Christmas 2009 - Count Your Blessings

2009 @ The Marstons

As we were poised to embark on another Spring Break adventure, I determined that my nagging headache needed a quick look see - after all, our flight didn’t leave until 5. The result was 30 day’s of fun at The Swedish Hospital Resort and Spa. I had Meningoencephalitis, (from Greek: meninges- membranes; enkephalos brain; and -itis inflammation) or a fancy name for you are on the way to meet your maker, kicking the bucket, ceasing to exist - literally. This of course got everyone’s attention, except mine – incognizance masks even important issues. Through divine intervention orchestrated by my loving wife and supported heavily by many of you, I eventually realized who and where I was – and made it. Whoa. Lucky are those who are gifted the rare second chance. Mortality, in most cases presents itself prior to righting all wrongs, endearing the people so important to you or even saying goodbye to your dog. So, I truly love all of you, am universally sorry for my sudden/perpetual/occasional loss of control/sensitivity/temperament…and Astro, I am officially saying goodbye. Finally! I can have solace in meandering through life’s uncertainties.

One of those uncertainties presented itself this summer as we excitedly awaited our turn to ascend one of America’s most acclaimed marvels – the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Everyone has an Achilles heal – claustrophobia happens to be mine. Naively, I waited for the ride up and when the sarcophagus arrived and the steel door entombed us my heart rate hastened, breathing deepened, beads of cold sweet dotted my surfaces as I just about began to scratch my children’s eyes out. Happy to of survived, they pose for a photo a safe distance away from me and the arch.

Micki is having a blast and loves to help mom in the kitchen while looking after her growing animal kingdom. We added two rodents to the mix making the pet population officially double the humans in our household. She is a fashion diva shown here with a little floral number she slipped into – only her third outfit of the morning. Micki continues to advance with both the flute and gymnastics - her only trouble is landing the back hand spring while performing Minuet 1. Micki provides the greatest empathy for us all.

At ten, Nate is breaking out of his need or desire for direct supervision. He would prefer to invent, develop and construct on his own. Highlights for Nate this year were trading his glasses for contacts, playing on the CA championship lacrosse team, picking up the trumpet, and is becoming quite a pianist. Morning, noon or night, it’s always a good time to practice trumpet.Nate continues to provide the most accurate recall and intellectual support for the family activities.

Lily is a freshman at Mullen High School. Shown here preparing to cheer on her state champion Mustangs. I finally understand the “they grow up so fast” cliché. Although she misses her CA buds, Lily is very happy at Mullen and has had a great first tri. Lily's piano play is preeminent, her recent performance of Moonlight Sonata brought tears to not only her Mother, but several beholders. She is excited to hit the slopes and I look forward to riding with her this season too although we will definitely have different itunes. Her Christmas list includes mittens with side zippers for texting on the lifts.

In addition to being busy saving spouse’s lives, Sylvia has had other projects. Seemingly centuries in the making, and definitely months in the construction – we had some vendor issues - she finally got her kitchen. It is a beautiful addition to our home – Great Job Honey! She continues to enjoy knitting (she could knit you an airplane hanger) yoga, and her daily walks “to the summit” with her neighborhood friends. She has been busy at the salt mine too as we continue to expand www.usfamilyguide.com. Fully recovered, I now truly realize how important Sylvia is to me and the family.

For me, I am thankful to have the opportunity to write another letter as I anxiously await the invoices to arrive for my part in the stimulus plan. For fun, I posted this and past Christmas letters at http://familychristmasletters.blogspot.com/. Please cherish those near with Christmas Joy this Holiday Season! Merry Christmas - Michael

Christmas 2002 - Kids Growing Up

2002 @ The Marstons

Greetings all, hope this holiday greeting finds you happy and well. We only added one new member to the family this year – a fish named Crystal. We are officially done adding off spring to the nest and are now counting the milestones with the ones we have. We are joyfully monitoring the items we no longer need: One crib, two sit-up pillows, a Big Bird thing-a-ma-jig, and hold mild celebrations as the little baby stuff goes into the dark hallows of the basement and the toddler stuff we already have is being recycled.

