Lucy and Ellory recently.

Lucy and Ellory are in 3rd grade! It's wild how fast they are growing. Lucy and Ellory are both doing very well with school this year. They are busy learning cursive, multiplication tables, and learning how to write and type pretty amazing stories! We recently had conferences and are so thankful for our beautiful, smart, kind girls- both teachers had many wonderful things to say about Lucy and Ellory! It's a joy to hear that they are both doing well academically but are also kind too.

Lucy and Ellory enjoyed a great summer. Both played softball and did a great job, fun to watch them play! Go Cubs! Both did great at swimming lessons and passed level 4. Both did VBS at a local church and loved that it was lego themed. They did summer piano lessons in June/July, and did a few shorter term activities too that were just for a few days, like soccer camp, nature camp, golf camp, and volleyball camp. A couple fun summer activities were visiting the Sioux County Youth Fair, hosting our annual 4^th of July fireworks party, and picking strawberries at Getting's Gardens. We went to Des Moines a couple times and enjoyed parks, Living History Farms, Groen's pool, zoo, Science Center, and family staycation fun. We hosted 19 tenters in our backyard when Ragbrai started in our town this year. An unfortunate summer happening was getting hit by a huge derecho and suffering a lot of yard/house damage, but thankfully we were all okay and able to get it fixed up. We also got to take a trip to Rapid City to visit Gigi and Taylor, and we got to stop at the Badlands National Park on the way to use Norah's free 4^th grade pass- so neat! Lucy and Ellory were both very brave and competed in the kids triathlon where they had to swim down and back, run half a mile, and bike a mile. They did so great!

Lucy and Ellory did volleyball this fall and enjoyed it! They are in Sunday School and piano lessons (we had to find a new teacher because Ms. Heidi stopped teaching, but we thankfully found a great one from church!). They are great at helping all the younger kids each week at our life group. Ellory is in a jazz and lyrical dance class with Norah this year- fun they can go together! Lucy did flag football this fall and truly loved it so much- what a beast out there!

We celebrated Norah turning 11 this fall and Kley had ACL/meniscus surgery. We have enjoyed some fall favorite activities like Morning on the Green, Fields of Fun, and Scarecrow Farm. Lucy and Ellory are wearing size L/10-12 clothes and Lucy is in a size 1 shoe and Ellory is in size 2. Lucy was a Vikings football player and Ellory was a panda for Halloween. We got to go to Des Moines in the fall too to celebrate Aunt Kayla's birthday and to cheer her on in her half marathon, she did amazing! Lucy and Ellory gained a new cousin, Stuart Herald, on 10/17/25 at 8 lbs.10 oz and 22 in. We are looking forward to meeting him at Thanksgiving! Another very special fall happening was that Lucy and Ellory met with our pastor to talk about communion, and both took their first communion on September 7- so so special! We are so proud of you, Lucy and Ellory, and pray you both continue to grow in the Lord! This fall, we got to do both of their special birthday activities. Over Labor Day weekend, Ellory and I went up to Sioux Falls and had a super fun day together. We went to Washington Pavilion, Sky Zone, and to see Anne Wilson sing! Lucy and Daddy got to go to Minneapolis to ride a few rides at MOA and go to her first Vikings game- amazing!

Lucy loves to listen to music- Phil Wickham is her favorite. She likes puzzles, hot wheels cars, crafting, building, legos, minecraft blocks, and anything sports related! Ellory loves bracelets, crafting, dolls, animals, listening to music, writing stories, and figurines. Both are becoming excellent readers and it's so great to watch them enjoy reading! We love you so much, Lucy! We love you so much, Ellory! You are a joy and we love being your parents!

Norah recently.

Norah is in 5^th grade! It's wild that she will be in middle school next year. Norah is doing very well with school this year. She is switching to five different teachers and they are doing a great job of preparing for the future with teaching how to manage planners, studying, tests, responsibility, etc. We recently had conferences and are so thankful for our beautiful, smart, kind girl- her teacher had many wonderful things to say about Norah! School also recently did the “growth and development” presentation and invited the moms to come- she's really growing up!

