Thanksgiving

Eagle project done and paperwork turned in at the last hour. No room for error, so let's hope we did it right.

...and just in time to enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend. (Weston's birthday was ON Thanksgiving Day this year -- so shout out to the middle child who had to share his birthday with a turkey!)

Thanksgiving brought some of Lana's family to town, and the marvelous feast was enjoyed at Eric & Tiffany's (thanks guys!) I vote we have it there EVERY year!
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There's nothin' like sitting around with a full belly, watching football, ignoring the kids and letting everyone else clean up. Speaking for myself -- that really isn't too far from the truth (I did look at the kids a time or two.) Thanks again everyone!
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Trevor made the trip down from school for the weekend and made the most of his time. We didn't see a whole lot of him (out with friends,) and he didn't get much sleep. We are thankful he came down.

Then there were the weekend activities:

Swimming,

Where's Waldo (at the mall,)

Roasting

mallows,

Muddy buddies,

Laser tag,

...and some interesting activities that defy description...

Cuttin' and Diggin'

Finally started on Weston's Eagle project (building some storage benches for an orphanage in town.) We have been collecting material donations from home improvement stores over the last few weeks (Thank you Home Depot!) and finally got to cutting on Saturday. Not much time left (3 weeks to his 18th birthday) -- cutting it close yuh think? We didn't get much cutting done before Weston had to leave for another state band festival.
While Weston and company were earning another "Superior with Distinction" at Glendale Community College, Bridget and I made a visit to one of my company's job sites in Phoenix which happened to be an ancient Native American burial site (don't know how old.) The Archeology Department has finished digging / extracting / studying the items they were interested in (the remains of a couple hundred bodies) and released the site for development. So Bridget and I went out with a shovel, pick and dirt sifter to see what remnants we might find. We were hoping to discover the ultimate find -- a skull -- but no such luck. Our dusty hour only produced a pile of pottery fragments and one BONE. Actually several bones, but most were obviously from a horse or cow (ball & socket joints too big to be human.) But there was this one (see photo) found away from the others. I don't think it's human either (maybe a recent dog or cat.) Any of you medical folks (or vets) out there recognize it? Maybe while grading the site, more interesting things will surface.

Ecuador

My brother Alan, my friend Pilar and I took a trip to Ecuador Oct 10 thru Oct 26.

Alan speaks great Spanish having served two years in the Toronto Spanish mission. Pilar is my mission friend from Portoviejo. She was a member in the sector I was serving in...called La Paz. She now lives only 20 minutes or so east of me here in Mesa. She and I were roomates @BYU as she was sponsered to come to the US by a family friend of mine. She has since married and lives in the US. We have been friends for 25 years.

It is hard to put into words the experience, but I'll try. (The photos will do a better job)

No hot water

No water for days at a time, bathed from buckets of saved water

Electricity comes and goes

Fish eyeballs
Chicken Feet

Blood filled intestines

Had three close driving encounters/ Me at the wheel/dark/one way streets/ taxis everywhere /buses /bikes /carts /honking horns /...I have driven admidst chaos and lived.

Killed a chicken in the kitchen (Alan spun it around by the neck until the head fell off) That's how you do the pheasants he said.

Boiled water for drinking

Wonderful hospitable families and friends

Delicious food to choose from

(I truly mean it !)

Homes of cement and tin

Homes of cane and tin

Fruits like the Garden of Eden

Traveled from the North Ibarra (above Quito) and to the South of Bahia de Caracas. If you look at a map.

Didn't make it to Guayaquil the road had been washed out due to heavy rains.

3 members remebered my missionary name Hermana Kerbs.

Alan slept with bats (in the roof) that dropped their fruit pits near his bed.

Met some Otavalan members while bargaining @ the Otavalo market.

Take your toilet paper with you. You pay for it @ public restrooms.

Fun

Laughter

Bridget takes Silver

Friday, October 24th: Bridget and her partner, America Hansen, took home the Doubles Silver Medal in the 2008 Freshman City Tennis Tournament,-- only losing in the final match (8-5) to a team they had beaten just the week before in regular league play.

It was a fun day of the kind of tournament competition excitement that Bridget hadn't experienced before. Said she, "it was intense."

She will now set her sights on something "track" related -- not basketball as she previously thought.

Three Scenes on a Saturday

Three Scenes on a Saturday.

SCENE 1-A:
On Saturday morning after visiting a few Home Depots and Lowes for donations to Weston's Eagle project, we came home to carry on with the rest of the day. I went upstairs to change into my outdoor work clothes and immediately started coughing, uncontrollably coughing, borderline choking. I could tell something was in the air, and thought maybe Bridget sprayed Tilex in the shower (can be quite strong when not properly ventilated,) but came to find out that she accidentally released a shot of pepper spray in the bathroom (from a cannister of Grizzly-repellent left over from our trip to Yellowstone a few years back that I have in one of my vanity drawers .) I opened the windows, turned on the fans to air out the room then went outside to tend to my yard duties.

