Get to Know You: Family Edition

Since MannLand5 will no longer be hosting the Get to Know You Sunday meme, I decided to come up with a little something of my own for this week. I've seen a 30 day meme out there in blogland and part of it is about family - siblings, parents, etc. So, I'm taking the two and smooshing them into one very unique post. ;-) Get ready to take a trip down memory lane!!!

From left to right: me, my mom, and my brother.

I was about 10 here. Note the intense dorkiness. 

That haircut is the #1 reason why I will NEVER have short, short hair again.

{The glasses and space in between my teeth - not a missing tooth - don't really help my look either.}

I freakin' love this picture. If for no other reason than it really embarrasses my brother. =P And yes, I was a cheerleader...for one year...in 5th grade.

Left to right: Rachel (family friend), me, and Andrew. Haha.

I was 12 in this picture and finally growing out my hair.

I bet you were about to wonder where my dad was! He's not much of a picture-taker. I was 13 in this one. It was taken in Carthage, Missouri at the Precious Moments Chapel.

This one should be titled "Most Awkward Sibling Picture Ever."

I was 15/16 here. 

Finally one of Mom & Dad!

I was about 16 when this was taken.

This was at my Nana's house on their patio.

This one was taken at Mom & Dad's house my sophomore (?) year of college.

Look at that hotness! {Me, not my brother. Lol!}

Nana, me & Papa at my first birthday party. 

Just in case you were wondering about them, too. =)

And now for all 6 of us [plus my hubby]:

This is the most recent picture of all of us.

I'm thinking I may need to remedy that soon.

In case you were wondering why on earth I'm the only redhead of the bunch, I'll give you a little background on us. =)

My mom was married once before, and had me. My father was in the AF and he was stationed in England. A year later, I came along and 8 months later my mom left him. Long, emotional story (more for her than me) but in the long run it was probably better for both of us that she left. When I was... 1 1/2, Mom married Dad. My father was never around much, so he's who I call "dad." And right after I turned 3, my mom had my annoying crazy pain in the butt little brother. ;-) 

Oh, and my grandparents (in the pic above) are my mom's parents. They've been married for 52 years. Just 3 days before my own wedding day, they celebrated their 50th anniversary. =) And yes, I did plan my wedding that way. I wanted to honor such a strong and long-lasting marriage by getting married so close to their anniversary. They had known each other for about 3 months when they eloped. Papa was a SSG in the Army and deployed to Korea not too long after they were married. Once he came back, I believe they were at Ft. Bliss for a while. Then, they were at Ft. Chaffee (which is on the outskirts of the town I grew up in) until that post was closed in the early '60s. I think that's when it was closed. Don't quote me on that one. 

So, that's my family!! 

Hope y'all are having (or had, for those of you not on the west coast or in Hawaii) a great Sunday!