Snow Galore!

We have had a lot more snow than usual this year.  Jack has enjoyed helping Daddy shovel, and Charlie likes the snow in short doses.

I was clearly torturing Charlie by making him take this picture

And some videos:

Trip to Rochester

On the day after Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa Lang and the four of us piled in the mini van to drive to Rochester.  We decided to try driving through the night on the way there and it went very well.  The boys did great sleeping in the car and we only hit snow in Erie, PA, where it apparently always snows.

We made good time and arrived at Kelly and Greg's house an hour or two earlier than planned - Kelly had to get of bed when we told her we were in her driveway - oops!  After breakfast we took a little walk to the Erie Canal.  Charlie and I turned back before the rest because I was worried about his toes in his non-snow boots.  I ended up carrying him part of the way and he fell asleep in my arms; I swear that child could sleep anywhere.

We had lots of fun family time, and the boys and Parker played great together.  I can't really remember what order we did anything in since it was almost two months ago, but here are some highlights.  We checked out Bounce It Out which had inflatables galore and a big video screen to play sports.

Greg's family came over for dinner one night, and the boys had fun playing with Parker's cousins Clare and Cate.  Jack and Clare also had a rematch of Go Fish with Papa G (they played a few times during our Seneca Lake trip too).

We made cookies one night, and they may have gone a little overboard with the sprinkles.

We went to the Strong Museum of Play - one of our favorite places to visit when we're there!

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a low key evening at Kelly & Greg's.  We used their raclette grill and had a little dance party.  Luckily we found the UK New Year's celebration and fireworks on You Tube so we did our countdown a few hours early.  

On New Year's Day we headed home.  This time we left in the morning and drove all day.  The boys still did really great despite the long drive.  When we were about two hours from St. Louis we hit a big snow storm, so unfortunately those last two hours took more like 3.5.  But we made it safe and sound and have another fun trip on the record book.

Here are some other random pictures from our time in New York.

Next time we see the Goforths, they will be a family of four!  Can't WAIT!

Merry Christmas

We had a really great Christmas this year.  We kicked it off on Christmas Eve by exchanging gifts with Grandma and Grandpa Lang.  Then my mom's family came over for our traditional Christmas Eve gathering.  I forced everyone to take family pictures, which was fun (for me, anyway).

Payton, my cousin Bryan, A.J. and Katie

Alyssa, my cousin Chris, Stacie and Vince

Uncle Lynn and Aunt Jan 

All the Palazzolos

Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy

Dad and Mom

After dinner the boys got more presents - lucky guys.

Charlie started feeling feverish that night so Daddy got some extra snuggles.

When we got home and took his temperature, it was 102.5.  Yikes.  When I went to check on him a little later he had vomited in bed.  Ugh, poor baby!  We got him all cleaned up and let him sleep with us.  He seemed better in the morning so we're not sure what that was about.

Santa brought the boys some fun stuff:

After they opened all their gifts, we headed over to Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Todd's house for breakfast and to exchange gifts with them.

After naps, I headed over for a quick visit at the Lang Christmas.  Jason and the boys stayed home in case Charlie was still sick (my cousin's new baby was there, so not worth the risk!).  We headed over to dinner at the Claytons and, you guessed it, MORE presents.  We have some very lucky boys.

Charlie seemed fine all day but poor Lily started throwing up in the afternoon/evening.  We think (hope!) they were unrelated illnesses, but still no fun for the little miss.

Jack and Charlie got a lot of cool stuff this year, even though Santa scaled back dramatically compared to last year.  Some of the favorites were: hockey sticks from Santa, Magna Tiles from Grandma and Grandpa Lang, some more Go Go Wheels track sets from Grandma and Grandpa Clayton and a cool \Ninja Turtle pillow from Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Todd.

Charlie carried his hockey stick around all day on Christmas - definitely his favorite gift.  Here's a video demonstrating...