Hello from Havasu

The first part of our week was pretty un-eventful, but Friday and Saturday were pretty busy. 

We went to our Ward BBQ Friday evening.  It was nice to get out and enjoy some good company and the awesome weather for a little while.  It was a little warm until the sun started to go down and then it was really nice.  After the BBQ Taylor's friend came over and the weather was pretty much perfect so they along with Jon decided to sleep out on the trampoline.  They were still awake and being noisy at midnight so we had to go out and tell them to be quiet.

Saturday morning Tyler and I were up early to get things ready for a Mother's Day Expo where I had a booth.  I did way better than I was expecting to and it got me excited about starting back up with selling jewelry again.  Tyler brought Ryder to me in the middle of the day so I could feed him and all the ladies that had booths around me couldn't get over how cute he was and that we had FIVE boys!

On the way home from the Expo we stopped and got pizza for dinner.  After dinner we went to get Taylor some new Sunday shoes (always growing!!). The three little boys fell asleep on the way home so we took advantage of the quiet and played Ticket to Ride with Taylor and Jon before they went to bed.

I fed Ryder during Sacrament meeting today and then he fell asleep so I took him into Sunday School to see if I could find someone to hold him while Tyler and I were in Primary.  My visiting teaching companion was in there so I went and asked her if she wanted to hold him.  She said she would love to.  After church she sent me a text and thanked me for asking her to hold him and that it was an answer to a prayer.  I guess she had been feeling a little lonely and missing her family today (she's single and lives by herself).  It made me feel glad that she's the one I decided to ask :) 

Tyler and the older boys are getting anxious to be done with school for the summer- only 3 weeks left!! 

Looking forward to a busy week this week! Hope everyone is doing well :)

Ice, Ice Tyler - too cold!

This is our awesome brother, Mr. Christensen, at his pep assembly.  I got him to send me the whole 20 minute assembly and then I cut it down to just his solo.  It's awesome.  I'm going to publish this and see if it works.  If not, I'll try again.

It has been sooo beautiful these past few days, in the 80's for a lot of them. Today it is *87. Yesterday *86, but we thought maybe we were in Idaho. The wind was blowing hard all day long. We went on a family bike ride, and Lucy hated every minute of it because of the wind! So we are probably sending more wind your way MOM.
We have 25 school days left, and i am counting down with the kids. It will be nice to have a break.
We survived last weekend, but barely. I was so exhausted from the court of honor. It was a long month and a half of planning, but turned out to be an amazing evening. I think the boys finally realized that it was a big deal.  They all looked so handsome, and everyone who participated did a great job! We even had a chocolate fountain which we were worried about with all those boys, but it was a success also. Of course Cole got chocolate all over his new eagle neckerchief, and pants. Most of it came out. :)
Cole and Grace are finishing up Golf and Tennis this week with districts. They both are doing really well. It will be weird to have the family all home during the week though. I guess I will have to cook! :)
We are also counting the days till we get to be with all of you. It is coming up fast!
Love the Durst's

Oh, I forgot to add that this week was Molly's 13th birthday. She got a blazer, two shirts, and an iHome.

The last two weeks have been fun and flown by.  Eleanor and Isaac each had field trips that the little ones and I joined in on.  And Corey went with us to Isaac's.  Maddie competed in an academic pentathlon all day last Saturday.  She loved having an extra day of tests and learning!  She has a cute friend Adri who went as well... they had tons of fun.  Clara is doing great playing basketball.  All the other girls have played for years, and this is her first try at it.  She just smiles and plays with happy determination.  She is a hustler and fun to watch.  And she loves her new bright pink basketball clothes we bought her.  That's probably what she loves the most;)  

     Last weekend my brother Justin and his family came to stay for three nights.  We LOVED it!  They got us tickets to see the piano guys here in Dallas.  It was of course amazing!  The kids had fun playing with cousins.  They left on Tuesday morning and that night Corey and I had tickets to WICKED.  It was my valentines present.  It was incredible.  Needless to say, we've been singing lots of songs about "popular" and "defying gravity" around here this week:)

     The weather has been amazing.  Lots of warm days, but we got our share of the cold storm.  It went from 87 one day to a few days in the 40s and 50s.  I loved it!   Yesterday was perfectly 65 and we had a fun day together as a family.  Corey had Saturday off which is rare for him.  We were all ecstatic!

     We have been house hunting quite vigorously and it's amazing how exhausting it is.  Kind of fun, but hard to find the best situation possible for our family.  We don't want a neighborhood anymore, but we can't seem to find a house we like with basic things like a laundry room, in the yards that we love.  We'll keep looking.  Our lease here is up at the end of August.  We hope to know where we should live before summer.  We are planning to come to Idaho July 8th-Aug 4th.  Corey will stay the first full week, then fly back to Texas and work.  He'll possibly come once in between to see us for a few days, to enjoy Clara's birthday and hopefully the sealing of baby Grover to Tracen and Melissa.  Then he'll work some more and come back Aug 2nd to drive us back.  I will fly with at least Hazel.  No one and I mean NO ONE can stand her in the car for more than an hour.  We are so excited to see everyone.  Very sad to miss the fourth of July. Corey's partners both need that time off and he got Christmas and Spring break off, so he needs to stay.   Does everyone else know their plans? We hope we see everyone.  Melanie, Hazel has requested a twin cousin birthday party, if you could check with Stori and let me know if that would be ok!  

