A Few Days With Family - December 15, 2012

I drove up to West Sacramento on Tuesday, December 11 because my sweet
daughter-in-law, Laura, had invited me to go with her and Alex to see her
ultrasound the following day.  It was a pleasant two hour drive and I enjoyed
listening to Patricia Cornwell's "Red Mist", another Kay Scarpetta crime novel
on tape,  It certainly made the time pass quiickly.

The Christmas tree was up and we had time for a few pictures before heading
out for a sushi lunch.  Since sashimi and sushi were one of the things I would
NOT eat in India, I've been really craving them since my return home. so I've
been indulging myself.

My two sweet granddogs, Bucky and Taffy

Laura and Alex before we left for the ultrasound

At the doctor's office, we were joined by Laura's lovely mom, Christine 

who is already a grandmother twice

We got into a lively discussion with Alex about what we want our grandchild to call us.

Christine has already chosen a name...I'm still working on one.  Alex told us not to 

bother, "You're both going to be grandma," he said.  That boy!!

The ultrasound technician was really nice and didn't seem to mind having an audience.  I

must admit to having a tear or two at times...and there were a lot of ooohs and aaaahs in

the room.  I know better than to post any pictures of Laura's little baby bump in my

blog - she's only gained seven pounds at five months and she is still barely showing.  She

looks terrific and, of course, she is so beautiful.  Lucky folks to have such a pretty and

sweet paramedic show up when they call an ambulance.

This was one of the baby's best shots...great face pic and I think

he/she might be sticking that tongue out at us!

Of course, I was all smiles!  Whoops, time to color my

hair - the gray is showing and I'm not ready to be a gray grandma.

The next afternoon, while poor Laura had to work, Alex and I drive down to Vacaville 

to meet my oldest son, Sahwn, and his girlfriend, Dawn, for all-you-can-eat sushi at

Hisui Japanese Restaurant, near Travis Air Force Base.  It was the first time I'd seen

Shawn in uniform since he was promoted to master sgt.  I am so proud of him.  He

celebrates his 42nd birthday on the 17th!

Shawn is 12 years older than his brother, Alex, 14 years older than Jeremy.

He had been an incredible role model for them.

Wish Jeremy could have been with us.

Strange lighting in this shot...but Dawn is still beautiful.

The sushi was great...I like saba ( mackeral ) which is too fish for some.

Hamachi pleases nearly everyone.

Just getting started!

A great selection

The sushi chef

Shawn and Dawn

US Air Force Master Sergeant Shawn Edward Smith

My son, Alex's nice West Sacramento neighborhood

Cloudy skies and some drizzling rain going over the 

Oakland Bay Bridge back into San Francisco

Stopped at Manivanh Thai, my "family" restaurant where my dish, the "Carmen's special"

now appears on the menu.  San, the fiance of Ann, the owner's daughter showed up with 

this cake for us to share.  A piece of this and scoops of rum raisin and pumpkin ice cream from Mitchell's of San Francisco were a great end to my three days away. After the New

Year, it's back to sensible eating or I'll gain back all that weight I lost in India!