What's up with this?

Question

Okay, so my family is Italian/Irish/German.

My dad looks italian [he has the dark skin] and so do my sisters and brother. My mom who is mostly German is lighter than my dad, but still dark skinned. Then theirs me, I'm really light skinned...and unfortunatly for me the shortest one. we all have blue eyes and brown hair is the dominate hair color.

my question though, is why is it that I look so diffrent than they do?

Answer 1

Not unusual at all

Your last 10 generations is over 1000 grandparents over about 300 years.  That's a lot of recessive genes from which to draw from.

My father's family was six kids with dark features, and two with blond/light eyes.

My siblings are three dark features, and one blond/light eyes

My children are three light brown hair/hazel eyes - all consistent with Mendel's genetic projections. Look him up, you'll enjoy learning more...  all you have to remember when people ask is to say, "recessive genes"

Answer 2

No dark hair and dark eyes are dominant.  However, your father since he is part German and Irish, and your mother who is German, no doubt carry light hair, light pigmentation and blue eyed genes.  Combining the recessive genes from both parents will definitely bring out their recessive traits in their children.  A brown eyed person can carry very strong recessive blue eyed genes.  

Whereas any recessive brown eyed genes that a blue eyed person has would be very weak.  It is possible for two blue eyed person with weak recessive brown eyed genes to have a brown eyed child.  This came from a respected PHD who taught genetics and was on the staff of Texas A & M.