My garden, early July

When I was in Gr. 8 I did my public speaking speech on "How gardening ruins my life." Since then I've learned to really enjoy gardening and I have especially taken an interest in overcoming gardening problems. So, I'm indulging in posting pictures of my garden as it looked on July 6th. My first batch of beans died with frost. These are the replanted ones.

My corn is the tallest in the neighborhood. The carrots are thick in some places and thin in others. But, I'm sure that has nothing to do with Alyssa being the one who planted.

I started my tomatoes and pepper bedding plants under floating row covers which I left on til about when school got out near the end of June. You can see the row cover on the ground by these tomatoes. The plants are pretty big, and are just starting to blossom.

The whole raspberry patch is like this, thick with berries.

Peas are as high as the fence. The deer haven't eaten any since I covered them with bird netting a couple of weeks ago. Lots of pods have formed already, but they aren't quite ready yet.

Just waiting for the dwarf sweet peas to bloom at the back.

You may know that last year I worked tirelessly on my garden with very little harvest (except for 260 lbs of potatoes). Last year was in a death battle with the weeds and also mulched with grass clippings, leaves, garden waste of all kinds. I did this because the soil was in bad shape, greyish and dry and clumpy with almost no organic matter. This spring I brought in a small load of manure and a couple of bales of peat moss. When I rototilled, the soil seemed much softer and richer. I am very happy that the garden is growing much better this year, and is actually ahead of the neighbors. The raspberry bushes are also heavy laden with berries so I think I will have a good crop of raspberries too this year. I've been continuing to mulch with grass clippings this year and Alyssa thinks that is why I haven't won "yard of the week" because grass in the flower beds looks tacky. i figure when the flowers are thick enough you can barely see the grass clippings and they are excellent for holding in moisture.

Haircuts

On Monday night I gave Preston and Austin much needed haircuts. Austin begged and begged for me to give him a mohawk. I relented, on condition that it is only for a few days, then the middle gets cut too. Austin has been stoked each morning to stike up his hair and demonstate his natural panache. He figures his new hairdo is a chick magnet. What do you think?

Preston got a summer hair cut. Notice his scabby nose--earning him the nickname, scabby from his dad. He fell off a swing at the park the other day.

Mark's 8th birthday

Shari, Mark's caregiver holding him for present opening.

Mark turned 8 this past Monday, and I have to say it was a little bit sad. He happened to have a cold and a slight fever that day so he cried through opening his presents and we had to do cake early with no icing so that he could go to bed early. Mark can't eat cake anyway, so it was more just so that the other kids could feel like we celebrated. It is kind of sad that Mark doesn't get to be baptized, but on the other hand, pretty amazing that he is promised eternal life and has no need of baptism to get it. May the rest of us be worthy to be with you forever, Mark!

Happy Birthday!

School's Out for the Summer

Yesterday was the last regular day of school for the kids and today they went back for the morning for orientation for the next school year. Alyssa has finished grade 6, and today got oriented to the junior high by her father, Principal Doig. The kids all passed, including Mark who's report said that he had "completed the program of study for Gr. 2." I guess it's pretty much impossible to fail. The kids have also finished soccer, softball, piano, band, and everything else. Now Alyssa is doing summer swim club and Austin and Preston will be starting swimming lessons next Monday.

Pardon me if I brag for a second here. Yesterday afternoon they had a little Gr. 6 award ceremony. Alyssa received the awards for the highest marks in Social Studies and Math, taking after each of her parents who were math and history majors, respectively. Her teacher said that she knew more about provincial politics than he did, a comment which drew applause from the crowd. Alyssa was also named the most dedicated soccer player by her coach at their evening wind-up party. She got her RCM Gr. 3 piano mark, a respectable 79% better than her mother ever managed.

Rob has one more day of work (if he can get everything done) and then we have a summer to look forward to as a family. We have managed to get our boat out twice so far, both times in a little 2 or 3 hour window between events. Luckily Jensen's reservoir is only about 5 miles out of town. Preston has even taken a turn on the tube. It was so cute, Alyssa was with him, but fell off and he ended up being by himself on the tube. The first time we went out Austin tried out our new kneeboard which has a hook on it which we thought would make it easier for him to get up on his knees--the hook holds the rope for you. However, he had a terrible time trying to stay on and we finally realized that with the way his body is proportioned, he can't hold onto the rope or else he is to front heavy on the board. The second time we went out, he tried just hanging onto the board and he had a great pull all around the lake. I am really looking forward to my family coming to visit so that we can take them out on the boat too. I can just picture tube wars with the Prete cousins like we have always done with the Doig cousins on our annual trip to Wasa Lake.

I am hoping to sit down with the kids in the next day or two and talk about summer jobs they will do each day. Summer is by far my favorite season of the year, but the challenge is not to let the lack of structure result in everyone's good habits going to pot.

Congratulations, Alyssa for nailing your Gr. 3 piano exam

Alyssa did her Royal Conservatory Gr. 3 piano exam in Lethbridge today. She has worked very hard since January preparing for this exam and I am very proud of the level of commitment she has shown and of the overall improvement in her piano skills. Her teacher, Alma Davies has been amazing and extremely dedicated to Alyssa's success, scheduling several extra practices and helping her in every way to succeed.

Alyssa's examination was amazing. I have heard her practice, (believe me) innumberable times, but listening in on the exam, I think she played all of her pieces better than in practice. I guess some people thrive under pressure and also God answers prayers. I am uploading some video of her playing at home about a week ago.

List A: Musette in D by J.S. Bach

List C: Play by Bela Bartok

Study: Study in C by Czerny

List B: Sonatina in C by Muzio Clementi

Study: Arabesque by Burgmuller

Baby Deer

Is it just me or is this hiding place rather weak?

This morning I went outside to water the flowers and I noticed something under the apple tree. At first I thought it was the orange cat that hangs around the neighborhood, but we soon realized it was a baby deer. Apparently the mother left it under the tree as her hiding place and told it to wait because even though it is now awake, and even though it has stood up a couple of times, once when being harrassed by some birds, it has stayed in that spot. I've been watching it for about 5 hours, and I'm afraid that the mother won't come back until after dark, if she comes at all, because I never see deer in the yard during the day. Hopefully the mother comes back for it, and hopefully they move on before eating all my garden!! Below is a little movie of Preston discussing the baby deer.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ROB FOR FINISHING HIS MBA!!!

Last night, Rob finished his last assignment for his last class of his MBA at the University of Phoenix. He began in the fall of 2006, but then took a break for basketball season. When we moved here in July 2007, he had completed 3 classes. These past two school years, he has taken classes pretty much back to back, and has now finished all 15 courses for this degree. I can't tell you how many nights he (and I) have been up til 12 or 1 am getting papers done before the deadline. Rob has also spent many Saturdays, reading, researching and writing, and lots of other evenings on smaller assignments, class discussion and discussion questions. So many times he has fought off exhaustion both mental and physical to find the will to push a little harder to get things done.

Rob has shown an incredible strength of character and resolve, and I admire him profoundly for it. I also admire and appreciate that through this all, Rob has managed to maintain a priority on the family as well. Papers at the University of Phoenix are always due on Mondays, but Rob has almost always still managed to make time for Family Home Evening. He has also been part of many other family activities despite his over full schedule. In the process of getting this degree, he has also greatly improved his writing skills, his understanding of many business ideas and has strengthened his already strong ability to work respectfully with team members.

Now we all need a really big rest, and then we can contemplate what the future without evening school work will be like.