Norah's 8th birthday- family celebration.

Family birthday celebrations are one of my favorite traditions! For their birthday, they get to pick where to eat supper and the activity. Usually they only get to pick one activity, but today the timing just worked to have the perfect amount of time between the time skating was finished and supper to sneak in the movie too! We went ice skating, saw Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (pretty cute, not the best ever but pretty good), and went to Culvers for supper. What a fun family afternoon! 

Happy birthday, our sweet Norah. Eight years with you has been a joy. You have grown up so much in the last year and are beautiful inside and out! We love you very much!

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!

Date night movies.

The times where Kley and I get to sit and watch an entire movie are quite rare. We stay pretty caught up on our favorite TV shows after the girls go to sleep, but to have 2+ hours for a movie is rare. Then, when we finally get a date night or time to watch a movie, we are so behind on the times of what's good that we waste the precious time trying to decide what to watch.

So, to prevent this conundrum from happening to other people, here are some movies we've enjoyed that are actually worth watching. (Because it's so disappointing when you finally get time to watch a movie and then it's not even good!)

Seven Pounds (Drama, Romance)- A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.

Deja Vu (Action, Crime, Sci-Fi)- After a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims.

About Time (Comedy, Drama, Fantasy)- At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.

                                        

Date Night (Comedy, Crime, Romance)- In New York City, a case of mistaken identity turns a bored married couple's attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening into something more thrilling and dangerous.

The Blind Side (Biography, Drama, Sport)- The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

The Proposal (Comedy, Drama, Romance)- A pushy boss forces her young assistant to marry her in order to keep her visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Comedy, Romance)- Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive and ladies' man who, to win a big campaign, bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie Anderson covers the "How To" beat for "Composure" magazine and is assigned to write an article on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days." They meet in a bar shortly after the bet is made.

Patch Adams (Biography, Comedy, Drama)- The true story of a heroic man, Hunter "Patch" Adams, determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humor and pathos.

 Forrest Gump (Drama, Romance)- The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, Vietnam, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75.

The Guardian (Action, Adventure, Drama)- A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's "A" School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

Flightplan (Drama, Mystery, Thriller)- A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet, the child vanishes, and nobody will admit she was ever on the plane.

Red Eye (Mystery, Thriller)-  A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician.

My Sassy Girl (Comedy, Drama, Romance)- A sweet Midwestern guy with his life planned out for himself is wooed, groomed, and ultimately dumped by a complicated, elusive gal.

*This is a movie Kley and I randomly picked off the shelf in the movie store back when we were dating. We loved it, but I will forewarn you that the beginning is very odd- it gets better!

Hitch (Comedy, Romance) - While helping his latest client woo the fine lady of his dreams, a professional "date doctor" finds that his game doesn't quite work on the gossip columnist with whom he's smitten.

Notting Hill (Comedy, Drama, Romance)- The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when he meets the most famous film star in the world.

McFarland, USA (Biography, Drama, Sport)- Jim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach. He sees that some of the students are worth starting a cross-country team and turns seven students with no hope into one of the best cross-country teams.

People Like Us (Comedy, Drama)- While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.

The Greatest Showman (Biography, Drama, Musical)- Celebrates the birth of show business, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

Chef (Adventure, Comedy, Drama)- A head chef quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.

Take Me Home (Comedy, Romance)- Soon after Thom starts operating as an illegal taxi driver in New York City, Claire hires him to drive her to California after her estranged father suffers a heart attack.

Christmas 2017 part 1.

Merry Christmas! It truly was a great time. Kley and I commented that it was one of our favorite Christmases ever and the pacing of it was great. And it was Lucy and Ellory's first Christmas, and Norah is old enough to really understand, anticipate, and enjoy, so it all around was just so fun! What great reason to celebrate because of His birth and our families are great to celebrate with!

Thursday night we had the big gathering with Kley's mom's side, and Friday night with Kley's dad's side, and Saturday was our big Christmas celebration with the immediate De Jong family. We are so grateful for all of our family. It's so special to celebrate with all the different generations and groups. 

I love these pictures with my girls! They sure got some fun new toys!

It was declared that the De Jong celebration was pajama day, and Norah happily obliged. She'd wear her pajamas all day every day if we'd let her. (And she really does, if we don't have to go anywhere!)

Watching Toy Story, one of Norah's presents. I think she asked what was happening about every 30 seconds. She is really observant and sensitive to what she watches! Whenever there was any sad part or worry that Buzz and Woody weren't going to make it back to Andy, she said she didn't want to watch anymore, and we had to reassure her they were going to make it.

(We also made the mistake of letting her watch the first part of Home Alone and she was traumatized that they forgot Kevin. We were thinking she would just play and not really pay attention to it, but she paid way too close of attention and I had to take her to go do something else. We had to reassure her many times that we weren't going to forget her! And they don't speak very nicely to each other- definitely not three year old appropriate! Parenting fail.)

Opening presents- Norah was very excited about her new double stroller for her dolls!

Ellory and Papa!

I love this picture of me and Ellory. I want to do a better job of taking pictures with my girls individually! (I think Lucy was playing in the basement with someone, which is why there aren't any of her.)

Every Christmas has been fun, but it's great when they get old enough to really enjoy it!

Kley's pumped about his planer, some woodworking tool that I don't understand.

Finishing Toy Story after supper/presents.

Love these family shots!

Norah is 3 and Lucy and Ellory are 10 months. Love my girls!

Kley's sister/BIL had Christmas with his family, so we had Christmas day just to ourselves, which was perfect after a busy few days and was nice to have time to celebrate just the 5 of us. We made eggs and cinnamon rolls for brunch.

Opening Norah's stocking.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Praise God for sending our Savior!