Introducing Shreya & Sahana Sheth...

Sani is slowly getting the hang of sentences. I heard 'How are you', 'Where are you' and 'I love you' today. An objective person might comment that her diction still needs improvement.  Most frequently used word continues to be 'NO'.

Here are some photos of the younger members of the posse swimming at the Donner rec center pool while we took the Shreya and Arjun to Squaw. Sani, Nehal, Aiden, Samir, Naya (first time in the pool!) and Kevin

This morning we had a playdate with Andrew, Evelyn, Anika and Ishan at Vista park in Hillsborough, an extremely posh area south of the city. Highlight was watching the older kids get a good workout playing football. On top of the 'mountain' in the playground

On saturday morning we made a quick trip to Healdsburg to catch up with Santos who was visiting from Greece. Picnic in the town square with Santos and Danielle, her sister A few teenage girls were drawing in the gazebo in the square and when they saw Shreya watching intently they invited her to join them. She did so quite happily and below is her handiwork (a house which is pretty much her favourite thing to draw at the moment). Maybe having two teenage girls won't be so bad...

Thankfully not a real one but a visit to the Shake House at the California Academy of Sciences where you can experience the tremors of earthquakes which struck San Francisco in 1989 and 1906. Well worth a visit. Cesare, Max, Sam and Shreya at the Academy

It has always been a dream of mine to attend the Olympics and knowing that London is the proud host but we are thousands of miles away is a tough pill to swallow. This evening I started talking to Shreya about the Olympics and how athletes from all over the world would be coming to London to take part in lots of different sports. Shreya took this information in and then asked me what their names were - it is all about the specifics when you are 4! Olympic rings by Shreya Sheth

Here are a couple of shots of some of the activities the girls seem to love at the moment. Sani riding on her tricycle, butterfly wings on her back and a broom in her hand Shreya, chasing Sani on her scooter, broom in hand Snuggling in our bed - initiated by Sani

Shreya persuaded us that she needed a fire jacket to assist Arjun in the fire chief duties.

We spent this past weekend in sunny Tahoe with Samir, Mili, Kevin, Nish, Pamela and the collective of 5 kids. Lots of swimming, taking the cable car up to mountain in Squaw, dipping in the lake, jet skiing (just for the dads allegedly on skis that went 65mph), sand castles at Kings Beach and a boat ride with Captain Nehal. All in all lots of fun. We'll definitely be returning. Boating on Lake Donner Arjun loved the ride and kept urging Nehal to go faster Aiden was such a good sport but he and Sani were all done after one tour of the lake At Kings Beach

July is a busy birthday month. After Sani's party, it was time to celebrate Aiden's first (he missed having the same birthday as Sani by 23 minutes!). The kids had a great time jumping into the inflatable pool, running around the huge backyard and of course helping the birthday boy blow out the candles! All in the family Shreya getting in on the act Poolside

In celebration of our upcoming 10 year anniversary (yes it is still a few months away), Nehal and I managed a getaway to Punta Mita for four blissful days. Having all the time in the world to ourselves was a novelty but we got used to it pretty quickly! The girls seemed to survive just fine without us so we need to make the getaway a more regular occurrence! The resort was spectacular As were the white, sandy beaches

Sani turned two and we celebrated her official birthday with a very small family gathering at home. Shreya asked (quite legitimately) how many birthdays Sani was going to have since we already celebrated her birthday in London. Decorations were up Arjun, Shreya and Sani getting into the party spirit  Attempt at a family shot - clearly Aiden and Sani had better things to do with their time  A rare shot of the four of us Beautiful baby Naya Bubbles for Owen, Arjun, Shreya & Sani courtesy of uncle Raj  Happy birthday dearest Sani! Some much needed quiet time after all the excitement

We celebrated independence day with a visit to an outdoor pool in Palo Alto. Non traditional but lots of  fun especially as we were joined by Shreya's friend, Cesare. Highlight of the pool visit - the slide