Surprise! We're in Southern California!

So can you believe that for the most part I kept it tight lipped that the girls and I would be traveling over 10,000 miles last week to help surprise my grandfather at his 90th birthday party? It sure was hard ~ especially as I wanted to make plans with family and friends, though didn't want to spoil the surprise.

When I first found out I was pregnant and began calculating dates, I knew that in order to keep my sanity that I had make a trip to Newport Beach and meet with my doctors to ensure that everything was indeed a-ok. I wanted to scope out hotels, kindergartens, and preschools for the girls as we'll be spending over 3 months here and the girls will finish up the school year. I needed to feel like I had some control over our lives and that as a planner, everything would be set upon our arrival in April.

As the girls have a 3 week winter break it was the perfect opportunity to get out of India for a little R&R and head to California. When we finally told our parents we were coming, we just asked them to keep it a secret as I knew we'd be in town a mere 24 hours before the big party. Best of all, we planned our trip at the same time as 3 other Consulate families, so our flight to Frankfurt from Chennai was filled with kids and adults all excited to going on vacation. It made the first of our flights bearable and fun. We left Chennai at 2 am on Friday, December 12th and after a long 23 hours of flight time, along with a 2.5 hour layover and 3 hours check-in in India, we arrived in Los Angeles safe and sound... though tired and cranky. After meeting my parents and brother and getting our rental car, our first stop was In N Out Burger for a big juicy hamburger with all the fixins... it was delicious! We then made our way down to my in-laws house in Newport Beach, had a home made dinner of moist and tasty chicken, and crashed hard. Thankfully we all slept through the night.

After a fabulous haircut on Saturday morning (thanks Heather for setting it up!!) and a much needed trip to Starbucks for my tall-decaf-caramel macchiatto with whip, we all hung out and got ready for the party. We arrived a smidgen late for the party, which worked out in our favor as everyone else was already there and congregated in one room. We walked down the windy staircase into the room where we heard a loud chorus of, "OOhhhhh Myyyyyy Gooosssshhhh" and watched every one's heads whip around to see what the commotion was all about. Just us... the 1st grand daughter and great grand daughters in from India.

We all had a great time at the party. After the girls got over their initial shock of seeing everyone again, they left me and I barely saw them the rest of the night. We ate, we schmoozed, we caught up with family. It was a blast.

We spent most of Sunday with the entire gang again at my cousin Jody's house in West Los Angeles. What started off as an impromptu brunch turned into a full fledged party at their house that lasted the entire day. Another opportunity for the girls to see their cousins, uncles, and grand parents.

This week is filled with doctors appointments, hair appointments for the girls, and reconnaissance for hotels and schools. It's bound to be action packed. I'll be sure to keep you posted on the latest. Until then, enjoy a few photos from my grandfather's 90th birthday party.

Me and Zadie... old photos from his youth

My dad and his siblings... me and my great aunties

The girls with my parents and in-laws ... photo with my parents and brothers

Yummy desserts... cookies and red velvet cake

The girls and their cousins