Savior of the World

Rusty and Chloe were in the play that our stake put on called Savior of the World. It took a lot of time and some practicing at home but well worth it for them to participate. It was so touching and beautiful. It was the story of Christ's birth and then later of his resurrection and appearances to the disciples and others. It was really beautiful. Chloe played one of Mary's cousins and an angel too. Rusty played a temple priest, an angel who moved the stone away from Jesus' tomb, and one of the apostles, James Alphaeus. As you can see, they did his hair for the times...! The part I really enjoyed, maybe because I hadn't thought too much about it, was that there was this ledge thing up above the earth, or stage, where there were always angels looking down on all the things that were going on. It was amazing to be reminded that all of heaven, including us, I think, were singing and celebrating Christ's birth! Joy, Rusty's sister, played violin in the orchestra. The orchestra did a fabulous job! It was really quite professionally done. Chloe and Rusty look pretty in their make-up, eh? I think one of Chloe's favorite things about being involved in the production, was putting on make-up!

Christmas Eve

Marsh kids on Christmas Eve, getting ready to open their 'cousin swap' gifts.

Merry Christmas!

We had such a great Christmas, and all of December. One of my favorite parts every year is hearing from family and friends through cards, letters, notes, even emails! We are so thankful for the relationships that we have with so many who have helped our lives be so much more meaningful. Rusty surprised me with an early Christmas present, tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show, Corteo. It was so facinating! We were just in awe the whole evening. The music was great and we were thouroughly entertained! We would love to see another someday! Christmas morning was nice. The kids woke up early, but followed our 'council' (don't wake us before 6!). Then we tried to ignore them till about 7, by telling them to brush their teeth and make their beds and all we could think of so we could get a few more minutes of precious sleep! When we finally got up, we teased them by saying they had to eat breakfast first, we'd just whip up some homemade french toast, eggs and bacon! Nooo, we opened presents! Kids are so fun! They really were excited about every little thing, like Chloe with her key (see photo below). She and Porter got house keys, and come to find out, that low priced gift got a pretty cool reaction! I am so thankful for these sweet children. I am also thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. For His exemplary life, and sacrifice for me. It has been wonderful to celebrate His birth this month!


MJ on her new bike!

Ellie and MJ with their new Baby Alive dolls that actually wet their diapers!

Ren loves to be pushed around in his little car.

Chloe was excited to get her own house key!

Porter loves games, now he adds Risk to his collection.

Thanks Ellen!

Ok. Some of you read Liz's blog about us going to the Ellen show! It is true! We had so much fun! Liz, Pati, Natalie, Joy, Rusty and I all went up to Burbank to be a part of her audience for one her 12 days of giving shows! We saw Blake Lewis from American Idol perform. I am not particularly a fan, but it was fun to jam out to his slightly strange music. And we watched Padma Lakshmi cook up some flautas, which we sampled, delicious! The prizes were great and included a kitchen aid mixer, juicer, a gift certificate for Allen Brothers Steakhouse Steaks, another for Chefs catalog, another gift card for $200 cash...yes we were so lucky! And the dancing...those of you who know me in my younger days, before kids days know I love to dance. I have to say I didn't know if I knew how anymore, but when the music started it all came back. It was fun to have a child free day with a few of my best friends! Thanks guys! Ps. Thanks to Ellen for helping to provide a great Christmas! :)

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

On November 30, Chloe turned 10! She was pretty excited to be double digits, and I was a bit sad...but happy for her. She is a sweet, wonderful daughter. She is very helpful and motherly with Ren. She is smart and confident. I seriously admire her! She gave me a piece of paper a few weeks before her birthday where she had written her birthday day's outline. It included getting her nails painted at the salon, dinner at BJ's pizza, bringing and opening presents there etc. I guess this way she knew she would get what she wanted! We pretty much stuck to her outline and she had a fun time...so did everyone else. As you can see Chloe's nails are painted...who knew black is the new pink?! And she is wearing the cute sweater that Aunt Liz gave her! And we all love BJ's! For cake, we had a pazookie, which is a big, warm cookie with ice cream on top. Yummy! We love Chloe!

Trick-or-Treat!

Mamma Witch and her brood!

