Becket Means Business

It was my kid's first day back to school last week.  Becket decided on his own that he was going to wear a suit.  He is mayor of the school after all and I suppose he is setting the bar high.  I love that kid. He's not afraid to take a few risks now and then.



Business men talking business over French toast. Probably the only hot breakfast they'll get all year.



Crazy kids!





And we still get our bus stop in front of our house.  Our new bus driver is Larry.  Hi Larry. He's nice. Don't ya feel bad for the preschoolers who just want a taste of school life?  This is our neighbor Brooklyn in her tutu. She sure looks cute and ready for her ballet class.



And coming home.  I asked Becket if anyone mentioned anything about his suit and he said, "The boys just started clapping when I walked into class." Surprised eyebrows go up, "Yeah, they really did. I was like, okaaaay." Good man Becket.

Desk

Good news or bad news first?

Good News: Our desk got outfitted--galvanized steel.  Totally durable, totally kid proof.



Here's some different angles to orient you. Dead on looking towards the front of our house.

Walking towards our blue couch family room

Walking into our more formal living room (dining room table is just on the other side of that orange chair.

Bad news, the glass that was supposed to go on the back of our island was completed and delivered, but when it got to the cabinet shop they dropped the box cracking all four glass panels. Nooooot Surrrrprrrrised! (I'm singing this in my head if you should know) Back to the drawing board.  

They also ordered the upper cabinets too big, so when they were delivered they obviously didn't fit. Swear words. They put up some temporary ones to bring my frustration down to normal levels.  My cabinet guy owned up to everything and I'm still keeping mental tabs on things so when payment comes, we can work out a deal. 6wks to finish five things is a little much.

They also put up our stainless steel shelving on this corner, (by my tomatoes) to put the microwave on, but in two minutes I tore it down.  It looked unstable and not what I was picturing.  I ended up moving my microwave by my freezer (pictured above) and I think this new space needs some simple white staggered shelves or a piece of bright art. Maybe bright art to the left and simple shelves on the tile if it can be done.

I keep the Light Saber close by in case I want to take down anything else. (that's why it is on the counter)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO

We made one last summer ditch adventure to Colorado to meet Mat's brother's family halfway.  They are always driving 10hrs to us, so we thought we'd pick a place between us to spend the weekend. Steamboat Springs is a Park City mountain resort before the boom.  It's got hiking, biking, farmer's market, rodeo (we didn't get to), summer concerts and lots of place to play in the water wihout all the hoity toity ness.

Go cousin cheer to start the day! I started the morning in my bedroom salon braiding all of the girls hair.  It was fun to talk beauty talk.



We went hiking at Fishing Falls Creek.



Lindsay bet the kids $2 to dunk their heads in the icy cold water and everyone accepted the challenge, including her.





Becket pretending to be a Sasquatch.



We discovered a pawn shop that was closing and giving out free beanie babies!



Lucky day



We also discovered our old college friend Cory, placing 2nd in the mountain bike race over the weekend.  Random and AWESOME.  We stayed to cheer him on at the award ceremony.



We also found out we could get ice cream for $1 at the Lyons Pharmacy and have an 80's dance party at the same time. Becket and Tom are swapping dance moves and learning from each other.



Brilliant! Pretty (man made) river at the base of the mountain by the gondola.  They were smart enough to put in sand and adirondack chairs so kids could play and parents could sit back and enjoy the views.



The Farmer's market was high quality and manageable.  I don't like the HUGE ones where everyone is selling the repeated thing.  This one represented unique shops well.



The bread guy was making BANK.  I wish I could have take lessons from him.



Brother's enjoying their smoked salmon and vintage cheese.  Such connoisseurs.



On the way home we finished the trip off with a little dinosaur dig outside of Vernal.



These two having a deep conversation.  It was probably about Nutella.

Couch Hug

I got the pillows all sorted and figured out.  They are random, fun, and comfortable.  The couch is working lovely, especially when you have a lot of people to seat.  Our last couch held 3 max, this one 5-6.




It also feels like it is bringing you all into a group hug.



Completely satisfied.

Home to find...

We made it home from the Philippines and we were so tired and hapy to be home! I loved being in my own bed and I won't miss the smell of deet lotion.

It's hard when you work hard on getting your house finally functioning and then you leave.  We were a little disappointed that after 2 wks that the only thing that was finished were our handles on our pantry and desk.  They also managed to wrap our columns in the walnut and add the trim.  Funny, but I'm not surprised. If there is one thing I have learned it is not to expect anything.  We are still waiting on our desk top, island, toe kicks. and upper cupboards to be finished. You get what you get, but I am making a mental note of how long it's taking and I'm hoping to deduct it off our final price.  4wks should have been ample  time to get the rest of these mini projects done.

