April Birthday Boys

My April birthday boys.  It has been an absolute joy getting a picture of them together each year and seeing how they've grown. 

2012

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2021

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2026

Kael is 21!

I am so glad Kael was able to come home yesterday to celebrate his birthday.  We went to Rube's- one of his very favorite places and it was so great to all be together to celebrate him!

Kylee and I were there too- I was taking the picture and she was at the head of the table on this end so I couldn't get her in the shot.

My favorite strong man.

Kael has had a busy spring with track meets and we love going to support him.  So far I think we have had someone at every one of his meets! Whether it's me and/or Kent, or some of the grandparents we are so lucky to have such a village who loves Kael.  And he's so easy to love. Kael is patient. Kael works hard.  Kael lifts heavy things.  Kael loves his family and spending time with them.  

Grandma Cindy brought some fun weightlifter decorations to his party and this is something that Kael is so proud of- his strength.  Getting on the leaderboard at Central was such a big goal of his and I truly couldn't be happier that he crushed that goal! He has hopes to keep moving up that board and I just know he's going to do it. 

Kael continues to enjoy playing guitar and I love when he's home and get to hear him play.  Every time he goes back to school I always say, "Kael it's going to be too quiet around here without you!" Kent loves when Kael is home because Kael is just fun and so easy to be around.  He and Kent love playing video games or watching movies together or even just sitting around and watching sports together, talking about players and stats- which is another strength of Kael's! He is so very knowledgeable about all things sports. He would kill it in any sports trivia game.

Kael has really gotten into poker this year.  He plays often with his friends at school and had a pretty big win last week! We plan to find a time once he's moved home in May to take him to Prairie Meadows and let him try his hand there now that he's 21. 

We love you so much Kael and we are so proud of you! Happy 21st!!!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night we got to celebrate Kent and all his work accomplishments with our Edward Jones region. It's always so great to see everyone and catch up and we just have the best region! So proud of Kent and happy to have a night recognizing all his hard work! 

Saturday morning I went with Keith and Cindy to Grinnell to watch Kael throw- my parents came too.  I was only able to stay for hammer throw and Kael was not happy with his throws.  Honestly the ring was kind of different and the weather was so crummy but Kael never makes excuses.  I could see he was disappointed though.  I was happy my parents were able to stay and watch his discus throw because he was much happier with those throws!

Kent and Kase were at baseball where the Crew lost a couple close ones but overall I think it was a decent start to the season.  Kase is, of course, still out with an injury and we had another guy who usually pitches for us who was unable to pitch so I think once everyone is healthy I think we're going to have a great season!

Meanwhile, I was with Kylee as she got ready for Prom with her friends. They had a fun day together and I stopped by with charcuterie for them before we went downtown to take pictures.  Such a sweet group of girls.

Kylee was literally stunning. You guys- I'm not kidding. People's heads were turning everywhere she walked and some random guy tried to hit on her as she was taking pictures with her friends- ha! I loved this dress and I just love this girl.  Beautiful inside and out. 

They had a great night- ate at Tupelo Honey, went to Prom then After Prom where Kylee won big! She got a coffee machine, a 3-tier cart and....a $2500 scholarship!!! Oh my gosh!!! She was so excited and I'm just so happy for her.  She really is putting a bow on her senior year because we also found out this week she was chosen by her peers to get to speak at commencement.  So very proud of her. 

I met Kent, Kase and his friend and his friend's dad for dinner at Sports Page Saturday night then Sunday they were back at the ball fields. Kael got home mid-morning and had fun hanging out playing a new videogame we had gotten him for his birthday.  Kylee got home from watching her friend's baptism and took a looooooong nap. Later that night we celebrated Kael at Rube's which I'll write more about tomorrow but it was the best night!!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

 We're the luckiest, right?

So thankful for a weekend filled with family.  Kael came home Saturday. He had a very fun (but cold and late night) meet in Pella on Thursday. 

Saturday morning Kent and Kase had baseball practice, Kylee did Pilates and brunch with friends and Kael hung out with Emma.  Later Kase had a friend over and then that night just the five of us went out for dinner at Wasabi then to the new Mario movie.  Fun family night for sure!

