My family is slightly dysfunctional. So what? We have fun together...

whether it is a heated debate about why men's underwear does not need a design makeover, the merits of "metric time," trying to decide what branch of our family provided us with the African genes necessary for Anna and Brooke's AMAZING curls, or simply four grown women jumping on a trampoline while loudly singing "kum-ba-yah"...I think that my siblings and I are going to grow old quite nicely together. Especially when you consider how well we all handled the lice incident last night. THIS particular parasitic infestation was thankfully NOT my problem, but in the interests of privacy, I won't indicate which poor sister picked up the nasty critters at work. Not only did one of us go out at midnight to buy the lice shampoo and another one stay up until 2:30 am combing, but the shopper also let the lice-head share the same bed with her. Plastic bag and towel over the hair, of course, and the pillows were pushed far out of the way, but still. That's sisterly love.

Not MY sisterly love, of course. I'd already picked out the other bed!

We're all together for my brother's graduation from college. It's the first time in two years that we're all together and my mother remembered the camera. I'm excited for a new family photo. My old one is from August of 2004, is dog-eared and scratched, and shows me 30 pounds heavier. I look so different that sometimes when friends look at it, they don't recognize me. They think I'm Anna. Flattering, yes, but really, there's little resemblance.

I called the visa service before we left for Tennessee on Friday, and she'd already put my visa application in at the consulate. Score one for Brazil Visa Services! Not only that, but she wanted to send some of my money back because the Brazilians had changed the rules in ways that directly benefited ME (amazing) and I didn't need any documents authenticated. So she was sending most of the money back! So cool...and the visa should be ready on Thursday, which means delivery on Monday, and therefore my tickets are still valid for Wednesday. But you can still pray...because underneath this facade, I'm a doubting Thomas. Until I have that passport in my hands, looking at that visa, I won't be able to believe that it's real...