Mikalyn (aka: Boo, aka: Mickie) is an investigative 11/2 year old losing her baby fat along with her infant innocence as she begins picking up where Nathan most recently left off. She is a big help around the house constantly tidying up - so far the MIA count is one TV remote, multiple important documents, some semi-precious jewelry and certainly other uninventoried items. Her strength lies in her cuteness - Her weakness is her piecing shrieeek. The hearing impaired Love Her! As does her big brother -

Nathan has turned the corner from his own version of the screaming toddler to a demonstrative young man. He began pre-school this year and quickly realized just how unfair life really is - being forced to share his spot on earth with other 3 year olds while his new teacher (Miss Janice) dictates the new world order. He has adjusted gracefully and on the leisure side finally got to strap on a pair of skis. He is excited to get back out there and make some turns with his big sister -

Lily could very well have grown three feet this year – I haven’t officially measured but the new school clothes from this fall are all suddenly Capri’s. She doing great in second grade and continues piano, soccer, church choir, most any activity anyone is willing to chauffeur her to. She is excited about the introduction of ski poles to her skill set as we now are chasing her through the bumps instead of leading her down the cat walk.

Sylvia continues her multi-tasking schedule with the kids, the kids’ school, the kids’ activities, the kids’ doctor appointments, the kids’ (insert) – when she gets a break she has the opportunity to work on the ColoradoKids.com web program – never can have enough kids stuff to do. Other than the complete absence of time, she is doing very well.

I’m just fine. Working, Playing and Enjoying our maturing family.

Love to All - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas 2006 - Grand Canyon

2006 @ The Marstons - We did not rent an RV this year. Instead, we sought after a more relaxing Spring Break filled with educational wonder and inspiration so we took the kids to – Vegas Baby. Don’t be fooled, Vegas is not for kids. No matter what time you go, the scene remains the same – Donkey Island for adults with moving sidewalks. The lights were cool. Luckily, we actually did relax at a safe distance away from the Strip at Lake Las Vegas, a beautiful resort area…and as for the educational part, the Grand Canyon was near or at least nearer than it is to Denver.

The one item to note about the Grand Canyon is people do fall in. In fact the best selling gift item at any Grand Canyon trading post is a 500 page book detailing accounts of everyone who has fallen in. In skimming through the book, most of the people who met their maker here simply were “near the edge, not paying attention and Fell, Drove, Flew, Rode and – I kid you not – even Pogo Sticked into this great abyss.” It kind of makes sense, because all there is to really do at the Grand Canyon is go out on various precarious perches and look down. Doing this on a pogo stick is of course a very stupid idea. I am surprised we weren’t eyewitnesses as we saw a great number of people near the edge not paying attention including our own children. Disguised as smiles, we all grimace in fear or pain on the edge of the canyon while applying, or feeling, the Angolan death grip.

Lily (our elementary school grad) is now in the urbane world of Middle School. Although the introduction of grades was an initial shock – first grief, anger, denial and finally acceptance, Lily is working hard and doing very well. She has a great group of friends and – when she can get her homework done – enjoys the freedoms of tweenagedom. As you can see, the reality of installing the front porch cam is nearing. She continues to be an amazing pianist and now mentor to her brother.

Nathan aka Nate maintains his position as the inquisitor of the household. As an emerging reader, his insight is keen and he continues to amaze us with theories on complicated issues like the possibility of creating the Full-Pipe. “Of course you would need a great deal of speed on your snowboard for success.” I believe it will happen. Shown here, nearly toothless, with his first acquisition of busts of great composers, First Grade is treating Nate very well. He continues to play the piano, sports, invent, and be a wonderful caretaker of “Fred” his new Bearded Dragon pet lizard.

