

And here they are on some nearby rocks, looking quite darling.


This is Lin, Mom, and I in the portraits Lisa's father took of us. We never quite all looked right in the same photo, but I think this one was one of the better ones. Mom's eyes aren't quite as wide as in some of the others. We're a pretty damn happy family. It's hard to live somewhere without them now. I'm really glad we went on that vacation. As much as I value my privacy (when you're an only child, you start to get fond of that alone time), I think it was a major bonding experience. The first week or so was mostly just driving...trying to get to Vegas in time for our reservations. One night we had gone a little too long and we were all tired and grouchy. We rented a Ford Explorer (an SUV...Mom maintains that it's a truck...she's crazy) and the dome light wouldn't shut off that night and we didn't know why. Mom and I just wanted to go upstairs to the hotel and Lin said she was going to stay in the parking lot until it shut off. We told her that it didn't matter and the light would go off and we didn't need to watch. "You guys are fucking idiots, then!" she said. We thought that was funny. For the rest of the night, we laughed a lot. Lin had another funny swearing moment. Mom got distracted by scenery once and swerved onto the other side of the road. Lin looked up from her map, saw us speeding towards an oncoming vehicle in the other lane and in this moment of crisis, sputtered out only, "Hon! What the fuck?!" It was great.
This was the evening that I decided my mother actually is crazy. She disappeared into the closet to get something, Lin and I started getting curious, we whipped open the door, and there she was in this vest that was going to the family center, a plastic bag on her head, and holding a broom.
And this was Lin's expression after we opened the door on Mom.
And then she went into the closet, too. I think maybe it's something about that little room that brings out the insanity in people. It was a terrifying evening, anyway. We're always joking that our family would be a great candidate for one of those reality shows. Definitely. Between stuff like this and our theme nights (don't ask), we should already be on the air. Have you ever seen EdTV? Ed's got nothing on us.







Mom and I are such hams. Lin kept taking pictures of us at the West River one day, and this is us pretending we're modest.

That's Lin and I the same day.




















This is Skippy, someone we've known all of my life. She's a scream. She does the funniest things, and tells about them so well. A little while ago, we all went to Burlington and late at night, we bought some coffee at this place called Mocha Joe's and sat on some steps drinking it. There was this police officer cruising around the area, and he drove past us and leared at us out the window. Then there was this look of realization and disappointment on his face when he figured out it was three women in their forties and a sixteen year old girl. We were all a little depressed after that, but it was hilarious.










And an amusing little one of me as an old lady. Note the price tag on the hat.
I feel so dreadfully vain, but yes, here's MORE pictures of me...These taken by Lisa's father.
Heh heh...taken by Mom.
Last one, I swear.
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