Two Down, One to Go.

Whoa, what a week of festivities. After Katie spent her birthday attempting to convince everyone it was a "great day to turn 21 again," it was finally the day of Emily's college graduation.

These crazy kids spent the weekend with graduation lunches, ceremonies and dinners to celebrate the queen's achievement. And what better way to say 'congrats' than some quality sister time before we all part ways? Our plan was to have no plan on this road trip; that's exactly what we did. 

Katie, Emily and I flew to Atlanta on Monday to see our Miranda relatives. Once they realized the homeschooled freak has never been to an aquarium, we knew what our Tuesday plans would be as we discovered Georgia's heat.   

Human fish?! 

So many Mirandas

After Grandpa gave Emily his old Buick, we drove the dream car, complete with power locks, power windows, a backseat and enough luck to avoid four almost-accidents, back to DC. But how can we call this a road trip though without some weird stops along the way? Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch Kids and just as creepy as it sounds - Check. McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's - Check. Charleston, South Carolina so Katie and I can soak up too many rays, earning some serious sunburn - Check. 

This cool, cloudy day is just a trick 

But these troopers trekked on! The next day was North Carolina, home to the most strip malls I've ever seen and the Roberts family . After a good time and a great dinner, we said our goodbyes for now until our notorious New Jersey Shore beach trip with the whole family. Friday we drove all the rest of the way to DC. And by we, I mean them - even though I insisted that the one time I drove around a parking lot meant I was definitely prepared to handle highway and DC streets. Occasionally highway hypnosis would get the best of them, creating a pattern in our car activities....

Dear Georgia McDonald's, sorry I'm not sorry that I stole your sign. 

Honey I’m home! Mom, Dad and John drove down with all Emily’s junk for move-in day. The score was Mattress: 1, Emily: 0, but she finally fit everything into her new room, phew. Excuse me while I keep marvelling at the idea that she is now an adult – with her own apartment in her own city and (soon enough) with her own job. With two Uconn graduate daughters living on their own, my parents keep insisting that an empty house in September will be their dream come true…two girls gone and only one to go!

But why is this relevant to my Italy blog? It’s probably not. It just sounds like family time overload, but the Miranda make a good time wherever they go. Enjoying my family now maybe means missing them wont be as hard once I leave. All I know is that I would not have the confidence to leave next year if it wasn’t for their support. Happy birthday & congrats to the best sisters!