Mummy Porter

MaryJane and friend, Treyson

Chicken-Ren











Little Red Riding MaryJane

Princess Ellie












Gumball Machine Chloe

Happy Halloween! We had a great day and night. MaryJane wore her costume to school, where she and her classmates performed and sang some October songs and poems. The older girls couldn't wear costumes to school, not allowed. Porter was allowed to for middle school, he just chose not to. The girls and I spent the afternoon putting up 'spider webs' all over the front porch. We filled them with plastic spiders. We had fun. When it was time to get in costume, it was crunch time! Wrapping Porter up was a much bigger job than I realized. And we couldn't even get Ren's costume zipped up all the way. Mir sent us the cute chicken suit, I hadn't even considered it being too small. Woops. Thus the sideways photos. Rusty took the kids out while I put Ren to bed and gave out candy. I sat on the porch and read during the lulls. It was great. The kids brought way too much candy, as usual. Then they had to go to bed. Chloe and Elle didn't have school the next day due to parent/teacher conferences but Porter did so...another Halloween gone by.
So fun!

Harvest Stew!

Ok...yes I am putting a recipe on my blog. I know! And I don't even like to cook! But this is so easy and yummy, I've made it 3 times already. I got it off Rachael Ray. FYI - the original recipe didn't include potatoes. I thought it needed something, a potato or two! Delicious! Even my kids ate this.

8 Chicken tenders, boneless, skinless, chopped into bitesize chunks (add more or less, whatever you like)
4 Carrots, chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped (optional)
1 Onion, small brown
Salt and pepper
2 Apples, chopped (Rachael recommends macintosh, I used what I had - gala)
2 Potatoes, chopped
Thyme, guess?
pinch all spice
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 c. apple cider or juice
2 cans chicken broth or stock
craisins, a handful

Cook chicken (you can also use pork tenderloin) in some EVOO (for those who don't watch that is extra virgin olive oil). Remove and replace with veggies, apples and spices. Cook for about 5 or so minutes. Return meat to pan and add all other ingredients. Simmer for another 15. Take our bay leaf. Eat!

Fire!

Ok, some of you may have heard that California is burning. Yes, it is true. For the past three days we have been inhaling ash filled air and seeing the world through pinkish colored air. This morning, the sun looked to be bright pink. Now, around noon, it is an orangy-pink color. The schools are keeping kids in at lunch and recess due to poor air quality. We are being told not to exercize outside. We can see the Santiago fire smoking as we go down the hill from our home. It is about 15 or so miles from us. We all have sore throats and runny noses. I don't know if that is related, but I am sneezing up a storm! We are all trying to drink lots of water and stay inside. Rusty has been working in SanDiego at a facility there. It is on evacuation watch, and he just stinks like he's been sitting by a campfire every evening when he gets home. He almost didn't get to work today because the 5 was closed this morning. Southbound open though so he went. Atleast we still have our home. There are many who have lost all worldly possessions.

Check out my Slide Show!

Jesse comes to town!

We had so much fun when Jess came last week! We already miss him so much. We were spoiled having him live close for all those years. He came to attend his friend, Natalie's wedding. Congrats to her...but we know he really came to see us! Each of the kids has a special place in there hearts for him. He babysat and played with them often. In fact, he was a call person when Ellie and MaryJane were born. Now it is his and Emily's turn. We can't wait to see Jesse with his baby boy.
As tradition demands, we went to the mall pumpkin patch. Liz, Charlie and family came as well as Liz's friend from AZ, Sharee. It is Marsh tradition to take photos in front of the measuring pumpkin guy. See Ren's first time. It was pretty bright out there, the kids could hardly keep their eyes open! As you can see from the photos, Jesse wooed MJ pretty good with his guitar and singing. Ellie had been there staring just a bit earlier too. It was quite a scene. Before Drex and Quin left to go home, they gave MJ hugs and kisses. As you can see, it was pretty sweet. We are so blessed to live close to them. Rusty's sister, Joy and her boyfriend Jay, also came over one evening for dinner. She made us no bake cookies, or as some refer to them, "poo cookies". We had so much fun!

