The Title of this Post is Simply; BETHANY

The last few days have flown by in a blur. Probably because that's what happens when you're having an especially good time... and each night you get a little bit panicky because it came too quickly and you know your good time is running out. And you even consider doing NOTHING at all so that these especially good minutes will crawl. But, of course, minutes only crawl when you're doing something sucky.... like staring at the clock... no blinking... tears streaming down your face... mostly from not blinking, waiting for your husband to get home. Sooo, my friends, my minutes have been blazin'. Here's why:

Just look at her! Isn't she glorious?! Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?! For those of you who don't know, this is my oldest sissydoodle, Bethany. And she came to visit me!!! Yes, that sentence did INDEED require three exclamation points. I was shouting it in my head as I typed it.

Now, don't be confused,. I know it appears that there are TWO sisters in the picture... but the simple explanation is that we were visiting "Cloud Gate" in Millennium Park. A huge coffee bean looking thing that reflects the whole skyline and makes taking pictures of yourself really fun...

The best part about being with one or both of my sisters is that any and all inhibitions are pitched out the winda' and the result is a big fat laugh till you cry hullabaloo everywhere we go. For instance, Bethany would probably never ask a stranger to take a picture of her doing thison her own:

Leah wasn't nearly as enthused. Pshhhht whatev.

She was, however, enthused about the history of Millennium Park...

And carried this little pamphlet around everywhere we went. Yes, it is upside down. Don't you judge her.

A must-do when any or all of us sisters get together is a pedicure. And I must say, Beth and I got the cutest matching pedicures on the block.

We both agreed our feet look much cuter and less sausage-y in real life.

Best part about our pedicure excursion... getting bamboozled into spending $31 on parking for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sam was so enraptured with the little flower on my toe, how in tarnation did they get that teeny tiny little flower on there? that he didn't even seem to notice when I mentioned our little parking splurge. We'll probably be revisiting the conversation when he sees, "giggling sisters lured into downtown parking garage by giant sparkly dome looking shopping mall thing....... $31" on our Amex statement.

We stumbled upon a sign downtown that said, "Filming taking place. Upon entering this area you agree that your image can be used to blah blah blah." You can imagine our delight when we saw 30 cameras lined up along Michigan Avenue. Naturally, we skipped passed gleefully and, upon reaching the last camera, dutifully turned on our heels to run the gauntlet again. This happened six or seven times, each time looking into the cameras in the most unnatural way possible. We are so funny sometimes it hurts.

We ate not once, but twice at Potbelly's.... contributing greatly to pot bellies of our very own. Leah and Bethy at our favorite little sandwich shop.

And last but not least, I had to take her to dance with Big Willy. Bethany has always been my partner in crime in riding rollercoasters and other adrenaline inducing activities (our other sister, Meradith, is and always will be, a big wuss about these types of things) so you can imagine my dismay when, upon exiting the 103rd story elevator to the skydeck, she grabbed my arm and with horrified, tear-brimmed eyes, held out a sweat dripped palm for me to feel. I was so alarmed that I threw her hand away in disgust and shoved her out onto the glass floor. No, no I didn't. But I wanted to. In reality, I gave her a loving squeeze, a pep talk that should be published in a self-help book, and led her gently to the window to take a peek.

It didn't take long for her confidence to return and in no time she was riverdancing out on the glass floors of the balconies.

Leah spent her time contemplating the universe and other philosophical quandaries.

Twilight Zone experience of the trip:

On our way over to Big Willy we hopped in a cab and enjoyed an uneventful ride with a very quiet, but polite cab driver. When we left the tower, I stepped out onto the street and held my arm up to hail a cab. I noticed a cab up the street put the pedal to metal and come veering towards us. As he drew closer, I could see the same driver who had taken us, neck stretched and head hanging out the window, Ace Ventura style, grinning from ear to ear and shouting, "You get me!! It's me again! Hahahaha!" like a loon. We laughed and hopped in, chattering away at how funny and weird our little coincidence was. Our cabbie, in his thick Indian accent, was like, "Yes, hahaha, I have been... how do you say... stalking you. hahhaa." Slightly creepy, but still funny. Then he's all, "So, are you both married? Or have boyfriends?" Ok, officially creepy. Keep in mind we have Leah in tow. Bethany tells him we are both married and he says, "Oh. Well, so am I. Hehe. So.... " He stopped short when he noticed our crusty looks in the rearview. We giggled nervously and held on tight as he proceeded to run TWO red lights. Very invigorating.

We spent the rest of the trip eating, laughing and as always, tag team wrestling. Though Leah and Sam (with his laptop never leaving his side) don't make a very competitive team. We whipped their As every time.

And now....

..... my sister is gone.

SO, should you need to find me over the next few days, I'll be wallowing in the bed she slept in, sniffing her pillow and stuffing my face with Ben and Jerry's Mission to Martzapon.