The Marston Family: May Happenings

A busy BUSY month to report on!

It started off with a bang as we celebrated Blake's birthday May 2nd. My mom was still in town and she helped me pull together a delicious pasta dinner with pesto (Blake's fav) and Alfredo sauces. Blake being the kind giving person that he is knew his buddy was having back pain, but also knew that I didn't have loads of spare time to create a magical day for him and put together dinner for another family. So he gently asked if I wouldn't mind donating his birthday dinner to his friend who really needed it. Thankfully we had plenty to go around and brought dinner without having to sacrifice Blake's special day. Blake is always thinking of others and is such a wonderful father and husband. I don't report as much on him as I do the kids here in this space, but he takes such good care of us and is my favorite person on earth. So happy for any day we get to celebrate and love him. His staff gave him a fun weekend stay in a yurt and showered him with unwanted attention throughout the day. The young men took a break from dodgeball and sang happy birthday and we had cupcakes. It was a special day.

Moving along....

Enjoyed so much celebrating Mother's Day and thinking about how incredibly lucky I am to have my own mother who is so dear to me and has sacrificed so much throughout her life to support and raise me. She is always my biggest fan and thinks I am awesome. Because of this support and love.... I believe in myself more fully- a gift that I hope and pray I pass down to my kids. And then my mother-in-law Nancy! Again, a mother who loves me unconditionally and thinks I can do no wrong. I want to be THIS kind of a supportive to Dane and Grant's future wives. I don't think I could ever measure up to the goodness she blesses our family with on a daily basis- but I will try and I'm so grateful for her example of patience and love towards each of us, even when we don't deserve it. Blake's grandmother, the beautiful and amazing Geraldine Wood passed away the last day of this month- May 31st. In honoring mothers, I cannot neglect to pay tribute to the deeply thoughtful, giving, kind and loyal mother and grandmother that she was to her family. She lived many years without her memory in tact so I am happy that she will get to rejoin Ed in a peaceful place but she leaves a legacy of warmth and hard work and goodness and integrity. She is one in a million and we could probably laugh for hours retelling all of the amazing stories of her life. I smile writing this because she touched my heart so much and I know she meant the world to Blake. We were privileged to know and love her and call her Grandmother.

For my day- I loved reading notes the kids wrote to me. I particularly enjoyed Dane's "note" which was a text that made me smile. For my gift-I asked the boys to rearrange furniture in the backyard and I love the new look ! Blake and the kids also made me a delicious dinner and we invited our friend Leticia and her sons over to enjoy as well. The kids sang a gorgeous and heartfelt song in church that made me incredibly happy. Before church, my friends and I put together a big breakfast basket for our friend Helen who lost her husband almost one year ago. It was a sweet morning giving her a hug and making her smile a little despite how hard things are. It was the perfect Mother's Day.

Big weekends away first to celebrate 5th grade promotion in LA at Hairspray! And secondly to Las Vegas to enjoy our special Christmas present from Grandma! Both trips were incredible in their own ways. Loved renting out a big house right off Hollywood Blvd for 8 girls and 8 moms! Eating out at Hardrock Cafe, seeing the stars on the street and staying up late chatting about everything under the sun with a bunch of really special moms that I've grown to love over the years. Anna was in absolute heaven all dressed up for the event. It was truly a good and memorable weekend.

And then we were spoiled in every way by Grandma! Nails, dinner out, a Cirque De Soleil show- which was very interesting indeed! A beautiful hotel with gorgeous pools and plenty of shopping! It was short but sweet and fun to be with Grandma, Stacy AND Evelyn who had driven down from Provo. Love my family so much and so grateful or all of Grandma's fun ideas to make life special.

Loads of school events and activities this month! Choir concerts (my LAST as piano player for Tierra Bonita!!!!), flag football games that certain children played in without getting clearance from the doc! Grant didn't mind playing with a broken toe- haha! I was NOT ok with that decision! Mormon Prom for Dane... if you can believe it the cutest junior girl in the stake asked him to go with her! Such a fun night. Supporting the best neighbor and seminary driver on earth- Rhett Jorgenson- as their Poway volleyball team won STATE! So fun to go to a few of these games and see the entire stake there cheering these kids on. Lots of school pride and love for our church boys! Seussical the Musical for Anna as the "who cheer captain" a role she clearly nailed! Volleyball playoff games in which Anna's team WON the league. Loved having Grandma and Grandpa down to support some of these events and having Grandpa in SO much better health so that he could actually make it down and be able to last throughout an entire day of running around. A long day of supporting grandchildren's activities may have made him want to go back to bed for the rest of the summer...haha. But we loved having them here. Cleaning every SINGLE chair in the entire church building as a primary service event! Now this may not have appealed to me as we set forth to execute but by the end-- it's safe to say that we all felt very happy to have served and the chairs and tables all looked amazing!

