hat better way to finish up Christmas Season than to go SLEDDING! We took Ninah out to see some real snow and try out our new SLED!

Chris and Elias looking rugged and snowy

Chris looking rugged and tired and the boys looking heavy!

The boys are sledding masters! We thought it was worth trying our first blog VIDEO just to show their mad skills!

WWWWWHEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The Goddard Family isn't serious about many things, but we ARE serious about snowball fights. The boys LOVE being pelted with snowballs -- they giggle and giggle until they can't breathe! And then they throw right back 'atcha!

Gabe is hindered in his snowball construction by mittens!

KA-Pow Ka-Bang!
Chris takes two to the head!

BooYah! Right in The Kisser
Kathy takes one where it counts!

THANK YOU to Ninah who took most of these and the previous post's photos! You Rock!

CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas number three has come and gone at the Goddard residence. Once again, the holiday just got better. This year's Christmas was marked by PRESENT OVERLOAD -- it took us all day to unwrap all the fun! We got an early start though.

Gabe (R) and Elias (l) opening their traditional Christmas Eve presents

Ta-Da! We love our new PJ's Aunt Diana and Uncle Bill!

Gabe is combing Elias' hair with the comb their great-great-grandmother bought on her honeymoon.

We've done a lot of Christmas reading over the past six weeks.
One favorite was definitely _'Twas_The_Night_Before_Christmas_. However, even this classic came in second to the boys' ultimate Christmas Story, _The_Grinch_Who_Stole_Christmas_ by Dr. Seuss. Every time we tried to talk about Santa coming and bringing presents, we were interrupted with adamant cries of "NO! That's the GRINCH"

So, we all got in on the fun and started preparing for the Grinch to come visit us. Since the boys have reached the age of ultimate destruction, our tree this year was pretty sparsely decorated this year...

....until Christmas Morning.

We woke up not only to TONS of presents, but also to a lit tree -- clearly stuffed up the chimney, then updated and brought back by the Grinch. AND...there were other signs he may have paid a visit...

Max!?!?! What are YOU doing here???

And the Toys -- Oh the Toys. It was TOYS, TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!

Gabe "fixes" the tree with his new tools

Daddy and Gabe work at the Tool Bench.

I sleepin'! zzzzzzz!
Elias snuggles in his new sleeping bag.

Do you remember that Fischer Price Doctor Kit you got for Christmas many, many years ago? Well, it hasn't changed much...

...and it is still AWESOME!
Elias is now accepting Blue Cross

Even Ruby got in on the fun!

I Love The Smell of Poultry In The Morning!

Many of the favorite toys were of the musical variety. Harmonicas, horns, and kazoos were fun, but all paled in comparison to...

...GUITARS!!!!
Elias (l) and Gabriel (r) get their strum on!

Happy Holidays to everyone!!! We hope you got all the love, peace, joy, and goodies you wanted under your tree this year.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We are getting into the Holiday Spirit out here in sunny California! The Goddard Elves have definitely been busy.

YUM! Christmas decorations sure taste good!
(Gabe on Left; E on Right)

Of course, decorating with toddlers is different than decorating with adults or with babies. The boys can be both helpful and...well...let's say adventurous! Here's a great example. Elias is putting up the tree with Daddy. He is helpfully choosing the right branches for each section of tree and then unfolding them to make them look bushy.

Wow, I'm a great assistant! I should really get paid for this!

Hey...what's back there? I think I need to check this out...

HELP HELP!!! We're being eaten aaaallliiivvvvveeeee!!!

Needless to say the tree remained undecorated for a while... squirming toddler bodies are decoration enough!

We were also surprised to wake up to a terrific site last week.
Yup! That's 8 inches of snow out our window!!!! Horray! Now let's go outside!

Of course, first we need to put about 200 layers of clothes on the kids...

YEAH! SNOW!

And while we're at it, let's have a photo-shoot:

Gabe shows his softer side

Elias gives Gene Simmons some Competition
(and yes, that IS a Yuengling hat my child is proudly wearing!)

And finally, we venture out into the alien landscape!

Thigh deep in the good life!

We made good use of the snow while we could...

...before coming in and enjoying the view from the fire.

Happy Holidays Ya'll!

We Survived the Thanksgiving 2009 Swine Flu Epidemic!

So, Grandma and Gramps came from Boston for Thanksgiving! We were so excited, we gave them the Swine Flu!!! That's right. All six of us got a HORRIBLE, debilitating case of the flu just in time for the biggest eating holiday of the year. It was a gas! (HardeeHarHar!) We still had fun though and enjoyed recuperating together.

