Durst Boys and Girl

Sold!

2009-04-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am already saying this but, our house sold yesterday and for the asking price. Heavenly Father really must want us to get out of this house or he likes to see me scramble. Maybe a little of both. One week with the sign out front and we sold the house. That means we will be buying a lot in Cottonwood Creek and building our new house. If you know where we can find a good floor plan for a walkout basement let me know. Unfortunately, I think selling the house was the easy part. We will live in Matt's parents house for a while so we can build the new house. I want the kids to stay in the same school and go to the same ward because we really like it out here. A note to all my neighbors: just because we're moving for a little while doesn't mean we're gone, so don't forget about us! Oh and I definately wont forget about all of you! : )

FOR SALE

2009-04-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

We have officially put our house up for sale. I thought I would post it on the blog to spread the word since we are trying to sale it by owner. Feel free to pass the word around so we can get this puppy sold! We would like to try and buy a lot in Cottonwood Creek and since Matt's parents' house is vacant we can stay there until we build the new house, which is very convenient. Wish us luck!

Ethan's Birthday

2009-04-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Its been way too long since I have posted on my blog! Time to catch up. Ethan's birthday is a great way to start. I can't believe that my little Ethan is 5. Watch out kindergarten here he comes. We celebrated his birthday with family this year. (My kids get to have a friend party every other year.)

Ethan is such a loveable boy and I feel so blessed to have him in our family. He loves hugs and and I love to get hugs so we make a great pair. : ) Some of Ethan's favorite things are: Ice cream, legos, jumping on the trampoline, playing his DS, piggy back rides, and wrestling. Everywhere we go someone always comments on his red hair. I had no idea red hair was so popular! Happy Birthday to my Ethan!

The Eaton's come to town...

2009-03-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

I love it when family visits. I just can't get enough of watching my children play with their cousins. They have so much fun wrestling, playing video games, running, playing baseball, and whatever else they come up with. By the end of the week my 5 little boys were T-I-R-E-D. Thanks to my sister and her husband for braving the long drive from Arizona to Washington with four kids! Being with my brothers and sisters laughing, talking, and playing games is one of my favorite past times and I wish we could do it more often. Unfortunately I didn't take a single pic while they were here and now I am regretting it! Steph, I have to give you a shout out for making my week one of the most enjoyable we've had in a while. I love you Eaton's!

Winter Heaven

2009-02-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

Matt and I had so much fun on Friday going snowboarding and skiing. The weather was perfect the snow was perfect and of course the company was perfect. It was warm enough to go down the moutain with a coat and the sun was shining. Here is a picture from the top of the moutain and I just thought it was breathtaking. Matt loves to snowboard and I think he got his fill this month on it. He actually got to go quite a bit and even I got to go skiing 3 times which is a lot for me. We are very different people when it comes to how we like to get down the mountain. Matt likes to go fast and even faster if possible. I like to take it easy and slow. Needless to say we don't go on many runs together. This was definately my favorite ski trip this winter and I decided that I prefer to go when the sun is shining and its not so cold.

Basketball

2009-02-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Noah has been playing basketball this winter and its been a lot of fun to watch him play. I can see that it's a real learning experience for all the boys. With each new game it seems like something they learned finally clicks. Basketball was my favorite when I was a kid and Noah seems to love it too. I can't wait to get all my boys out there playing basketball. All of them are so eager to get out there and play to. Time has been flying by so I am sure it will happen before I know it.

Have you Ever...

2009-02-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

Have you ever...
Play along! Copy and paste this list, and then highlight the things you've done! Then when your finished add something you've done that wasn't on the list. Let me know if you do it too, so I can come check out your list...