I am enjoying my handles immensely.  I used to have to pull from the bottom to open.



And we have wood trim across the top of the desk, we're still waiting on the metal to complete the desk.  You can see I couldn't wait any longer to move my computer up from the dungeon into a more centralized location.

Cebu to Manilla

We flew back to Cebu to Manilla on Saturday.

I find it fun that they call the bathrooms, comfort rooms



We grabbed a movie Saturday and did some back to school shopping for the kids.

I need to have a meeting with Larry H Miller about introducing flavored popcorn to the US.  Nacho, BBQ, Sour Cream and White Cheddar. Their prices are also reasonable too.



We went to church Sunday and met with the area welfare manager Benson to gather a little bit more information on our project.

Primary is bigger than ours back home.



We were surprised to find that Jarius had flown down from Cebu too.



Benson gave us his presentation about the Filipino culture.  It was very enlightening and it helped to make sense of things.



We fly home this morning and I am so excited to see my kids.  I am indebted to my mom and to those that helped out while we took this mission assignment.  Pray for no earthquakes or plane crashes.  I just want to squeeze my children.

Shangri La Beach, Cebu

Friday was a free day.  We didn't have any appointments and we wrapped up what we are going to do for our projects here. We decided to travel to the Shangri La beach with the senior couple, the Morellos.  Dr. Cymmer Go, who Mat presented for the night before, offered his driver to take us there and pick us up which is HUGE. A cab would have costed a lot.  

Iron man will take place on Sunday.  I can't imagine doing an iron man in crowded Cebu.



Even the power lines are crowded.




The beach resort was beautiful and we had the chance to snorkel.  




I sprinkled fish food right in front of Mat's face while he was snorkeling and it freaked him out so bad when all the fish came right around his mask.  He popped up and I laughed and laughed.

We had lunch and Sister Morrello ordered Buco-a young coconut.  They like to drink the water -it's a little bitter, but they believe it is so good for you.









You also eat the young coconut meat too! They make a yummy Buco pie that is off the charts.



We're all a little bit fried--I can see why they call us white people here in the Philippines the Pinks over here. 



Right at 4PM when we packing up to leave a very ominous rain storm rolled in and drenched the place.  We only got sprinkled upon on our walk up to the hotel. You can see it stirring in the background. Good timing! 



I managed to grab a pack of M&Ms while we were waiting for our driver.   The chocolate here is definitely engineered here to fit the taste of the locals.  The M&Ms had more cocoa and butter in them and less of a milky melt in your mouth feel. Traffic was extremely heavy and with no way to contact our driver, we were picked up an hr later.  Very grateful he showed up.  He didn't speak a lick of English, but said he "Traffic" when we got into the van. 

Cebu, Philippines

I am finding enough to eat in the Philippines, better than I thought.  The UofU like to scare you I believe. They tell you not to trust anything! No raw fruits or vegetables, no water unless bottled from a recognizable source. Bug spray twice a day with 25% deet and spray clothes with permethrin.   I think it's just when we're out in the poor areas not to trust the veggies, but at the hotel it's been fine.  I think they have to accommodate to westerners. Although, I just learned that one of the other sisters that we're traveling with was up all night puking--so there you go. Maybe I should be more careful. We went to a buffet last night with lots to choose from--squid to halla halla (Filippino dessert- contains lots of jellied stuff they love it here). Today, I was able to enjoy a kit kat milkshake for lunch.  That was the only thing we had time to grab and it actually tasted quite good. 

Today we are headed to the poorer part of Manila to do screenings like I mentioned before (clubbed feet, cleft pallets, and cataract). It is mostly children who we are suffering which makes me so happy to help and it gives them a fair fight. These children then get to come and stay in a house provided by high Deseret through donations. The head of the house is Terry, and she provides meals for the children before and after their surgeries. Sweet  smilie lady, standing about 4ft11".  Truly one of those saintly people. Not only is she always have a happy look on her face, she helps the people with a faithful heart.  Yesterday, she traveled a total of 11 hrs and saw over a 100 people at another clinic and still made time to come with us to the church. She's amazing.

 We traveled for about an 1 1/2hr to get to the church where they were holding a clinic.  Both bishops and the stake president, and two sets of missionaries were able to come to help set up chairs and answer any questions.   

