Days With the Duerksens

A few weeks ago, my dad's aunts and uncles got together for the first time in a while - all 6 of them.  The only sibling missing was, of course, my Grandma Jean.  She died when I was in 7th grade.  The older I get, the more I realize how young she really was when she died.  We missed out on quite a few years together.  My Great Aunt LaVerna (who I think looks a lot like my grandma did) said it best at the gathering, "I miss Jean dearly.  She was the life of the party!"  Even though grandma was missing, it was good to see everyone again! Left to Right :  Goldwyn (standing), Ira Don (standing) - he is actually younger than my dad, Eunice (in wheelchair), LaVerna (sitting), Jimmy (seated behind her), and Johnny (standing in back)

On Saturday afternoon, Cambry came up with a craft project all on her own while I was busy making salsa.  She somehow fashioned an owl puppet out of a toilet paper tube, duct tape, stamp ink, and paper.  She then proceeded to teach Delaney how to make one - such a great big sister she has! Cambry had Delaney cutting out circles for eyes - pretty challenging! It had been a while since I did anything "crafty" with Cambry (and Delaney), so in the evening, we made pumpkin owls.  I think they are so cute!  We tweaked it a little bit, but the original idea came from "Everyday with Rachael Ray" magazine.  Even though I had to do most of the gluing, it was a fun project for us to do together!

Last week, Delaney's friend, Jenna, came over to play.  Play dates are a rarity around here, so Delaney was super-excited!  Even though Jenna is 1 year older, they do find enough common ground to enjoy each other's company. . . most of the time!  :) puppies in the Gator are fun to play with! busy, busy, busy!

Two weeks old - this time around there are six puppies - five girls and one lone boy!  They look pretty similar to the last batch, but some have cute little brown patches - sort of beagle-like.  Oh my, the cuteness! They are free and will be ready for new homes the first week of November - spread the word! Caiden's favorite - a girl Cambry's favorite - also a girl This girl really knows how to ham it up (Delaney, not the puppy)  :)

I'm going to sum up our trip to Manhattan yesterday with this picture --  It was probably my favorite moment of the evening (besides K-State winning): It was my favorite moment for two reasons:  1.  It really was beautiful - blazing red!  2.  It was the moment we said good-bye to the sun!! I'm not sure I've ever been so hot in my life!  In fact, Cambry and I didn't even watch the first half - we sat under the bleachers and listened.  We watched a never-ending line, not at the bathrooms, but at the drinking fountain.  People were constantly refilling water bottles!  I think we were all sweating out water as fast as we were drinking it.  Thankfully, we were able to enjoy the whole second half in relative comfort.  Thank goodness for the workers at the stadium who constantly handed out ice water-soaked paper towels - the coolness, if even for a moment, was so refreshing! Now, on to the rest of our visit.  Cambry was so hap...

This family is super-excited that football season is back!  Well, most of us are.  The girls could care less.  We're going up to Manhattan on Sat. for the K-State game.  We usually try to make it to one game each year, especially since Weston is still playing!  We hope it turns out better than their first game - although we will have a great time regardless! Last month, Caiden got to go up to one of the Chiefs' pre-season games.  He would correct me in saying that it was a "49ers" game!  So, while everyone was wearing their Chiefs garb, he strutted into that stadium wearing his 49ers t-shirt.  He had such a good time with Doug, Vanessa, Addi, and Ty, and we are so happy they let him go along!  My Uncle Lynn (Chiefs super fan) and his son Joe were there, too.  While Joe is my cousin, he's only a year older than Caiden and Ty - isn't that an interesting fact? On behalf of Caiden:  Thanks, Schroeder's, for a great time!