and enjoyed the Dumbo ride. We also took her on Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Snow White and a few other fantasy land rides. While Aanika seemed to enjoy all the sites and sounds prior to going on the ride my darling “big boy Jatin” was extra scared of some of the “creepy sights and sounds!” 🙂 He was a trooper though and went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride with Nick in the evening. We watched a fantastic Holiday parade and watched a Shakespearean version of Beauty and The Beast. I took the kids for a little shopping trip in the evening where Aanika very quickly chose Pocahontas her latest “baby.” We had a lovely dinner outside on main street and headed back to our hotel just in time to watch the fireworks from our room. All in all a very successful trip to Disney!
It’s so nice to have a lovely Sunday at home with nothing to do but hang out and enjoy time with the family. So part of that means just enjoying time with the kiddos and letting them be in pajamas for the day! As I watched Aanika from far I couldn’t resist – thus the close up photos of my baby below. She decided that she needed to wear our play costume gold chain, while wearing her sneakers and her brothers red sleep suit. I also caught Jatin very focused and enjoying some down time with his new Pokemon Game!
We spent an awesome weekend with the Booter Clan in San Diego over Aakash’s birthday party weekend. That Monday we took the kids to Lego Land. Jatin was so impressed by the enormity and detailed structures build entirely with legos! Some quick snapshots included below.
