The Flood...again!

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...

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

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.

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

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!

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!

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.