Mikalyn is an enthusiastic Kindergartener. She is embracing the world of higher education and making sure all her stuffed animals are comfortable along the way. She is still our song and dance girl and now has added the flute to her repertoire of entertainment items. After a short intro via the penny whistle, she is on track to follow in her mother’s and grandmother’s slippers as a flutist extraordinaire. When she is not practicing her pirouettes and debuting in her first performance of The Nutcracker, Mikalyn still has time to put on a pretty dress and look sweet.

Sylvia is back to work launching our newest entry to the world of online publishing – USFamilyGuide.com, America’s Family Network. This is not a small project as she begins providing entrepreneurs nationwide the opportunity to own and operate their own Online Family Guide. The initial response is fantastic and we expect great things from this program. Personally, I love her immensely.

With no room left, I bide thee Merry Christmas and a Happy, Safe New Year!!

Christmas 2008 - Moab

2008@The Marstons

I may have to cut this short as I am on my way to address congress regarding the Marston Family Bailout. My petition, will clearly demonstrate the ripple effect and international devastation that the Marston downfall will create. If we let the Marstons go down, Starbucks alone will undergo massive lay-offs as bean farmers worldwide will halt production leaving you - the taxpayer - with the credit default swap losses in your stockings this year. So its time once again to reach out across the aisle and help all Americans cash in on America, even for those of us who invested all our money in a desalination plant in Montana. In giving back to society, I thought, at the very least, we would erase our Carbon Boot Print by wandering the high deserts of Utah this summer in search of self, happiness and a clearer greener vision. Much to our disappointment there is absolutely nothing green in Utah – just hot, red and dusty rocks. Nate did find a couple of lizards, Lily caught some tanning rays, and Mikalyn and Sylvia worked diligently on their yoga practice – we enjoyed the beauty and adventures of our Moab trip immensely!

Mikalyn, our little socialite, becomes friends with everyone. Even upright rodents take to her cheerful demeanor. What you can’t see are the seven dwarfs in mommy’s purse collecting for each Disney Moment. Disneyland is a must and a Marston right of passage at age 7. Mikalyn is very happy with her second grade posse and is doing great with the flute, swim team, round offs – not on the stairs please – and being a terrific mediator of small family conflicts. She is a real sweetheart and loves her family dearly.

Nate is shown contemplating why Brigham Young decided to settle here, recognizing the paradoxical rugged beauty of the Utah desert conflicted by the impossibility of supporting life. He is our thinker and a good guy all around– calm and solution oriented - Nate helps the family navigate through life. Nate is a huge Broncos, Avs, Rockies and Nuggets Fan – and even a fan of some of the competition too. Third grade has been good for him and we boys are having a great time fishing, building, skiing, catching, or just hanging out together.

It’s official, Lily is a teenager! - shown here in front of her Sweet 13 cake, which is reflective of the new configuration of her parent’s brains. We are careful to stay clear – unless transportation or getting her ears pierced is required. As a teenager, new found freedoms (whether real or imagined) have surfaced. Solo plane trips to KC, school trip to Costa Rico, unlimited texting (well almost), movies, shopping and just about everything WOP (without parents). Accompanying these freedoms are some new found responsibilities – if we could just sync the two we would be in business. She is a fantastic young lady with a very diverse skill set and a kind heart. Field hockey, lacrosse, piano, cheerleading, plus her first part in the middle school musical round out her activity set.

Sylvia has discovered serenity in the harmonious aura of power yoga. A true oxymoron, my lone attempt at this activity nearly crippled me, but I truly enjoyed it. As for Sylvia, her much more advanced postures resulted in a broken wrist – go figure. Still healing, she has been busy at the salt mine as we continue our quest of going “national” by opening a US Family Guide web site in every major city. Sylvia is doing an amazing job of keeping everything together as she helps Lily through the teenage years, partners with Micki on art projects (they are now quilting), mentoring Nate on his piano and accepting my shenanigans. She is a terrific mother and a wonderful, loving wife and together, as true partners, we seek solace in maniacal times. I think it is a good thing as we retract and pine for a simpler life via the proud warrior poses and controlled breathing in pursuit to Do Less and Enjoy More – so, please strike a mountain pose and whisper Namaste this holiday season. Cheers! – Michael

