Sushi, Sac, and the BIG SPOON..

As many of you may know, the Maxwells take frequent trips to Lodi on the weekends to visit his mom. We have a few really great friends in the "valley" and we are soo willing to drive there if it means we get quality time with them and "nana and papa"....OKAY, and the free baby sitting so we can have a real date night is not so bad either:) This last weekend we were able to go visit Jasons best friend Walter, who lives in Sacramento, while were were down for a few days. Jason visited Walter a few weekends back, and has been RAVING about some sushi that was particularly A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. (Jason and I have just recently grown to acquire a taste for sushi and have been on a mission to find a great, yet inexpensive place here in San Jose that we can call our home...any suggestions???) Anyways..I had a fun date night with the boys:) We have alot of History with Walter...Jason and him go way back just from growing up in Lodi together, but Walter also lived with us for the first year and a half that we were married ( he endured many moves with us, witnessed the start of the traditon of monday night taco salads, first pets...etc :) He is family...so it is always soo great to spend time with him. Ok, but back to the story..to start our night, they took me to the best sushi restaurant in the world..ok, so I have only been to like 5 so far, but who's counting.. We sat at the sushi bar...I felt so hardcore. I'm so new to the whole fish thing, let alone raw fish..I had to keep my eyes on the Olympics on the t.v behind the bar, and not the dead yellow tail fish staring at me from behind the little glass window. To my surprise, the "BIG KING" roll that Jason described everyday for 2 weeks was freakin awesome...It basically had shrimp tempura and cucumber inside, and the top had spicy tuna, jalapenos, thinly sliced lemon, and a special sauce...just to die for..all three of us were in tears because it was soo hot..but I guess that good food is supposed to bring out that kind of emotion..true?? after eating way too much, chattin with the sushi chefs, and feeling like I had conquered my fears of raw fish.. we headed out, so they could show me the town a bit.

The houses in "midtown" and "Land Park" in Sacramento where Walter lives are incredible. It's kind of a glorified Willow Glen, but much bigger, and alot more charm. Tree lined streets, parks that go on for miles, and more industrial, crazy- renovated- wearhouses-turned- businesses and botiques that you can imagine. It was so fun just driving around with the boys..I was in the back seat...which I LOVE. It is definitely one of my "Ashley-isms". If ever given the chance to take shotgun or the backseat..I am SOO in the back. I think it makes me feel like a kid again..I can kind of be a wallflower, not have to really initiate conversation, I can just listen to the people in the front seat, and just stare out the window...It's weird, but I just love it. After seeing Walters cute little pad, and crazy cat, we went to one of the greatest places in the world EVER created. Lets just say, that on the 8th day, God created the "BIG SPOON". Walter said we were going to a yogurt place for dessert. Thats all he said. No grand introduction, or setting the stage. Just a yogurt place. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he may have uttered that it was "pretty good", I don't really remember, I just know that after going to this yogurt joint, I am pretty much ruined for life. Nothing will ever surpass the joy that I had when I walked in and realized what was going on. Its simple really, and maybe you have been to a place like this, or they have this particular franchise near where you live. But just humor me, and pretend you have never heard of this concept, so you can pretend to relive the excitement with me:) So basically you walk in...expecting to look at sign behind the register with maybe the 6 flavors of the day. You choose your flavor, size, and maybe a stale topping to go on top..pay, and thats it..well, here... you go in...pick up your own cup...which are all the same size..practically extra large..then you see a huge wall with a ton of yogurt machines, and you just go pour your own yogurt..then there is another wall that seems as long as a football field, of every topping you can think of...every sauce, fruit, nut, granola, and candy that you can ever imagine. You put whatever combination of things on your yogurt, to your hearts content..you go the register, weigh it...and pay for it by the pound... AHHHH..normally, the endless possibilities for flavor combinations would normally overwhelm me, but that night it was pretty easy to choose...it was random, but heavenly. I had peanut butter yogurt, with the following things on top: marshmallow creme, raspberries, small chunks of cheesecake, graham cracker crust, and whipped cream. it was heavy...Luckily Walter was paying:) we love you walter!!! We sat outside to eat, and Jason and Walter must have gotten SOO sick of hearing about me rave on and on about how I have never had anything soo good, and how I would be in so much trouble if they had this place in San Jose. ( Coffee and Frozen Yogurt are my 2 edible love languages for any of you who don't know:) It was too much excitement for one night...I fell asleep in the backseat before we could make it to our next stop... It was a great night out with the boys, we will definitely be making more trips to SAC for our dining pleasures:) If only I could burn as many calories in a day as Michael Phelps, I could relive this night..every night... But for now, lets just be thankful that Sacramento is 2 hours away:)