      Have a great week everyone!  

Radfords

This week we were going through California withdrawals. The weather this week wasn't overly great, but not too bad I guess. We went on a few small bike rides. Like really small, cause we don't have anything for Stori to ride in so dan just holds her on his bike. We are still working on finding a bike trailer or just the regular old bike seat that fits on the bike. 

Stori is still going through "Ryder" withdrawals... Jen, I think she will really like your baby :)

She calls Flynn several times a day. Usually she will have a good conversation with him, but the video I captured is just a basic call.  We got her a Rapunzel doll in Disneyland and she now sleeps with that and will even have her call Ryder to tell him he's at home. ha she is so weird :)

Dan's dad came to town to pick up a truck for work and so he was here from friday until today. We wish we could have helped mom more with her yard, but it was kind of hard because the dad was here... sorry mom! Love this picture of you two though!!!!

We ran to walmart on one of the windy days this week so Stori could walk around and hide in the clothes, (not my choosing) but she would not let me leave these glasses in the car while we shopped. She walked around like she owned the place! when she saw I was taking a picture she pulled her best "cheeeeese" face together hahaha. She definitely got a lot of attention there.

On Thursday, the only really warm day, Stori and I went with the Forester girls to the zoo. We are making it a weekly thing because it wore the girls out so much they all took 4 hour naps the next day! :)

Last night we went on a little date to see Iron Man 3 in Idaho Falls. We went to the 10:45 showing and I didn't even fall asleep!!!! Dan was very proud. 

Dan also signed up for the LSAT. it's in less than 4 weeks so he has A LOT of studying to do in NOT a lot of time. but he's excited to get it over with. Plus, if he takes it this early he still has a chance to re-take it in October and still be able to qualify for early application. which means he finds out first round if he gets accepted anywhere. Part of us wants to go to school in Utah, Idaho, or Wyoming because it's close to family, but the other part wants to go somewhere new. I think it would be fun no matter where we go---but family is always #1 for me.

Well, happy May everyone! Next week is Mothers Day so don't forget to tell mom that she is the GREATEST!!!! :) Love you all

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree

 Another week of groundhog's day....the movie that is....day after day of basic sameness.  Didn't get a break during the week, five days of 101/2 to 11 hour days.  Then, because it was sooo much fun, I repeated last Saturday!  I worked soooo hard last Sat. ( remember me going on and  on about it?  :)  )  Monday brought with it horrific winds.......and yes, you guessed it ....my trees gave up their branches....all over my yard!  I almost cried when I drove into the driveway after work!  Sooo, bright and early yesterday morning, I headed out with rake in hand.  I did have a little help this time.  Melanie and Stori came and helped for a while.  Trey ( Amber's son) climbed up on the roof and cleaned it off before they left for the day. And, Dan and his Dad innocently stopped by.... :)  They all helpedfor a bit.  It made a huge difference!
  While I was in the front yard raking by myself, I had this image in my head..... if you have seen Notting Hill, the movie with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, you know the scene where he is walking down the street, and as he walks past the street vendors, the seasons change... well, in my version, I am raking up branches in my yard, but as I rake, I just get older, and older......hahaha,  the mind gets bored.  :)
 Yesterday was beautiful!  There were a few rain showers in the afternoon, perfect timing for a lunch break.  After the storm, the sun came out....I love how it smells and feels after a little rain!  As I was hauling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow out to my burn pile, ( I actually got almost the entire yard done this time  :) ) I couldn't help but think how much I  love my yard.... There were tiny green leaves starting on all of the quakies, AND the popcorn was popping on the apricot trees! On top of that, by walking out in the field every few minutes, I got to enjoy the beautiful sunset!  Perfect.
 I know I have a rather boring life, and it doesn't make for very exciting  reading, but, I want you to know that I am very grateful for this life, for my job, my home, and especially for my family! I am reminded every day how lucky I am!

 Love to all of you!   XOXOXOX

HI guys! Early post again. Lily is having a birthday party right now (we're leaving for the movie in a few minutes) but thought I'd post while I have a second. I went back to the dermatologist yesterday and got stitches out--but got a bunch more! He cut off four suspicious moles for biopsy (and a complimentary skin tag removal! :) I now have bandages on my forearm, ear, neck, and knee. And am supposed to keep my healing stomach incision covered. Bought a new box of bandages... ;) Anyway, should hear back on these (and really, there are at least two I am expecting to hear the worst on) by a week from Monday at the latest.
In other news, school is winding down for the year. Hooray! I am always excited for school to get out for the summer but this year, for some strange reason, I am SUPER excited for it to get out. Looking forward to cleaning house (for real, not the half job I do when I'm working) spiffying up the yard, and hanging out with my kiddos. This time of the year people start to conversationally ask if you have fun plans for the summer. My answer is always YES. We're not really going anywhere big or doing anything big and I'm so excited for that. Also looking forward to seeing all of you. Well, the movie is calling and little girls are getting rowdy so I better run.
Love you all!