52 Week Challenge: Question 7

52 Week Challenge: Question 7

Question 7: What are some genetic traits that run in your family line?

Sometimes I am going to tweak the questions. Genetic traits? What exactly is being asked here? Freckles? Curly hair? Color Blindness? I am going to describe both physical and personality traits that I have observed.

KRISTIN:

Here are some physical traits that I have inherited from my parents. I am tall. I am 5'9". Both of my parents are tall. My Dad is 6'5" (I have always heard that he was 6'6" but he described himself as 6'5" so I guess he would know.) My Mom is (was) 5'9" although she is definitely shrinking. I haven't seen my dad in years so he probably is too. I have dark brown hair. Both of my parents have (had) dark brown hair. (My hair is also naturally wavy...neither of my parents have wavy hair.) I have dark brown eyes. My father has dark brown eyes. (My mom has green.) I have prominent dimples. Don't know where they came from. I am right handed. Both parents are right handed. My blood type is fairly rare AB+ (Crazy side note...Tyler has the exact same rare blood type.)

My eyes are very almond shaped. This has caused people all my life to ask me if I am part Asian. (Not that I know of.) My mother's side of the family's physical characteristics are very strong. Most of my siblings resemble her side of the family...as do most of my children. Stacey also has very almond shaped dark brown eyes but Kelley, Kirk, and Jordin do not. Some of my cousins on my Mom's side also have this look. My Mom's mother, my Grandma Ellersick has the same eyes, as did her father, my Great-Grandpa Miley. According to my Grandma, people used to often ask him if he was part Asian (he wasn't). This has led to some great speculation as to where this look comes from. Everyone thinks that there has to be an Asian ancestor somewhere down the line...but none of us have ever found one...and not for lack of trying. My Grandma was hugely into genealogy and never found the person. I am dying to do one of those DNA tests to find out what exactly my genetic make up is. I'll keep you posted. I definitely want to take the test in the next few months.

My Grandma Ellersick

My Great-Grandpa Miley. (My grandma's dad.) 

He is the one responsible for bringing 5 generations of our family to the lake. He bought a bunch of property there and some cabins and opened this store and resort called Echo Beach on the lake.

As far as personality goes... I wouldn't say that my personality resembles either of my parents. My dad has a funny sarcastic sense of humor...and so do I...but I've always thought that my sense of humor is more like my step-dad's (the dad who raised me) and like my brother Kirk's. So it's the old question of nature vs nurture. My mom is a very Type A Person in certain areas with perfectionist tendencies and I am that way also. She is more laid back than I am... I am Type A with perfectionist tendencies in ALL AREAS. I am not laid back... I am a worrier (she is not), I struggle with anxiety (she does not). Although I do think I am getting better with age in both of those categories. I am high maintenance (she is not). But we are both very creative people. I would also say that I am intellectual and philosophical. My mom is intellectual but not particularly philosophical. I am passionate and have a quick temper. I don't know that I would say that about my mom and most of these traits I have no idea about concerning my father.

One thing that I really enjoy is looking for family traits in my children. Reilly on the outside looks more like me but she has all her dad's crazy quirks. She loves to complain that she got all of Tyler's bad traits...weird ribs, freaky toes, bone structure. She got her dark brown hair and dark brown eyes from me but they are not almond shaped. She is tall. She is 5'8". Reilly's hair is naturally straight whereas mine is wavy and Tyler's is curly. She also got her sense of humor from me (if I do say so myself). She got her love of relaxation from her dad. I am not a relaxer... I am usually always on the go. The most boring thing in the world for me is to lounge around my house all day on a Saturday and watch movies and veg. She and Tyler LOVE doing this. She also got her quick temper from me but her ability to go from slightly mad to what she calls "rage mode" she got from Tyler. Tyler has a very slow burning temper. He rarely gets super mad but when he does...lookout... he is SERIOUSLY PISSED!! But it takes awhile. He isn't a big yeller like I am and he can tolerate a lot more shenanigans than I can.

Kameron is truly a pretty good mix of both of us. He looks more like Tyler but still has a strong family resemblance to my side of the family. His facial bone structure looks like my mom's side of the family. Kameron has sandy blonde hair. (Don't know where that comes from.) He also has gorgeous green eyes outlined in gold. Seriously. They are really cool. They are more almond shaped than any of our other kids but not as much as mine. He has naturally curly hair which he got from Tyler. He does not enjoy it and always wants it cut super short. His build is just like my brother Kirk's and most of my male cousins and uncles on my mom's side. Kameron is medium height...although he has grown a ton this past year...so who knows. He has a deep voice that is like Tyler's brother Brett's voice. Kameron is very Type A with perfectionist traits. He is a do-gooder. He always wants to do his best and the right thing in every situation. He gets that from me along with being intense and a bit of a stress case. (Also from me.) Kameron's temper is also a slow burn. He rarely yells...but does a lot of stomping and slamming. He has a funny sense of humor but takes himself too seriously sometimes. I am trying to break him of that habit! Kameron is very intellectual and pragmatic. He is great at math and science (ALL TYLER!!)  and wants to be an engineer (Tyler's field). He is very athletic like Tyler. But there is something about him that always reminds me of my Grandpa McKinnon. I think they have similar personalities and when we see Kameron watching a ballgame or riding a horse or doing various other things it is crazy how similar they are. Tyler sees it too. We always talk about it and say, "Yep, that's Jack right there!"

My Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon

Ailey has super straight light brown hair. She has brown eyes. Not as dark as mine or Reilly's and not at all almond shaped. Ailey is super dainty and petite. She is always either the shortest girl in her class or the second shortest. This has to be a genetic throwback since both Tyler and I are tall and our parents are tall. My Grandma Ellerick is short and Tyler's Grandma Kofford (his mom's mother) was even shorter. I doubt she was even 5 feet tall. Ailey is a super nurturer. (Both my mother and I are nurturing but we are nothing like Ailey and Tyler's mom is not at all nurturing.) Ailey is the epitome of femininity. Tyler and I always joke that when we are old we want to live with Ailey. She will take great care of us, we will live in a spotless and beautifully decorated home, and she will feed us amazing food. Ailey has freckles sprinkled across her nose just like I do. (None of our other kids have freckles.) My siblings, Mom, and Tyler say that Ailey is "A little Kristin" and that she is the one who looks and acts the most like me. One thing that I absolutely adore about Ailey is that she has my Grandma McKinnon's smile. HER EXACT SMILE!! It is the coolest thing. I love seeing Ailey's face break into a grin and see my Grandma's smile that I love and miss so much. Ailey can be shy but she is also feisty and doesn't get pushed around. I think she gets that from both me and Tyler.

Bryn looks more like Tyler. She and Kameron look the most alike of all our children. Bryn also has naturally curly hair, but not as curly as Kameron's. Her hair is dark blonde. She also has green eyes. (Both my mom and Tyler's mom have green eyes.) Bryn is tall. She is one of the tallest girls in her class. She is athletic like Reilly, Kameron, and Tyler. Her personality is super sweet and loving. She is a peacemaker (like Tyler).  She has the most sun shiney disposition. She is always positive and happy. She is rarely angry and upset. She is super smart and works hard and always does her best. I think that she is also a good blend of both Tyler and I.


TYLER:

Some of the traits in my family that have been passed down through the generations are my father's very distinctive blue eyes. The Johnson eyes. Both my sister Lori and I have them, along with my Uncle Rick, and several of his children.  I got my red hair from my maternal grandmother, my Grandma Kofford. None of my children or siblings have red hair. I look just like my Kofford cousins (the kids of my mom's brother Lew). My cousins Kim, John, and Nate and I all look like siblings.  I don't look at all like my own brother and sister. It was also often said that I bear a strong resemblance to my maternal grandfather, my Grandpa Kofford, in his youth.

Tyler's Grandpa and Grandma Kofford

My kids have all inherited traits from my side of the family. My son Kameron and I carry many of the same traits in personality and physical attributes. My daughter Reilly has definitely received my foot traits and, as she would say, my weird ribs. She isn't too happy about that! Reilly resembles my mother at times. My daughter Bryn has many of her traits attributed to my family both paternal and maternal. She looks a lot like Kameron. My daughter Ailey has definitely received many of her traits from her mother. She is a mini version of Kristin.

My father had an engineering mind that has carried on in Kameron and myself, but I have also seen it in my girls as well. All of my children excel in the sciences. Both of my parents are very musically minded which I now see in all of my kids and their love of music. My parents were always involved in various choirs and enjoyed singing and playing instruments. My mother plays the piano.



***I will add that all of our children have inherited Tyler's technological genius. They are so technologically savvy...including Bryn. It is crazy. Tyler got that from his father. All of our children are absolute music fanatics just like their dad. They are always up on the latest music. Our kids can talk music and various bands and groups with Tyler for hours. (I cannot.) Also, every.single.one. of our kids got Tyler's long eyelashes. Lucky ducks! As far as Tyler's red hair goes...he is a rather rare genetic mix. Most red-haired people don't have blue eyes and he doesn't have many freckles either. His complexion is ruddy rather than pale and he is very Nordic looking. His Norwegian heritage is very evident. Tyler's eyes are the bluest blue. They are so pretty and distinctive. I always thought that we would have a red-haired child but obviously we have no red hair genes in my family. Maybe we will get some red-haired and blue-eyed grandkids!!***