Biren and Kristen's Universe

This past Saturday, Kris and I decided to kick off the summer with a Cinco de Mayo themed cookout. We had a fantastic turnout! So many friends, and so many kids of all ages to partake in the fun. We even had a pinata for the kids to take turns whacking. Ultimately, as you can imagine, it was the older kids that took care of it, allowing everyone to fight for the candy guts. The girls and the other younger kids still had fun hitting it with a stick. Most of the party was spent outside by the swing set, since it was such a beautiful day. Everything went really great, and we had a blast hosting the shindig. We got to see a lot of people we hadn't seen in quite a while, so it was really nice. All of the kids seemed to have a really fun time too, which was great!






Thanks to Eleanor, I have a TON of photos from the party. Please click the link below to see them all! But before you get to that, I will leave you with a video of the girls playing with their Stand N Spin, er Sit N Spin...

Stand N Spin

Cinco De Mayo Party Photos
End of April Photos

After much anticipation and built up excitement, our vacation to Florida came and went. We were incredibly nervous about how the girls would do on the flight itself, but the girls ended up doing really well, both ways. While they didn't cry or scream at all, they were very loud when they talked. Karina, especially. If that's the worst thing that was gonna happen, we'll take it.

While the flight itself was great, the rest of our first night in Florida was a complete nightmare. We will never EVER rent a car from Budget again... The only reason we had booked with Budget was because we got a rate that was over a hundred dollars cheaper than everyone else. After our experience, we've decided it was absolutely not worth saving $100, or any amount really, to have to deal with Budget. Kris sat in an area away from the line with the girls, while I waited in line to get our car. In the end, I waited in line for just under TWO hours before we got our car. Meanwhile, about 15 minutes into waiting, poor Karina pooped in her diaper... but Kris couldn't go change her, cause I had to wait in line, and she was also guarding 3 suitcases, camera bag, diaper bag and her purse. There was no way she could make it to the bathroom with all the luggage and both kids. The girls got very cranky very quickly while having to wait... I was completely miserable from standing in that line for 2 hours... and when I get up to the counter, the guy tries to offer me a 90% discount on an upgrade to a convertible. I'm like, what is wrong with you? I just want the car I reserved, and the two car seats I requested. WHY would you offer me a convertible when I've requested car seats? His response? "You requested car seats? I don't see that on the reservation." Next thing you know, he's holding my iPhone with the confirmation email (which I had forgotten to print out), scratching his head. In the end it got worked out. The really crappy thing was, EVERY other car rental company there had NO line. Budget was the ONLY one... we should've just gave up our reservation and just walked over to another counter. Stay away from Budget, is my advice.

Orlando International Airport is about an hour away from Grammy and Papa's condo, where we would be staying, so after we got the car and got the car seats installed, we were on our way. We were ALL starving, so we found a McDonald's to grab some quick food. We finally got to the condo around 10:30 (plane had landed at 6:30). We got the girls ready for bed, and put 'em down. They fell asleep immediately. It was the first time they slept in real beds (twin size). Grammy and Papa had taken some bed rails we bought down with them the last time they were there a month or so ago, and kindly had already installed them for us. So the beds were all set for use. The girls absolutely loved sleeping in real beds. They looked so cozy in 'em! Soon after, Kris and I also passed out... we were so exhausted.

We took it easy the next day, going to the beach and just hangin' around... but the day after, we headed back to Orlando to visit Disney for the day. BIG shout out to Nisha for hooking us up with a couple passes to Disney. We didn't get to the park until about 11 or 11:30 since it was another hour or so. It was a long and exhausting day, but certainly worth it. Kath did a little better than Reeny, I would say, as far as the rides go. Karina cried on every single ride we went on, except the merry go round. She even cried on It's A Small World. Kath liked that one, although like Reeny also cried on Pirates of the Caribbean and the Winnie the Pooh ride. I think it was the darkness they didn't really like. They both HATED the drop in Pirates, cause it gets pitch black before your boat goes down that hill. I think next year, when they're older, hopefully they'll do much better with those rides. Kath absolutely loved meeting the characters. We met Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Kath LOVED that part the most, I think. Karina did ok meeting everyone, except Belle and Sleeping Beauty for some reason. She just met with Cinderella and did fine. We walked right over to Belle and she was done. Wanted to be picked up and wouldn't stop crying. No idea why. It was an incredibly busy day at Disney (we found out later that they had actually closed the park for a little while because it was at capacity!), but we did pretty well. We didn't really get on that many rides, as there was a lot of walking involved, but the rides we did go on, we didn't wait for more than 20 or 30 minutes... that includes the character meet & greets. After about 6 hours at the park, we did a little quick souvenir shopping (we had to get 'em some Mickey ears), and then headed home. The girls really did great at the park. They only really cried on the rides they didn't like, but otherwise were really good.



