YAY, they were here. And then WAH, they left.

Brother J and Ms. E (his girlfriend) arrived Thursday night, an hour earlier than anticipated. K had been hankering after that (stupid) Donkey Konga Bongo video game and decided that my percussion-inclined brother would be just the person with whom to break it in. All weekend. The E's nearly killed them both by the end of that weekend what with all the "Dancing in the Street" and "All the Small Things" renditions. Trust me, it sounds fun at first, but when participating loses its luster? Problems.

Anyway, they had a grand old time with it, while E and I talked and ate ice cream sandwiches. The next morning while Hubster slaved away at work, we all played hookie and then hopped out the door at around 11am for a trek into DC. We went to the National Gallery of Art and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ms. E studies French so the 19th century European gallery (with its emphasis on Impressionism) was a dream come true for her. By a stroke of luck, they had a special exhibit called "Cézanne in Provence" there, too. Fantastique! (Unlike my attempts at French.) The weather was sunny and cool, but the wind made it cold and uncomfortable for walking the National Mall, so we skipped that. They'll just have to come another time. Please, oh please?

That evening Ms. E and I hit up the town for some serious brown-boot shopping - for her so it was only the second-coolest way to pass the time. We came back to find the boys still glued to the bongos, so we were glad we decided to make use of our time on something other than collecting coins for drumrolling skills from an over-sized primate. We also watched Corpse Bride, an amusing animated feature worth the rental. Not really for kids, though, since it's a big grotesque and macabre (just my opinion). I slaved over some pre-made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for 15 minutes the next morning, and we enjoyed a leisurely, indecisive morning until we finally got up off our butts and went to IKEA, then Annapolis and the Naval Academy, then Chipotle for dinner, then Savage Mill for shopping and then home. It turned out to be pretty full as days go. And loads of fun.

I ended up staying awake until 2:45am that night (WAY past my usual bedtime), so I was dragging the next day when it was time to be up for church at 8am. I was dragging even more when we finally said goodbye to them so they could get home. It was such a delight to have them, who wouldn't want to keep that going? Still, Ms. E had some studying to do, and Brother J starts fire academy today, so they had to get home. Needless to say, we were late for church.

After church we went out to lunch with a woman we met recently who started coming there around the same time that we did last year. Also, she's OUR AGE. She graduated the same year we did. And she seems really awesome. She invited her boyfriend and we went to this delicious and unique restaurant that has no website. Grr. Anyway, they had the most amazing french toast I have ever had. Unbelievable. Their main business is wine, however, so I'd be interested to hit them up for dinner some time. Anyway, we had a grand old time talking with them and stuffing out faces. And then we came home and napped. And then we turned on the Oscars to watch a little Jon Stewart and ended up staying up for the entire ceremony. I feel dirty from listening to all those Hollywood tongue baths. Still, I slept like a baby, and now it's just a distant memory, far overshadowed by my brother, his girlfriend, and one delightful weekend.


How I miss thee and thy hilarious "game face."