Gramps and the boys and their Dragon enjoy a long winter's nap.

Gabriel and Gramps get their chill on together

Just because we were sick doesn't mean we didn't still have fun! The boys still had lots of smiles to share in between the fevers and naps!

Gabriel giggles his way to the top

Grandma teaches us how to play Uno-Moo (Now a daily favorite!)

Sick? Who's Sick?
Gabe gets his giggles on

Elias and his froggy go a-courtin'

If this is us when we're grouchy, you should see us when we feel good!
Gabriel (L) Elias (R)

Elias shows Gramps how important dental hygiene is for overall health!

By the end of the week, we were all (sloooowwwwllllyyy) beginning to mend. The boys were also beginning to grow! Check out these teenager-wannabes!

Big boys!
Gabe (L) Elias (R)

Fall Fun

Wanna see the two happiest kids ever??? Here they are!

Grinning Elias (L) and Goofy Gabriel (R)

And what's cuter than two models posing for the camera???

Two models BEHIND the camera!
Just like daddy!

We were working hard at the park last week. Shoveling is our favorite job!

Gabriel: Future gravedigger? landscaper? professional sandcastle artist?

We work hard, but we always find some time for fun!

FASTER FASTER FASTER -- TOO FAST!!!
Elias (L) Gabriel (R)

We know how to relax too...
Gabe (L) brother snuggles Elias (R)

August Aquarium Visit

Back in August, we went to the Explorium with Ninah and her twin sister, Aunt Jan. Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip!

Ninah Tries to Rein in a Crazy Free Range Toddler on the Sahara

Aunt Jan Puzzles the Great Mysteries of Life With The Boys

Touch Tanks Are Meant for GENTLE Touching... We're Still Working On That!

I LOVE a Fun Day With My Brother!
(Gabriel Up Front, Elias In Back)

I Can't Even Caption It! It's Just TOO CUTE!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We haven't been up here in a LONGGGGG time, but tonight we had something so cute, it would have been criminal not to post: Halloween Pictures!!!!

We've had a busy Halloween season -- punctuated by many different costumes and LOTS of fun! Last night we went to the Great Pumpkin Drop in Old Town Auburn -- dressed as a ladybug and fireman. Unfortunately, Kathy didn't have the forethought to get photos of that! But she did get photos of us going to Halloween storytime this morning!

Jus' Hangin' 'Round The Corral, Ya'll

Howdy Pa'dna' -- Cowpoke Elias Needs a Nap!
(You may want to take a sec to look back and compare these kids to the ones wearing the same costumes last year!)

But these were all Practice costumes, because last week when we asked the boys what they wanted to be for Halloween, they clearly said, "A Fire Engine" and "A Balloon." So... after much head scratching, this is what Chris and Kathy came up with:

Brace Yourself Folks,
This Kind of Cuteness Can Have Unwanted Side Effects

Elias checks for showers before taking off to the skies!

Four-Alarm Cuteness Straight Ahead!

Who Called For Fire Chief Gabe???

And for those of you who are wondering, the amazing, magnificent Daddy-Chris made that Fire Engine! And he will make you one too -- for the low-low price of $1999.99

Look out Monkeyman; E's Tongue is Comin' for you!

You may be wondering just how we convinced twin two-year-olds to wear bulky,cumbersome costumes while walking around in the presence of strangers. We used an ancient, powerful parenting move -- passed down from generations of masters who came before us. And, though we are hesitant to share such precious information in such a public forum, we have decided to do just that. Ladies and gentlemen, that sacred move is...

...the Lollipop Bribe!

That's right -- for 2 hours, we roamed the streets of Georgetown appeasing the cries of our toddlers with sugar -- slowly absorbed through the stickiness smeared on their hands, face and hair.

This Sugar High Feels Goooooooood!

Edited to Add: While Gabe remained quietly engrossed in his lollipop throughout the Trick'r'Treating experience, Elias came progressively more and more out of his shell. He started out silent, and then started whispering (and eventually YELLING) "Trick Or Treat!" anytime the big kids were around and he felt worried he wouldn't be noticed. This morphed into long stories to strangers about the candy they had just given him and his favorite candy from earlier in the evening (e.g. "You give me Lollipop and big candy. I have three big lollipop!") By the end of the night, he was reduced to once again ignoring the people giving out candy while promptly and loudly telling Chris and Kathy, "I go find MORE CANDY now!"