Academic Honors

Yesterday was the academic award ceremony at MHS to honor last year's students who achieved honors 80% average or better, high honors, 90% or higher and the top academic student in each grade.  It was a proud moment! First, Austin was recognized for receiving high honors (Thank you Mr. Stewart, the shop teacher for taking a late clothes pin project--I think it made the difference). As Austin has told us several times, big head means big brains.

Alyssa was also recognized as earning high honors. Then, with all the honors students standing up front, they called out the student with the highest academic average in the grade. It was my very own daughter Alyssa! I was trying to get a picture (which was hard as Alyssa seemed to be in a big rush) and I missed what everyone else noticed, which was her dad, choking up with emotion to see his daughter thus honored. Great work Alyssa! And, since she was being honored for Grade 9 achievement, this technically made her the Jr. High valedictorian (though we don't have Jr. High grad) and she received a check from the Alberta Teacher's Association for $75 as well as the plaque all the other grade winners received.

I am pleased that my kids are learning to apply themselves academically. It is fun to see them excited about learning.

The first day of school, 2012

I miss the days when all the kids went off together for their first day of school, and I could take a picture of everyone together in front of the house. This year, it was a staggered start, and as you can see, it was a cold rainy morning, which gradually improved into a nice day. This year school started on Tuesday, September 4th.

This is Mark with his bus driver, Norm, being loaded onto the bus in pouring rain. There is a new student on the special needs bus this year, so the route is longer. Mark is the first one on so he was supposed to get picked up at 8:05. I was caught off guard when the bus driver (not remembering how long it took to get to our house) showed up at 7:55.

This is Preston just sitting down in his new classroom. He is in Mrs. Coppieters Grade 2 class. He had to be at school at 8:35.

The Jr. high and high school just had orientation on the first day. Austin's grade had to be there at 9:40. What a great lookin' kid! It was still wet out, but the rain had stopped.

By the time Alyssa went to school at 10:40 it was a beautiful day. A beautiful girl to match.

Vehicle woes

People keep asking what we did this summer. We did some fun things, like going to Tally lake and to Utah, but a lot of our time at home was tied up with 'things." I read a book once that described assets (like vehicles, boats, homes, etc) as liabilities, because they consume time and money and require maintenance, storage, etc., etc. This summer I gained a greater appreciation for this concept. 

The How to Get to Utah Dilemma...The new truck

I'm sure many people who attended our family reunions encountered logistical difficulties trying to camp far from home. In our case, we also have a son with disabilities whom we needed to accommodate. Our best option was to take our trailer. However, our truck was not up to the job of pulling our family to Utah. Not only was it old, 1995 model, and too small...it only has a mini seat in the back, but also, the air conditioning didn't work. We decided to start looking for a new truck.

In the end we bought a White 2006 Ford f-150 4x4 Quad Cab truck. It is in good shape, is very roomy, has a roll top on the back and had low km. I think we went into Lethbridge 5 times shopping for trucks by the time we had this one home.

The trailer upgrades....

We invited Rob's dad to come out and help "pack the wheels" of the trailer (whatever that is). He and Rob got talking and it came to our attention that our trailer should have brakes that work in conjunction with the truck's brakes. While the trailer did initially have this system, at least one of the brakes was broken and the truck needed the corresponding part installed. So we hauled the trailer into Lethbridge. As it turned out, not only were all 4 brakes broken, all the wiring also had to be redone. Total bill, $1300. Total time in the shop, 1 1/2 weeks. 

The Car

We took the truck and trailer into the shop to fix the brakes while Rob's parents had Austin and Preston with them camping. We also took the car to Lethbridge so we could get home. We went to the driving range and rode on go-karts. Then, as we were driving home, the car started to lose power and completely died right on Mayor Magrath Drive (the main road) in Lethbridge. Rob was at the wheel so Alyssa and I got out and pushed the car to the nearest place to get off which happened to be right in front of A & W. The picture below is of us eating A & W while waiting for a ride to our friend and bishop's National Car Rental shop where they fixed the car (the next day) and lent us a rental car to get home. The next day Rob had to drive into Lethbridge again to return the rental and get the car back. $600 for a new alternator and battery.

