Days With the Duerksens

Last Saturday, Chelan, Caiden, and Grandpa worked at getting this grain bin up onto the hopper.  It took most of the day, but eventually, it was another project finished!

Yesterday was Chelan's 39th birthday.  While we didn't do much, we did enjoy a Freddy's ice cream cake with his parents.  He doesn't like to make a big deal out of birthdays, so this was just the right amount of "hype" for him! I don't know what we would do without his general knowledge about everything, his strength, his love, his loyalty, and his patience.  We are blessed to call him "husband" and "dad!" YUMMY!

Found one! Where could our baskets be? "I'm going to get it!" In their Sunday best!  Delaney - 3 1/2, Caiden - 10, Cambry - 7 1/2 Biscuit had to get in on the photo shoot, too!  She's almost 8 months old.

There are big plans for a tree house taking place!  Chelan is planning on getting the frame up, and then the kids are supposed to take over from there.  This could be interesting . . .

It's dry - way too dry!  It's been windy - way too windy!  And when dry and windy combine, there are bound to be fires.  On Saturday, it was our corn field on fire.  Along with my Uncle Jim's - they are right across the road from each other. We went out there after supper to check things out (it's quite a ways from our house).  The fire was extinguished, but blowing smoke and dust remained - along with plenty of firefighters.  Someone counted 10 trucks at one time.  Thanks goodness for our small town volunteers - from Goessel and other surrounding towns!  They worked really hard to get it out as quickly as they could, fighting wicked winds! We don't know what the damage will be yet.  Some of the corn was up a little bit, some of it wasn't.  And it wasn't our whole field.  Time will tell . . . Rain is our constant prayer!

I found this note in the kitchen the other day.  Apparently, Cambry has finally found the joy in reading - if she has the right book!  Now, to work on her spelling and grammar . . .

My tomato plants are getting too big for their cups!  I transplanted several plants into bigger containers yesterday.  There is something so satisfying about starting a plant from an itty-bitty seed and watching it grow into this beautiful, healthy plant!

This was a conversation between Delaney and me yesterday while she was eating crackers: Delaney:  "Mom, this cracker is a hexagon." Me:  (not really paying attention)  "Oh?" Delaney:  "See?  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6" (as she counts the sides) Me:  (finally paying attention)  "OH!  You're right!  Where did you learn that?" Delaney:  " Peg + Cat" Peg + Cat is a new show this year and it's all about problem-solving.  And, it's Delaney's favorite show.  Thanks to Peg (or Pig as Delaney usually calls her), we now hear phrases from our 3 1/2 year old, such as: -"I'm totally freaking out!" -"We've got a BIG problem!" -and the best one of all - the song: "Problem solved, the problem is solved, we solved the problem, everything is awesome, problem solved!"

We had a great Sunday at the ball park - the K-State ball park, to be exact!  We watched K-State take on KU under some clouds, some sun, and even a few raindrops.  Unfortunately, K-State lost 2-1, but the game was fun nonetheless, and something that only Chelan and Caiden had experienced before.  There was just enough action to keep it interesting for all of us, and the boys even found a place to catch foul balls.  None were caught, but they were given balls from some people who didn't need or want them.  It was a fun way to celebrate our March/April/May birthdays! Ross Kivett Cale tried to get Willie to throw him a shirt! She enjoyed this much more than a football game! A stop at Freddy's for ice cream and presents topped off the day!