"1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8.Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12.Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18.Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21.Had a pillow fight 22.hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a 1/2 Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31.hit a home run. 32.been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36.Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 42. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 43.Sung karaoke 44.Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67.Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone. 78.Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82.Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Made amends with someone who offended you 101. Flew in a small Cessna plane with just you and the pilot 102. Ran out of gas 103. Eaten fried okra 104. Swam in the Caribbean Sea 105. Peed in a swimming pool 106. Stayed in a beach house 107. Hosted an exchange student 108.Been a Secret Santa to a family 109. Worked on a political campaign 110. Coached a sports team 111. Baked bread from scratch 112. Driven from coast to coast 113. Paid off all of your debt 114. Roast marshmallows over a campfire.115 Cut up a credit card 116. Drove a car through a flood 117. Been on t.v 118. Had braces 119. Been to the twin towers in NY. 120. Have played in both the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans 121. Been to ground zero 122. Bite my fingernails 123. Likes to scrapbook 124. Hates pie 125.Visited Mexico 126. Seen a Tornado in person 127. Have ever been lost at sea! 128. kissed a frog. 129. Gave birth to twins. 130. Received 2 moving violation tickets in 1 day. 131.Been Life Flighted. 132. swore 133. stranded in a motel for Christmas. 134. Been in 2 countries at once! 135. Adopted a pet from Humane Society 136. Did a triathlon 137. Never received a speeding ticket 138. Lived with one kidney 139. Slept on the floor of a train station in Poland 140. eaten rocky mountain oysters 141. Volunteered at an orphanage in Chile 142. Ridden an elephant 143 Been to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe 144. Danced the robot.

Is it Spring yet?

2009-02-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Proof of incident #...oh I don't know how many. They like to pour anything, including conditioner. Its a dump truck so its got to dump something, right?

Strawberry syrup is really messy. I found puddles of it all over the house. You might be asking, where is Amy while all this is happening? Good question. I am showering, doing laundry, washing dishes, etc. I need to keep my eyes on my three little amigos.

Its hard to be mad at them too long. They're just so cute. My little 3 amigos have a lot of fun together and I'm their clean up crew. No matter how many messes they make and how many messes I clean up I will still look at them and love them.

Now its time for the amigos to go outside! They can mess all they want outside. So, let the sun shine!

Happy Birthday to Matt!

2009-02-03T17:21:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately this is the only picture I have of Matt on his birthday. Sorry honey! As you can see from the picture he got a nice new car stereo but its broken already. : ( I guess I didn't do a very good job of picking the "right" stereo. We had a whole fun day planned for his birthday. First, Matt took the day off and then his mom was coming over to watch the kids and then we were going to go skiing. It didn't go quite as planned. I ended up getting really sick that morning so we didn't get to go skiing and I stayed in bed almost all day sleeping. It was terrible. I felt really bad but the next night we did get to go out and this weekend he is going snowboarding so he still gets his fun. In honor of the birthday boy I am going to list ten things I love about Matt.

1. He is the best husband.
2. He is the best dad.
3. He is a hard worker.
4. He can make me laugh.
5. His big muscles.
6. He tries really hard not to fart around me.
7. He honors his priesthood.
8. He will change poopy diapers.
9. He will help me when I want to get a big project down around the house, i.e. the countertops.
10. His dance moves.

I love you!

10th Anniversary

2009-01-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

Matt and I had the opportunity to leave town for a couple of days and visit Leavenworth, WA. We our amazing parents took care of our children for two days so we could enjoy a much needed break. Mom and Dad THANK YOU!

Leavenworth was all lit up with Christmas lights and we enjoyed walking from shop to shop checking out each different store. Matt's favorite was the candy store and my favorite was the Nutcracker Museum. After our walk we went to dinner at Visconte's. We enjoyed our food and ended up getting a free dessert. The dessert was definitely the best part. Matt tried the rack of lamb which was good but we both agreed steak is STILL better. Our hotel had a pool outside with a big tent around it so we thought about going for a swim but that just never happened. We opted to lounge on the big king size bed and watch TV and read. I think Matt fell asleep at 9pm. I know, we are party animals!

The next day Matt wanted to go snowboarding and I wanted to go shopping so we split up and did our thing. I don't think I have been shopping all by myself in a really long time. It was great. Matt went to Mission Ridge and had a great time trying out the freestyle park.

We are both refreshed and ready get back to life and the kids. When we returned home and got the kids to bed Luke threw up. I guess that was a reality check. : ) Now we know we are definitely back.

Showers, darned it you do and darned if you don't...

2009-01-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

I've got to be able to shower every day, its my one moment of peace in all my crazy day but bad things happen while I'm in my own world. Last week while I was taking my shower one day Mack, Hunter, and Luke had their own little adventure.

