Pardon my brief disappearing act! I was up in Ithaca, New York for the long weekend for my little brother, Chris’, graduation from Cornell. Sometimes a little family getaway is the perfect time to “shut down” from the World Wide Web!
There was definitely a lot of love this weekend. Lots of laughs. There were some tears of joy and excitement shed as well since we are all so proud of Chris! Also, tears of sadness, on my part, when I accidently dropped and broke his bottle of wine given to him 4 years ago when he was accepted into his fraternity society! I pride myself on being somewhat graceful and actually get quite peeved with clumsy people so I was definitely hard on myself. Thankfully he laughed it off. Woops!
Signs of a lovefest-filled weekend:
Big dogs. Meet Connor, the largest dog you’ll ever see in a frat house. Or ever, really.
Brothers for life.
Wine toasts.
Handsome fraternity men.
Smiling father and sons.
And a very proud sister.
And momma.
Loyal friends.
Sunset cruises with siblings and parents.
Chocolate covered strawberries on said sunset cruise 
The actual sunset on said sunset cruise.
Goofy laughs.
Swag and style.
Kisses.
And hugs.
Proof that hard work pays off.
Ivy.
Withstanding the brutal heat and humidity for a loved one
A lil’ celebratory jig. Naturally.
More style.
Happy homes.
And no weekend is “good” until there’s food. Duh. After the ceremony we had a nice family dinner at Madeline’s, a popular restaurant in Ithaca.
Celebratory bottle of Malbec
Sesame Encrusted Tuna Carpaccio, wakame, caramel soy reduction
Thai sticks with blue crab, chicken, vegetables, and spicy miso mustard sauce.
Shrimp skewers.
Filet mignon.
Red velvet cake.
Carrot Cake.
There really aren’t enough words to express just how proud I am of my brother. The kid is just plain smaht. Plus, I know if I do try to explain it on the blog or mention his post-undergrad plans, he’ll probably never talk to me again. He’s far more modest than I
Love Actually is All Around, part deux
Love Actually is All Around, part un
Sibling Weekend in Ithaca, New York, 2009
How did you spend your Memorial Day weekend? Hopefully it consisted of lots of love 
[Chels]
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I love this post! Such great photos of you and your family, congrats to your brother!
CRAZY congrats to your brother! It looks like one awesome weekend. And all the love and happiness in the photos definitely made me smile.
Aw, congrats to your little brother! I spent the long weekend with lots of cookouts, recovering from a crazy allergic reaction that resulted in a swollen hand (don’t ask), car shopping and gearing up for my new job…which I’m en route to as we speak!
Congrats to your brother! What a great weekend you had with your family
Weekend was fabulous over here. Lots of time with family & friends. Taught & worked out, did yard work, went to the pool, cooked & baked!
sounds like an awesome family weekend! yay for chris!!
Lovely post, gorgeous family! Congratulations to your brother!
congrats to your bro! such a lovely fam you have!
Big congrats to your brother! What an awesome weekend
I know you must be so proud. Wonderful collection of pictures.
My gosh… you have an absolutely gorgeous family
. Looks like you had a great celebratory weekend!
Congrats to the brother! Looked like fun times!
Awwwww…seems like just yesterday he was reading “Charlie the Cricket” (or as he used to say, “Charlie the Fricket”). Great photos! Can’t wait to hear all about it.
I graduated from Cornell two years ago and spent my fair share of Thursday nights at that very fraternity house! Love, love, love this post – you really captured the true awesomeness of grad weekend.
Congrats to your brother, what a wonderful celebration! Thanks for sharing these awesome photos!
Great photos…you have a beautiful family! Congrats to your brother too…what an accomplishment!
Awww! Congratulations to your brother! Your family looks so proud
And hellooooooo delicious cake!
What a warm and sweet post! Looks like you had a wonderful time surrounded by lots of love.
Congrats to your brother! I love this post.
BIG CONGRATS to your brother! wish him all the very best in his future endeavor. i don’t blame you for being such a proud sister.
ithaca… we miss visiting the gorgeous finger lakes area – and the awesome wineries!
My family and I had SO MUCH fun at my sister graduation last year! It’s so weird to think that I will be heading to college this summer (at the same place your brother graduated from!!)