The rest of our time was mostly spent at the beach near the condo or the playground that was also nearby. We took the girls down to the pool once, and Karina wouldn't go anywhere near the pool... It was a very slow process, but Kris finally got Kath in on the second step in, so the water was up to her belly. That's about as far as she would go. She was still kind of afraid, but at least got in there, unlike Karina. They absolutely love swimming around in the tub every day, so I have no idea why they're so weird around the pool. We're gonna have to work on that... They were also still very upset by the water at the beach, so when we were at the beach, we pretty much stuck to playing in the sand. The girls and Kris walked around a lot looking for seashells (of which there are a TON of there).

We also drove up to Cocoa Beach one day (about 15 miles away) to hang out on the pier there. The girls really liked watching all the surfers and birds everywhere. The pelicans get real close to you there too, so it was cool to see them up close. Other than that, we sampled a lot of the fine dining in the area and just enjoyed ourselves. The trip came to an end really quickly, as you can imagine. We really wished we had made the trip a little longer, but it was really nice nevertheless. As I mentioned before, the girls were fantastic on the flight back as well. Unfortunately, the very next day, Kath was sick. Fever and runny nose. So maybe it was good that we came back when we did... although, it's possible it was the extreme temperature change that got her sick... probably a 20-30 degree swing in temperature. The day after, Reeny started getting sick. It was only yesterday morning that they started feeling better, but up until then, they were miserable. Kath had a horrible cough too.

Speaking of yesterday, Kris' cousin Phil came over for a visit with his wife Bonnie and their daughters Kate and Jess. Jess is about the same age as the girls, maybe a few months younger, and Kate is about 4. We had a great time hanging out and watching the girls play. Today, I spent most of the morning alone with the girls, while Kris was out at a surprise baby shower for her friend Iz. Kris had a great time, and we all wish Iz the best in the coming weeks! Can't wait to meet the li'l tyke!

Well, that does it for this post. Stinks to be back from vacation, but we have a lot more fun to look forward to this summer! We'll be visiting Sesame Place and Storyland in June, not to mention all the cookouts we'll surely be attending! Yeay summer!!

[Florida Photos]

It was an eggciting (hehehe) Easter weekend. Although, this post starts earlier in the week, when we let the girls decorate some Easter eggs. We were going to let the girls actually color the eggs, but then thought better of that plan last minute. Instead Kris and I colored the eggs, and when they dried, we let the girls put stickers on 'em and decorate them. They had a great time playing around. I would say the eggs lasted about 20-25 minutes before they were all broken haha!

Yesterday, we had a visit from the Mankad family (close family friends of mine, who I consider actual family) all the way from Pennsylvania. It was the first time Aroon mama, Geeta mami, and Rahul visited our house, so it was great to have them over and see the place. Hiral came as well along with Manisha. Her husband, Mehool, had just flown to Japan for work that morning, so he wasn't able to come. The girls had a really great time playing with Manisha (she's about a year older than the girls). It was such a beautiful day, we spent a lot of our time outside playing aroung the swing set too! It was a great visit, and we all had a lot of fun.

Late last night, Kris and I put together 24 little plastic eggs with little treats inside each of them, and hid them around the great room for the girls' first ever Easter Egg hunt this morning. We couldn't wait to get the girls in the morning for the hunt. Kris had also put together two Easter baskets filled with goodies for the girls that they got first thing this morning. They got some stuffed chicks, chocolates, a slinky, sparkly socks and some other random stuff. Needless to say, breakfast this morning started off with chocolate. We had to bribe them with the idea of the egg hunt to get them to finish their breakfast. Once they ate enough, we let them loose in the great room in search of all the eggs. They were fast! They zoomed around the whole room in search of more and more chocolate. Every time they found an egg, they tried to open the chocolate that was in it to eat it. We had to stop 'em after a couple, cause we didn't want them eating THAT many pieces of chocolate. So the girls collected all the eggs and treats and put them in a basket that they can see on the mantle. And we'll give 'em a little over time. All in all, it went great, and the girls had a fantastic time! It'll be even more fun next year when we can get even more creative with the hiding part, since they'll be older and even smarter.