To be continued...

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SCENE 2:

I was preparing to vacuum the pool and pulled up the bottom-crawling pool sweeper to get it out of the way. When I pulled it out of the water, 'something' plopped back into the water and SWAM TO THE OTHER SIDE! I didn't recognize what it was -- about the size of a small mouse, it looked like an alien critter propelling its way through the water! What the heck is it? (picture the Billy Crystal-Steve Martin skit from SNL) What the HECK is it? Once it stopped swimming, I realized that it was a crawfish/ crawdad/ crayfish (whichever you call it in your neck of the woods.) A very strange find to say the least. Can't 'splain how it got there, but he/she/it became our newest pet. Bridget named it Burt, I called it "What-the."

SCENE 1-B:

Fast forward a couple hours and it's time to clean up for Weston's marching band festival and competition at ASU. There is still a "spicy" scent in my room, but seems bearable enough to shower and get ready. It wasn't until I was drying off after the shower that I noticed a red residue all over a certain part of the bathroom. I was a little concerned when I realized that it was on my twin blade razor (that I had just used to dry-shave my neck,) the bar soap that I had taken into the shower AND THE TOWEL THAT I WAS CURRENTLY RUBBING ALL OVER MY BODY!!! Bridget's shot of potent pepper did not evaporate into the air -- it was a waiting napalm nightmare and my eyes grew large as, almost instantly, little fiery sensations -- especially in the sensative areas (lips, nips and well - you get the picture) -- grew quickly into raging infernos of excruciating pain. Within seconds I was trying to put out the invisible flames with Solarcaine in one hand and Lanacane in the other. FYI, neither work! I soon found myself laying on the bed, writhing in pain, with ice cubes and ice packs balanced and tucked for what seemed like an hour, but was probably more like 15 minutes (you lose all sense of time when panic sets in.) It finally calmed enough that I could carefully get dressed and head to Weston's band competition. Pardon my French, but Holy Crap!

SCENE 3:

ASU sponsors an annual marching band festival and competition -- an all day event where 30-40 bands from across the state perform and compete.
Weston plays trumpet in the Mountain View High School Toro Marching Band -- a Division 1, 120 member band (Division 1 = large bands, 100+ members.) It was a GREAT day for Weston and company. They received the highest possible rating "Superior with Distinction" and awards in all subcategories (i.e. percussion, visual, musical, etc.) during the first session. Then in competition they earned the highest score in their division, received the Robert "Coach" Fleming Outstanding Band Trophy, and took 1st Place overall. As their name was read, I stood to clap amid all the chearing and hugging with a tear in my eye -- but I'm not sure if it was because I was so proud of my son, or because the pepper spray from the carpet had finally soaked into the souls of my feet which were now on gosh dang FIRE !!!

Great job Weston! I'm proud of you.

Their program (almost 9-minutes long) can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/mvhstoroband
The recording isn't great (so much better live of course,) but you can get a feel for the difficulty of their marching formations which I'm sure factored into the judges decisions. And don't forget, this is highschool -- not college or drum corps. I could barely play chopsticks without falling off the piano bench back in high school.

...oh, by the way -- we set Burt free in a local canal yesterday.

Painfully and Proudly narrated by Rob.

Lana is still in Ecuador with her brother Alan, and best friend Pilar. They will return this coming Saturday and, by the sounds of their e-mails, will have stories to tell.

Stay tuned.

Homecoming

Trevor surprised Weston by sneaking into town and showing up at the Homecoming game this past weekend. It was fun to see them playing their trumpets and enjoying the band-stand scene together.

Go Toros !

In between sessions of conference, we also got some used car shopping in -- but found nothing acceptable within the budget, so he's back up at school walking and bumming rides.

...and as you might be able to see, Weston is giving contact lenses another try.

Lana's progress

I shall type my first post on the Rob Orme Blog. I am slowly getting into the groove. Now I am without anything to say!

Fresh-men

Trevor - BYU Freshman Year 2006
STUDENTS of Provo

Posted here for Trevor and friends to enjoy since the video file is too big to e-mail. ...so y'all get to watch.

So Bridget, without any experience or knowledge of the sport of tennis, figures she would try-out for the Freshman team. I practiced with her a couple times before try-outs and thought to myself -- at least the try-out process would be a good experience for her. Trevor did the exact same thing, the exact same year of school (try out just for the fun of it,) but he could at least hit the ball back over the net. I know that sounds mean, but just wait...

Try-outs were a week-and-a-half long and Bridget made the squad by sheer determination and upside potential. I practiced with her this past Saturday, after she had been practicing with the team for a couple weeks, and WOW what an improvement.

