End of summer fun.

The last week before school starts is always a fun time of doing final summer hurrah activities! One morning we went to Sandy Hollow, a local area with a little beach. They loved playing in the sand and water and was definitely something they had wanted to do all summer, so I'm glad we could fit it in!

One day it rained almost the entire day (which was good, we needed rain in our area), but that cut out all outdoor ideas, so we went to the bowling alley and took Great Grandma De Jong with too. We had lots of fun!

Poor Ellory took a tumble off the monkey bars at the church picnic earlier in the week and we thought she broke her left arm, but thankfully x-ray showed she just sprained it and she was back to normal pretty quickly!

We also had fun going to school and meeting their new teachers for the year! Lucy and Ellory will be in the same class for kindergarten. We chose that- we went back and forth, but thought that with separation anxiety and adjusting to school, that they would like having each other for this year.

The day before school started, we went for a bike ride, got their nails and toes painted to have fancy nails for school, and went to Siouxnami (a waterpark in a neighboring town that they had also wanted to go to all summer and we hadn't made it to yet). Fun to get some last fun summer activities in!

Special summer days in Des Moines.

The girls and I spent a few days in Des Moines before school starts soon! That's always a fun tradition. All of our summer activities are done by the end of July, so that's the perfect time to do some visits to friends and family. Kley had to stay home to work unfortunately, but we had a fun girls time.

We got to see my friend Lauren! We've been friends since 2nd grade. She has two kids (first grade girl and preschool boy). We went swimming together and it was nice to have a longer time to hang out and catch up. It was fun to watch Norah swim with Reese and Lucy and Ellory swim with Ray. They hadn't seen each other in awhile, but it's always so fun to watch kids pick right back up. 

Ice cream for snack poolside. Can summer get any better?

We went to Rose Farm one morning with Jorie and Murphy (my niece and nephew). It was our first time there; what a cute place! They were doing a back to school event with face painting, animals, and treats. It was fun!

Popsicles and the pretty flower garden.

We also went to Blank Park Zoo another morning and enjoyed seeing the animals, riding the train and the carousel.

Train ride together- fun to be with my mom, Rose, Jorie, and Murphy! Love cousin time!

Such cuties- I love this picture!

My lifelong friend Stephanie got to come for supper one night! So blessed by her friendship to me through all of our life seasons!

Jorie asked for a photo! :)

Sweet weekend visiting friends.

Our close friends recently moved away, which was super sad, but we got to go visit them in their new town! Heidi is such a dear friend to me! They moved because her husband accepted a lead pastor position, and they are enjoying their new place and feel that this is a good fit for them, so praise God! We miss them, but are thankful they are only 2.5 hours away, so we can visit! 

We had a fun time seeing their new house, seeing all the sights in their new town, swimming (their pool was amazing!), park, s'mores, ice cream, lake, and splash pad. Thankful for a fun time with sweet friends!

Kley is a rockstar!

Our town does a concert/show in the park on Wednesdays in the summer, and this Wednesday was The Kley De Jong Band! It's funny how many people have asked me about this. He has played at a couple different things over the last years, and his band never had a name, so the newspaper printed it as The Kley De Jong Band. The "band" has also never been the same people, just whatever friends he can find to join each time. But, even though the "band" term is loose, they sounded great and it was fun! Kley really enjoyed it. Kley self taught himself to play guitar in college, and he really is pretty good! The girls loved seeing him on stage.

They advertised that there would be food trucks, but for whatever reason there weren't any after all, so we improvised and the girls had their first lunchables for supper! Who loved lunchables as a kid? They were such a fun special treat when I was younger. One of those fun, special moments that makes summer wonderful. :)

Fun weekend in MN.

We had a super fun weekend in the cities visiting Karlie (my sister), Zack, and Averie! The girls were thrilled to go and thoroughly enjoyed loving on cousin Averie. We had fun at several different parks, splash pad, walking to DQ, playing outside, and s'mores! We also got to meet up with a college friend, Jackie, and her family for supper one night too. Thankful for a special weekend! It was great weather and we all commented it was the perfect summer fun.

We took the girls to Bethel, where Kley and I both went. They had never been before, and it was special to show them a place that meant so much to us. This is the bench that Kley asked me to be his girlfriend on almost 15 years ago. :)

And now look where we are now- married for almost 12 years and three girls in tow!

Cousin love at the splash pad.

We enjoyed several picnics outside!

Swimming lessons, dance camp, and golf camp 2022.

We've had a fun couple weeks of summer activities! The girls all had a big week of swimming lessons. It was fun to watch their determination in the water. They learned a lot and toned their skills! Lucy and Ellory went off the diving board and down the slide by themselves (with their teacher catching them at the bottom). Norah has really grown and can swim in the deep all by herself (still being closely watched). Way to go girls! We are proud of you for going in with good attitudes even if there was a part you were afraid to try, listening to your teacher and trying everything you were asked to try! Going swimming is really fun this summer as you are getting older and more independent in the water!

The girls all went to a princess dance camp for two mornings. It was cute and they were excited to go. They did tumbling, crafts, and learned a short dance routine to a song.

Norah did a four day junior golf camp! Fun to see some friends, play some fun golf games, and learn a little more technique. (This camp is for 6-9 as the youngest group, so Lucy and Ellory are excited to join in next summer when they are six. Kley would be thrilled if the girls enjoyed golfing!)