Freezing, Barfing, and Having Fun

This is a catch-all for the non-birthday happenings in January/February. January saw record low temperatures in our area, so much so that the Snake River froze over! Nearest us, where we cross into Oregon, it only froze to the north of the bridge as we saw, but it had quite a stretch that was.

Right after Charlie's birthday, David got the stomach flu. There is hardly anything sadder than a sick little one. We were able to keep him hydrated until he began to keep foods down again, but it took several days so he got very weak. He would sleep in a bed or on a couch, get a little bored/restless and leave the room only to fall asleep on the floor or a chair.

So now for the fun!
The three oldest boys started swim lessons via an organized homeschool group at the Ontario Aquatic Center. They go every Tuesday for an hour (1/2 instruction, 1/2 free swim) for ten weeks!
Isaac's new competetive youth soccer team began practicing twice a week mid-February for the first game on March 2nd. Mark is co-coach with Justin Smith.
As things quickly became un-frozen, we returned outside. Played at various parks (but only bringing my camera once).

Isaac & Samuel (along with friends Hyrum and Ammon) attended Zoo Boise's homeschool class on reptiles mid-January, and birds this month. They are registered to do their class on mammals in April, as well. 

The coolest thing we did in February was attend the Boise Philharmoic performance of two Beethoven symphonies: his first and ninth. Magnificent! A really fascinating juxtaposition of works. Charlie took a little while to settle into it, but even he was enthralled with the majesty of the music. Great mommy & older sons date (I bought them truffles during intermission, too).

image via Idaho Statesman