New Car, More Sports/School and the Wrap of Basketball Tryouts!

Weekdays:

• Monday - Normal busy day and then Connor had football practice at 6p with Clint.  Maci had a training with just the forwards at 845p.  Thankfully, Clint offered to pick her up at 945p when it was over :)

7th Grade Pics for this Gal!

• Tuesday - Crazy day of car madness.  I met Clint over lunch to test drive a 2026 Toyota Sequoia 1794 edition in black with the brown/black leather interior I wanted. We decided to go but our banker was in a board meeting all afternoon which was making for some back and forth.  Poor Clint spent his whole day on this and we didnt think we were going to get to pick up the car to end the day and drop the Honda but I was not having that - I got on the phone with the banker, the dealer etc and by 7p we had a new car :) While I was doing my magic, Clint sold our former box spring and bed frame now that we redid our master bedroom. He then met me at the dealer to sign for the title.  He then got to head back home with Connor (a lucky 1 night with no events for Connor).  I headed to soccer where Maci had been dropped by Clint before the dealer.  I grabbed her in the new car at 730p and when we got home, we decided to take a quick family ride in the new wheels.  Goodness, that day exhausts me retelling it but we do what we have to with the resource of time being our hardest one to find more of :)

Clint had a hard time saying goodbye to the Pilot

Welcome Sexy Susie Sequoia

• Wednesday - Busy evening with Clint having the Wayzata baseball board meeting so I asked the Pinkerton's to get Connor to and from baseball.  I got some things done around the house and then ran Maci to her practice at 8p.  Clint grabbed her at 930p on his way home from the board meeting. . . we seriously should run a car service 👀
• Thursday - Another item sold from the house - goodbye to the piggy palace - such a cool item Clint and our neighbor built but with Gidget deceased and the plan for no more rodents, it was time to move it out.  We sold it to a nice family that has a need for a better bunny set up :)  Connor then had a football scrimmage at 6p which I hear he and Brooks were a 2 man wrecking crew! So fun! I was with my gal Maci per usual and ran her to practice at 645p and Clint grabbed her once again on their way home at 815p.

Friday:

• Started the day with getting my Dysport injected in my face.
• Clint had a lunch 
• I then did a 2 hour AI training for our senior leaders
• I got to catch up with my pals Rowena and Kate in the afternoon
• I had a whole lot of work in between and then ran to get my nails done at 430p - good mix of personal and professional productivity today :)
• We wrapped a busy week with some pizza, football and Anna coming over to hang with Connor.
• While Clint drove Anna home, I got to have a nice phone catch up with my sister, Molly!

Saturday:

• Clint's turn for the massage
• I ran Connor to open gym at 9a and Clint picked him up on his way home so they could get to the football game on time.
• We had another great football game with great weather, a bit hot!  We won 21-0 and our very own C had some great tackles, hit the QBs arm when trying to throw and had a few great runs!
• I did a quick lunch with Connor Clint and his buddies at Culvers before getting home to Maci 
• She had a meet and greet for a potential family to babysit for in the neighborhood - they were super sweet and she enjoyed it
• I snuck a great nap in and so did Clint before he got up to join 3 other buddies at the Twins game.
• The kids and I were going to go to Holy Name festival but we were all feeling a bit lazy so instead we ordered Olive Garden, watched football and I caught up on work. . . Nice lil Saturday night.

Sunday:

• Another early morning with the final day of tryouts for basketball.  We know Connor is on a team but today is now about seeding them between team 1 and team 6.  Connor felt good so now we wait, should know later this week.
• Got home to do a few things and then right back on the road for today's double header - 12p and 2p in Savage.  Once again I will watch my Bengals with one headphone in while cheering on my #1 fella!  
• Maci and I have to leave part way through game 2 again to get her to her soccer training with Julian at 330p.
• The rest of the night will be watching football and once again preparing for another week of work/school/sports 😜

We hope you are all enjoying these warm late summer/early fall days!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Back to School and all the busy fall activities - Football, Fall Baseball, Basketball Tryouts & Soccer!

Weekdays:

• Monday - We got on the road home from Chicago around 930a and made it back around 3p which allowed us time to get those final to dos complete before school started the next day.  Unfortunately, our dryer stopped working as I was trying to do laundry - thankful for Tena letting me run my wet clothes over.  How is it always something?!  Alas, another wonderful summer coming to a close!
• Tuesday - Day 1 for Connor!  Maci had a virtual day as only the new 6th graders came on day 1 to the school.  Clint was able to recycle our old living room tv with Jim next door - nice to get that out of the house.  That night, Connor had football practice and Maci had soccer practice - right back into the routine.

Maci Ready to Work from Home!

• Wednesday - 1st Day in Person for Maci! We then had a busy Wednesday night.  The non profit I am on the board of (eQuality) had their annual fundraiser - this time we did a lawn bowling and apps/drinks vs a formal gala. It was a really nice time and so thankful our dear friends the Cassem's came to join us. The Pinkerton's kindly got Connor to and from baseball and Elliana's parents got Maci to a late practice and we returned the favor by being the ride home for the girls at 930p.

Her Turn!

A Pic for the Fusion Program

• Thursday - We got the AC & Furnace tuned up for the change of seasons and had a chat with our financial advisor about where to pull money from for a car down payment - time to say bye to the Honda Pilot.  That night Connor had a basketball "pre tip off camp" and Maci had more practice.

