...surprise!

Somehow ...despite my family's natural tendency to spill the beans all over the place... we managed to surprise my little sister on her 18th birthday. 

I flew out a day before my dad and Leah picked me up at the airport so she could take me back to her apartment to hide out for a few days until Tessa's birthday for the big surprise.

...

What actually happened was that Leah and I drove directly from the airport to surprise my sister mid-lunch at Genki Sushi. We were too happy/excited that we couldn't bare to hide it [me]! 

...which kind of blew my plan to go jump on Tess while she slept soundly in her bed on her birthday morning. 

Maybe that's a good thing.

As for my Dad... he flew in a day after me and we managed to sneak him into the house at night before Tessa's birthday so she could get a proper surprise from him on her birthday morning. 

It really was quite a beautiful little family birthday, which is exactly what the birthday girl wanted.

The chalkboard wall of celebration!

As per usual... caught in the act.
[Didn't find this until I uploaded it.... sneaky birthday girl!]

The chocolate bunny is a family joke. It also isn't vegan. Opps.

Birthday Cake Pops! Courtesy of her adorable boyfriend, Logan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TESSA! 

For anyone confused about the 'Happy 8th Birthday' signs... let's just say Tessa had a little 'fifth life crisis' before becoming of age. So we let her off the hook and called her 8 years old all day long :)