April Adventures

April was a busy month for our family!
Here are a few pictures of our adventures...

We celebrated Mary's 5th birthday with a rainbow princess cake at Pizza Ranch. 

Field trip to the Washington Pavilion. Since Mom drove, Mary got to come too. ;)

Mom's big helpers busy baking!

Jenna all ready for Junior Senior Banquet

Mary all ready for kindergarten roundup

Next year's kindgergarten class... Caleb, Jacob, Mary & Charlie

Kindergarten Roundup... Mary and the boys :)

Micah, Reuben, Caleb, Noah, Jacob, Josiah, Mary, Calvin, Charlie & Jesse

(preschool - 1st grade)

Mom, Mary, & Hannah spent a day in LeMars while Luke was at Honors Orchestra, which involved visiting multiple parks and the Wells Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor, of course!

What a beautiful time of year with the trees in full bloom!

Hannah thought it was very tasty! :)

The kids talked Dad into Blue Bunny after the concert...

while Mom headed to Indianola for Kara's state AAU volleyball tournament. Go Tigers!

Lots of fun memories made with these beautiful young ladies!

Ali, Keely, Kierra, Danica, Kara, Skyler, and Coach Aubrey

(If you like music... stay tuned for honors orchestra and solo ensemble videos... coming soon! :)

More Florida Spring Break 2021

 On Day 3 we headed to Universal Studios... Here we are heading into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley.

Platform 9¾
(If you know, you know.)😉

Hogwarts Castle

More fun in the backyard!

Hannah couldn't get enough of the pool!

On Day 4 we headed out on Captain Ed's boat and had a great day on the water and exploring on our own little island on the west side of Cape Canaveral. We saw dolphins, manatees, and alligators in the wild, caught several different kinds of fish, and found some unique shells.

Our first catch of the day... a dead horeshoe crab!

Our biggest catch of the day, a gafttopsail

Mary caught a fish and gave Captain Ed 2 thumbs up!

Cooking some burgers for lunch on the island

Next we headed to Cocoa Beach... our kids' first time seeing the ocean!

Catching some waves

Mary loved the beach!

~ Family picture at Cocoa Beach ~ 

Heading home after making some unforgettable family memories!

Florida Spring Break 2021

Last week our family headed to sunny Florida, where we enjoyed a great family getaway!

We left on Mary's 5th birthday...
here's the birthday girl, flying for the first time. :)

We made it to Orlando! Riding the train to the baggage claim.

We celebrated with birthday cake at the rental house that evening.
Happy 5th Birthday, Mary!

Getting ready to head to Magic Kingdom the next morning...

Couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a picture with our Mickey/Minnie shirts and the matching coffee cups we found at the house. :)

Main Street, U.S.A.

Family picture in front of Cinderella's castle.
Yes, masks were required... Even for pictures.

Checking out Splash Mountain

Waiting in line for Splash Mountain

Yes, Mary was on the ride, ducked down behind Luke.
She was in tears afterward because you can't see her on the picture. ;)

Here's proof that she was actually on the boat, as she waved on the way by!

Dad & Mary on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Lunch at Crystal Palace

Big Thunder Mountain railroad. Mary's favorite ride of the whole trip! 

Prince Charming Regal Carousel

Hannah having a snack with Minnie Mouse

We spent the next day at Animal Kingdom...

Family picture in front of the Tree of Life, which has 325 different animal species carved on its trunk. Pretty neat!

Kali River Rapids ride... where you are guaranteed to get wet!

Ryan & Hannah just outside Rainforest Cafe

Ryan found the perfect souvenir... a Pumba hat! :)

After a couple of very busy days, we really enjoyed relaxing in the pool and hot tub behind our rental house!

To be continued...

Happy Valentine's Day!

 It's tradition... our heart-themed Valentine's supper celebration!💗

Including heart-hair and strawberry cake. 😊

   

Hannah enjoyed her Valentine cupcake at Grandma's house!

Mary knows how to keep warm on these cold, cold days

So does Hannah!

A little Air Madness fun on President's Day

   

Hannah brushing her teeth... and washing her feet. Oops!

We hope you're all staying safe and warm!

De Jong Family Christmas Concert 2020

Here is our annual De Jong Family Christmas concert performed by the De Jong cousin instrumentalists. Enjoy!☺

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-V1W9euIMms

Trinity CHS Winter Program

 In case you missed it, you can watch Trinity CHS's winter program below.

If you don't have time to watch the entire program, you can watch the "Hallelujah Chorus" at this first link. It was beautiful! Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/qQiVEUSlTes?t=5458

Trinity CHS Winter Program
https://youtu.be/qQiVEUSlTes

Christmas Piano Recital

Here are some videos from our kids' annual Christmas piano recital. Enjoy!

Ryan playing "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"

https://youtu.be/UkaoemjYZxc

Kara playing "For Unto Us"

https://youtu.be/RQak-f-PTD4

Jenna playing "In the Bleak Midwinter"

https://youtu.be/Ew8OnjHqHxY