This year, Sis and I are both in New York, so we got to spend Christmas together. She came down for Thanksgiving, so we decided it would be appropriate if we came up for Christmas.

David and I drove to Ithaca, NY on Monday to help Sis and Lorenz move in. They had not even been here 24 hours by the time we arrived, so it was a chance to catch the two of them before they had settled in. Sis still had a few large pieces of luggage in the car and could not figure out how to get the orange U-Haul straps off the car, so almost immediately after hugs and hellos, we went to work.

I posted my photos from my first trip to Ithaca. There are a lot of pictures of taking Lorenz out on his tricycle. Then photos of his day care - Namaste Montessori. And finally, pictures form a trip that David, Sis and I took to Lucifer Falls.

So...I was just in Ithaca. But Mom flew out pretty much right after I left to help take care of Lorenz. It would have been a shame that Mom had traveled all that way and we wouldn't have been able to see each other - so I packed a bag and drove to Ithaca again. At least this time I knew the scenic road to take. And since David wasn't with me this time, I could crank up the music and shout/sing to my heart's content.

In May of 2009, Mom and Dad flew to New Jersey, spent a night with me, and then we all drove up to Ithaca for a family weekend. It was billed as a “Pre-Mother’s Day” event - since the timing did not work out for Mom and Dad to visit on actual Mother’s Day. I was only there for a couple of days before driving home. Mom and Dad stayed for longer and flew back from Ithaca. We had no hard and fast plans for what to do while we were there. Sis and had come up with plenty of options, but we kept it pretty open, since you never know what you’re going to be in the mood for.