Arriving

Yesterday I said "More tomorrow. Lots of pictures."

The "Lots of pictures" part isn't the problem. The "More tomorrow" is the question! It is a real trick just finding time to sit down at this computer because there is SO much going on all day long! I realized when I went to bed last night that we are scheduled for another day out today from 8:30 am to late... so WHEN am I going to post all the pictures I've been taking? As a result my blog posts are going to be disjointed and may end abruptly when someone yells through the window that we are leaving to go somewhere or that someone has come visiting etc. And family pictures? Aye-yai-yai! No beautiful scenery or quilts for awhile I guess! Thus will be the flavor of Taniwa for at least the next week!

Anyway... Arriving in L.A.

Takumi and Bianca (Takumi's girlfriend) met us as LAX with smiles and hugs. It is the first time for Tetsu to meet Bianca and he has been looking forward to this day for months (years!) Bianca is such a cutie and Tetsu just loves how non-flashy and enthusiastic about everything she is.

I love seeing Takumi so happy and content with Bianca by his side.

After a 45 minute drive, we are HOME!

And to greet us there are Leiya and her boyfriend Toni!

This is BIG, BIG news in our house!!! (That I've been keeping under cover on my blog.) A few months ago Leiya started mentioning that she was thinking of inviting her boyfriend from college out to California with her for a week.

"How serious is this boyfriend?"

"Serious enough to want to meet you both."

Okay... We are all for meeting someone that Leiya thinks is special! (As long as Keion and Marcy, my brother and his wife, don't mind the Watanabe family plus the special extras all descending upon them!)

So here is our first picture of Toni and Leiya and I must say, they both look pretty happy too! Can you see the Watanabe family all fluttering around on cloud nine!? As far as I know, Leiya has never had a boyfriend and it is fun to see these two holding hands and conversing and being so natural together.

And of course, the reason that Tetsu and I are here this summer is to spend time with my mother who will be 91 this year. Tetsu was so worried that my mom wasn't going to recognize him, that she'd take one look at him and say,

"Who are you? I don't know you."

I think the moustache and grey (and less) hair took her by surprise but she seems to have made connections. And my mother's limited Japanese has come back in full force and that absolutely delights Tetsu! According to him, if she can still remember Japanese and still knows who all of these people are in her house, then being a bit forgetful about some other things is a pretty natural situation (and I guess he should know working in a convalescent home.) And Tetsu loves to see how smiley my mother is and how her laugh tinkles at everything anybody says.

Here is a family picture including Colin (my nephew) and my brother way in the back. Kiana was still on a date with HER boyfriend (that's also a new development this year) and Marcy is still hiding out from my camera. I'll get her yet!!

A very happy Grandma and especially happy to have all her family around her!

And just the Watanabe Family plus special extras!