Here is the waiting room in the LDS church gym

We were able to do some screenings.  Mat's job was to examine them and then send them to my room where I would write on the chalkboard and take their picture for surgery if they were accepted.  

This is Ellen taking a picture after I write their surgery information on the chalkboard. It's a good way to remember who goes with what in case their information is lost.

You would not believe the ages of these people.  You pretty much have to look at them and then add 15yrs.  There is no possible way to tell their age. 

Downtown Manila

 

We then took the 2hr ride back to the airport, 1 1/2 plane ride to Cebu, and then another 45 mins to the hotel.   Good thing we had these specialty nuts given to us from Terry during all of our travels to keep us fed.  I told you she was saintly.

When we got to our hotel, turns out the travel department forgot to book it. Minor detail. We were stranded for a bit at the airport, but then we were able to find a hotel slash casino that had three rooms for three nights. At first, Mat and I were given a room with two TWIN beds. We quickly asked for a king. Mat would not fit in an Asian twin. 

Today we went to the local hospital Vicente Soto. We met with Dr Cymmer Go who reminded me of Robin Williams in that movie Patch Adams. A true humanitarian with a vision. He showed us around the clinic and then told us his intentions on how he plans to expand his charity work. 

Our job (my job) was to write down the needs and possible future projects and equipment. For example, this doctor needs equipment that is mobile so he can go to the surrounding areas with his residents to help the needy. He wants to preform surgeries in the back of his van. This way people don't have to spend all they have to travel to him. The church board would then review it and then approve it if it is within the budget. That basically sums it up. We determined Manila was stable. They could use a few pieces of equipment that are portable and we'll see if we have enough left over to provide Dr Cymmer with a traveling faco machine, but they are expensive.

4mth Baby with cleft pallet all the way up to her eye. She will have suregery when she is 6mths.

Unstable Man getting on a scooter just after getting released from the hospital.

We had a chance to visit the Cebu temple.

This is what it looks like from our hotel window.

We did go to lunch with the full time humanitarian missionary who works for the church, Jarus. He took us to a traditional Filippino restaurant, which included oysters, tuna belly, and lots of mango shakes. 

The waitress carries rice in this big drum and serves it to you right on a banana leaf that serves as your plate.

Traditional soup.  All the meals you order are served family style.

He was telling us that when he was a kid he grew up right in this area. This lady owned a shop where she kept alligators and snakes. She would pay the local neighbor kids to catch cats and bring then to her for food for her animals. He said he got paid five pesos (12cents) for each cat. 

He was also telling us when the earthquake hit and the typhoon. His wife was scared because he had to leave her to go help find the list of lost missionaries. He went down to Tacloban (Brian's mission) on his motorcycle and one by one found the missionaries in the local chapels and members homes. Crazy to hear him tell about the miracles. He said a bishop who is a contractor was working on a roof was nailing a 2x4 when the typhoon hit and fell off his ladder. His partner down below saw a beam of light catch his fall and bounce him back up onto the ladder. I believe it. 

Mat presented Thursday night and it went well.  They were having a big Thanksgiving dinner for the residents that passed their boards.  Thanksgiving dinner to the Filipinos is cooking a full size pig.  The best part for them, the crunchy skin.  I managed to squeak past it in the buffet line, but when Dr. Patty came back to the table, she noticed I didn't have any on my plate (darn), so she kindly went back and got me a heaping helping of it, lots of crunchy skin and all.  Lovely. I graciously tried some with quiet Oooooos and Mmmmms and then stealthily slid it to Mat's plate where he ate it for me.  She was probably disappointed I didn't clean and lick my plate, but the little oinker didn't do anything for me (and yes, I have tried other meats around here, but pork is not my favorite).

As far as the presentation goes, the residents were respectful and quiet when he was talking about his plastic surgery tips. However, when the Doctor from Manilla presented, the residents talked all through hers.  I felt it was rather rude and the school teacher in me was trying to hold back from shushing them all. So either the residents interested in Mat's presentation or they were just being respectful OR they just had heard the other Docs presentation all too many times. It was dry eye, which I even knew already.

Notice the banner they had made only after a couple of hours of knowing Mat was invited to speak.

Funny culture note: it is believed by the Filipinos that when you are expecting a child if you pinch a white man's cheek, you will have a light skinned baby. They also avoid touching crabs (they don't want their babies to have pinchers) and squid (they don't want their child to have dark skin from the ink of the squid) when they are pregnant.