Pillows

This is how you will always see Mike sitting on our couch. He adores pillows. I think I can count 5, though I'm sure there is one sitting under his other arm, too. Whether to sit down for a chat, watch a game or American Idol, he hogs all of the pillows in the room. We each have to politely ask for the use of one, to which he will oblige, but unwillingly. Mike drives around with a small pillow in his car and yes, he also sleeps with several pillows. Do you think he has a problem? ;) I guess he's just a softy.

Fire Drill

Ryan has quite a sensitivity to loud noises, especially ones that are unexpected. We learned this last year, when all of a sudden, a School Fire Drill sent him into a tail spin of anxiety. This year we have been working with him a ton. We audio recorded the fire drill noise from school and practiced listening to it every day. We also have helped Ryan learn to put in his own ear plugs. After six month of daily practice and desensitization, it was time for Ryan to give the School Fire Drill another try. He has quite a passion for Ice Hockey (which he has never played), but saw on the movie "The Tooth Fairy." So, we told him that if he could be brave enough to listen to the loud noise of a fire drill, that he could probably also handle the loud noises at a real Hockey Game.

Success! It's hard for me to relate the feelings of relief that I felt, once he had overcome this huge obstacle.

Ryan was given the special job of holding this bucket. Man it was cold that day!!

Off to the Idaho Steelheads game downtown. I'm bummed that this picture ended up blurry. I guess when someone else is taking it, you're never sure what you are going to get. :)

The boys chillin'. We actually saw quite a bit of fighting in the game that night. I had never been to a Hockey Game. Kind of exciting!

Lydia May was also there to cheer on the Steelheads.

We bought Ryan a souvenir hockey stick that he now has in his room. We were lucky to catch a picture with blue (yes, apparently it starts with a lower-case b), the mascot. He was on cloud nine.

Ryan, we are so proud of you! Way to go!

Human Rights

Normally Mike would have taken Martin Luther King Day off from work. But, this year he started a new business and that was his opening weekend. If you'd like to see his website you can click here.

So the kids and I were on our own.

I heard that there was some stuff going on downtown at the Capitol. We started off our tour by having lunch in the cafeteria. We dined among Senators and Congressmen. I made sure to tell the kids ahead of time what kind of behavior was expected. I think they felt the importance of the building and the day, as soon as we walked in the doors.

We were free to walk around and tour the chambers. Everyone was so welcoming. There were different speakers and performers in the main rotunda. It was really cool to be there among humanity. I tried to help the kids understand why we honor Martin Luther King on this day. I told them that he fought for everybody's rights, especially for people who were different.

Love these kids.

This was such a cool experience. We are definitely making this a yearly "must do" tradition.

Before we headed back to Eagle we went to Goody's, one of our favorite old school ice cream parlors, downtown. Think "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." You know, the Candyman Song? I think this picture is so funny. Especially with the blow-up lips in the background. :)

Nathan and Danny shared an old fashioned Oreo milkshake.

Ryan chose candy over ice cream, picking a long red licorice rope.

Lydia chose a Ring Pop, along with a few Sour Patch Kids that she shared with Ryan. What a great outing!

Sunbeam

The first Sunday in January this little miss joined the Big Kids in Primary. I loved that I am the chorister and got to make a big fuss over her and the other 8 new Sunbeams.

This is Lydia in her new dress she got for Christmas.

This is Lydia in the T-Shirt she and all the newcomers got. They were all so cute up in front of the whole Primary wearing these and big sun headbands. We all sang, "Jesus wants YOU for a Sunbeam!" Lydia, her brothers and I were all beaming.