Sunday was so great- loved having everyone together at early church for Easter. 

Afterwards we celebrated at my parents' house and also did the April birthdays.  Kael LOVED his Reese's dumbbell! My parents are so fun and creative with their gifts. 

Kase may look serious but he also loved his gifts- the baseball sunglasses especially!!

Kylee staying safe with her goggles on for her Senior Assassin game she's in right now.  Long to explain but basically a hilarious and awesome water gun game the seniors at her school are playing.  There are only 25 people who haven't been eliminated yet so Kylee is proud to still be in the game! 

It was a really fun morning and we added a fun egg toss game this year- Kent and Kase were crowned champions! 

We headed to Keith and Cindy's later that day and had a great afternoon with them too.  Cindy always has fun Easter baskets, even for my big kids!

It was a beautiful afternoon/evening for a fire pit on the patio. I didn't get a lot of pictures of the day but we had a great time playing cards and chatting.  Kase always has a great time playing with Kellen and Krue too!  

Love all the special touches from all the grandparents all day long to make it special for everyone.  We are so thankful for such a fun day with all of our favorite people!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Kylee is able to compete in track meets now so she is slowly (ha) easing back into it. Her coach told her not to sprint the finish of her leg of the 4x800 last week which is her signature move so that was tough for her- also she was battling a brutal wind so she wasn't thrilled with her time, but happy to be back out there with friends.  

We went out with Kent's high school friends this weekend which we try to do a few times a year and every time it's a good time. Great group of people and hearing the guys laugh about high school memories is always so fun. 

Kase spent the weekend having late nights with friends- we've enjoyed watching the Hawkeyes this March Madness especially! He also sprained his ankle playing basketball with friends.  We got x-rays and it looks to be a sprain so he will be in a boot and out of sports for a few weeks but we'll know more for sure tomorrow when I follow up with the sports doc. 

Kael had a good weekend throwing! He PR'd in discus! Always thankful when everyone goes to cheer him on- he had a good crew there with Kent's parent, my parents and Kent. So happy for him.

Kylee has been LOVING this senior assassin game the kids are playing now- essentially it's a water gun game that just the seniors at Centennial are playing and Kylee has a target she's been trying to get and also someone is trying to get her so she's been running in and out of the house every time she goes somewhere- it's hilarious!

Thankful for beautiful weather today and sounds like even nicer tomorrow.  It has felt so good to be outside and be able to go for walks! Have a great week!

Weekend Wrap-Up

First of all- a HUGE congratulations to Kael for hitting a big lift last week to put him on the leaderboard at Central. Being in the top 10 has been a goal of his for awhile now and he not only made top 10, but is now currently tied for fourth overall1 He squatted 545 for 8 reps which puts his calculated max at 690 pounds.  WOW! So happy for him because he has been working so hard for this.

Ok- rewinding a bit to last weekend.  Kylee's friend Carter came to visit- they met in Switzerland and have stayed in touch on and off for the last couple years.  He's got an internship at Edward Jones this summer so Kent and I enjoyed taking them out to lunch while he was visiting and hearing about his plans for the future.  

They went to a concert one night and just had a fun weekend hanging out. 

And things are rolling along at our new house! Things are in motion now and we can't wait to watch the progress.

Sunday morning we left early for the airport to head to Grand Cayman for Spring Break. I was waiting for any hiccups with our travel since both my sisters had some situations- one with a flooded basement and one with a flooded destination. But, besides a little delay sitting on the tarmac in Miami for awhile, we arrived with no issues! We were a little rushed to make it to the Welcome Dinner but made it in time to catch the most beautiful sunset.  The beach and the water near our resort was truly amazing. We said it was maybe the best beach we have ever been to and we have been to a lot of beaches!

Coconut drinks are fun for a picture but Kase immediately spit it out after this- ha.

The next morning Kase was out iguana spotting almost immediately.  So fun. Kent and I had a group meeting where we got second place for trivia and won a prize! The big kids hit the gym and Kase reconnected with a friend who had been in Nevis with us two years ago.  Kylee also met a girl at the welcome dinner that she hung out with most of the week so we just had a great day hanging around the resort.

