What a month! So many wonderful little moments and memories to report on! Each month when I sit down and look over the last 30 days of pictures and memories, I feel full of gratitude for all of the wonderful times we've shared. Sometimes I look back and feel overwhelmed with a challenge- but even that is a good experience because it allows me to reflect and think about my life. I sometimes wonder if I should quit journaling quite so intensively; my kids surely won't care about all of these little daily details....but I know I do it for me more than anyone else-- it is an awesome experience to write about your life and your family and definitely a lot of work, but never a waste of time.
Ok... on to a recap of the month! One highlight was certainly Anna's baptism which had been postponed since April!!!! Finally the day came and it was sweet, though different from all of my other children. Along with our family--- Grammy and Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Troy and Aunt Stacy were the only people in attendance. We were masked and weren't able to sing any songs or hear Evelyn sing her musical number. But we were able to listen to Dane and Grant give their sweet talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost. I played a piano solo- Baptism. Grandma and Grammy said the opening and closing prayers. Blake confirmed Anna and as always- brought the spirit so strong. Though the numbers were small and the setting was a little stiff.... it was a special day in every way. Anna opened up a comforter from Grammy and Papa and talked about the Holy Ghost and the many ways she would be comforted by this gift she would receive on her baptism day. She opened a new set of scriptures and carrying case from Grandma and Grandpa and has opened them up each and every night this week to study. I adore our little Anna and felt so grateful for her and the wonderful person she is. Especially on her baptism day, I was full of joy thinking about her and the bond she has with Heavenly Father. Special day!
Another highlight included our visit from Grammy and Papa. We loved very much having them in town to play games with... golf, pickle ball and phase 10. We loved eating dinners together, watching movies, chatting and laughing, riding bikes around Mission Bay, watching soccer practices, having Mom here to help with homecoming cheesecakes and sewing halloween costumes. Loved every minute of their visit and wished it could've lasted longer.
We enjoyed a trip with our BYU friends out to Lake Mead one last time before retiring the boat for the winter. LOVED how warm and perfect the weather was and spending good quality time with our friends. Evelyn joined us this time and it was a blast to have her there with us. There are few things as fun as a full day of boating and then a twilight trip around the lake before docking to enjoy a yummy dinner with all your buddies afterwards at 8:30 pm at night! What a trip!
Our annual Halloween ding dong ditch with Grandma was as fun as ever. So grateful for this yearly tradition that Grandma puts together. She always comes up with a cute little treat for the kids to create and then they each get to pick one friend to ding dong ditch. A new feature we started last year added a lot of extra pizazz to the process.... masks. Unfortunately, as the years have gone by, we've lost a few kids due to lack of coolness factor. First Evelyn became too cool to join and this year, Dane. BOOO! Can't imagine why an 8th grader wouldn't want to wear a mask around town running around with his Mom and Grandma to various homes? Haha.
Evelyn attended homecoming put on by a few moms in our stake. Of course it wasn't a church sponsored activity but it was a wonderful evening for many youth who miss friends and school and social events. Dinner at the Jorgensons and a dance at the Tollestrups. Evelyn picked a beautiful navy dress and was asked to go by her friend, Cooper Bullick. She was a few weeks shy of 16 and got a little bit of flack for that, but it was all worth it in the end as the night was about as fun as could be. I enjoyed hosting the picture portion of the evening in my backyard with all of the youth-- loved seeing their cute outfits and the happiness on their faces! I loved helping my friend Elizabeth with the table decor and decorating 8 cheesecakes for dessert! Thankfully Mom is here to help. My friend Mindy (Cooper's mom) helped me out by making the corsage and boutonnière. They turned out beautiful. So proud of Ev for stepping out of her comfort zone lately to attend a few social events-- an evening with the missionaries at church, a surprise birthday party for a friend from church, etc. She typically avoids these situations, but has done a good job lately with mixing in and taking risks. She's loved all of the Halloween festivities this month- especially the drive through Scream Zone with Emma and Caylie.