Norah enjoyed a great summer. This was the first summer she didn't do softball and wanted to do some other things instead. She finished and passed her last level of swimming lessons- which included diving for bricks in the deep end, treading for ten minutes, and practicing saving someone! Norah was old enough to help at the library at the children's desk for the summer reading program and did a great job and loved it. She did VBS for the last time with a few friends at a local church. She did summer piano lessons in June/July, Outdoor Connections where they did different things like bike riding and fishing, and flag with a fun performance at the end. Norah did a few shorter term activities too that were just for a few days, like soccer camp, nature camp, golf camp, and volleyball camp. A couple fun summer activities were visiting the Sioux County Youth Fair, hosting our annual 4^th of July fireworks party, and picking strawberries at Getting's Gardens. We went to Des Moines a couple times and enjoyed parks, Living History Farms, Groen's pool, zoo, Science Center, and family staycation fun. We hosted 19 tenters in our backyard when Ragbrai started in our town this year. An unfortunate summer happening was getting hit by a huge derecho and suffering a lot of yard/house damage, but thankfully we were all okay and able to get it fixed up. We also got to take a trip to Rapid City to visit Gigi and Taylor, and we got to stop at the Badlands National Park on the way to use Norah's free 4^th grade pass- so neat!

Norah did volleyball this fall and enjoyed it! She is in Sunday School and piano lessons (we had to find a new teacher because Ms. Heidi stopped teaching, but we thankfully found a great one from church!). She is in a jazz and lyrical dance class with Ellory this year- fun they can go together! She is doing band (clarinet) and choir at school and is handling both well. I think she likes band better than choir. Norah is great at helping all the younger kids each week at our life group. She is loving art club, a once a week extra art hour after school just for 5^th graders that she had to apply for and got accepted, yay!

We celebrated Norah turning 11 this fall! We were able to celebrate with both sides of the family and she had a few friends over for some treats and crafts (beads and canvas painting) and was pink themed. She chose to celebrate her family party at home because it was right after Kley's ACL/meniscus surgery, so we carved pumpkins, ate pizza, painted, opened presents, and watched Annie. We have enjoyed fall favorite activities like Fields of Fun, Scarecrow Farm, and Morning on the Green. Norah is wearing size 5 shoe and is teetering on the edge of children and adult size clothing. She is mostly wearing an XL in girls clothes, but is starting to branch into the small adult size sometimes. She dressed up as a princess for Halloween. At her 11 year wellness check, Norah was 4'10” (65%) and got two shots. Her teeth are falling out fast- top left 1^st bicuspid on 6/5/25, bottom left 2^nd bicuspid on 9/29/25, bottom right 2^nd bicuspid 10/31/25, and top right 1^st bicuspid on 11/20/25. We got to go to Des Moines in the fall too to celebrate Aunt Kayla's birthday and to cheer her on in her half marathon, she did amazing! Norah gained a new cousin, Stuart Herald, on 10/17/25 at 8 lbs. 10 oz and 22 in. We are looking forward to meeting him at Thanksgiving!

Norah loves to listen to music, write stories, and read. She loves to make crafts, especially beads, build lego cities, play with figurines, play school, and is getting more into things like painting her nails and curling her hair. We love you so much, Norah! You are a joy and we love being your parents!

Fun Saturdays- Christmas tree decorating/snow play and Lucy's special day- Vikings game!

Lucy had been waiting for months for her special day and was thrilled that it was here! Each of the girls got to do something fun their their birthdays, and Norah and Ellory both had gone to see Anne Wilson in concert (at separate times), and Kley and Lucy headed to a Vikings game for her special outing!

It was Lucy's first game- so special that her and Kley could share it together!

She got to ride a few rides at MOA and eat at Rainforest Cafe too- the best!

Lucy got to see Jefferson and McCarthy up close- so cool!

So so fun! They got to stay at Uncle Zack and Aunt Karlie's house, so she got to see cousins Averie and Brooks. My parents and sister Kayla came up too, and so did my brother Keaton and two of his kids, Jorie and Murphy, for the game, so there was lots of family fun too!

It was the sweetest how excited Lucy was- I'm so glad she could go and enjoy it!

Norah, Ellory, and I had fun at home! We went to the nearest bigger town and ran a few errands and went out to eat, and enjoyed a few games at an arcade. Ellory was thrilled because she won the jackpot on a game and got 1,570 tickets- wow!

We had another fun Saturday enjoying decorating for Christmas and loving the first snowfall of the year! Is there anything better than decorating the tree and playing in the snow? The best!