Sorry for not emailing last week, but the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind. Sean and I were supposed to meet up with his family at the cabin in Idaho so they could spend some time together before Sheldon left for his mission, but they found out that Sarah's sister had a tumor. They had an appointment with a specialist in San Francisco during what would have been our trip to Idaho, so the trip was canceled, but Sean and I still went out to Sacramento for a few days. At the doc's office in San Francisco, they found that Sarah's sister had a cyst instead of a tumor, so that was good news. At least we got to have a fun couple days in San Francisco instead! We went to Golden Gate Park, which is the largest park in the city, and saw different gardens and pools and walked on the beach a while. We tried to go to the Golden Gate bridge, but it was fogged in and you couldn't see much. (Since they can't actually close the bridge for a Johnson-attempted visit, the next best thing is to shroud the attraction in thick icy fog). We still went but you couldn't see too much and it was windy and chilly so we didn't stay long. For some reason it was warmer and less foggy just a short distance away.
We stayed at an Embassy Suites in Walnut Creek, which is a Shoemaker family tradition and a very nice hotel. There is a kind of a large indoor garden in the middle of the foyer, but I didn't understand why they all loved the hotel so much until breakfast. They had mentioned liking the breakfast there, but I figured that meant that they have danishes and make-your-own waffle iron. Instead they had a chef making omelets to order, and all the food was excellent. None of the Motel 6 breakfast stuff.
I also got to stop in Chinatown, which was fun and I was able to get some teas that I haven't been able to find since I was Taiwan. That was probably the biggest highlight of the trip for me. I love Asia :)
The trip to San Francisco was just an overnight trip, so that is about all that we had time for, but we had a nice time. We spent the following day relaxing by the Shoemaker's pool in their gorgeous backyard, which was a much needed relaxation. The trip was sometimes tense since everyone was under a lot of stress about Sheldon leaving and Sarah's health scare. We drove back last Sunday and Sean's family stayed at our house for a few days. We were packed like sardines in our little two bedroom apartment, but we made it work.
Sheldon left for his mission on Wednesday. It was neat to be able to go to his setting apart and to drop him off at the MTC. It will probably be the last time I am at the MTC for a very long time, unless Sarah decides to go on a mission. Sheldon will be a good missionary because he starts talking to random people all the time anyway. He sometimes is unaware of social norms though (I had to tell him last week that making comments about strangers when they can hear you is rude and makes them uncomfortable, whether you mean the comment to be neutral or not.) He is an odd duck. But like I said, being an odd duck can still in some ways make you a really good missionary, so I'm glad he decided to go.
Sean's dad left Wednesday night, and his mom and sister left on Friday. I was glad for the company because Sean had left for his race on Tuesday night. He ran Hood to Coast with Aunt Joy. It is a 200 mile relay from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast, split between 12 people. Sean ran 18 miles in three segments over 24 hours and ran in the 9 minute mile range, so he was happy with how it went. He had never done a race before, and he had a ton of fun. I think he will want to do more in the future and hopefully we can do one together sometime. I was signed up and was training for Hood to Coast, but didn't think that I should train to be able to be ready to run the 18 miles while pregnant, so I let someone else have my spot on the team. I didn't even get to go and cheer him on, since I took a couple days of last week and am leaving for Turkey this coming Friday. That is the thing I miss about being in school - when you are out for the semester you can travel or do whatever you want the whole time, but when you are working you are always counting how many days you can still take off, but you always have to compromise. I guess there are pros and cons, but missionaries and military men don't really time off either, so I shouldn't complain.
School for Sean starts tomorrow, but he won't be back until tomorrow evening, so he is missing his first day of the new semester. I tried to see if Tina could get him a buddy pass to come back today instead, but the afternoon flights didn't look very promising so he didn't even try to get on. Other than that, things are OK here. I've been thickening around the middle and some of my pants are getting a bit tighter (I'm 4 months now). I joked to Mother that I was worried that I'd bring pants on my trip that I wouldn't be able to button by the time we get back, but Mother is bringing me some stretchy pants I can wear in case that happens. Then all I will need is a visor and fanny pack! Daddy may rethink his brags about his daughters lol.
Anyway, I'd better start getting ready for bed. Hope all is going well for you both. I think of you often.
FML-
Cami
PS - Amy, a sister that gave a talk in church today went on her mission to Moscow, but she would have been getting back at the time you were coming, so I didn't ask her if she knows you. But it made me think of you!
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