Halloween was celebrated just the right amount this year in Covid times. Typically I feel we've celebrated a little TOO much! There's a boogie bash at school, a party in the classroom, Blake's PQ carnival her sponsors, trunk or treat at church, local carnivals and haunted houses, etc. etc. This year, there was much less to choose from. Sure, we made our ghost suckers with the Douds and candy corn trees with the Judds. And the night before Halloween, I hosted a small gathering of friends in our backyard for chili, donuts, "what's in the box?" and thriller line dance. We ended the night with a costume parade and prizes and then a scavenger hunt for the kids. It was so much fun and we loved every minute. On Halloween night, we enjoyed soups and candy and rooter at our friends house and then walked around the neighborhood to pick up a few loot bags from neighbors. We saw hardly a single trick or treater and we didn't really knock houses- just waved and enjoyed people's spooky yards from a distance. Actually the kids scored with so much candy left out for trick or treaters on tables near the sidewalk. And Anna and I enjoyed coming up with two entirely different costumes-- one night we matched as mummies. (Thanks to Grammy for making our costumes) and the next night, Anna was a newsie and I was the Boogie Man from Nightmare before Christmas. Oh- and check out Blake and the office girls' Tiger King and Carole Baskin costumes! HA!
Let's see... in other news, we've really been enjoying our little kitten Ruby and have loved watching she and Louie get to know one another. We've entertained ourselves watching Ruby with a haunted kitty house, and playing with yarn balls. She is a hoot. Evelyn and I tried a few days of a green smoothie cleanse. We discovered neither of us have the discipline for that sort of thing. Ev, Anna and I loved decorating for Halloween with skeletons galore. Next year, I think I'll try skeletons in the pool as my friend Amber suggested! I've really loosened up as a parent throughout this whole Covid thing. I've allowed the kids to have friends sleep over on school nights, stay up till 10pm! Dane often has his phone with him during the academic day, a situation that I am now having to step in and fix as his grades are not as great as they should be.... ugh. He is really into his friends and he claims that having his phone there to text and correspond with his buddies during his virtual school day has made the daily boring grind of virtual learning a little more bearable. I bought this act hook line and sinker. I do feel bad for him . Dane is growing up before my eyes and he is incredibly social. He has among other friends- four buddies that he plays tennis with and that he hangs out with on weekends. Their current obsession is watching scary movies! Last weekend they stayed up all actual night watching one scary movie after another. Love that these buddies plan trips to Sea World, swimming, biking and camping. They really are an awesome group of kids. But back to my poor parenting skills and depleted motivation..... Anna barely does her morning school at times- especially when she is with her friend, Mary. They choose to build forts instead- ha! Evelyn I keep very little track of but feel so proud that she does so well in school of her own accord- at her teacher conference last week the academic advisor said that her meeting was more of a celebration than a counsel. She praised Evelyn for her hard work. I love reading Ev's English assignments and seeing her science projects come together. She is a very independent and awesome student who reads constantly! Phew! One child I don't have to monitor so closely-- academically speaking!
I actually became teary eyed when Grant and Anna returned to school on October 12th. They are in school from 11:30- 2:00 so it's a pretty short day and yet it's everything. To me and to them. On the first day of school, we loved seeing the teacher's safety gear and all of the adorable signs that the kids had made and hung on the fence. The cheerleaders from Poway High were there to cheer the kids on. I couldn't believe how much I had missed having the kids in school! Being in charge of their education is no small thing and it was a pretty amazing feeling to send them off- if only for a few hours a day. The kids have LOVED going back to school. It's been such a blessing and for who knows how long with the Covid numbers increasing daily.
Whilst the kids have been back to school, I've enjoyed a few moments to myself! I resumed hiking with friends, reading a little, birthday breakfasts and chatting on the phone with my mom and sis. My birthday festivities lasted clear into October this year in that I forced my friends to attend the scream zone with me after a lovely Mexican dinner. It was hands down one of my favorite birthdays ever! Turns out I'm the only one who really likes that sort of thing-- really.... the ONLY one of my friends who likes to be truly terrified! Ha! Loved celebrating Elizabeth's birthday with a sunset hike up to Table Rock and Dallas's birthday at Yesendas. Though we haven't spent as much time with friends during Covid as is typical- it's always so much fun when we do have that chance to do so.
Well.... I think I've covered it all. Another busy full month of all sorts of events and activities and various milestones.... first dates, last child to be baptized for the Marston family.... life moves fast. And I'm so grateful for all of the ups and downs and everything in between.