Bus Stop Bros

Friday:

• Rosie got a nice grooming 
• Our dryer was delivered just in time for my next weekend loads
• We spoke with a banker at the credit union for a loan for a new car 
• We spent the evening outside around the fire at the top of our hill as Clint had a lot of brush to burn - super ad hoc but a lot of fun - even the Hintze's came over to join us :)

Saturday:

• Connor had a basketball open gym to start the day and while he was there I had a massage - so needed!
• Maci and I then headed to Clara and Harper's FDP Fusion soccer game - she was like a celebrity HA
• Maci and I then grabbed lunch and headed to Connor's football game but unfortunately some rain blew in so we sat inside our tent watching.  Mr Connor had 2 sacks on the day and has decided he likes being a Defensive End best :) The team had another W and that makes us undefeated!
• The weather cleared up and we headed to dinner with our neighbors, the Harty's at Birch's on the Lake - yummy!  Clint and I shared a surf and turf meal and then came back to our house to play some games and have a few more cocktails.

Proud Parents

Sunday:

• Connor had day 1 of basketball tryouts from 800-930a in the morning.
• We then got a lot done around the house before heading out to his fall baseball double header at 1 and 3p.  We did great against the other Wayzata team and then struggled, per usual, against Minnetonka.
• I had to listen to the game with a headphone in one ear to watch my Bengals muscle out an UGLY win!
• Maci and I had to leave part way into game 2 for her soccer training with Julian at 330p.
• The rest of the evening was getting all the things ready for another busy week of work, school and sports :)

Maci Started to Run a Soccer Camp at the Double Header

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

End of Summer Fun - Start of Football, Kids Visit Mom at Work and Chicago Cup for Labor Day Weekend!

Weekdays:

• Monday - Game 1 of Tackle Football vs Edina.  Our boys looked ready and they pulled out a 21-0 W with our very own Connor man running it in for a TD.  Way to keep those legs moving buddy!

Love this Guy

• Tuesday - Clint got the Pilot serviced in the AM.  He then had a golf outing in the afternoon for a good cause with some buddies.  Connor got to basketball open gym late in the afternoon thanks to Pete Galzki.  Maci and I hustled up to the middle school for her back to school pics, locker move in, walk your schedule etc.  That took way longer than anticipated so we were flying to soccer practice that started at 615p.  While we were at Soccer the Lyons family kindly got Connor to football practice and Clint met them there after his golf finally wrapped.
• Wednesday - Mondell Kids take over Optum campus!  The kids have been begging me to come into my work for a day so I figured out how to lighten my schedule for the day and it was also a day where I was going to leave early due to Connor’s elementary open house.  The kids thought lunch was awesome, Maci loves the dry erase board and Connor loved the screen time I offered HA!  While we were at work, Clint managed our new bed & TV deliveries at home.  We took off around 330p to get to Connor’s Open house in time so that he could still get to football practice on time at 6p.  Maci and I then had our own night at soccer practice around 7p.
• Thursday - Maci got invited to go to Valley Fair (amusement park) with her pal Rosie.  Connor had some more open gym for basketball in the afternoon.  Clint and Connor headed up to the high school for the Wayzata HS football game and youth football night.  Unfortunately Wayzata is not looking super strong so Connor was ready to leave when they were down by a few.  While they were there, Maci and I had another soccer practice - got to get ready for Chicago!

Friday:

• Travel Day!  Grandma and Grandpa Gilroy were slightly ahead of us so they made it to Chicago late afternoon and we arrived right around dinner time.
• We met up at a Taco restaurant for a nice quick dinner and then let them rest for the night in their hotel. 
• We headed back to our team hotel and the adults played some Horse Racing game with cocktails while the girls played tag in the hotel and the little siblings swam in the pool.
• Julian hosted a team meeting at 9p and lights out was at 10p.

Saturday:

• I couldn’t sleep so was up drinking coffee at 6a
• We had a nice slow moving morning since our 1 and only game for Saturday wasn’t until 1250p.
• Many of us watched the college game day show and the start of the OSU game.
• Maci’s team played Central Illinois and last year we lost to this team but this year we flipped the script and beat them a sound 3-1.  It was so fun to see our new forward Isabel get the first goal.  Goals made by Isabel, Sav and Isla.
• Afterward we got some quick Panera, dropped my parents off and headed back to the hotel for some rest.
• That night, my parents went to a Greek restaurant and we did team activities with Chipotle catered, headed back to the fields to watch the 2012s and then back to the hotel for a scavenger hunt.

Goofing at the 2012 Game

Brothers at the Hotel during the game

Sunday:

• Busy soccer day!  We started with game 1 at 930a vs Indy Premier.  It was a back and forth dog fight to start with a 1-1 tie but then they piled on 4 more goals - we looked defeated and quit a bit.  Julian was able to get them finding their edge and pulling it to 2-5 loss.  Good learning for all! 
• We went to lunch at the Cherry Pit with my parents and then to our own hotels for some rest time.
• Off to game 3 vs Chicago FC at 430p - ours girls wanted revenge after that Indy game earlier.  They came out strong and never really let up - 4-2 final with goals by Annie, Isabel, Ayla and Maci!  It was such a gritty killer goal and my parents got to see it live!  Maci was so fired up - screaming and doing a big back flip!  She pressured the keeper and the keeper tried to get rid of it but kicked it right into Maci and she flew right past her and GOAL!!!!  Such a fun way to cap the weekend.
• We swore we were playing on to the championship Monday but Indy lost to CIL so there were 4 teams with a 2-1 record and we missed out due to goal differential by 1 goal.  Bugger!
• We headed to Olive Garden for dinner, said bye to my parents and back to the hotel for swimming, showers and early bed time.

Maci and those Green Cleats - See her every time!

Turning the page from summer to fall as we return home from Chicago.  Kids start school this coming week with Connor going in person on Tues and Maci on Wed.  We are ready for the new school year and excited for all the fall fun!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C