The three amigos were playing in the closet under the stairs and happen to find a box of ceramic figurines that I had collected when I was in middle school. The ceramic figurines are called Lucy Bears and they are cute little bears dressed up in costumes, like Elvis and others. Well, they took these little bears upstairs where we have a landing that looks down on to our ceramic tiled entry way. You can probably guess by now what happened to all my cute little bears.

I was just getting out of the shower when I heard this crashing sound like a glass shattered on the floor. I raced out of bedroom and found 2 amigos standing there looking very guilty. The other one was downstairs whooping and hollering with joy as the bear had come crashing down from above.

I love my children but I lost it when I saw what a huge mess they had made of my collectibles. I think that I probably had 15 bears and now I have two. So I yelled a bit and put them in their rooms while I cleaned up the mess. I did not take a picture because I was too mad to think it would be fun to share this disaster with the world.

So, lots of bad things happen while I shower but what do you do? I think the world is happier and I am happier when I shower.

Christmas!

2008-12-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

I am sure that everyone in our family had a very Merry Christmas. The kids have been playing with all their Christmas toys non stop since Thursday. I have to admit that I get really excited and play right along with them.

The best part of Christmas for me was spending time with my family. Nothing is more important on this earth than they are. This Christmas I had the opportunity to see 3 of my brothers and sisters from out of town. It was so much fun to see them and their kids and just laugh and play.

I hope everyone else had a great a Christmas too!

The night before Christmas...

2008-12-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

The boys got to open some presents with Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas eve. Noah could not believe his luck when he opened his present and found a Wii. WHOO HOO! We have had hours of fun playing with it so far. All the boys got a Texas Longhorn T-shirt from their aunt and uncle in TX. They looked so cute in matching T's.

Then it was time for bed so Santa would come and bring them more treats and toys. It took them forever to finally fall asleep. Matt had to threaten them to get them to be quiet and go to sleep. He told them that he saw Santa two houses down and if they weren't asleep that Santa wouldn't stop at our house. His threat seemed to do the trick because they all fell asleep shortly after.

The Twins are 2 (that birthday really snuck up on me!)

2008-12-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that my babies are two! What a whirlwind of a two years that was. Thank goodness I have them in my life. They bring a lot of joy and laughter into our household. On Dec. 23 they turned 2 yrs old and I can't wait to see how they grow in their third year. I have to admit that they do cause a little bit of mischief around here but it keeps me on my toes. I love them so much and if I had to go through everything I did to get them here I would do it all over again.

We had their birthday party at the church gym so the kids could run around and play till they couldn't run any more. Plus we had to find a spot for them to try out their new tricycles.

My Little Boy is 3!

2008-12-09T16:16:00.000-08:00

Mack, is just so adorable! Thank goodness he's mine. Happy Birthday to my big smile boy. For his birthday dinner he picked waffles and so, that is what he got. Since he doesn't especially like cake we made an ice cream cake. As you can see Mack likes to do things the unconventional way.
For the past 2 months I have been trying to teach him how to say "I'm three" when people ask how old he is. It wasn't going to well though. Every time he would say, "waffle" instead. Then today on his birthday for the first time when asked how old he was he said, "three". Hallelujah! We love you Mack and hope that you got exactly what you wanted for your birthday. From the looks of it he sure did get what he wanted.

Thankfuls

2008-12-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

It is normally a family tradition to list three things your thankful for on Thanksgiving. We didn't do it this year but I wanted to list my thankfuls so my family knew I was trying to keep the tradition going.: )

1. My family- I have the greatest family ever! My husband is the best, he works hard and shows his appreciation for me and all I do. He takes good care of us and I love him tons. My five little boys who are not so little anymore. They bring so much joy into my life with their gentle sweet spirits. I love being their mom. My parents are such good examples to me. They have taught me so much and helped me to love the gospel as much as they do. My brothers and sisters are so much fun to be around! We play games and laugh and I just love being in their company. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins the list just goes on and on, with how much I love my family. I could write a book but I wont, let's just say they're the best and I love them!

2. Prayer- I haven't ever gone to Heavenly Father in prayer and not received an answer to my never ending questions about life. I hope I can teach my children that life is so much better when you pray.