Early afternoon, Grammy, Papa, and Uncle Dave came by to give the girls some more Easter gifts. We all hung out outside for a while, as the girls played on the swing set, since we had yet another fantastic day, weather-wise. Then we had a nice lunch out on the deck. All in all, it was a great Easter Sunday and we were all pooped by day's end.

Finally, I will leave you with a funny video of the girls "playing" Ring Around the Rosie.

Ring Around The Rosie [March 31, 2010]

[The Mankads Visit]
[Easter Eggs]
[Easter Egg Hunt]

The last two weekends have been pretty busy. Last weekend, my parents (aka Dida and Dada) drove up from NY to visit. My mom had been in India since November and just got back recently, so it had been a while since she saw the girls in person. They brought lots of clothes and toys for the girls from India, which they loved. The girls had a great weekend with Dida and Dada.

Later in the week, on Thursday, the girls got their new swing set installed in our yard! The installation was complete around 9:30am and the girls were out there trying it out right away! They absolutely love their new swing set, and I'm glad we got the one we did. It's perfect! With all the beautiful weather we've been having all week, the girls have been out at least twice a day to play on it!

Yesterday, my father in law (Papa) came over with his chainsaw to help me knock down two giant dead trees in our backyard. We are going to have a new stockade fence installed in the backyard and I wanted to get rid of those trees before the fence goes in. In addition to getting those trees down, I removed the fence I had installed last year and dug up a bunch of bush stumps (that is back-breaking labor, whew!). Since Homer continues to get out of the fence I installed last year (which was basically a type of deer fence), we decided it's time to give up on it and get a proper wooden one installed. The yard is too sloped and uneven for me to be comfortable attempting to put it in myself, so we'll hire the pros to do it. We have some more cleanup to do in the backyard, but we'll be soon within the next week or so.

Later in the day yesterday, Dave and Leah came over to help celebrate Grammy's birthday. The girls love birthdays and very much enjoy singing "Happy Birthday". They do it all the time, even when it's not anyone's birthday, haha! It was such a beautiful day, we spent a number of hours just sitting on the grass, watching the girls play on the swing set, and just run around. We wrapped things up with dinner and cake. It was a nice day, and the girls enjoyed themselves, especially with the great weather. They got to be outside for a long time.

Earlier today, we headed out to visit Dan, Ange, and their newborn baby son, Balin. As usual, Kath was all over him, and gave him many hugs and kisses. Kath really loves babies, and always has to hug and kiss them... repeatedly. So we weren't surprised today as she doled out the love. Balin's so cute, and it was great to see him in person. It had been a while since we saw Dan and Ange too, so it was great to get together for a bit today.

Finally, here's a fun "before/during/after" photo of my face. Laziness consumed me for a number of months where I didn't shave or cut my hair at all... The itchiness of my beard eventually overtook the laziness, and I finally decided to shave it all off... That middle picture was Kris' attempt to give me a mohawk, haha!

Two weeks til Florida!!!!!!

[March 10-20 Photos]
[Swingset photos]
[Grammy's Birthday]
[Visit Dan, Ange, and Balin]

Last Saturday, Kris and her Regis friends had their annual post-Christmas get together at the King's house. Usually the "boys" are not allowed at these annual get togethers, but this year girls and I went too. In addition to Grace, Susan's son Chase was there. The four kids had a fun time playing together and we had a great time catching up with everybody.

We had a long day yesterday, filled with parties. In the morning, we headed over to the Klubhouse, for Jack's 3rd birthday party! Jeff and Amy chose a great location for the party, as the girls had an amazing time. The Klubhouse had so many different things to play with, the girls never tired.

After spending the morning there, we came home and thought the girls would be exhausted enough that they would take a good nap before heading over to Will and Corri's house for their housewarming party. That wasn't the case. Karina was being a troublemaker... They were able to sleep for about 40 minutes. Not ideal at all, and it was evident as we woke them up to go to Will's and Karina was very cranky. Even when we got to Will's house, she wasn't herself. It took a little while, but both girls finally mellowed out and had themselves a good time. There were a couple other kids at the party too including their friend Juliette so it was nice. It was great to relax and see some friends as well.

In other news, only four weeks til we go to Florida! Woohoo!!

[Regis Get Together Photos]
[Feb 25 - Mar 2, 2010 Photos]
[Jack's Birthday Party Photos]