We're doing stuff, I just can't think of what it is.

Every day is full of things, but when I go to write about it, there's not much to say. Dan goes to work, Sam goes to school, and Afton and I run errands. Sam plays soccer, Afton dances around the house, Dan climbs rockwalls and trains for the marathon. I binge watch Alias. (Just finished. Glad it's over. Now I can have my life back.)

It's helpful to look on my phone and gets some clues from that about what we really do all day. Here are some phone highlights.

 Afton asked if she could wear one of my old dresses to church. Fit great! Just a little outdated...

Sam learned the age-old art of climbing up doorways.

I cut Afton's hair.

 Before:

 After: It was probably about three inches or so.

I found a really cute vintage sheet at Salvation Army with yellow tulips on it for $2. I made a skirt for Afton. I need to get a picture of that.

 Afton took some rockin' selfies.

 And dressed like Madonna circa 1985.

 We collected acorns on walks.

 Afton got shots. She also grew 3 inches in one year! She only gained three pounds during the year, too. She's thinning out, I guess.

 She helped me trim the bushes.

 And played at the mall. (This post is very Afton heavy, I'm noticing. It is now pretty obvious who I hang out with all day.)

We bought a new toilet for the powder room! Sam was always afraid to flush the old one because it clogged ALL THE TIME. This one had an issue with the tank leaking, but Dan fixed it and it now works like a dream. Come on by and see for yourself!

 We went to the DC temple last weekend. The weather was gorgeous. Traffic, however, was not. Three of the four lanes on 495 were closed for some sort of repairs. It was crazy.

 Thursday, Afton started throwing up. She didn't stop for a full 26 hours and then spent all of Friday sleeping, pretty much.

 Sam got his school pictures. I love them. They look a lot like last year but this time he's actually looking at the camera and he looks more confident. He really is such a sweetheart.

 Yesterday we drove by my favorite bridge.

 Sam's pegasus.

 Busch Gardens.

And that, my dear friends/family, is what we've been up to lately.

A comparison

Yesterday I hit 29 weeks. I went back to look at pictures from around that time with each of the other kids and wouldn't you know it, I was wearing the same outfit in each picture (and today). That shows a major lack of outfit diversity, but it's good for comparisons.

29 weeks with Sam (2008)

 29 weeks with Afton (2010)

 29 weeks with Blueberry

And each picture was taken in a different home. More updates to come!

12 Saturdays

A few weeks ago I was thinking about how we still had 15 weeks until baby boy comes. But then, I thought of it in terms of Saturdays. Only fifteen Saturdays. That means roughly fifteen Saturdays to do projects, get ready, have family fun, etc. Yikes! Now we are down to 12. Twelve Saturdays. I made a list a few weeks ago and I've been able to cross a few things off.

Paint upstairs hallway (Which you saw pics of already)
Hang pictures in entry way

(I thought it would be cool to find vintage postcards from the places we've lived together and mix them with a few other things I like as well as try to camouflage that lovely thermostat.)
Paint/update powder room (replace everything!) (We've picked out paint, got a new light, towel holder, TP holder and toilet. We just need a new pedestal and faucet...)
Fix drywall cracks in kids' rooms
Paint Sam's room
Paint Afton's room
Figure out where to put this baby!
Make baby pants (I got a steal of a deal on some fleece remnants at Hobby Lobby and made a few pairs.)
Buy carseat
Finish old entertainment center which we are turning into a wardrobe for Sam
Organize garage
Master bathroom redo?

As you can see, we've got a LLLOOOONNNNGGGG way to go (and I'm the one who made the list so I'm not sure if Dan's aware of some of these). So really I've got a long way to go. But Dan always helps.

Dan is currently working on the new deck and pergola, training for a marathon, and keeping his eyes peeled for when trees go on sale at Home Depot and Lowe's.

My aunt Lorraine passed away last Saturday after fighting pancreatic cancer. She lived in Santa Clara, Utah. I wish I could have been there for the funeral. She was a really sweet and thoughtful lady. As when other family members have passed away, I wish I had seen her more often and gotten to know her better. She raised six sons, worked as a nurse, and still had time to show the people around her that she loved them. When I graduated from high school, she sent me a care package. When each of my kids was born, she sent them each a present (Sam still uses the blanket she sent him). I have no idea how she was able to remember those things, let alone all of her own kids and grandkids! She had a beanie baby collection and before she passed, she gave a beanie baby to each of her great-nieces and -nephews, as well as every primary-aged child in her home ward, where she had been the primary chorister.

