Third time’s a charm.

I finally made it! To Chicago! With my girlfriends!

I first “met” Jen, Jen, Stacie, Tami and Tisha while I was pregnant with Declan. On a mommy message board. We have talked to each other electronically almost every day ever since.

I have met 2 of them in person over the years, but many of us were meeting in person for the first time. Luckily none of us turned out to be 14 year old perverts; in fact we were all pretty much exactly like we thought we’d be. Even though many people in our lives think we are nuts for having friends such as this, friends so tight that we’d gather in Chicago to hang out for the weekend, I am exceptionally lucky to have found them.

Because these ladies rock.

We had several wonderful meals out, one freezing double-decker tourist ride through the city, many lovely heart-to-heart conversations and tons of belly laughs. And heck – we even ran onto one pseudo celebrity, Kid from Kid ‘N Play. Of course, we could not remember which one he actually was, so we kept calling him “Kid Or Play.”

Tomorrow I will have photos from my day with Aimee, Joe and their son Owen. Aimee (of the COOL name) was one of my sister’s childhood best friends, so she is family. She lives in Chicago, so of course I needed to tack on a day to my trip to see them!

But for now, here are the highlights from my girls weekend. Per usual, I took tons of photos, but not nearly as many as I usually do. I was too busy having fun. Click on any to see the larger version.

The view from the bathroom of the lounge at the top of the Hancock building.

Me showing Stacie how flattering it is to take photos from above.

The 6 of us in the Bean at Millennium Park.

Stacie under the Bean.

That thing is freaking cool. I could have taken photos of it all day.

OK, I kinda did.

Tisha, Jen, (Little) Jen, Stacie, Tami, Aimee.

Those people on the boat froze their asses off.

Gray days make for good black and white photos.

The dude dressed in black, talking with his hands? Kid. (Or Play).

I asked the bartender for a fruity shot and he gave me something with Southern Comfort in it. You take the risk, you pay the price.

They paid the price too.

OK, I got bored in the hotel waiting for Aimee to pick me up. Have I mentioned I love my macro lens?