3. Lastly, I am grateful for sleep! Okay I kind of switched gears a little bit. How can I ignore the fact that now that my children are older I can finally get some sleep! Maybe now I will be a little less cranky, lets all hope anyway.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Its a little late but better late than never. Here we are at my sister's house from left to right, Alex, Annie, Chad, Greg, Michelle, Matt, Me, and Luke. My brother Greg and his family drove from Las Vegas to join us for the holiday too. It was really great to spend time with him and his family. He is getting ready to leave for Afghanistan in April so the more I get to see him the better. Stephanie cooked all day for two days to make this delicious meal. We had appetizers only a couple hours before dinner so I think we were all full before dinner even started. Thanks goodness for left overs because they tasted really good the next day too.

The kids ate their meal together and I don't think they ate any of it. One of them mentioned they wanted a hot dog and that got every ones attention so they all ate hot dogs for thanksgiving. There is something very wrong with that but I guess their only kids so what do you do?

By the end of the day this is how the little ones fell asleep. I think it was all the food! Thank you to my sister for all her hard work on our behalf, we love you!

Holiday Vacation

2008-12-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to go down to Arizona for a week to visit my sister who lives there. Matt and I were a little nervous about the 2o hour drive and how the kids would handle being in the car that long. We decided to split up the drive into a two day trip and stop in Salt Lake City the first day and stay with Matt's sister Erin. Thank you Erin for letting us invade your house and I hope that we didn't do to much damage.

Day two we arrived at my sister Stephanie's house and we were all thrilled to finally be out of the car! Stephanie is such a great hostess and made us feel right at home. I am so grateful for my sister and her kindess. I don't know many people that can handle my big family running around thier house for a week. Steph never complained and my kids had the best time! The weather was awesome the first day we got there so we headed out to a park and let the kids run and play. Here are some pictures from the park. It was a train park and we got to ride on a mini train and check out some real trains that housed some past presidents when they traveled.

There was also a mini city that had a jail and a stagecoach. It was 70 degrees outside and that sure did feel good. Almost December and 70 degrees was a little wierd but I am not complaining.

Noah, Ethan, and Mack sure did enjoy playing all day with thier cousins. I hardly heard a peep out of them because they would just play and play non stop each day. On the way home we decided to drive straight through in one day and I think the kids slept 15 out of the 20 hours we drove. It was probably because they were so worn out from all that fun during the week or maybe it was the lack of sleep.

Twilight Night

2008-11-22T22:36:00.000-08:00

I was excited for the movie night with the girls and let me tell you it was a whole lot of fun! It started with dinner because a good meal and movie just go together. Then it was off to the movies. Thank goodness I was with my well connected sister because she knows how to get the red carpet treatment! Megan got us great seats in the movie theatre, she cuts the managers hair, so no waiting in line for us. The theatre was packed with women and a few men waiting to see the long awaited Twilight. The movie was very entertaining and it made me laugh on several occasions. I don't think it will be winning any Oscars but I will be in line and excited again when New Moon comes to the movie screen. After the movie we headed to Applebee's for a late night sweet treat. It seems everyone else from the theatre had the same idea and the restaurant got crowded very quickly. Megan came through again and we were able to get a table within 10 min. Thanks for a fun night out ladies and Megan I am going to start bringing you everywhere!

Shoes, everybody loves them!

2008-11-17T21:12:00.001-08:00

I don't know what it is about those high heeled shoes that the twins love but you can see from the picture Luke loves to hang out in them. I think most of it is the great noise they make on the hardwood floors. I just had to get a picture of my little boy in his high heels for posterity. Ethan prefers my boots for his cowboy adventures. I haven't captured that one on camera...not yet anyway!

Helping Hands!

2008-11-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

I have more help when I make dinner than I know what to do with! Here is a glimpse of what it looks like at my house in the evening when I am trying to make dinner. All the boys want to see what is going into every pan. They each take turns stirring and pouring. I hope this will make them good cooks when they get old enough. Wouldn't it be nice to have 5 teenage boys who like to cook in your home? Thats what I am hoping for but, I'm not gonna hold my breath. We'll just keep on cooking up something good together for now.