Ev has kept busy in Utah with visits from Reha and Eli this month. She's kept real busy actually. Hosting people is a skill that Evelyn is learning quickly as she's new to all of this. I'm so proud of her for taking such good care of her friends. When I see Evelyn's friends' graduation announcements or when they stop by the house- I definitely feel big feelings. I give them a hug and love to hear about their lives and sometimes take a selfie to show Ev. I miss her and seeing her buddies usually brings those feelings to the surface. But I'm happy she's living life and doing a good job of it. It's been wonderful to be with her this week though. She's been home to tag along with her buddies as it's Classical Academy's grad week. Disneyland with Amaya and Emma... grad parties, the actual graduation THIS Saturday. It's hard to imagine that she is really only the age of a senior herself! And that this would be her actual graduation. I don't think she's sad in the least to miss out on the whole thing, but I do love having her here. And she's definitely enjoyed spending time with Amaya, Emma, Eli, and even being here for the Rustands' visit! The other day Evelyn sent me a text about my little mantra stand and said she liked it. Words cannot express how something as small and sweet as this gesture showcases the growth in our relationship over the year. She is MUCH kinder to me and values the things I try to put forth to her. And I have also learned to respect her more and trust and believe in her. I am so grateful to be her mom. I love that her goal in therapy as she addresses her anxiety and eating disorder is to learn to trust herself. That is all we ever need in life, isn't it? We must aspire towards trusting ourselves.

Speaking of trust issues....Dane continues to work hard in progressing towards his academic goals- it's been a rough trimester and I hope he is able to pull it together in the next week. This is where the trust comes in. I'm trying desperately to TRUST him as he's asked me to. He is working so hard to work out his mental health struggles and it is consequently a little exhausting for him which then sends me to a dark place because I hate to see that kid suffer. He has been a little, actually a lot socially distant this month and of course to me that equates to the fact that he is suffering. Because Dane loves being with people typically. But when I question him about his "weekend plans" or lack of social engagements, the convo does not go well. I am SO proud of Dane's ability to have a straight forward and kind/gentle conversation with me about this dynamic. Last week he told me he felt that I was thinking he was a loser and that I was disappointed in him when I asked about his plans and he responded that he didn't have any. That was a punch to my gut!!!!! I listened quietly and then told him that nothing could be farther from the truth. I think of Dane as one of my very favorite people on planet earth. I ADORE him and love being with him and I know others do as well. I am never disappointed in HIM I'm just disappointed that he is suffering. I was so grateful I could tell him these things and that we could have a big hug at the end and a clear understanding. Parenting is not easy and I have a whole lot to learn. I wish I were better at the whole thing. But let's discuss happier things! The first weekend of May, when he actually was excited to be around people- Dane went to Mormon Prom and it was just so cute. He had the best time and I loved putting on the Cinco De Mayo dinner with Elizabeth beforehand. Loved all the planning (see Ryan Jorgenson's notes!) and the pictures and seeing the smile on Dane's face. Loved how the girls asked (they dressed as hobos and "begged" for a date). Super fun night. Dane has engaged in plenty of service this month: the boys put on a Mother's Day car wash outside our house for young men's. The moms came inside and ate treats while the boys cleaned inside and out. Such a great idea. And then Dane helped out at the food kitchen downtown with the group as well. Dane never shys away from serving and taking care of others and I love him for it!

Grant broke his toe this month playing dodgeball at the church. It was not his happiest moment as he didn't want to miss out on soccer and football, let alone swimming opportunities. Little did he know that the weather would be so bad that he wouldn't be able to swim, surf or boat the entire month anyhow! And his toe has been healing nicely so we can't complain too much. Grant applied to be a WEB leader (Where Everyone Belongs) at his school. It's hard to make this team and it requires a lot of time and giving up your elective at school. So happy that Grant was chosen along with a few friends to be in this group. He's thrilled. And he's the perfect candidate because he is always happy to help out in any way he can. He volunteers at school carnivals and babysits for neighbors and runs camps in our backyard. He's perfect for the job. Love that Grant has been working out with his buddy Kai in our garage this month. They also pick one morning a week to run- really early. Last week they talked Kai's dad into taking them to the Wave soccer game downtown! It's been really fun to see this friendship grow especially since Kai lives just right around the corner. Grant has been cooking up a storm with the best chocolate chip cookies you could dream of and Oreo brownie cups too! He is really enjoying this. He spends a lot of time thinking about the girl he has a crush on at school. In fact, in this picture of he and Anna, Anna found out that the crush has a crush back on him from one of her friends and was super excited to tell Grant all about it. They are much too young to do anything about it- but love that he is already thinking about how to talk with a girl and make her feel special even at this young age. Ev and Dane were not even remotely interested in the opposite sex until much older. Loved the lesson Grant put together for priesthood this month. He and Blake always work on it together and it makes me happy. Last picture is in remembrance of the day Anna and I made the middle school carpool do the TikTok lady gaga singing challenge with us in the car on the way home from school. Grant was angry and may never forgive me. But I thought it was "cool" of me to be into TikTok.

