RBOC - Catch Up Edition

Seems I have been a big slacker in the blogging department lately. And man, there is a lot to catch up on. I'll try to get up to date with minimal wordiness

• Recital went well. The Pie Jesu from the Rutter Requiem went smoothly in the first half, but I was more concerned about Un Bel DI, my Madame Butterfly opera piece. I actually impressed myself. I can't wait to hear the recording. And I even had gestures to go along with my emoting!
• Father's Day was the following Sunday. It was also Hubby's 40th birthday. Hubby didn't want a party, didn't want anything, blah blah blah. So . . . we had my parents and his family over for Father's Day lunch, and also to celebrate his birthday. My parents had a little surprise for him when he woke up (his nickname in undergrad was Mr Penguin, and I did this at his parents' house when he turned 21):
  

• The end of school went well for everyone, although Corwin was upset for the last couple of weeks because he loves his teacher and is going to miss her - the usual, it happens every year.
• Canada Day (July 1) was fun. Hubby and I took the kids and Beck downtown, and we wandered around the billions of people. We saw the Snowbirds do a flyover, and also two CF-18 Hornets (woo hoo!!). After dropping Beck off at another friend's, we went swimming in our neighbour's pool. Then we took the kids to my parents' place as they were leaving early the next morning for Great Wolf Lodge for a few days. Hubby and I had been invited to a Canada Day party at Weasley and CF's apartment, but since it was mid-week and Hubby had to work the next day, I went alone. It was fun, and we walked the few blocks to see the fireworks. which were amazing as usual.
• I got some stuff done over the next couple of days while the kids were away. And I also vegged and slept in - decadent!!!!
• On the Saturday, we installed the pond. Yes, pond. We gave Hubby a pond for his 40th. Since his parents sold their cottage a few years ago (long story, and much bitterness), I thought it would be nice if we made our backyard more cottage-y, and we were missing the water component. The kids thought it was a great idea because they wanted to keep the tadpole and the froglet that their classes had been watching transform. Well, Lily the froglet is now a full-fledged frog, and Pebbles is a big tadpole with legs. The digging was wicked (we had to us a pickaxe for part!), but we got it dug. It was a pond in a box kit, and it was a flexible formed pond. Never again - the flex liner that is just a big sheet would be so much easier to work with. And then we were placing the rocks. Which we collected from the construction near my parents' place. Hubby has no patience and was just sticking them randomly around. So on Sunday, the family went to Lac Philippe for a beautiful sunny day. And I stayed here and worked on boulder placement ALL day. Then I had to drain the pond and refill because I had gotten so much dirt in that it was crazy. It's looking pretty good. We got a few plants on Monday, and I will get more today. Pictures to follow. Problem is? I have decided that this is the kind of pond I really want. Maybe in a couple of years . . .
  
• On Monday I saw James Taylor at Bluesfest with Daisy. It was a great show, and a perfect night for an outdoor concert.
  

• This week was really hot and humid. And Corwin was grumpy and miserable because of it. He loves being outside, but the heat was really getting to him. On Wed, I was going to take them to the beach but it was overcast and thunderstorms were forecast. So I took them to see the awesome Kung Fu Panda. Yesterday, the humidity had broken and it was cool and beautiful in the morning. It stayed cool-ish all day, but we went to the beach and had fun anyway.

That's it in a nutshell. Time to get ready for work at the bear place. And that means getting the kids to my parents' place. Eeesh.