Another birthday!

Today my baby sister turns 13, and I am NOT okay with it. I still picture her as a 10 year old girl, so every time I come home and see that she's grown 4 more inches, it blows my mind. I've also unwittingly been telling everyone that she's in 6th grade, when she's actually in 7th. Subconscious refusal to let her grow up? Absolutely.And now, 13 things you probably didn't know about Bethany:

1.) She kissed more boys between the ages of 2 and 5 than I will ever kiss in my entire life.

2.) One of her first nicknames was "Boogers" (pronounced boo-gers, not like the things in your nose). I have very vivid memories of my mom telling us we were NOT allowed to call her that in front of great-grandma, who quite possibly would have had a heart attack at hearing such an atrocious nickname.

3.) Beth may be the only other sister with a talent for literature. Not only does she do a lot of reading, she also writes long, rambling stories which she used to read to us daily. Sample line: "Star's twin sister Diamond has violet-colored eyes and an entire shopping mall in her bedroom." Oh yeah. True art.

4.) As much as she has to put up with from Marah, she still dreads the idea of being the only child left at home for 5 years. I don't see what all the fuss is about--she will finally be able to con her way into getting that laptop she's been wanting for 5 years. It's really easy to get your way when you don't have 3 older sisters saying, "Well, when I was your age..."

5.) Beth is absolutely convinced that global warming is going to kill off the polar bears. And don't try to tell her otherwise--it won't work (just ask Jon).

6.) When she was little, her hair stood straight up. As she got older, it decided instead to grow in naturally crimped. Too bad she missed the 80's by a good 5 years...

7.) Her sole entertainment as a child consisted of Magic School Bus shows and books about bugs or reptiles. She once tried to con me into reading her library book to her, but when I opened the first page and saw a picture of a spider covered in little spider eggs, it was over. You should have heard her evil little giggle...

8.) Nothing made Beth happier as a child than eggs. By the time she was 5 she had an impressive array of "dinosaur" eggs in her room from various bribery attempts. I think we may have even given her a few empty old Easter eggs when we were really desperate.

9.) Beth really likes vampires and black clothing at the moment (Thank you, Twilight). She recently informed us that she wants to dye her hair black and move to Forks, Washington. Mom is absolutely thrilled.

10.) Family scripture and prayer with your ipod in one ear? "Why yes!", says Bethany. If only Mom weren't so darn old-fashioned.

11.) For several years her diet consisted of just one thing: cheese on chips. Take cheddar Pringles, slap on a slice of cheddar, and microwave. It's a wonder her growth wasn't stunted.

12.) Most of my boyfriends liked Bethany more than they liked me. This was actually a bit of a problem when I got engaged to Jon. Marah & Kenna loved him, but Beth was wary because he didn't shower her with gifts like my past boyfriends had. In fact, she may still be waiting for him to pay the customary tribute (and she'll be waiting for a LONG time).

13.) She informed us not too long ago that she was going to be the first one to have children. Apparently the 10 year age gap between me and her was really not much of a barrier. Well, bring it on, Beth! (Okay, not really...)

Beth, remember when you were a toddler and promised me that you would stop eating so you could stay little forever? Yeah, well, you lied. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're working on outgrowing all of us. I wish Jon & I could be there to celebrate with you, and I wish I had gotten your card in the mail already (oops). Have a fabulous 13th birthday, Bubba Joe! We love you.