Sam with Rainbow the chameleon and Afton with Ariel the bear.

I am grateful for her wonderful example.

A friend of hers put this on facebook and I thought it was really nice.

To-do's

Tonight I was sitting down to write my to-do list for tomorrow. Afton asked what I was doing and decided she wanted to add a few things to my list. I wrote hers over on the side of the page. Here are our to-do's for tomorrow.

Mine:
Do all the laundry
Go to the gym
Go grocery shopping
Dinner prep
Research toilets
Research carseats
Make some baby pants

Afton's:
Go on a walk
Watch shows
Play
Take Sam to school
Wash hands
Take pictures
Write cards to friends
Pick food from the garden

Hers sounds more fun than mine.

And what's a post without a picture? 25 weeks.

Projects

Did I ever post about our entry way? I don't think I did. It's been done for a while now and now it seems like it's always been that way.

Some befores:

As you'll recall, I tried at least 9 different paint samples. (See some of those jars on the cabinet?) That wall was a patchwork quilt of various neutrals. One day we had a guy over who does a lot of painting (although he was there to give us a quote on our master bathroom) and I asked him for some help. I brought out this big sherwin-williams swatch I have and he looked at it and said, "Why don't you try this one?" The next day I went out and bought a sample of it and BOOM! Perfection.

Here's an after:

It's called Simply Tan (duh - how did that escape me?) and we got it color matched in Behr.

A few weeks ago I painted the upstairs hallway the same color.

Here's a way back "before" from when we first moved in:

A middle "before" post-carpet and mid-cutting in.

And the after:

It looks a lot more dark in these pictures, but I took them on a cloudy day. I like how it makes the molding stand out more and it just feels clean. I don't know why the old owners used flat paint everywhere. Glad I got that knocked off the list!

Labor Day and the start of School

We hadn't been to the beach all summer, so the Saturday before Labor Day we headed over to Virginia Beach. It started off cloudy and a little cold, but by the time we left, the weather was perfect. Sam tried boogie boarding for the first time. Afton thinks she likes the water, but then won't go near it and plays in the sand.

Going to the beach always makes me think of being little and going to the beach in California. I always looked forward to it because I knew we'd get soda and chips. Black cherry soda from Vons. So I try to bring lots of snacks I know our kids like, too.

We capped off the day with a stop at Dairy Queen. Delicious as always.

On Labor Day, Dan had to work for a few hours so I took the kids over to a local spot on the James called Pony Pasture. You can play on the rocks in the river but I didn't know that, so we were wearing regular clothes.

We also stopped by Home Depot so I could buy paint for the upstairs hallway. (Project pictures to come!)

The Tuesday after Labor Day, Sam started first grade.

 Our front door gets too much sun in the morning. (School doesn't start until after 9.)

His teacher is new to the school, so we don't know much about her, but I know Sam loves school, so that's good. Dan will meet her tomorrow at back to school night. Just last night Sam said he was looking forward to school today, which is a great sign! I miss him when he's gone, but I know he's loving it.

Baby #3!

Baby Durst #3 is on the way!

I am 23 weeks along with a boy and we are so excited!!!!! As you can probably guess from how old Afton is, we've been hoping for a baby for quite a while. I had a miscarriage almost two years ago when I was 14 weeks, and it was heartbreaking. Needless to say, this is a major blessing for our family and we are so grateful.

I found out I was pregnant the day before I left to visit Candice in Chicago back in May. Aside from being tired and sometimes a little nauseated, this has been my easiest pregnancy so far.

We waited to tell people (aside from our parents) until we were pretty far along. I told my brothers and their wives when I saw them in Tennessee and we told a few of Dan's siblings when we saw them a few weeks ago in Washington. Candice already knew since I'd seen her a bunch this summer. The day we got back from Washington, we had our 21-week ultrasound and once we were sure everything looked good, I was able to finally feel confident shouting it from the proverbial rooftops (aka facebook) and let people know.

First bump shot. I think I was 16 weeks.

 20 weeks and on our way to Kennewick, WA from Seattle. Stopped at a pretty overlook with Mount Rainier in the background. Rainier is now in the running for baby's name. Just kidding.

 22 weeks. Virginia Beach. Starting to feel big!

 I am due January 5. We call him Baby Blueberry. We told the kids around 16 weeks. They are really happy and talk about him all the time. (Although Afton was hoping for a girl and continues to refer to him as "she".)

17 weeks and counting!