A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.

I have four sisters and one brother. I love them all. My dad had six kids in all: four kids with his first wife, then two kids with his second wife (my mom). So, in one sense I am fifth in the birth order, and in another, I am first in the birth order. The youngest in the family is my little sister. Let's call her...hmmm...The Bug. When she was little, she loved bugs (she still does). She was the little kid at the swimming pool checking out what bugs were trapped in the little bug-catching things. I was not with her on that one. Bugs freaked me out.

She was the one who pulled the prank with the rattlesnake. That reminds me, I need to tell you the story about her bachelorette party sometime...although I probably need her permission to share photos...get your mind out of the gutter, people!

I'm 2 1/2 years older than The Bug. I am fiercely protective of her. We share the same kooky family and the same childhood. She was scared of the dark (ok, I was too), so we slept together for years, despite having our own bedrooms. I made up stories at night to tell her, and she was a loyal audience (and probably totally warped by my bizarre stories).

We went to camp together in the summers. I was homesick and slow to warm up...the Bug made friends with the whole camp and refused to take showers. She was just too cute and adorable! I remember being jealous of her at times because everyone thought she was so cute.

When our family took a trip to England, my parents had us all do English-related projects. I don't really remember what the older four kids had to do, but I did a report on the Tower of London, a fascinating place! The Bug colored England's map. I was 10, she was 7 1/2, I think. Here's a picture from that trip.

I was going through a skirt phase. I loved long skirts. Look at those dirty white keds! We must have been doing a lot of walking.

One of our excursions while in England was to a real English tea, and they had a giant chess set on the lawn. The Bug and I were taught chess by our father at a young age and could play pretty well.

Another family trip was to Italy. Here we are in Pompeii (below). My embarrassing story here is that we were on a tour and had to pee, badly. So, we ended up hiding in the ruins somewhere and peeing. I felt bad, like I was defacing history, but hey, urine is sterile right?

I think this picture (below) was taken in Venice, Italy. We're so corny. I had thick, ugly bangs during this stage. Didn't like them at all now that I look back. I'm on the right.

Here on a hiking trip in Colorado (below). I love The Bug! (I'm on the left with the knee brace. I hurt my knee playing soccer, remember reading about my superstar soccer career?)

I have plenty of fun stories to share about her, but for now, this is your introduction. Everyone, meet The Bug. Bug, this is everyone!