The truck makes a noise...

On the way home from Utah, the truck started making a noise like a loud clicking. When we got home we took it in to the same shop where our car was fixed. (We bought the truck from National). After a day of waiting around Lethbridge they figured out that we had a crack in the manifold and since the manifold was in a very awkward place, it would require 8 hrs labor. So, we had to take it in again the next day to get fixed and pick it up the following day. I am so grateful that National paid for the repair because the price tag was $1000.

The car makes a noise, again...

Shortly after being fixed our car started making a noise again. (It tended to squeal as it got going, but it was getting worse). We took it in to the Magrath shop and luckily he tightened the belts for only $50.

The van takes on an odor...

On the day before our trip to Utah, there was a big funeral in our ward. I helped all afternoon, and came home feeling the pressure of a million things to do. Not until we got home 11 days later, did I realize that I left a bag of sliced watermelon on the seat of the van. It had leaked and rotted and the van absolutely reeked. Since then I have spent several hours cleaning and still haven't completely gotten rid of the smell, which now is still coming from the area under the floor where the ramp is stored. 

The boat hits a rock....

As I reported earlier, our boats windshield is shattered. I still don't know how it will get fixed. Since the glass is curved, no one local can fix it. 

The house needs a new mortgage...

Our mortgage was up for renewal this summer so we got to go to lots of appointments with banks and lawyers and mortgage brokers to get that organized.

So, how did we spend our summer? Now you know.

Tally Lake 2012

 From August 12-17, our family went to Tally Lake. For the first two-three days we were there with Granny and Grandpa Paul, Ken, Tracy and Nathan and Michelle's family. Then we stayed a couple of extra days on our own. We love lots of things about Tally lake...the beautiful mountains, the warm-ish water, the cliffs for jumping, the ability to find glassy water for water skiing, and the nice campsites.We had some great times there again this year.

Monday and Friday were perfect weather for boating. Calm, hot, sunny and with very few boats. On Monday all the cousins took their turns and almost everyone got to do something behind the boat. Tuesday was more windy, especially from the afternoon on. We enjoyed time on the beach that day, and did some crawdad hunting at night. On Wednesday the weather was cool. We helped granny and grandpa and Michelle's family pack up camp, played a few games and went into Kalispell for supper (Alyssa's birthday request). On Thursday, it warmed up, but was still cool in the morning. Friday was just our family and it was an awesome day. I got up on the wakeboard for the first time and Rob got up on his new ski. It was hot and calm and we spent lots of time at the far end of the lake with the most beautiful cliff faces. Sadly, we had to leave that afternoon to get home before the Magrath swim meet on Saturday.

Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out on the first few days of the trip...except to take this first picture, so you will have to forgive me for missing some of the best photo ops.

We left for Tally Sunday at 5:00, after church. I drove Grandpa's truck pulling the boat and Rob drove our truck pulling the trailer. On the gravel road just south of the border, a rock (or something) hit the windshield on the boat and shattered it. That made for a slow and painful trip to the lake. We met up with Ken and Tracy at Browning and they helped us all along the way. In Browning we tried to tape cardboard over the pane. That wouldn't stick so at East Glacier, we cleaned out most of the glass and took the tarp off the boat so that the wind coming through the missing pane wouldn't wreck the tarp. We had to move all the equipment from the boat into the trailer. I drove a little slowish through the pass, not being experienced at towing on windy roads. At Columbia Falls we stopped at a car wash and vacuumed out the remaining glass. At Whitefish we stopped and filled the boat and all the jerry cans with gas. Needless to say the 3 hr trip took 5.5 and we didn't arrive until nearly 10:30 at night. By then Granny was pretty worried about us. Since there is no cell service at Tally, they had no idea where we were.

Alyssa was trying to learn to jump the wake on the wakeboard.