This has been a big month for Anna! So many many things happening for her with the end of elementary school approaching. And it's been a big month for me too in thinking about all of the wonderful memories over the past SO many years of being a mom to an elementary kid! I am not ok!!! I don't want it to be over and it is really sad for me to think of my youngest as a middle schooler next year. Ok, but enough about me and now back to Anna. She had a blast at the 5th grade Boomers Field trip-- an age old tradition of skipping school to go and run around with friends. Loved the last family lunch at Tierra Bonita and the last spring choir concert. We even took a picture of our fun carpool - missed Winn on this day! Everything about Anna's time at Tierra Bonita has been amazing. I guess more on that next month when I report on Promotion and end of year parties. Anna did such a good job in Seussical the Musical. She received countless compliments regarding her enthusiasm, sparkle and dance moves on stage. Everyone hoped she'd return to do Shrek in the fall but Anna did not much enjoy this world of Musical Theatre. She's much more interested in dance and that's that. She's also interested in volleyball and turns out she's not half bad at it either. Of all the sports, this is her favorite one. Ironically, it was my favorite as well. Though we aren't tall people! We can always set and dig! Anna loved trying out the trapeze for Girl Scouts this month! She had the best time and did really well flying and tumbling in the air. She is hoping to work on more tumbling this summer. Anna continues to see Jasmine a few times a week to work on reading/reading comprehension. Jasmine always has a million fun ways to teach Anna how to do remember the rules of reading/spelling. And Anna gets to pick out a prize at the end which is always fun too. Anna is still VERY into Sophie (Kate's baby sister) and loves spending time with her . On Sundays we invite her over to play and it is a highlight for all of us! Anna was at the top of Sophi's invite list for her birthday this month and it was a blast. Last but not least, Anna tried out for her studio's dance team this month. One full day of audition prep and then one full day of auditions! It was nerve racking and Anna was petrified but she worked so hard and she made the team!!! So she is on the lyrical, hip hop and jazz teams this year which means she will travel to conventions and competitions in LA, Orange County and Arizona. So proud of that little girl and excited for the upcoming year!

Keeping me busy this month:

Celebrating many dear friends' birthdays: Rebecca, Leticia and Jessica. Loved spending the day shopping with Jess and Sameen as both a birthday celebration for Jess and an early Mother's Day gift for me! Best day ever.

Enjoying the Rustands in town for Memorial Day weekend! and then the minute they took off- organizing a Memorial Day BBQ with Elizabeth. Loved gathering all our friends together to play sports and eat yummy food together. It was a really nice day.

Decorating for summer with these funny gold dinosaurs trending on Pinterest. I blame Jamie for the idea:).

Lots and lots of subbing and enjoying these elementary kiddos. Nothing makes me happier than spending the day with so many lovely children. Also love my afternoon visits with the awesome kiddos that I continue to see once a week through my business with Tony. I love creating lesson plans that I believe might help them overcome their specific challenges and then connecting with them on a weekly basis. The past two months I've been going in once a week to Anna's 5th grade classroom and teaching the 7 habits of happy kids. Excellent material and all the kids seem grateful to learn it! I have to say it's a bright spot in my week! And I love receiving nice thoughtful texts from parents telling me their kids have been learning and applying what I've taught.

Had a blast helping Nora and Millie re-decorate/organize their room! Probably the sweetest little girls ever and I do love organizing- especially books.

Anna and I read every night for school AR goals. It's easier for Anna to understand if I read out loud. As I was cleaning out Nora's books I found a beloved old favorite of mine: The Dollhouse Murders. It was SO nostalgic for me to read this book with Anna. I loved every minute!!!

Though the last two weeks I haven't had much time for walking, I do miss my "me" time walking for an hour a day. With the gloomy weather we've had (and that's an understatement) - it's been interesting and different and probably not my favorite. However, there have been so many beautiful flowers and nature scenes everywhere I look! I can't help but take pictures. It's been lovely to soak up!

Ok- lastly, this month has brought with it a whole bunch of teacher/staff appreciation and party favor gift assembling! And I've loved EVERY MINUTE. Went with a sunshine theme for the most part. And now that I can design gift tags in Canva- it's even more fun. We made bracelets for Anna's teacher and then many more teachers wanted them- that's been fun as well:). We've inspired some of Evelyn's old friends and all sorts of people to create these cute motivational word bracelets. Creating releases dopamine- it's just fun to do!

So that about wraps up the month. It's been a classic! We didn't need the sun to shine in order to have an amazing month. Looking forward to the summer ahead and more time to hopefully sleep in, and be with the kids! For now.... enjoy memes that my sister andI send back and forth and also a few I send to my children.