Vote!

2008-11-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone out there had a chance to vote and do thier part by participating in this election. The candidates were both very convincing in thier speechs to get the American public to vote for them. I have to admit that my vote was solely based on the moral values portrayed by each candidate. America's moral values are at risk this election and I pray that we as American's can get the right man in office.

My mom's psychic friend ( no, my mom does not see a physic but she has a women in her ward who professes to be one) said to vote for the vice president because that is who will be running the country. I thought this funny so I decided to add it my political outburst.

Trick or treat, smell my feet...

2008-11-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

I think this was the best weather we have ever had on Halloween in the Tri-Cities ever! It was great to be able to put on a sweatshirt and go trick or treating.

We started our Halloween adventure at the Uptown mall in Richland. All the stores pass out candy to the kids starting at 3pm. Its a good way to get the trick or treating going. After that we headed over to my mom's house for some dinner. Thanks for the most delicious rib dinner ever mom and dad! After the yummy dinner Matt took the big kids out in the nieghborhood for some more candy! We have so much candy I don't know what I can do to get rid of it.

Now for the costumes. The twins were trains because right now they LOVE trains and can't get enough. Mack initially wanted to be Batman but as you can see ended being a pumpkin. He looks adorable. Ethan was a ninja last year but decided to be one again this year because it was so much fun last year. Lastly, Noah, he just wanted to be scary so he got a hooded cloak and painted his face. We are not sure what he was exactly but it looked scary to the twins so I guess he got his scary wish.

It was another very HAPPY HALLOWEEN. We hope everyone else out there had as much fun as we did!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-28T08:29:00.001-07:00

Our annual carving of the pumpkins was last night and boy did we have a good time! I think we made seven pumpkins all together. Ethan went with a spider design and he loved it but I don't think you can tell from the picture. I really loved how the white pumpkins turned out especially when they are lit up.

Noah carved his own pumpkin for the first time this year and it turned out very well! He has a really great imagination so he ended up with a scary face that had scars all over it and knives coming out of it.

We tried to get a picture of all the pumpkins and kids outside but that didn't happen for us. Luckily grandma and poppa were there to take a

photo but its on grandma's camera so I will have to get it from her next time I see her. The little boys felt the need to run around without their shirts on and yes it was freezing outside but they didn't seem to mind. I think they were distracted by all the cool pumpkins to really care about the cold.

Matt and Amy dress up for Halloween

2008-10-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Matt and I went to a Halloween party last night and we got a little creative. Matt really wanted to be Jack from the Jack in the box restaurant ads. I didn't know what could go along with that so I thought I could be Jack's favorite meat...beef! This picture doesn't show that I have a udder, but I did and it was disgusting to look at. My kids couldn't take their eyes off it! Noah told me it looked like I had four penis' and Ethan tried to milk me. Disgusting! I will say that we had the most original costumes at the party. There were a lot of jokes about the cow udder. If you're going to be a cow you must be pretty confident in your self image. Matt could barely see, breath, or hear with the Jack head on. I made it out of plaster and its really heavy. Matt had better wear it every Halloween for the next 5 years to make up for the time it took me to make it. Anyway, the outfits were a big success and we can't wait to wear them again next weekend! I will post a picture of my udder later for all you people who are dying to see it.

I finally finished the cargo net!

2008-10-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying, " Man that was a lot of knots!" So, Matt decided that he was going to make a fort for the boys with some left over wood from his parents house. It's still a work in progress. As a funny side note, Saturday while Matt was working on it Ethan came up to him and said, " is that the best you can do?" That kid is something else...Back to the fort, Matt didn't want to just build a ladder because he thought the smaller kids would fall and get hurt. I came up with the idea to get a cargo net for them to climb up on. I thought we could just go out and buy one. Apparently, there aren't any nets in the Tri-cites so I decided to make one myself. I found and pattern online and got to work. Hours...and hours later I finally finished. Its five feet wide and 12 feet long and I'm never making one again! Boy, I sure must love my kids.

Is it because I have a broom in my hand all day?

