Days With the Duerksens

Omaha, NE - June 26, 2016 -- A few months ago, I made plans with my sister and niece, my mom, and Tina Boese and her daughter to attend the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.  Wow!  What an experience!  It was surreal to be surrounded by so many Olympic hopefuls, to watch their ridiculous times in the water, and to see the organized, methodical process of running a meet like this. The first session was 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  Just 5 races, but it was heat after heat after heat of swimmers.  And out of all those heats, only 8 make it into the finals.  I'm sure it's quite an experience for most of the swimmers to just make it there - so many don't make it past the first heat!  My niece, Addi, was so good about explaining the ins and outs as we watched:  what the lane judges were looking for, why some swimmers get disqualified, those kinds of things. Some fun outside the CenturyLink Center Men's 400 IM This might be Chase Kalisz ?? Ryan Loc...

Delaney has had 3 gymnastics lessons so far - a new thing for her!  She seems to be loving it, and I've been quite impressed with her strength and stamina!  I think she's tried a little bit of everything, but her favorite part has been learning to do backward rolls.  I love watching her concentrate on what she's supposed to do - she always wants to get it just right! She was quite brave jumping in with girls who have been doing gymnastics for a couple of years already.  She would love to continue - we shall see . . .

Wheat harvest began about a week ago, and it hasn't really stopped.  We had one rainy evening that slowed us down, but other than that, it's been full steam ahead.  Steamy for sure - both the semi and the combine have non-functioning A/C right now! Caiden has gotten in on some of the action this year - he's manning the grain cart!  Luckily, that does not require too much driving.  It's mostly starting, driving a little, and stopping.  While he waits, he's happy playing on his Kindle! The wheat endured a lot of crazy weather this spring - warm and dry too early, late freezing, then near-flooding.  Despite all this, we have been pleasantly surprised by the yields so far! unloading wheat at home Caiden in the tractor! The skies grew dark rather quickly - we waited for all the machines to get home safely! Finally - Caiden arrived before the rain. Grandma, especially, was relieved! The guys didn't quite make it in before the skies let...

We definitely had a busy week!  Wheat harvest began, Caiden went to basketball camp in McPherson, and Cambry went to sewing camp in Hesston.  And when we arrived home at noon each day, harvest was in full swing!  While I prefer our family not to be pulled in so many directions, it was fun to see them both doing things they enjoy!   Sewing Camp: Backyard studio! Brittni Rhodes - Cambry's instructor - helping the girls with material for their aprons. She was in her element this week! The girls on their last day - with all their projects: pillows, skirts, headbands, ruffle aprons, and hoop hangers. Thank you, Brittni, for teaching Cambry this week - through the good and the challenging times (there were definitely some of those)! The grandmothers' inspections! Meanwhile in McPherson: Ready for one-on-one They battled hard! They looked things over! They made attempts! And sometimes scored! There were even awards ...