Days With the Duerksens

Someone in this house turned 40 this week!  Chelan's not one to make a big fuss over his birthday.  In fact, he's annoyingly apathetic towards it.  So naturally, it was appropriate that other people made a big deal over his 40th!  The kids and I came up with 40 thoughts, memories, Bible verses, etc. for this jar:  He was surprised at work with lots of Mt. Dew and other things: He thought that his birthday was over after Wednesday.  His parents and mine came over for pie.  But last night, I surprised him with dinner at Cy's in Sedgwick (a place he likes but rarely gets to eat at). His family also met us there!  I figured it was all the surprise he could handle - and maybe me too! His sister enjoyed putting together a "Turning 40 Survival Kit."  It was fun to watch him open all the little packages - including this whoopie cushion (for covering up those embarrassing moments).  You can also see WD-40 in the picture (for keeping his j...

Chelan and I took three birthday boys to the ball park today.  The weather was less than ideal in Manhattan, but the boys barely seemed to notice.  They were so busy running after foul balls and asking players for balls as they walked to and from the bull pen!  Ty was lucky enough to get a game ball and Caiden won out on "rock, paper, scissors" for the other one.  The stands were quite empty by the end of the game, but we stuck it out!  K-State lost to Texas Tech 4-1, but I think the boys all had a good time. Caiden considers his cousins to be his friends.  He's one lucky boy! rock, paper, scissors for the 2nd ball Mace must have said something amusing! It was nice that many of the players stopped to sign Ty's baseball after the game!  Caiden didn't have the same nerve to get his signed.  He shies away from stuff like that.

I came home after subbing on Thursday to find that our cat had kittens - finally!  We've been waiting for 2 years to have more kittens on the farm.  We just hope they survive.  The gray one had a rather adventurous birth.  I found it still attached to the mom.  She could not, for the life of her, get it detached.  I finally had to cut the cord - literally!  I love that all 4 of them are different! Then, that evening, Grandpa found a stray baby bunny on the ground. Caiden came to show us and then we let it go.  I hope it found its home, but that will be left a mystery, I'm afraid. All this happened the same day we discovered that Biscuit had been in a fight - possibly with a raccoon - and dragged (perhaps) to the creek.  She apparently spent most of the day trying to dry off and take care of a big wound on one of her shoulders.  She seems to be acting normal now - hopefully on the mend. Sometimes, moms are vets, too! ...

Cambry began 4-H this year - have I blogged about that?  Her Exploring 4-H group (Logan and Cambry only) went to the Hutchinson Sand Pit on Monday afternoon to look for rocks.  It really was just a giant rock pile, but they sure found quite a few specimens for their display boxes.  Who knew there could be quartz, granite, petrified wood, coal, and mica all in one pile?  It was interesting, and Cambry got pretty good at identifying her rocks - after a few tries! Getting help with identifying with Logan's grandma

The girls have been getting some big driving lessons lately this week!  Grandpa is bound and determined to teach Delaney to ride her bike without training wheels - she finally let him try the other day.  And Cambry is finally old enough to get some experience on the Mule - with adult supervision, of course!

Delaney seems to be on a quest to make the perfect nest.  I have found her several times this week digging in the mud, gathering sticks, and pulling up grass.  All in the hopes of a stray bird finding her masterpieces!  I'm afraid none have discovered them so far. She decided that maybe a bird wouldn't like a nest on the ground. So I found this nest - in a bucket - in a tree the next time I went outside!  I love her creativity!

Last weekend, Caiden got to participate in the State Science Fair.  He and his friend Logan had been working on a hot air balloon project for quite some time (initially a math assignment).  I never really understood anything they were working on (it was over my head), but I do know it had to do with ratios and how well a hot air balloon will fly.  Last month, they entered it in a regional science fair in Wamego.  The project earned a superior rating, sending them to Wichita last week.   Their ELP teacher, Mrs. Sells, put so much extra time into helping the students with their projects.  Caiden probably doesn't realize it, but he is so lucky to have teachers who recognize his capabilities and challenge him to do his best, even when he doesn't want to! I went with Caiden last Saturday for the awards ceremony.  His project was in the "Engineering" division - a very popular category.  They didn't earn any awards, but I think the whole experienc...