Days With the Duerksens

Taking senior pictures was a family affair!  Addi graciously agreed to take photos and Vanessa came along as her assistant.  She did such a good job of finding places and helping Caiden to look 'just right!'  He will take some more around the golf course, but we had a good start last Sunday!  Thanks, dear niece!  

Delaney was beyond ready to get to camp this year - especially since 4 of her friends from school were going to be there.  I was happy to take her on June 20 and of course it happened to be the hottest day of the past 2 years!  Luckily, it cooled off overnight for them.  She will have had a new experience at camp this year: wearing masks and staying in a large tent instead of a cabin.  I'm curious what the girls decided to name their tent.  I am sure we will hear all about it when she returns on Saturday!

Another June, another harvest.  This year, the days have gone smoothly, but Chelan was hoping the wheat would be yielding a little better than it has been.  He wonders if the late freeze got more of the wheat than we thought!  While they are busy in the fields harvesting and planting, I have been baking, packing food, trying to keep the plants watered, and running the girls to and from where they need to be!   I suppose an uneventful harvest is a safe harvest, so we will hope it continues that way!  

Need I say more?  

 The day after Cambry's birthday, we woke up to realize that the creek had been so high during the night that it literally ran through our whole yard - including our basement, garage, the shop, and all over the farm yard.  So we were left with a layer of mud to clean up.  With Chelan's leadership and his parents' help, we were able to get things pretty much back to normal by the next evening - and it was a good reason to get rid of some things that we didn't know what to do with anymore.  After the house was back in order, the shop floor needed to be cleaned up, ALL the rock that had washed into the grass had to be moved back into place, the chicken barn needed cleaning, and someday, the old garage will need to be fixed up and cleaned out.  We lost our garage refrigerator, washer, and dryer to the high water, so we limped along for a while without those things.  5.75" rain in a couple of hours can really do a lot of damage! The water carried sand everywhere...

Fifteen Years!  We pulled out the red plate for cream puffs and to honor another birthday. She finished her first year of high school and almost immediately began drivers ed. for 2 weeks.  And since we had always said she could get a phone when she started driving, a phone she received!  After fifteen years, Cambry learned that she enjoys golfing, is still creative, an out-of-the-box thinker, and she loves her family deeply -- just as we love her!  Happy Birthday, Cambry!  

 Caiden achieved his goal of making it to the state golf meet, held in Emporia, this year!  He ended with a score of 101, finishing 48th in 1A.  He was quite disappointed with this outcome because he knew he was capable of doing better.  His lowest score of the year was 86, which happened at the meet in Marion.  I think he definitely has motivation for getting back to state next year! The rest of us sure had fun tagging along and watching.  It was a fun day of supporting him!                               The entourage!  

These 6th and 7th graders made it through a strange year!  By the last day, they were ready to let loose! 7th grade 6th grade I left a bare room, ready for a deep cleaning!  So long 2020-2021 school year!