Treehouses, rain, blackflies and SOCKS!

My wonderful daddy donated cash to us to build the kids a tree house.  Cuyler is thrilled at the idea of building one.  We have wanted to build one for a long time now but never seemed to have the extra or when we did have the extra, something came along to eat it up.  The kids have a wonderful play structure and a trampoline so they are not suffering for lack of one but we just always wanted to build one.  Cuyler is having a blast dreaming and designing.  Unfortunately we have had nothing but rain for what seems like weeks now.  Cuyler did manage to get the start of a base last week when we had some sunny days.  Now we just sit and look out the kitchen window and dream of what it will look like when the rain stops.  The kids have big plans for sleepovers and sword fights and magic tree house rides into history.  I can't help but dream along with them....as we stare out the window at all the rain. 

Good news is we have about 4 more weeks of school left and we have been working hard while it rains.  YES!!  Piano exam is also on June 23rd so Jenna is hard at work practicing her scales and her pieces.  She wrote a theory exam and scored 91%...it is a wonderful grade and I am very proud of her.  My biggest concern is that she wrote the test in 15 minutes when she had an hour...the majority of her theory class took at least 45 minutes.  I know most people who wonder why I am concerned at such a wonderful grade.  The reason is I know Jenna is bright and learning comes easy to her...she doesn't have to work at it so often she rushes through just to get it done and makes silly mistakes.  I am concerned that she is relying on the fact that she is smart and that she doesn't have to work hard.  I don't want her to get prideful.  Life is work and we all need to work at things...even people who are bright need to esteem to better themselves and challenge themselves.  My concern is she is going to have many challenges in the future and she will have developed the wrong way at looking at achieving goals and not have a sound work ethic.  Yes I am an early worrier.  I've been pondering many things regarding parenting.  I plan to write about them soon as I journey along my parenting road.

My creative girl is always using her imagination...

Cutie Tater and his black fly war wounds

I grew up in Southern Ontario on a farm.  Let me tell you, no one could prepare me for living in the country in this neck of the woods!  No one could warn me that there are bugs here that are practically microscopic that can take a chunk out of you and leave you swollen and itchy for days!!   BLACK|FLIES are crazy where we live!!!  They don't care if its sunny or if its rainy...they just get in everywhere.  My poor little boy is so allergic to them...one bite swells up his ear and bruises his eye and well he was quite the mess for a few days from only a few bites.  Cuyler bought him a ball cap with a net on it so he can play outside. 

Gardening is dangerous when you live in this area because you can't even feel them bite you.  I come inside and blood is dripping down my face and running in my eyes.  These creatures are like flying vampires!  And the next day you itch and itch and feel miserable or at least I do because I am also allergic to them.  Jenna used to get so sick with fever when she was smaller that I used to have to keep her indoors for the whole month of May!!  She seems to be more immune to them as she gotten older.  Poor Tanner, on the other hand, still suffers from the bites.  He is so irritable and itchy for days.  Poor little guy!

I'm a tad irritated because again this year we haven't managed to get our garden ready in time to plant.  Last year the rototiller was seriously disabled and this year our garden is flooded and the ground is saturated and now the garden is over grown in weeds and grass.  You may think I'm joking but I'm serious!  Our ground is so saturated that it is filling up our septic system and at one point it was backing up into the house and overflowing into my washing machine!  I should have taken pictures but I was too busy bailing water and carrying buckets outside.  We had our septic tank emptied and the guy pumped for nearly a 1/2 hour just sucking up our ground water as it poured back into the tank!!  Afterwards Cuyler put a submersible pump and pumped water out into the creek for several days.  But our garden is still underwater and it looks like again we will have no vegetable garden this year.    Irritating!

Socks!!  *grin*

I was editing some pictures tonight and my husband asked me "Why do you have a picture of socks?"  I smirked and told him because I thought it was cute!  Yeah...yeah I know what he was thinking.  What is so cute about socks?  Well actually, it isn't the socks themselves but the way my son had arranged them on the dresser that I thought was cute. 

Daddy, Mommy, Jenna and his socks all ordered so nicely and folded by my six year old...life does have order even in the mind of a little boy.