Rob's Graduation

Here, finally, are some pictures of Rob's graduation from the University of Phoenix. We spent 3 days in Phoenix with Rob's parents and enjoyed time with Rob's Aunt and Uncle, Hal and Shelley, and their kids. I also got to see my Aunt Betty and Uncle Delrey and two of their kids. It was super-duper hot--about 113 F or 45 C each day, and since it was monsoon season, there was a bit of a wind and lightning storm (no rain) each evening. We ate at some fun restaurants--I recommend Texas Roadhouse and Shane's Rib Shack--and stopped by the Arizona temple. The graduation festivities took all day on Friday, beginning with a campus tour, then check in at the graduation, social time and the convocation. About 1200 people graduated in Rob's ceremony and there were 2 other ceremonies the same weekend. Convocation was held at The University of Phoenix Dome which is the NFL football stadium which has a retractable roof and removeable grass. I thought they did a great job with the convocation.

We owe a huge thank you to Sherylee and Monte (Rob's sister and her husband) who let us stay in their house, eat their food and drive their car while we were there. Not only that, but they were up in Cardston taking care of our 4 kids while we were there. We love you, Kartchners!

It was pretty funny on this trip--we had a lot of pleasant teasing going back and forth, boys (Rob and his dad) against girls (me and Sheron)...true, true, true...over issues such as how far in advance we need to be at the airport, how important it is to bring water with us, whether garmin knew better than the map and any other number of silly things. It was fun, in that sense to not have many responsibilities so we could just be playful. Thank you, Granny and Grandpa Paul for coming with us on the trip. That meant a lot to us! We love you!

So now when you see Rob, and especially if you want to get a really dirty look from him, call him MASTER DOIG!

Primary Temple Activity

A few weeks ago, our ward had a big temple day. One of the events of the day was a primary activity in Cardston that was long enough to allow the parents to do a temple session. The first half of the activity was a "Temple Discovery Walk" where the kids went around in small groups to 12 stations around the outside of the temple. At each station they learned something about the Cardston temple (i.e. history, architechture, stories, etc). At the 9th station KD Wolsey took their pictures. Didn't she do a great job?!! After the discovery walk, we went to the Tanner Senior Centre for lunch and had more activities. The YM/YW and their leaders helped with the activity. I thought the whole day was a great success and hopefully will be a strong memory for the kids.

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