MaryJane's class took a trip to a Farm. Ren and I accompanied them. We had a good time. We rode a tractor pulled ride and picked vegetables including a pumpkin and carrots as you can see. She was very excited about those carrots! We went into a petting zoo area. That was especially commical. MJ would not get close to any of the animals! (A girl after my own heart.) And when one got close to her, she got spooked. She almost cryed she was so unwilling to get near. Check out her forced smile for the photo!

Beautiful Boy

Times Flies...

Ok. For some reason I was thinking that when school started I would have more time...I thought I would be able to update this easier. So here I am nearly two months later. The kids are doing great in school. Back to school night was in September. For Porter's I had to attend each classroom for about 15 minutes. I got mixed up with his 2nd and 3rd periods, so he got a kick out of me going to 7th grade band instead of 6th grade and missing english altogether! Luckily we weren't graded on that. He is playing trumpet for those who didn't know. He is the best in his class, not to brag or anything! Ellie started piano lessons last month too. So, she joins Chloe and Porter. It is pretty funny how she begged for over a year to take lessons from Jane, and now that she got her wish is she happy, you might ask? No, she is already saying she doesn't want to practice and can she play voilin instead. I throw my arms in the air! Chloe has been keeping busy. She is at the church every Saturday with Rusty practicing for a play our stake is putting on called 'Saviour of the World'. She and Rusty are in the choir, and Rus has a small speaking part as well. MaryJane is so excited about pre-school. She looks forward to going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! She has learned how to keep track of her schedule some too. Something funny about her...Sunday we were talking about how no, it was not fast Sunday. So she pipes up "But it is slow Sunday, right Mom?" How could I argue with that? And Ren is really keeping me on my toes! He is really getting around these days. He is scooting around in the army crawl, and just this week trying to pull himself up on things. Two weeks ago (general conf Sunday) he got his 1st and 2nd teeth, the mid bottom. Sharp!!! He literally lights up the kids get home from school. I can be holding him and all the sudden one of them walks in and he goes bananas! Bouncing his whole body up and down, and me just trying to hold on to him! Ok...enough already.

First Day of School!

The kids started school today! Ellie is in 2nd grade, Chloe in 4th and my oldest baby, Porter started 6th grade...middle school! Time flies! Everyone was pretty nervous and excited to begin anew, especially Porter. I was a little nervous for him actually. But when I picked him up he said it was easier than he thought it would be. Of course, I wanted to hear every detail. But he is pretty quiet about it. No, he wasn't late for any of his classes. Yes, he liked his teachers. Yes, there were some kids in his classes that he knew. The only info he really offered was that he got this cool ID card that he was really stoked about! When Chloe saw it she was practically drooling and burst out "I can't wait till I'm in middle school!" 2 more years! All in all, it turned out well. They are all tired from getting up way too early but by next week, theyll be in the groove. MaryJane didn't have pre-school today. She was not happy about that. So, I promised to take her to her favorite place for lunch, Sharkies! We met some friends there and she was happy. Tomorrow is her big day!

Everyone's favorite, Aunt Joy!







Alex and Ren

Labor Day

Hang loose, dude!




Girls just want to have fun!



Porter

Oh Brother

Porter the Merman




Labor Day was fun! We met Joy, Tony and Natalie at the beach at around 9:30, luckily it was early enough to find a parking spot and small section of sand! Here are few of our favorite photos. The little girls, Ellie, MJ and Ava, dug in the sand...oh yes, Joy too! And after splashing around in the very chilly water, Porter decided to dig too. And he dug for a while to make a hole so deep, when he stood in it, we could only see him from the waist up. You'll notice the rolling of the eyes...Chloe wanted to get in the hole with him and he didn't want to let her. Rusty insisted so he rolled his eyes, oh brother! Ren looks pretty cute with his little mohawk hairdo, eh? After applying some sun screen, his hair would pretty much do anything I wanted! After a warm morning at the beach, we headed back to our place, got cleaned up and ate some In-N-Out burger (yum) and spent the rest of the day visiting. Company left around 7:30 or so. Thanks for a great day you guys! And Ellie is wondering when you want her to 'babysit' Alex!?

Irresistable!

