Days With the Duerksens

Fifteen years to try new things, and this year is no exception.  Caiden replaced his track spikes for golf clubs this year, and it's been a good change.  His first day of practice was actually on his birthday this year, so naturally, the birthday gifts from us were "new-to-him" golf clubs and a brand new golf bag. He hasn't golfed much (or at all) since his days of golf camp through the Goessel Rec. Commission, but we have enjoyed listening to him tell of his successes and struggles as he takes in everything this sport has to offer.  So far, he has played on the varsity team and shot rounds of 119, 102, 116, and 126 (a round he wants to forget).  We have been banned from watching him this year, but we're hopeful that will change in the coming years! Happy 15th, Caiden!  We sure do love you! Caiden - new gear at age 15 Caiden - putting at age 6 Ty and Caiden on Papa's putting green

Grammy and Papa are celebrating 50 years of marriage this coming summer on June 6, 2019.  To celebrate, they arranged for a trip to Colorado over spring break this last March.  With record snowfall in the Fairplay/Breckenridge areas this winter, we were in for an interesting trip.  Needless to say, we were thankful we decided to take the 4-wheel drive truck!  Our cabin was awesome, but we had a 20 min. drive up a mountain to get there.  With so much snowfall, we passed stuck, snowbound vehicles every time we went up or down!  Thankfully, that was never our story. Even with some elevation sickness and tricky roads, we did enjoy plenty during our stay:  downtime, digging a sled run (thanks to Chelan) and sledding down it, exploring in waist-deep snow, a gondola ride in Breckenridge, first time skiing, and an anniversary celebration complete with a slideshow of over 500 pictures! After a treacherous drive through the "great bomb cyclone of 2019," we made it to Denver and

Who knew Caiden would be going to prom as a Freshman!  It seems our 2 assistant biddy basketball coaches formed a connection off the court as well!  Porclein Unruh asked Caiden to prom way back in January!  This past weekend was the big event, and he looked pretty handsome in a suit for the first time! They made a cute couple, I think! L to R:  Caiden, Porclein, Jan, Elizabeth, Eddie, Julianna, Dawson, Alyssa

Cambry worked throughout February and early March to prepare a clarinet solo for the Wheat State League Music Contest.  I was proud of her for sticking with it and performing it well!  She got a I rating, which was music to her ears! The band and choir performed well, too - both receiving I ratings!

We finally had a winter with enough snow for sledding!

February brought the end of basketball season for another year.  Delaney ended up only having 3 games because of questionable weather most Saturdays in January.  She had a great time and learned a lot, even though she had a limited number of games! Delaney with her buddy, Kaleigh Guhr L to R:  Athena, Elaina, Lydia, Jo, Quinli, Delaney Coaches:  Porclein, Chelan, Caiden  Caiden's JV team ended the season with a winning record, and their biggest accomplishment was winning our home JV tournament - the first time in many years!  He was a stat leader or co-leader in a few areas:  most assists (22), most blocks (12), best FG % (42%), he was the leading scorer, and I think he probably drew the most charges.  He enjoyed that particular team immensely, and it was fun to watch them play all season.  We were sad to see it end!  Practicing with Papa after one of the games:

Feb. 15, 2019 - I began a new decade!  Thanks to my sister, I was showered with birthday wishes and small gifts for 40 days leading up to my birthday - quite overwhelming, but oh, so sweet of her!  Some students even brought in small "40-gifts" on my birthday.  I think I now have enough pencils to last 40 years of teaching!   At forty, I'm not doing what I ever thought I would be doing, I'm good at things I never thought I would be good at, I'm sub-par at things I thought I would be great at.  The lesson at age 40?  I don't think I'll ever be done learning - about myself or about the world around me! And -- I will always, always love chocolate.  I guess some things don't change - another lesson learned! Selfie in the workroom - Vanessa treated our building to cupcakes! I took some girls with me to Lauren Daigle's concert at the Orpheum Theater in Wichita!