2008-10-14T03:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of nights ago Matt, the kids, and I were watching a halloween cartoon on TV and everytime the cartoon witch would appear Mack would say, "there's mommy...". I am wondering where this is coming from? Do I really look like a witch, green, big nose, wart, wicked laugh, pointy hat, and crazy hair? I finally decided it must be because I have to sweep our kitchen floor 20 times a day so I always have a broom in my hand. Matt thinks this is just hilarious of course. Okay, it is a little bit funny... I guess.

Noah lost a tooth!

2008-10-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

This year has been a kids nightmare. Noah has had to have 4 tooth pulled, 3 cavities filled and spacers put in. I have to say that he has endured it all really well. For the past 2 weeks he has had a loose tooth that wiggles every time he smiles or talks. I kept trying to talk him into pulling it out himself but of course he is not happy about the thought of having another tooth pulled out. While playing outside the other day with a friend the tooth was finally knocked loose. Noah was wrestling with his friend, Sanford, and his mouth was covered when the tooth was knocked loose and he couldn't spit it out so he ended up swallowing it! Noah was fine but very worried about the tooth fairy giving him money without any tooth. Matt, of course, couldn't resist messing with our kid told him he would have to keep an eye out every time he went number 2 to find the tooth. This disturbed Noah but it also disturbed me and probably everyone else who has heard the story now. The children in our family have learned not to take Matt very seriously and now you all know why. Half the time when the kids hear something from dad they ask me if its true. Anyway, Noah wrote a note to the tooth fairy explaining the situation and it turned out great! I will have to post of picture of Noah without his tooth very soon!

They all sat still long enough...

2008-09-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Matt was able to get a picture will all 5 kids sitting still long enough for us to capture an image. Way to go honey! In the evening we like to sit in the backyard and let the boys run and play till they don't have any energy left in them. There aren't very many warm evenings left so that the boys can stay outside and play till 7pm. I will miss that soooo much.

Maybe its Matt who gets to sit and enjoy his time outside and I end up mowing the lawn while holding two of the five. It doesn't look as relaxing as it should. I sometimes do get to mow by myself if you want to call that relaxing.

Consequences of Blogging

2008-09-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is what was going on behind the scenes the last time I was writing on our blog. My three little angels, Mack, Luke, and Hunter found themselves some markers and went to town coloring. I found marker on the walls, chairs, couch, floor, and table cloth. They were very thorough, lucky for me. Washable markers are washable thank you crayola. I have learned my lesson and the quiet always comes before the storm. Now whenever it is too quiet I know something is up with my little three amigos.

Here is a picture of Mack in his time out but he was not in the mood for pictures after a stern lecture. This isn't the first lecture about coloring on the walls but hopefully its the last.

2008-09-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Poor Noah has been sick with this allergic reaction since Friday. The poor kid has been itching like crazy. We have taken him to the doctor twice already and I have to take him in again this morning. We are worried that his allergic reaction is due to mold or mildew from the recent flood. I am praying that we don't have mold because that would be a nightmare. You can tell by the picture how happy he is, so keep him in your prayers. Ethan fell on his bed and that is why he has the big goose egg on his forehead. As usual we have a few issues but doesn't everybody?!

Mack is smiling as always. He is my little ray of sunshine.

Ethan's First Day of Preschool

2008-09-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ethan has told he "hates" school for the last week. I have been trying to prepare him for the return to preschool but I don't think it helped much. Last year we had the same problem but it never lasts, thank goodness. Once he gets going Ethan really starts to enjoy his time at school. His teachers love him to death because he has a great personality. I wasn't excited about having to drive him 3 times a week but I found someone in my neighborhood who is taking their daughter to the same class. Yeah for carpooling! We love our Ethan and we know he is going to learn a lot this year from school to prepare him for kindergarten.

2008-08-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

This morning all the boys got together and decided to have thier very own birthday party. As you can see from the picture they sat on the ground with all the pots and pans and sung happy birthday to each other. I love it when they all get along so well. It was only 2 minutes later I had 3 out of the 4 standing around me crying. Its an emotional roller coaster around here each and every day. Is that the way it will always be?

First Day of School!