She had her second match today. Won her first singles and doubles match on Monday and won her singles, but lost the doubles today. Check out the Escalade Limo "school bus" they took to and from the game today.


Must be nice, eh?

This is Bridget hijacking the blog. Yes, the limo was fun. The boys' tennis team said it was sexist that we got the limo and they had to take the cheap van. Oh, and my dad isn't that great either!!

HA!

Hey people. I have not abondoned my father! I'm blogging rightnow, aren't I?? YES I am! - Bridget. he he...

Back to School

I guess I’ve been left the lone blogger in the family. Bridget, who helped me set this thing up has abandoned me (too busy with her own facebook, school, etc.) Weston couldn’t care less about this kind of thing, Trevor hasn’t caught on yet and Lana doesn’t know how -- and doesn’t seem to want to learn (Eric and Tiffany talk to her won’t you?) So here I sit at the office during lunch, just finished a Taco Bell ranchero chicken soft taco, catching up on all of your blogs and breathing a big SIGH because summer is over and it’s time to focus on the daily mundanity, mundanassity? (mundane-ness) of life (school and work) pleasantly sprinkled with moments of oddity, intrigue, challenge and excitement.

Thanks to everyone who visited us over the summer, and those who allowed us to visit them! OUR lovely time of year is coming up, so any of you in cooler (freakin' cold) climates who want to warm up during the winter a little later -- come on down! I understand Jenny and Tyson are moving this way – woohoo, more family in the ‘hood.

Trevor has been slowly coming down off his mission high -- at times feeling lost, bored and overwhelmed at the decisions he will have to consider over the next few years of his life. Going to the gym to get back in shape and meeting up with old friends has helped the transition -- he'll be JUST fine! He has had an Italian friend visiting for the past week. They’ve been having fun riding motorcycles, cliff jumping, site seeing, shopping and dating the pretty ‘American’ girls we have around here. Trevor heads up to school in a couple weeks.

Weston is in full swing with band practice every morning and the occasional evening under the lights as they prepare for the start of football season -- or more appropriately referred to as “marching band season” as they look forward to their festivals, competitions and trip to a Florida bowl parade (which Weston thinks he will forego since some of his friends can't go.) He is keeping his part time job at Little Ceasars for the time being. This Sr. school year will be a test of his time management skills. School, band, job, YM, the occasional date and getting his Eagle project done before November will keep him busy.

Bridget is the quintessential teenage female (I’m so glad we didn’t start out with a girl!) My stomach is in knots just watching her get ready for the day each morning! What an ORDEAL! She had a great time at EFY in Provo, made some long distance friends and looks forward to next year. She is cooling down on the ballroom dancing for now and warming up to the guitar. She is also going to try out for the tennis team just for the fun of it. She doesn’t really know how to play, but that shouldn’t matter should it?

Lana will be the favorite substitute teacher of thousands of kids this school year (or the bane of their existence if they get out of line.) BREAKING NEWS 19.Aug.08: Looks like she has been talked into taking on a full-time kindergarten class. I would have thought she has enough of my infantile and childish behavior at home to deal with, but I guess not. Now back to the update in progress... She is excited about an upcoming trip back to her mission homeland of Ecuador with her best friend Pilar (who is from Ecuador, but living here) and Lana’s brother, Alan. That will be a fun October getaway for them. Lana last visited there with her youngest sister 14 years ago, and can’t wait to get back and see familiar places and hopefully familiar faces.

As for me – I’ve had more than my share of fun for the year and need to get back to the grind stone to pay for it! …but no tears for me please – I’ll be having fun along the way. Thanks for the call the other day Tobey, was nice chatting with you. Yes, we'll have to hold off on our joint business venture another year or two until timing and opportunity come into alignment -- we still need to work on getting your dad on board though!

Y’all enjoying the Olympics?

Go USA ! …and Italy …and Japan …and Ecuador ...and Germany and France (for our good friends there)

Anyone else we should we be rooting for?

ItAusGermaFranaly

A sampling from the 4-hour slide show of Trevor and Rob's European road trip. ...sorry 'bout the cheesy music.

Together again

Together again.

(quick trip report and a picture or twelve forthcoming)

In a Land of Enchantment

Trevor and I are in Fussen, Germany right now (on the border with Austria.) Having an awsome trip so far. Trevor looks great and had a great mission. He is anxious to get home, but kind enough to humor me while I look around this most interesting part of the world. We went to each of his areas and visited with many of his peeps. Everyone has glowing things to say about him -- makes a parent proud. We also looked up an old Italian friend of my Dad´s from when he was stationed in the Napoli area during WWII. The gentleman has passed away, but we met with his wife and some of the kids who (with tears in their eyes) remember my dad, his friendship and generous help to them during such difficult times. We have had some great experiences, met tremendously interesting people and seen some wonderful, beautiful and amazing places.