We had lunch at a cute spot at our hotel with beautiful views.  Then we got ready for dinner and caught the shuttle into Camana Bay. We ate at a nice steakhouse then enjoyed walking around the bay after dinner.  It was so pretty!

Kylee always likes to take a bunch of pictures so she can get the perfect shot for Instagram and the boys are such good sports waiting for her and also clowning around with her a bit between shots. 

Friday morning Kent and Kase went fishing with Kase's friend and his dad.  They didn't have a ton of luck but they did have a lot of fun and caught enough fish to take to a local restaurant where the chef cooked up their fresh fish for them!

We spent the afternoon together at the beach snorkeling.  The water was so clear! 

Every evening at the hotel there was a cocktail hour so we all had fun getting dressed up and hanging out with our friends there.  The hotel lobby had the most gorgeous flower arrangement!

Love my people so much.

What a good brother. "Here can you hold this while I take pictures?"

This night we went to town again to an Italian restaurant near the water.  The sunset was unbelievable and the food was amazing. This was a night I think we will all remember!

Kase walked down the way a bit and got to feed some tarpon! Super fun night.

Wednesday was our catamaran trip to Stingray City! 

We love a good catamaran day.

My kids go right for the nets and claim a great spot.

It was a beautiful ride out to Stingray City and we were with all other Jones people so that was fun. 

They say if you kiss a stingray you get 7 years good luck so we all participated- ha!

Look at that beautiful water!

The stingrays were so friendly. 

It honestly was so fun.  It was on a sandbar so we could all touch since the water wasn't deep and it was just a great way to spend the morning!

We got to go to one more snorkel spot on our way back and the kids had fun making funny videos in their snorkel stuff. They saw some cool things in the water too- Kase even saw a turtle!

He was tired on the way back in!

We grabbed a late lunch back at the hotel then spent the afternoon at the pool and beach.

That night was the Theme Dinner! It was pirate themed but mostly just the little kids participated in that. I had fun taking pictures of my fam- everyone looked so nice.  And everywhere you turned on property was another photo spot!

Kylee and her friend took pictures of each other on the beach.

Kael's lats are just crazy.  He is so strong.

Sunset with my love.

The next morning we grabbed bikes from the hotel and rode to a cute beach nearby that was known for snorkeling.  Kylee said it was easily one of her top 5 snorkeling experiences ever and she has snorkeled all over the place! So that was fun.  

Kase met a whole gang of boys to hang out with as he always does and they spent a TON of time at the pool table and also the gym between hanging at the beach and pool. He had a blast.

That night we went out with our friends as a whole group.  We found a sports bar so we could watch some March Madness games.

Could these two be any more photogenic? Cuties!

Blurry pic but these guys had a blast together too.  

Later that night we made our way to a karaoke place and Kylee and Reese sang! It was so awesome. Kael was going to, but by the time he picked a song, the line was super long and he/we decided we were ready to go back to the hotel.

The last morning we found a fun breakfast spot in town. It was so good! We walked the mile or so back to our hotel via the beach and it was such a pretty walk.  Kase spent the time backflipping the whole time which he loves to do in the sand and land in the water.  It's really quite impressive!

Kael takes a picture like this at every beach we go to.

One last afternoon at the pool and Kase kept getting closer and closer to the iguanas- ha.

The farewell dinner was so fun.  Food was great and there was live music that was pretty good! Kael kept us all updated on the basketball scores too which was a role I think he loved.  Everyone was asking him all week for updates and he felt proud to always be the go-to guy for sports info.

My friend Jordan who we met in Cabo last year- her son was one Kase had hung out with all week in Cabo but they didn't bring kids this trip.  I was still glad to hang out with her but Kase did miss her son Wells!

Awww.  Love, love, LOVED spending the week with my family in paradise.  So thankful for Kent earning these trips- he works so hard to make it happy and always makes every trip so fun.  That's a wrap on Grand Cayman 2026!