Tubers

Preston was forced onto the kneeboard

Alyssa was getting quite good at cutting on the fat boy ski

Rob on his new ski which the kids dubbed "the bad boy ski" in contrast to the fat boy.

 

Alyssa had her birthday on Thursday the 16th at the lake. She got an iPod touch.

Our new tent

Carrying Mark over to the boat. What a good dad!

Austin, Alyssa and Mark hang out on the tube on the shore waiting for it to warm up on Thursday morning.

Rob building an inukshuk

We filled Alyssa's tent with balloons for her birthday. How many kids can you spot in this picture?

Austin jumping off the front of the boat.

Alyssa cliff jumping.

I was swimming Preston over to the cliffs. Any idea how hard it is to swim when you are being ridden like a knee board?

Even Rob went cliff jumping

What a beautiful dive

three cute boys!

proof I got up on the wake board.

Interesting "tan lines" Rob's man-boobs, "moobs" seemed to protect part of his stomach from the sun.

Austin standing on the knee board....can't hold the rope, but can go around the lake standing on the knee board. What a kid!

Mark chilling in the boat. I never knew that the seat in the boat can lay down. We made use of that discovery and laid Mark out on a flattened seat. He was quite comfy and happy with sunglasses on to protect his eyes which were looking straight into the sky.

Rob on the rope swimg. Alyssa had a close call on that rope swing. She started high up and when the swing dropped all of a sudden her whole body weight was pulling down and he lost her grip. Unfortunately she was not yet over the deep water and landed in about a foot of water, right at the shore. Luckily, she wasn't hurt too bad. I think her life jacket protected her back.

In the swimming area there is a floating platform. The kids played and played on it.

Prete Family Photo Shoot

Sarah and Brian

Emma, John, Eveyln and Hyrum..and baby girl to be. 

Joe and Haylee and L-R, Olivia, Bella, Emma, Caleb, Hannah and Sara.

Liz and Christian Bryner and L-R, Anna, Pierce (I think), baby Ashley, Ally, Paul , James, Garrett.

Mike and Sam

Mike, Jessica, Sam and Jessica's grandma, Margie.

My brothers and sisters, Sarah, John, Joe, Liz, Me and Mike. I love you guys!

The original Prete family. I am so glad we could all be together!

The entire Roy Prete family!

The Prete Reunion

The Prete Reunion was held August 3-5 at the Bennion Creek Campground, the stake campground of the Mapleton, Utah Stake located in the mountains between Spanish Fork and Price. This reunion had lots of activities and events, including a talent show, an auction, races, a bottle rocket competition, Sunday morning testimony meeting, etc. In addition, all the meals were provided by the reunion organizers (Jerry and Kassy Vance). Many people travelled from far and wide to be there. All of the Roy Prete family was there! My brother-in-law, Brian designed t-shirts for the Roy Prete family which we proudly wore at the reunion. On the front of the shirts is a caricature of my parents and on the back a list of everyone in the family with the cities we live in. Good work Brian!

Pretty much all of my Aunt Babe's family was there too, except one son-in-law. They hadn't all been together in years, so that was neat to see too. Ollie and Leo's family was also well represented.

It turns out that my grandparents, Joseph and Violet Prete currently have 242 descendants. Isn't that amazing?

Sack races. 

Some of us played some volleyball. Luckily there were no injuries. The ground was pretty uneven.

Visiting in the shade. Though we all made some efforts to mingle with all the extended family, there was a strong pull uniting the Roy Prete gang. I think we really enjoy being together.

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Alyssa really enjoyed Liz's baby, Ashley.

The line up for food before one meal. Don't worry, the line went fast and the food was great!

The auction. My cousin Evan got to be the auctioneer.

Sam, Anna and Alyssa--the three original Prete grandchildren...looking so grown up now.

Alyssa and Anna. They had a great time at EFY at BYU together.

My brother Mike is so tender with Mark. He and his partner Jessica came to the reunion along with Jessica's grandmother, who happens to be LDS. It was great to see Mike again and to get acquainted with Jess--which was really easy because she has an extremely pleasant and friendly disposition.