Beware anyone who might consider visiting us anytime soon -- you may be subjected to a 4-hour slide show (an estimate for sure, times may vary.) ...will post just a few after we get home.

Rob

Summer is here in full force with a string of temps over 110 -- but that's life in the desert.

Since we last 'spoke' the kids have finished the school year and are glad to see another year of their schooling career GONE (remember those days?) Bridget's math teacher had a traumatic experience that inflicted her life with depression toward the end of the school year. Bridget sprang into action with some comforting acts of kindness including a fun project which had us looking for 'peace-sign' magnets on the internet (not something you can pick up at the corner market.) This teacher, a self-proclaimed hippie, once said that she would like to cover her van (mini -- not VW) with 'peace-sign' magnets so that everyone would think of peace when she drove by. Bridget was able to acquire between 30-40 peace magnets including a 2 ft. diameter monster magnet for the hood. On the last day of school, we all helped Bridget "peace attack" her teacher's car (in the rain.) It was a fun to do, but even funner to watch the smile on the teacher's face (from a covert location) when she saw her van -- the biggest smile I have ever seen. We have a peace magnet on our fridge to remember it by. Bridget will be going to EFY (BYU-Provo)at the end of July.

Weston has just started a job at Little Ceasars Pizza. We have a favorite family pizza place (Barro's for those of you who have been here,) but Weston has always preferred Little Ceasar's. So now he can have as much of his favorite as he can stand. He just started, so I don't have any embarassing photos of him working yet -- I have some from his Peter Piper Pizza days if you would like to see those! After much deliberation, he has decided to return to the marching band for his Sr. year (trumpet.) They will be marching in the Florida Gator Bowl parade in January.

Lana is in the middle of going through, and trying to organize, boxes of memories (photos, love letters between her parents, etc.) She taught part time as a reading specialist this past school year, but is getting calls again for full-time positions. She really enjoyed the part-time schedule, but is considering the offers. She got an i-pod for Mother's Day and can often be found sitting in a comfy chair, with eyes closed, tracing the movement of tunes in the air with her hand.

I have been busy with work (of course) and a couple home improvement projects. The most recent include canopies between the beams over the front entry for much needed shade, and rebuilding and tiling the juliet balconies in front of Weston and Bridget's bedroom windows which have been an eye-sore ever since moving in. Before and After pics shown. If any of you ask which is the before and after -- I will find you and hurt you! Only 139 more home improvement projects to go.

..and I get to, selfishly, go get Trevor and do a European road trip with him (after his tour of duty ends, but before his "release," so I will be his companion for a couple weeks.) We WERE going to wait until he got home and released then all return as a family, but I started making arrangements, added up the numbers and said -- HHyyaah RIGHT! So we whittled it down to Lana and I going to pick him up BEFORE he returns home, and then Lana whittled it down further. I leave Thursday. Trevor and I will get to see much of Italy and visit some of our past exchange students in Germany and France.

Trevor's homecoming talk will be July 27th for any who feel the need to travel to the desert at the worst possible time of year. After a short time at home, he will return to BYU-Provo (Fall) and be looking into changing his focus from business to Political Science and Italian. He will be staying with some friends at the Liberty Square Apts.

'Til next time...

Two Weeks?

Hey - We've reached a blogging milestone! We have been blogging long enough now that our very first post has dropped off the bottom of the page. Woohooooo - rookies no more! ...oops, this will probably knock off another one -- oh well, life goes on.

The letters are starting to come in from Trevor's Mission Pres. (first to our Bishop and then to us) announcing the final stages of his mission and reminding us that Trevor may need a transitionary environment in which to land softly from his spiritual high -- so I guess we'll have to clean up our language, cancel cable, only smoke outside, replace the Sports Illustrated and Hot Rod display mags with the Ensign and Friend, hide the booze and keep our wild rock-n-roll music confined to our earbuds. Think two weeks will be long enough?

Rob

Nothing exciting.

Nothing exciting is happening over here right now. We are just happy that school is almost over. Then we'll have plenty to talk about -- sleeping in, laying around playing video games, complaining about being bored, swimming, eating otter pops (or as Dad calls them "otter poops.")
Happy Mother's Day to 'yall!

It's project time at our house. The weather's warm and the to-do list is long.

Scenes from the first 2/3

Some pictures of Trevor's mission thus far...

Bridget is still ball-roomin', but ready to replace it with ballet for a while at the recommendation of the BYU traveling ballroom dance troupe Director (or something like that.)

Temperatures Rising

Orange blossoms bloomin'
Spring's pert-near complete
The Pool is a-glistenin' --
BRING ON THE HEAT !

Here are my results...