2008-08-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Noah's First day of 2nd grade! He wasn't very excited for summer to end but this morning I could tell he was pretty pumped up to get to school. He has Mrs. Beaver and I hear that she is a very nice teacher and I know that Noah is a good kid so they should have a great year together. I am happy to see Noah ready for an excellent year of learning and making new friends. Matt and I are very lucky to have him for a son and he is very helpful at home with his little brothers. We love you Noah!

Here is a picture of Noah with his friend and neighbor Sanford. Sanford got a new haircut for the first day of school and I think he looks ready to rock the school year!

The Flood...again!

2008-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

So here we are again with another summer including another flood. Matt and I cannot believe that this could happen a second time. What happened is the canal ditch up on the hill gets infested with gophers and they put holes all over in it and then it breaks and we get overflowed with water. The irrigation district in charge of the canal didn't "think" this would happen again so they didn't line the canal the last time this happened. Last summer at about this same time we were flooded as well. Here are some pictures of the horror we experienced this weekend.

We are hoping and praying that there isn't any really bad damage since the water can enter our crawl space whenever it floods. Last time there was a lot more water than this but a house can only take some much water!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream...

2008-08-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

For family home evening we decided to break out the ice cream cones and of course it was a hit, well...for a while anyways. I've tried really hard to keep the kids outside and active all summer long. Mostly so I didn't go crazy trying to keep my house clean. You moms know what I'm talking about. Here is Hunter after his chocolate cone.

Mack is always the easiest to get a big smile out of. I just love him for it too!

Then there is Luke, and it can be really difficult to make him sit still long enough for the camera to capture an image. He is still adorable even covered in chocolate.

Ethan would eat ice cream for every meal if I would let him. Our dentist will get a vacation home out of us here shortly.

Camera shy is the last thing Noah would ever be. Wanting to be silly is just more fun!

And of course here is the scream portion of our ice cream night. What kid wouldn't fight over the amazing window squeegee?!

I for one will be sad to summer end and school year begin. Its been a lot of fun to spend quality time with all my boys. There have been a lot water fights, slip and sliding, Lego's, video games, and of course ice cream. Who could ask for a better time than that, not me.

Seattle Trip

2008-07-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Matt and I decided we had better get our kids out of the house for a little family vacation so we set out for Seattle. We all had a really good time! It started kind of sick but we it turned out great. Friday morning we packed up the car and headed out and Ethan ended up getting a little bit car sick as we entered Snoqualmie and threw up in the car. I tried to pull over in time but didn't make it. My car ended up smelling like puke all weekend long. I swear we tried to clean it up.
My best friend Anna Marie was kind enough to let us crash at her house. She is a brave soul to let 7 people take over her house for the weekend. I love you Anna Marie, thank you!
We went to the Zoo all day Friday and saw every animal you can think of. The boys really liked the bears, gorillas, and elephants. We saw some great snakes too. While we were at the Zoo we ended up running into one of neighbors from the Tri-cities. What are the odds of that ? Anna Marie cooked a delicious dinner for us and we ate all of it.
Saturday Matt took Noah, Ethan, and Mack to a Mariners game and I went shopping with the twins. The older boys had a really good time at the game and I had a really great time shopping all day. For dinner we went to the park and had a picnic. All the kids got dizzy on the marry-go-round and piled on to the teeter totter(sp?).
It was a wonderful weekend and I am ready for another trip. Anna Marie was such a good hostess and I can't wait to see her again! I'll have to post some picutes later.

2008-07-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

We had some birthdays this last week in our family. Noah turned 7 on June 17. He is getting so big I can't even believe it. On his birthday he had a couple of friends come over for a sleepover. They seemed to have a good time. Noah enjoyed all of his birthday gifts and has been playing with them daily. Just the other day he was complaining that on his birthday he only got 4 presents but when we counted them he had really gotten 8 gifts. After this realization he stopped and I haven't heard him complain since. Noah is such a great kid and I am so blessed to have in our family. He helps me out a lot! I love him so much and all of his little brothers love him too.

It was also my birthday on June 20. Can I just say that we ate a lot of cake that week. I had a wonderful birthday thanks to friends and family. My friends Jenni and Tami put together a neighborhood party and it was really a lot of fun. All the kids got to run around outside and play and all the moms got to sit and eat lunch together. I love it when we throw a party. My neighborhood is so cool! Matt took a half day off so he could help with the kids and got his parents to babysit that night so we could go out. My boys got me a new baseball glove so we can all play more catch together and Matt got me some new patio chairs. Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday so great!

