Days With the Duerksens

We've heard our share of squeaks around here lately!  Cambry began playing the clarinet, and she is doing so well!  We don't even have to remind her to practice as she is pretty eager at this point.  And I even started hearing the beginnings of an actual song the other day.  Tonight, it was a joy to watch Caiden play football for the very first time.  His team scrimmaged at the school's annual "Fall Sports Preview."  They actually have enough to scrimmage 8 on 8 this year - for the first time in a long time.  And Caiden even took a few snaps at quarterback - and completed a pass!  He's not so sure he likes that role, but if he has to play quarterback in a game, he would probably be a second back-up for this year.  He really enjoys playing linebacker - and he got to do that some tonight too.  We are definitely looking forward to watching his games this year and we are so happy that he is enjoying it!

Another school year has arrived!  6:15 a.m. came pretty quickly last Thursday morning, but I think adrenaline carried us all through to the weekend.  Remarkably, this transition seems to be going more smoothly than last year.  No one is in a new building or starting school for the first time - except for me!  Because those transitions came last year for Caiden and Delaney, this year seems much more manageable - even with me starting a new teaching job. We do have a few new things to get used to besides my work schedule:  Cambry is learning how to play the clarinet and Caiden has started football.  Cambry is practicing quite a bit, which we are glad to see (hear).  And Caiden seems to be getting more comfortable with football, after a rough couple of first days!  Delaney is just looking forward to getting back to school so she can check on her caterpillar! So how did my first day go?  I was quite anxious about it all, but things seemed to ...

The day after we got home from our vacation, we squeezed in Delaney's 6th birthday!  (It's a good thing we had the gifts taken care of before our trip)!  A few days later, we celebrated with family.  We gave her a tumbling mat and a new leotard, along with a Lego-themed alarm clock - just in time for school beginning this week!  She also received some new books and clothes, "teaching" supplies (for her "classes"), and some craft projects from her aunts/uncles/cousins/grandmas/grandpas. At 6 years old, Delaney: -is highly-motivated by goals and challenges -is READING! -is enjoying gymnastics (she's moving up a level this fall) -loves playing with her sister, especially their "Lego Game" -still hasn't lost any teeth! -can make anything into a game Delaney, you may be our youngest, but you bring quite a balance to this family.  We love you! Had to buy a cake this year, but she thought that was kind of neat!  (whew)! ...

Sunday morning, we left St. George - heading to Denver.  We had seen 110 degrees the previous day.  This day we would see 48 degrees and icy rain way up high in the Rockies.  Only by car can you experience those extremes! Because we were on a mission to make good time, we passed by Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks - wish we could have stopped.  But here is more from beautiful Utah.  We never knew what we would see around the next bend: We got a free watermelon after we filled up the gas tank - only in California! We ate it for lunch on our way to Denver. Views from the Van: Cambry and I made this travel Lego set at home.  It came in handy! Pit stop by the Colorado River Another tunnel - we crossed the Continental Divide going through Before we got to our hotel, we stopped at Casa Bonita - just because it's kind of something you have to do at least once.  I'm not sure we needed to stop there, e...

Saturday morning came too soon!  It was time to say good-bye.  Thank you, California Duerksen's for being such gracious hosts! With that, our 3-day journey home began!  We drove through the Mojave Desert (we saw 110 degrees at one point), past Las Vegas to the Hoover Dam, and then on to St. George, UT for the night.  It was about a 10 hour day - with our little detour to the Hoover Dam.  Once we hit Utah, we couldn't believe the landscape.  Every bend in the road revealed a new view - canyon after canyon, hill after hill.  It was beautiful, especially at sunset! Joshua Trees everywhere An enormous solar energy plant outside of Las Vegas.  Those tall towers are actually mirrors. The back side of Hoover Dam The front - our best view.  We didn't take time for a tour, but would like to sometime.  It is enormous!