An unexpected Four Day Weekend

Well we had our first big snowstorm of the season.  We have not had a storm like this since we moved back to Ithaca in 2003.     It was predicted to be a SNOWICANE!  with 75 mph per hour winds.  Well we definitely had the snow,and some wind, but not 75 mph winds.    Needless to say we had two days of no school.  Drew, the sucker, still had to work because the internet was working.  I integrated the shoveling into my exercise routine for me and the kids.    Our driveway became a challenge for us.  We thought our Subaru and especially the truck would get through anything.  Two feet of snow hindered us from driving the subaru down our 500 feet driveway.  Drew took out the truck and decided to do some red neck snowplowing which includes driving up and down the driveway and patting the snow down. His testosterone kicked in and he began to have a great time until the truck became stuck in the lawn.  The lesson learned was:  Do not drive the truck in the yard  b/c 2 feet of snow on the driveway adds up to almost 3-4 feet of snow on the lawn.  The truck looked like a drunk fool parked it in the yard.    At least it was easy to spot for not one, but TWO,  plowmen who was needed to plow the mammoth driveway.   A tow truck had to be used for the truck.    The tow truck driver was amused at least.    

Luckily, we had a short one night getaway planned.  The snowstorm or  the driveway did not ruin our plans.  We ventured up to Rochester to visit with the Nordquist's in their new hometown.    We made the annual visit to Strong Musuem of Play.  The theme was LEGO's which a great match for Alex.   This year we went to the butterfly exhibit.  Sophia loved it!   She is interested in nature due to the montessori influence.  We came close to finding all the 30 + species of butterflies in the exhibit thanks to Sophia's preserverance.  

After the musuem we found a place that would accomodate three adults and four children for dinner on a Saturday evening.    We were outnumbered; however, we left with just one spill of Jess's beer thanks to Jude.  The kids were able to cap off the night with a swim the hotel pool and sleeping by 10pm while Drew watched SU beat Villanova.  

Sophia was up at 530 am ready to watch cartoons in bed and bother her parents every 15 minutes . Jess gave us snacks which were able to keep the kids at bay until 8am for breakfast.   We had to use the pool one more time and were able to meet some nice other nice hotel guests  from ROCHESTER; their staycation I guess.