It’s the final countdown.

Three more weeks and we’ll be on our way to the Windy City!

So, naturally, we wanted to spend the weekend in Newport Beach with the fam.

Ankur got done with work early on Friday, so we made it there a little past lunch. It was 93 degrees in Moreno Valley when we left. And, when we reached home in Newport, the thermostat on the car said it was 66. Almost a 30 degree drop.

I can’t believe I grew up here – with this perfect weather – and didn’t appreciate it more.

Crazy.

The minute we got out of the car, we were greeted with aloo paratha.

I would like to publicly state that my mama never, NEVER was a paratha-making person before. Before she became a Nani that is.

Apparently the rules change when you have a grandbaby.

We rolled up the paratha and hung out in the front yard where Ishu preferred to put the rocks and plants in his mouth, instead of the delicious food his Nani made him. Obviously.

While we were hanging out, one of our neighborhood aunties dropped by to drop off homemade chicken bowls with homemade salsa. YUM, YUM. I was supposed to wait until dinner time to dig into mine, but it was too hard. So I broke the rules.

The best part about homemade chicken bowls is that the avocado isn’t extra.

I mean, it’s extra. But it’s not $5 a serving EXTRA.

Ishu spent the rest of the evening outside. With me. With his papa. And then with his Nanu when he got home. (Both acting like crows, y’know?)

He was clearly pooped by the time he went to bed. And I joined him shortly after.

He woke up around 6:30 the following morning and kept poking at my face. Fortunately, his Nani heard him and came to our room to grab him, letting Ankur and I sleep for another 2 hours. BLISS.

Pretty much, by the time I was up and ready and downstairs, it was almost time to put him down for a nap. While he napped, Ankur studied for his upcoming board exam and I went to go run some errands (i.e. get caffeinated STAT).

I went to this new-ish coffee shop on PCH, Reborn Coffee.

It’s supposed to be a real hipster place that the hipsters love because they have vegan donuts and matcha and chaga drinks and the like. Their featured drinks look real yum, but I’m always so hesitant to spend $5+ on something and then not end up liking it.

So I stuck with cold brew.

And I freaking didn’t like it.

I think my addiction to Starbucks coffee has altered my tastebuds and I can’t appreciate anything else.

I’m just not a hip person.

After the failed coffee trip, I went to pick up some veggies to make the baby some pasta for a post-nap meal.

He loves Raos Arrabiata as much as his mama.

Pasta is such an easy, default meal. He’ll always eat it.

And we’ll always eat it.

And we throw in all sorts of veggies. This one included zucchini, bellpeppers, and asparagus.

Happy camper.

When he went down for a second nap, Ankur and I left to go on a quick date to get froyo.

Yogurtland was right next to a boba place so I opted for that. (AND a cup of froyo that I saved in the freezer for the next day. HA).

We brought back froyo for my mom and Nani and then scooped up the baby and went to the park. He’s able to climb up the play structure now, which completely blows my mind. He still needs a little help with going down the slide, but man, he is ready.

Any time we’re at the park and there are other little kids running around, he stands at the base of the structure staring up. Like, “HOW are you doing this so fast and CAN YOU TEACH ME?”

Once we got home, we fed him, gave him some milk, and got him ready for bed.

And then we ate a kinda late dinner that Mama threw together. Delicious.

I ended up staying up until 10:30 (VERY unusual for me) so I could play tech support for Nani and Mama. My nickname is “Genius Bar.” (I’m not actually THAT good, but I mean, to my parents, I’m a tech GENIUS!).

The next morning, Ishu so graciously woke ME up at 5am and then drifted off back to sleep with his papa.

Gotta be honest though, it feels real nice to be up before him and have some down time before he wakes up and demands ALL THE attention.

When the two of them woke up, we all went for a walk to the playground for some more swing and slide action.

On our way home, Mama snapped a picture of us by the bench!

A few hours later, Sister and Drew got into town and we got a couple hours with them before we had to head back home.

They’re here for the week so we will see them again soon. Ishu sure was happy to see his Masi and Masu though!

We drove back to Moreno Valley and Ishu slept the entire way. Which was great because then he was nice and rested when we Portaled with the fam. It was the cutest when he got to see Nikku’s face. He walked up to the TV and said “Tha-tha!” (Chacha).

Nikku played the guitar and showed off his roommate’s cat and Ishu was thoroughly impressed. He wanted to climb up the gate and jump into the TV to be with his Tha-Tha!

Shortly after our video chat, we put Ishu to bed and then watched another episode of Shameless while I typed up the beginnings of this post.

Now it’s Monday and I’m still figuring out when we are headed back to Newport so we can spend some more time with Sissy and Drew.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! We sure did!

Question of the Day:

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Do you try fancy, featured drinks or do you stick to a tried and true drink?