It's officially fall and you would definitely notice that fact around the Marston home. There are pumpkins EVERYWHERE! In fact, some might say I need an "intervention" when it comes to buying pumpkins. Maybe at my funeral some will say: I always remember her loving pumpkins. It will be my legacy-haha.
But yes, this month has brought plenty of pumpkin decorations and plenty of pumpkin baking. But there are also other highlights! For instance, homecoming for Evelyn and Dane. Evelyn went with our neighbor, Dylan and of course best friend Emma. They attended the church homecoming at the Family Fun Center near Mission beach. Dane attended Poway High's at the Air and Space Museum down at Balboa Park. Dinner for both kids was served here in our backyard and we enjoyed hosting the group and sending them off in a big party bus- taken care of by the Neals who dressed as chauffeurs! Dane asked his friend Annalise to create a Marvel homecoming poster so that he could ask his friend Kennedy to homecoming, but sadly it was not to be as we couldn't get the ticket for a student outside of Poway High in the allotted time. That's ok- he still had a great time and he's planning to attend Westview's homecoming next week so I guess it all worked out.
Other highlights for the month included a huge neighborhood block party in our backyard! We had over 100 people in attendance and loved meeting our neighbors and getting to know their kiddos. Probably one of the coolest things we've ever done! Thanks to Ross and Barbara who thought of it and bought all the hamburgers! We only hosted it in our backyard- everyone brought sides. It was super easy and truly a very fun event. Wish we had thought of it sooner.
centerpieces for the tables!
Speaking of cool events.... Ashley's bridal shower happened and it was seriously so much fun. Games by Sameen included "how well do you know the bride" and "wedding dress creation". Yummy barbecue chicken salad (my standard fare) and all sorts of appetizers and bundt cakes for dessert made for a delicious spread. The decor was Ashley's wedding decor- pompass grass. So pretty! I had never thought to decorate with it before but it added such a pretty element to the tables. Jess came early and helped me rearrange my outdoor furniture so that there would be extra seating. It worked out great. Loved celebrating Ashley and spending the evening with so many old friends. She was thrilled to open her gift from our big group-- all sorts of camping gear because all of our families have gone camping together throughout the years and so it seemed very fitting! Great night.
If you're thinking we've hosted quite a few backyard parties this month, you wouldn't be wrong! HA! I left my folding tables up for the entire month because I knew we had a lot to look forward to! I don't want to brag, but Blake and I are getting quite good at hosting little dinner/lunch parties out back. We don't change the menu up very much but no one seems to mind. We almost always have a backyard full of kids and teens on Friday nights before the football games. They swim, eat hamburgers and then walk over. It's really fun. And there have been so many amazing things to celebrate this month! Rachel's birthday, Dorothy's 40th, and let's not forget MY birthday! Life is short, why not have the time of your life when your birthday comes around! I think that might be another comment one might hear at my funeral.... she sure did love her birthday. Haha.
My birthday started with a hike around Lake Poway with Amy... then off to pickle ball with Helen, Sara and Michelle where I opened my new amazing pickle ball paddle which I LOVE. Afterwards, lunch at Elizabeth's where I was spoiled by my friends- especially Elizabeth Jorgenson who surprised me by giving me her little boxes that she had bought for Kinley's wedding 3 years ago! I always borrow those from her and I love them to pieces so she decided to give them to me!!!!! It was so so incredibly sweet! The whole day was. Loved opening an amazing gift full of all of my favorite things that J had sent, a sweet letter from mom and dad, reading messages from friends and family. I had celebrated with Blake and the kids the Sunday before because we knew the afternoon of my birthday would be filled with lots of kids' activities. The only request I had of my family was that we play pickle ball together. Blake made dinner and had a beautiful cake and flowers for me, the kids wrote notes. It was a great day. And then I can't leave out the amazing birthday party that Sameen threw for me- a soda tasting party! It was seriously so fun with all my favorite candies, Mexican food and chips/queso from Miguels. Games, Jessica's delicious pumpkin bars (my favs) and a banner with all of my past celebrity crushes- of course Elder Uchdorf made the cut! Haha. It was truly such a fun night.
But enough about me... let's talk about the kids! Grant won an award at school for being responsible in charging his chrome book every night, working on his homework during ram and staying on task in class. He is REALLY working hard and growing up. When I tell you my heart bursts inside at the extent of how hard he is working to keep positive and work hard- I'm not exaggerating. I literally feel so grateful and so so incredibly proud of him for being so amazing. He's been begging for months and months to have an instagram account so that he can become famous at pro-scooter. Of course I never considered it, but after his hard work the past few months, I decided to let him have an account ON MY PHONE without scrolling abilities. So he posts- in hopes to get noticed by Scooter Farm and he has! He is hoping to be sponsored and has a list of goals he's set in his notebook that literally is so cute. Grant works hard in every are of his life, soccer, scootering, school, church. Love that kid.
