see mj write: day 11 {a photo taken of you recently}

this is me last sunday. is that recent enough? and the two lovely girls flanking my sides are ryan's cousins, allie and brinn. we were lucky enough to have allie, brinn and their parents come visit us on easter while they were vacationing in the city by the bay.

apparently the "city bunny" doesn't hide easter eggs in hotel rooms. this was news to the girls. and not good news, at that.

thankfully, the easter bunny did visit our house and left plenty of eggs to be found. i helped mr. bunny hide them, so it wouldn't be much fun for me to find them. leah wasn't so much interested in finding them. ryan thought i was ridiculous for helping mr. bunny hide them in the first place. so that left allie and brinn. and they were more than excited to do the finding! they spent a good half hour opening up every cupboard, drawer and cabinet, moving baskets and clothes and shoes and books and pillows and appliances and everything else you can imagine to find all 45 eggs. and find them they did. leah was their constant shadow as they searched each room and she reaped the rewards when it came time to enjoy the fruits {okay, candies} of their labor. it was a win-win-win.

i love these girls. they were not more than leah's age when i first met them and they are growing into beautiful young women. {in fact, the first time allie actually met me, she ran away in sheer anger - she was quite upset i was stealing her boyfriend from her. but, by the end of the night, i won her love and she hasn't turned back since.}

{allie and brinn at our wedding, may 2003}

they played their piano recital pieces for me and updated me on boys and school and all else that consumes the life of a 'tween. and i loved it. we ate some yummy food and leah entertained us with her never-ending runny nose. the booger bubbles were something to be proud of. ryan's aunt thalene is one of my favorites, so it was so fun to catch up with her. and ryan and steve chatted on the couch, oblivious to the chaos around them, for the full two hours. they even brought a present for leah and yummy chocolate for me {and ryan??}.

a good time was had by all.
a big thanks to the fairbanks for taking time out of their vacation to stop by. we love visitors!