It was a warm, thrilling morning matched with a long, winding drive, until I made it to my sister’s house. Today was a special day for two reasons. One, it was her 17th birthday which meant she, my baby sister, was growing older again. And two, it was the first time I have seen her in nine months! The rare occasions of our visits are always magical and fun. For this year, we chose to visit Amana Colonies as it was nearby and provided us with an otherworldly experience outside our chaotic lives and normal separation. Once we arrived at Amana, we decided to keep the map just in case as we started meandering everywhere without direction. Along the way at random instances, we would flashback to the last time we visited this town. At that time, she was maybe four years old and I nine. We had traveled with our babysitter, Nana, to Amana and various other Iowa attractions. While she took us to many places, we were included in her family bonding experiences while acknowledging our own family as sisters. I remember wearing my itchy red sweater with some white Christmas-y design that matched my sister’s. Of course, we had matching hair ties of red ribbon and jingly bells too. Nana insisted that Rachel and I matched. While Rachel and I recalled our personal stories and feelings, whether accurate or not, we both agreed on the atmosphere we experienced. The laughter, smiles, cold and wet snow, the jingling of our hair ties, and the magical appeal of Amana at Christmas. While walking through the dazzling Christmas room, blurs of favorite memories returned to us such as meeting Santa and whatever art project we worked on. Rather than pester each other, we had enjoyed our time bonding over such simple activities.