Also incredibly proud of Dane for just being a good kid. He wakes up every morning with no complaint and heads to seminary. He is getting almost all A's- one grade is at an 89.6 (Spanish). He is discovering who he is and trying out new clothing styles and new hair styles. Last week he had me grab him all sorts of hair product so that he could curl his hair; he's also growing it out. Side note- I liked it short and just slightly wavy as it's always been but I'm for sure keeping my opinions to myself. Dane is definitely growing taller and maturing in every way possible. I miss my little buddy and I mean it is actually physically painful for me to have him pull away from me! I want to hear every detail of his life! I want to know what's going on in his mind! But I do realize this is developmentally appropriate! Individualization! I'm happy he's independent and happy that he is so social and so content in life with soccer almost every day, tennis, friends over after school and on weekends. He is happy and thriving in every way. And he is a good kid to the core. He includes others, he understands what it means to be a good friend and to sacrifice at times in order to care for others. Here's two examples. Last month Dane had plans with friends and I hadn't communicated that we were having a young men's event at our home and there was one kid who really expected him to be there and truly needed a friend. I knew it was asking a lot- but Dane canceled his plans and was there for that kid- all evening. He really helped him feel important and loved. Another instance: homecoming. A big group of friends invited Dane to go to homecoming with them. He thought that sounded really nice- really fun. But he knew that his close friend was having brain surgery soon and could not hang out in a big group in any way shape or form and he wanted his friend to have one last big fun night before having to shut down life for the next few months. So he chose to go to homecoming with him and his other small group of friends. I really admire this kid and his sensitive heart.
Anna is absolutely loving 4th grade. I didn't think it was possible for her to become more social than she already is but it happened. She loves her friends more than anything on earth. She is sooooooooooo happy to go to school and be with these friends! She loves her teacher and school is not easy for Anna, but she works hard and feels good about her progress this year. Ms. Glynn has all sorts of fun activities like the Potato Olympics and Oreo Challenge. She makes every day fun. Anna likes to spend time with her buddy Kate Judd. She is there ALL THE TIME. She loves Kate's little sis Sophie and takes such good care of her. We feel very lucky that the two have each other. They are like two peas in a pod. Love the photos Anna took of me and herself whilst I was napping last Sunday. I'm not sure Anna was actually napping, but it was a great photo- haha. Found it on my camera roll after the fact. Anna loves loves loves our cats and she spends hours a day watching, cuddling, taking care of and laughing with them. She is such an animal lover. I cannot say enough good about this little goofball. She is the light of my life.
Ev has kept busy with her Palomar junior college classes and then a few high school courses as well. She enjoys spending time with Dylan, Emma and Amaya. They go to football games, church dances, walks, concerts-- Pitbull recently. She hikes on Sundays with Kaitlyn- our neighbor. She bakes pumpkin bread and Oreo balls and everything in between. She draws a lot. She plays the piano, practices vocal pieces. She exercises every day. She has a lower type of energy in our home. Unlike Anna and Grant. She loves to read and keeps to herself quite a bit. She helps me endlessly with driving the kids to their activities. We spend a lot of time together figuring out her English papers! Haha.... not easy stuff. And yet math and science are a breeze for her. We are the opposite in so many ways, but she teaches me every day and I adore her. Crazy to think that our time with her is not forever. She will be off on her own before we know it- especially if she decides to graduate early!
Keeping me busy this month has been pickle ball with my friends, subbing in the schools, which I'm LOVING, finally sending in the verification letter from BYU to obtain my CA license! AND having so much fun with the primary kids preparing for the program coming up! Last week we had not the Mandalorian but the SONG-dalorian come to primary. Whomever the SONG-dalorian deemed the best singer, was able to cuddle baby Yoda for the next song. You wouldn't assume this would fly with 11 year old boys and girls- but it most certainly did. Haha- they loved shooting at storm troopers too. I seriously love my calling and can't handle the thought of being released! It's been 3 years! Of course we did enjoy the boat here and there, but not as much as we hoped we might! It's hard to make it out on the lake when you have soccer games every weekend. We don't want to sell it, but it is so hard to justify keeping if we are not going to use it! That's been on our minds.
Let's see.... did I cover it all? Here are a few memes that have kept me laughing this month. I follow an account called teenage pro tips and I love everything he posts-- he is trying to teach kids how to "nail" being a teen--- meaning how to annoy your family to the top degree. I laugh out loud at everything he posts because it's so spot on and it makes me think I'm not alone in this strange world of trying to navigate life with teenagers. You know, not only do I like to look at funny memes all day, but sometimes I help people create them... haha! I love sending Ellie and Julie cat images because they always send me memes in return. So much fun to help me stay connected to my nieces. Enjoy a few amazingly funny pics that Jamie sent from our childhood. It's been a wonderful month!
