Days With the Duerksens

Although I grew up on a dairy farm, I have to admit I did not have much interest in the goings-on of the farm operation.  I was usually busier with taming the kittens and watching The Price is Right at Grandma Schmidt's house. However, I am now married to a farmer - a beef cattle farmer - not to be confused with a dairy farmer.  They are actually quite a bit different from each other.  On one hand, I still don't know a lot about what goes on at this farm.  On the other hand, I know a lot more than I did 9 years ago.   One of the first things I learned about these cows is that in the spring (around mid-April), they are let out to pasture for the summer.  In the fall, they return to the farm so we can feed them throughout the winter. This brings me to last Saturday (the most gorgeous day on record)!  It was time to "work cattle" - another term I've learned along the way.  This means that the cattle had to be rounded up, separated from the...

This picture pretty much sums up what Delaney is all about at 18 months old:  she smiles a lot, she thinks she's pretty funny (and usually is), she thinks she rules the roost and climbs up onto anything she's not supposed to, she loves Cheerios in the morning and any other time of day, and since her hair is finally growing, she has some wild hair when she wakes up!

More so this year than any year before, I am very aware of the magical transformation that Spring brings to the earth.  It might be because of the extreme heat and lack of rain from last summer, but I am simply amazed at how much has returned, how green everything is, and how some things are already in full bloom (like the trees), but other plants have yet to reveal all that is hidden inside them. Today, the girls and I went to The Garden Center in Hillsboro (again - it's becoming a weekly trip) to see if the onion sets were in.  They were!  Cambry also wanted to find a flower she could plant, so I decided to let her.  Normally, I don't think about flowers until April, but it's been so warm this year, I'm already in that mode!  She picked out an amazingly purple African Daisy.  We planted it in front of our fence - I really hope it makes it, because it's not a flower that I'm very familiar with! Along with the trees and some flowers, the dandelions are ...

Caiden turned 8 yesterday!  Wow - 8 years ago, Chelan and I entered into parenthood unsure of what would come, but certain we would find our way.  We've had a lot of ups and downs in 8 years, like any family, I'm sure.  However, we are so thankful that God has given us a chance to parent this wonderfully bright, extremely talented, energetic, and clever boy! We were able to celebrate Caiden's birthday with his cousins (on Chelan's side).  These 3 all have birthdays within a month of each other.  Actually, on my side of the family, Caiden's birthday is within the same week of his other 2 cousins - it's a very busy month!  The boys had fun playing basketball and kickball, and driving the McCabes' go-cart (after repeated instructions to be careful - a friend of ours just had a bad go-cart accident - shattered part of his arm)! Mace, Caiden, and Cale all reading cards from Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa's gift came in a prescription bag ...

Chelan ordered chicks last week.  They'll be here towards the end of April.  The chicken barn needs help in order to keep raccoons out!  So, Chelan took off from work last Friday to work on it with Caiden.  They started with putting new wire up over the old chicken wire.  Then, they worked on the window sills a little bit, replacing old boards with some stronger ones.  After that, it was cutting and nailing up plywood around the inside, to cover up the many cracks in the side walls.  Hopefully, these chickens will not have to fear the nightly raccoon raids!   It's fun to play in the wide-open windows Hammering lessons The very old chicken barn

The kids were on Spring Break last week.  We had beautiful weather and spent the majority of the week outside.  On Friday, Chelan took off work to work on the chicken barn, so we had a little picnic out behind our house.  It's really a lot of work to get a picnic together, but the kids had fun with it! Heading down to the creek Sandwiches just taste better outside! Cambry was thrilled to discover that she could tuck her napkin in between her legs and it wouldn't blow away! This girl can never have enough grapes! Acting silly with his root beer - which he can never have enough of! Exploring the rocks in the water Chelan is an awesome rock skipper!  Caiden can even skip a few - I , on the other hand, cannot! Ready for a nap!

Some fun with Cambry's camera!

We're ready - especially Caiden!  It was so fun to watch him fill out a bracket this year - the first year he's been able to understand the whole concept of this giant tournament!  This morning, he watched the first game, highlighter and bracket in-hand, while listening to the K-State game on the radio.  At the moment, K-State is not doing very well, which is a bad thing for Caiden - he has them going all the way to the championship game!  I love March!

Every so often, our Goessel Rec. Commission sponsors athletic "clinics" for the grade school kids.  The latest one was basketball - 4 nights for an hour each.  This year, we had 2 kids interested and able to attend.  There were over 50 kids in the K-3 session - CRAZY!  They were not expecting that many, but the leaders made do!  On the last night, the kids were divided into lots of groups to play actual games - or, at least, try to! Caiden was excited because he got to go with the 3rd graders to play a full court game - his first time ever! What a difference a few years' experience makes.  Cambry, of course, had little to no experience with this concept.  It was a hoot watching her and the others her age try to "play" a game! Cambry's version of defense - poor Noah! Obviously paying a lot of attention That's Caiden in the blue shirt All seriousness during the free throw  . . . Back at dance class . . .

Yesterday was kind of a dreary Sunday, so we finally took advantage of the kids' free movie passes (from last summer's reading program) and saw The Lorax .  I'm not sure I've ever been in a movie theater that was so full -- we actually had to split up two and two!  We all enjoyed it very much - even Chelan.  It turned out to be a musical of sorts, and this morning, we've been listening to our favorite song A LOT - "Let it Grow!"  I actually got teary-eyed because of its hopeful message.  Anyway, it's a good movie - you should go see it!

Broccoli and Cabbage + Lettuce, Spinach, Asparagus, and Peas + Seed Potatoes + Potting Soil =                                              LOTS OF FUN!