Ren is just so adorable. I can't help but take his photo, to try and catch all the new things he is doing. He can sit up with some help now. And we love to make him laugh! Chloe was tickling him while I tryed to get a good pic!

Happy Birthday, Drex!

Drex turned four on the 20th, and had a really fun 'Backyardigans' party last Saturday. All the kids enjoyed the games, including 'pin the tie on Pablo', musical chairs with the adorable music from said cartoon, and a Pablo pinata topped off the event! MaryJane was thrilled to have Drex turn four. She was commenting on his age, and how now they were the same 'size'. Then stood next to him, raised her arm to his heighth and said, see now we are the same! I was busting up, since she is a whole head shorter than him! Quin might even be taller than her! It is always fun to be together. Liz and I also practiced our piano duet that we performed the following day in my ward. We played 'My Heavenly Father Loves Me'. It was fun to do that together, it brought back memories of when we used to do a lot of musical things together.

We are gathered here today...

Ok, so Rusty was deputized last week to perform a wedding! One of Rusty's good friends asked him to perform his wedding. It was on the grounds of Soka University, practically our back yard! Rusty was pretty nervous and prepared for hours a day it seemed to me. He wanted to start out with a few lines from the Princess Bride regarding "Mawwaige", and the groom loved the idea, but the bride put her foot down! It was a short ceremony, about 15 minutes, with only like 20 people in attendance. And it was quite beautiful. Rusty can be really eloquent and did a fabulous job. I was pretty moved to tell the truth. It was actually surreal hearing him pronounce them husband and wife and introducing them as Mr and Mrs! They are a lovely couple! Congrats to Chris and Suzanne!

Summer fun!

Hi everyone! Been a while...busy summer. Here are a couple of highlights of the past month or so. Ren is rolling around. He is such a roly-poly, we just can't get enough of him! He is keeping me busy! He makes the funniest face, scrunching up his little nose...he does it all the time and I finally got a photo! He is getting so big for his infant seat. His chubby legs are hanging over the edge, I have to be careful not to bump his little toes while moving the seat in and out of the car. And heavy! Today, after lugging him in to church in that seat, I decided this would be the last time! I just can't carry that around anymore! His nap time is right mid-church, so it is nice to have a place to put him down if we get lucky enough to have him sleep, maybe I'll start bringing in his stroller! :) We've been swimming quite a bit. The kids love the water! They like the beach, but rarely want to go. I drag them down anyway, then I have to drag them home they are having so much fun! They request the pool more often. Porter is receiving his Arrow of Light award in cub scouts this week. He earned it several months ago, and we are finally having a pack meeting on thursday. (He is 11, and has been going to that group for 2 months.) Chloe had fun this last weekend at her friends birthday/High School Musical 2 Party! My girls have been anticipating the movie since it was announced! Chloe has been going around singing 'Fabulous', and I am glad it finally has come and gone! Maybe I'll stop hearing that song in my head over and over, it has a catchy tune! Ellie and MJ watched it at home that night too. It actually was pretty cute. (Yes, I watched it too, just not until the next day!) And did anyone read Harry Potter 7 yet? Rusty finished it but I am going back and reading 4 right now, cause I don't remember what happens in previous ones it has been so long since I read them. Chloe and I are reading 4 together, Porter just finished it and is working on 5. (We told him he couldn't watch the 4th movie, which is rated PG13 unless he read the book, so he did.)

MJ and Drex, inseperable

Rachel, Grandpa Jess and Grandma Helen, I love this photo, if no one minds I think we should use it as their photo for the book for 2007!

Jessica, Marilyn, Michelle, Merilee and Brooke

Liz, Rach, Louise and Lexi


Cutie Pies - Ellie and Emily


Stephen and Ren (I hardly ever got to hold Ren, he was a good sport and was handed from one cousin, aunt, uncle or grandparent to another!)

Grandpa Jess, I love this photo, I think Chloe took it!

Randy whoops it up with Chloe, Lars and Stephen!

Randy loved to tease MJ, and she loved him back!

Beautiful girls, Liz, Libby, Michelle and Heather

Ren, Scott and Me

Da Boyz, Stephen, James, Lars, Tucker, Christopher and Porter.