Pumpkin painting 2021.

Pumpkin painting is one of our favorite fall traditions! :) 

Fields of Fun 2021.

Fields of Fun (our local pumpkin patch) is open again! I love fall. Going here is one of my favorite traditions. Our girls are 6 and 4 (twins), and I know that's still young, but they just seem older lately and I feel that time is flying. I'm trying to treasure times together doing special things. Trips to the pumpkin patch are something I know I will hold in my heart as such a fond memory when I am older. So, this time here together as the five of us was a true gift. What a fun way to end Labor Day weekend. I know we will be back at least several more times until it closes in the winter, but the first trip of the year is alway extra special.

The best "sisters by the pumpkins" picture we could get. They were too excited to pick one out to bring home to paint.

The corn pit is a huge hit. 

Train rides! Kley and I were talking about how grateful we are that we are still in the "train rides are fun" season, as someday they will think they are too cool, but then we realized that them being the oldest cousins on both sides is a huge plus because they can take their younger cousins on things like this for years to come. Win! There are beautiful aspects to each season!

Yearly pictures by the growth sign!

What a fun afternoon/evening. Thankful for changing of seasons and the beauty that each brings. And for my family!

Check out our pumpkin patch picture from 2018! So tiny! :)

Labor Day weekend 2021.

We've had some fun events lately! This wasn't actually a part of Labor Day weekend, but the first Saturday after school started, we had a fun girls outing (while Kley was at a fantasy football draft), where we went to the girls first ever movie in theatre! They were so excited. They had seen the trailer for the Paw Patrol movie and had been asking when it was coming out, and we vaguely said it was soon and that it would be fun to go. We waited to tell them until right before we left, and it was so fun to see the look on their faces. They were mesmerized and sat still through the whole thing. It was fun! We also went out for pizza after and went swimming at our local pool for the last time this summer.
We spent most of Labor Day weekend in Minneapolis visiting Zack, Karlie, and Averie (Karlie is my sister). It was fun! We hadn't been to their house since before COVID (we went the weekend before everything shut down), so the girls had been asking to go back for awhile. Thankfully we had seen them in between at other places, we just hadn't been to their house in awhile. The highlight was a trip to an apple orchard! It was a beautiful day!

So very fun to see my niece, Averie, and have some cousin time. The girls were so excited to do all the baby things with her!

Beautiful flower fields! So thankful for my family.

This was the first time the girls picked apples- what a special treat!

The best apple pickers!

Then when we got home Sunday, we got to hang out with the De Jongs. Thankful Brett, Elizabeth, and Will were in town! I LOVE family pictures with the entire crew!

Back to school 2021.

We are back to school! Norah is in first grade and Lucy and Ellory are in four-year-old preschool. Lucy and Ellory are in the same classroom they were in last year and have many of the same kids as they had last year, so their adjustment was very smooth. They were very excited to go back and so thankful they are enjoying it! Norah is having a tougher adjustment dealing with homesickness, but we expected that and are so very proud of how brave she is being! Even if there are some tears, we keep praising her for doing what she needs to do and trying her best. Being scared but persevering through is brave! She will be fine with some time. We are so proud of all three and praying for a wonderful year! We pray you can all be a light in your classrooms.

Isn't Ellory reaching out her arm to Kley the sweetest?

Our three beautiful girls! Can't believe how quickly they are growing and so thankful to be their mom!

We had a fun back to school weekend before it began. We got donuts and went to the park. My mom came for the weekend and the girls got their nails painted at a salon for the first time! We also rented a bounce house for a couple days and had our life group and lots of school friends over to jump. Such fun!

De Jong Okoboji 2021 trip- Boat ride, mini golf, and water fun.

What a fun few days in Okoboji with the De Jongs! Grateful for special time with family. We went on a boat ride and the girls loved it! 

Love our family!

Being an aunt is pretty special!

It was a beautiful night!

The girls all loved driving with Kley!

Sweet cousins.

A rare picture of just the two of us! It was a few days away from our anniversary- 11 years with my favorite!

I gained such a sweet sister when we got married!

One on one shots with my favorite girls.

Kley and Will are so cute together.

Brother and sister. Also, I just noticed the skeleton hanging from the tree- ha, it was a pirate themed golf course.

The splash pad at Memorial Park was a hit!

This yellow slide at Bridges Bay is highly talked about, a definite favorite!