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – The Marston Family

Christmas 2005 - RV Adventures

Christmas 2005

Merry Christmas to all as we embrace all the wonderful blessings in our life over the past year. In celebration of soaring gas prices we decided to take a 35’ RV on a 2,000 mile jaunt through Yellowstone for our Summer Vacation. The savings in accommodations alone would easily off set the 2 gallons per mile we rationalized. To further increase our savings I hooked up with Ronnie down off Santa Fe for all our RV rental needs - Not Exactly. Although we did permanently loose one hub cap on a shortcut through Curt Gowdy State Park (after we complete our National Parks tour I am already plotting out our semi-famous Sportscaster Park tour) we were fortunate to lose the second one during a Yellowstone Wildlife Jam (a result of a Bison eating Cheetos on the side of the road) – fortunately the Bison realized it wasn’t snack food and left Lily alone as she snuck out to collect our effects. Losing all the hubcaps are mere blemishes – the real scars surface when your extended living room’s – what is called “the slide” – motor quits. I beat it with all the tools I had (primarily firewood) but the slide remained opened – permanently I feared. As we slowly slinked through the Grand Teton RV park with our fully extended living room and being frantically summoned by the alliance of RVers “Hey your slide is out” – they flashed their lights, honked their horns, waved their flags attempting to save us from having a room housing our children and dog come cascading on to the highway. We approached the Park entrance and the ranger leaped out of his hutch for one last – “Hey your slide is out.” Lucky for us Darryl and Joe at the Phillips 66 had seen guys like me before and fixed Although we let our RV membership card expire, we are able to tell the tale.

Micki is all grins as she saunters out to seize the day. She joins the Colorado Academy class of 2019 this year. In comparison to the historical timeline of the earth this is not a very long time away. Although we have not set a venue for the graduation celebration it is on the calendar check your mail soon. She is developing into our own little Denise Rich befriending everyone and extending invitations to multiple birthday parties regardless of actual date. Micki is our future Song and Dance girl and is absolutely in love with her big sister and big brother -

Nathan a true custodian of life as he enjoys the roar of nature. Now in Kindergarten Nathan is embarking on the great world of literacy and is very committed to learning. He continues to amaze us with the detailed information he absorbs – from god knows where – he walked me through a step by step process of an angioplasty procedure as he warned his little sister to lay off her Halloween candy or else she will be feeling the balloon. It wasn’t until my mid-thirties when I took note of general health risks. Nathan as added two wheel

Lily ripping down North Peak has officially retired her skis for the less cerebral life of snowboarding. She is a very sweet child and has a great deal of compassion and commitment for the world around her. Lily continues to excel in piano . She is now in the ruling class of the lower school as the big lockered 5^th grader. Although her hair seems to be more important than the Pythagorean theorem she is working hard at her studies and enjoys – she will soon move into middle school where all her efforts to be

the big kid will suddenly be erased as she regresses back to the little kid. In observance of her fellow classmates you can easily see the green hormonal fog surrounding them as clumsy 6 footers are lab partners with petite 3 ½ footers and missing items …pales in comparison to our newest adolescent Astro.

Astro is the designer mute of the 2000’s - the acclaimed Labradoodle. The scouting report on these curly wonders is they don’t shed – multiple strangers have stopped us from Morrison to Thermopolis with “Is that one of them Labradoodles? They don’t shed - right?” Baloney – they shed, bite, bark and have an insatiable diet of inedible things. In addition to eating the sled, hot tub cover, hoses, sprinkler heads, rocks, door mats, and so on - Astro has the mighty call of the wild and with a hint of an opening bolts to be with Buck, Curly and Spitz. Sometimes we are far from the wild – like in the middle of downtown Cheyenne - at the train station. Although the hobos had time on their hands they really were not a great help – interestingly enough they embraced Astro in their circle as a long lost brother. Astro seemed to enjoy the camaraderie but just stopped for a quick tug and speed away as we attempted to corner him. Lily the only true animalist in our family persistently stocked him and finally tackled him at the corner of Missile Dr and Hwy 30 – another close call.