Summer Fun

2008-06-15T22:16:00.001-07:00

My neighbor and friend, Jenni, got a big blow up waterslide and kids love it! Noah goes so fast that flies off the end of slide into the grass. Its a lot of fun to watch. I still haven't convinced Ethan to go down yet. Mack likes to play in the water on the bottom end of the slide which can be dangerous. The twins would like to go down but I am too chicken to let them go down. They might enjoy the popsicles more than anything. Thank goodness for the nice weather. We are having fun and hope you all are too!

Thank Goodness for Grandma and Grandpa!

2008-05-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

We are so grateful for grandparents! I don't know if we would survive without them. The boys love thier grandma and grandpa on both sides of the family and get to spend some quality time with them about once a week. Ethan will always ask," which grandma do I get to see today? The one with the green coat or the one with the gray house?" You would think that he would know thier names by now but for some reason its easier to remember them through colors. Grandpa Durst always walks in the front door singing star wars theme songs and that gets them really excited and hyper. The boys can't resist a good star wars sing along.

Summertime is finally here and the weather is gorgeous. Time for boating season. Noah and Ethan aren't excited about it but Mack and twins love to be on the boat. Noah doesn't like that we make him get in the water but I'm not suer why Ethan doesn't like it. Now that I think about it, Ethan has been asking me if there are snakes, eels, octupus', and sharks in the water. He may have been refering to the Columbia river water but I thought he meant the ocean water. It looks like I am going to have to do some fast talking to fix this one.

With boating season here you can all expect some really great photos of all my bruises. This beauty happened on Monday. Needless to say that my legs are looking really great in a bathing suit. I slipped when I tried to jump from the boat to the dock and my leg hit the metal tie down on the dock. I have another good bruise on my chin but I don't really want to try taking a picture of it myself.

Latest Update!

2008-02-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting around to updating our blog. The holidays are over, so I finally have time to get around to posting the latest news about the Durst Family.

Noah- He got everything he wanted for Christmas and more ( he is happily spoiled). We find him playing his Nintendo DS a lot and riding around on his new Heelys. Baseball starts in March and he is looking forward to it.

Ethan- Got ything he wanted for Christmas too. Star Wars and Legos are what he lives for. Ethan loves the bad guys and hums his theme song all day long. Lately, he feels the need to lecture us on parenting.

Mack- He loves to sing and dance. We get a show every evening before bed. Of course he loves to smile a lot but he also likes to scream a lot. Mack is my side kick because he likes to cook and clean with me all day.

Hunter and Luke- I feel like they are getting bigger by the minute. They aren't quite walking yet but they still get into everything easily. These two enjoy singing and dancing as well. Besides saying momma and dadda they said their first word, drink. I had no idea they were so thirsty all the time.

Amy and Matt- We are surviving but I think we have a good time doing it. Our holidays were filled with runny noses and family quality time. We are grateful each day that we have 5 beautiful healthy boys and look forward to them getting just a little bit older and more independent.

Spaghetti Feed, yummy.

2007-11-10T09:15:00.001-08:00

Here are all the kids except Hunter, he was taking a nap. They love spaghetti but who doesn't?

Our First Time!

2007-11-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

This is our first time blogging. I'm not sure how long it will last but we'll give it a go. This December it will have been a year that Matt and I have survived with all these kids. We're alive! We have our down times but we also have a lot of great moments with the boys. Here is the down low on all our boys. Noah is in first grade and doing great. He enjoys learning how to multiply at home and grasps these concepts pretty quickly. This kids a smart little fireball. Ethan is going to preschool and his teachers can't help but love him. He is a sweet little guy with a very charming personality. Mack is almost two and his favorite activities are helping me clean and cook. Hunter and Luke will be one soon and they are everywhere! There just started standing up to the furniture and climbing the stairs. They keep thier mom and dad going, and going, and going. We made it through Halloween and are looking forward to the Holidays and sharing it with family and friends.