In addition to a fine school, Colorado Academy has an excellent day camp for Moms – as Sylvia has discovered and attends regularly. She continues to be the glue of reason for our family and truly knows when to step in and rescue the kids and halt my shenanigans. Over Thanksgiving I was destined to speed through the Blizzard weaving between the twisted carnage of Semis and poorly piloted SUVs deposited throughout eastern Colorado because – “We’re not stopping.” Sylvia pulled us off and got us in the last room a 50 mile radius just as they closed the highway. Another save. Although we felt guilty as refugees pressed their noses against the windows of our quaint B&B I just felt proud to be married to Sylvia, took another sip of my Beaujolais and thought – Hey at least your slide isn’t out.

Christmas 2007 - A Granby Christmas

MC and HNY! Hey BFF J4F lets…oh no PRW. Why yes, we do spk txt! This year, in celebration of the real estate bust, we bought a 7 acre homestead in the bucolic hamlet of Granby. Sub-prime loan and deforestation by one trillion pine beetles aside, I think we picked a good time to buy in Granby. After Marvin Heemeyer, a disgruntled muffler shop owner settled his political differences by welding steel plates to his Caterpillar D9R and bulldozing down the town, they were forced to rebuild. The resulting new main street has spurred development countywide opening such modern amenities as grocery stores and extended hours bait shops. Sadly, the German/Mexican/American restaurant that serves great pizza is for sale as investors open the doors to less combined cuisines…I’m going to miss the Veal Schnitzel Enchiladas with Marsalis sauce. So far mom, the kids and especially Astro seem happy with the trade from our Keystone place, but all secretly hoping that Santa will still be able find us Christmas Eve! PS – here we are having just plucked this Yosemite Sequoia to transplant on our tree-challenged Granby land.

Granby land.

Mikalyn is a happy first grader who truly appreciates the music of Elvis. The King’s story has helped enlighten her on the highs and lows of stardom. Her flute playing under the steady coaching of her mother is really taking off along with her math, swimming, reading, dancing, joke telling, hair care and fashion design. Mikalyn has strong maternal instincts as her family of guppies has blossomed to a bakers dozen and growing, and growing. She is a true delight and adds a sparkle of life everywhere she goes.

Nate has his mom’s California Dreaming at heart. He is our Moondoggie as he is ready here to hit the La Jolla surf. In addition to Boogie Boarding, Nate enjoys Colorado based sports as well: skiing, skating, football, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, and the list goes on. He continues with Piano and has impressed us with his architectural aptitude. Patiently assembling a 763 piece Lego Star Wars’ Cruiser, adlibbing mechanical Erector Set pulley systems, or just nailing/screwing/gluing scraps of wood together, Nate is a builder.

Lily continues to emerge as a stunning young lady. Her 7th grade demeanor has surfaced, and despite the occasional distraction through the beauty product aisle, is focusing on her studies and piano. This summer, Lily performed again at the “Carnegie Hall of the Vail Valley” as she was accompanied by the Suzuki Institute’s faculty on the Vilar Center stage in Beaver Creek. She also joined the CA Field Hockey team this fall and thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie and challenge of developing a new sport. Braces off, attitude and text messaging in place, Lily is poised to enter teen-hood in 2008.

Sylvia has discovered the virtues of Alpaca yarn through our neighboring Granby herders and has honed her knitting skills creating beautiful scarves coming to a stocking near you. In last year’s letter, I mentioned a new product USFamilyGuide.com as Sylvia was preparing to take the ColoradoKids.com program nationally. I am happy to announce that it really happened or is really happening as we have opened up Phoenix, Tucson, Colorado Springs and Austin with several more markets on the way. Hip Hip Hooray. She continues to be a talented mom and a fantastic wife.

Cheers! – Michael

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season – The Marston Family