Summer Fun - Minnehaha Falls!

Dance Party with a DJ at School

 Connor was so Sad it was Time to Let Their "Bugs"Go

Water Day Fun! 

Connor is the one behind the teacher's arm

Connor and a Friend Reading Outside

Thanks to some NA Leadership meetings, I had dinner at 6 Smith on Lake Minnetonka Tuesday night.  Clint then headed to Nashville for work Wed-Thurs.  While dad was gone, some of our online ordering for fall clothing arrived for the kids.  We had to take pictures of our run way fun since Dad didn't get to join in on the celebration - Maci really enjoys this more than Connor :)

The Bengal Scarf is Way Cooler but Didn't Match her Dress HA

 "What are we doing mom?!"

Yep - Dolphin and then Bengal PJ Bottoms

Friday - I stayed at work a little longer than planned but got a lot of good planning done which is providing me a very peaceful weekend!  Clint ordered pizza and when I got home with the kiddos it was already here for us - yay!  I paid bills and moved money to savings since bonuses hit the account today - Yippee!!  While I did that, Connor was put to bed and Maci played on her iPad.  Clint and I watched some TV and had a very low key evening.

Saturday - Clint did the lawn in the morning while Clint played in his crib.  Maci and I took an early morning stroll before we ran errands together.  Boomer got a grooming, I returned some shoes and picked up other shoes from the repair shop.  During our drive, Maci talked to me about her favorite teacher, Miss Kim.  She really wants to help make Miss Kim feel better (breast cancer) and she was telling me how she offered to share her wig with Miss Kim and let her try it on.  I am pretty sure Miss Kim won't fit Maci's wig nor would she want a Rapunzel braid 🤣 but I almost had a tear in my eye hearing what a sweet girl we are raising!  Maci loves her and Miss Kim is a pretty great lady - we can't wait for her benefit at the end of the month.  The Mondell family is going after many of the silent auction items all in an effort to support and aid Miss Kim because she sure has made a great impression on our wee one! 

After errands, we woke Connor from a nap and headed to Minnehaha Falls for a family hike.  It got a little hotter than we had thought the weather would be so this led to a bit of a warm outdoor adventure.  It made the ice balls at the end of the hike that much more satisfying!  After playing at the park a bit, we drove around to allow the kids to take another snooze.  We were back at the house around dinner time and allowed Connor to crash around 615p - that day in the sun wore him out!  Clint and I ordered Chino Latino delivery via bite squad and enjoyed some yummy tacos and chicken pot stickers.  Maci said it all looked gross and only ate a fortune cookie - we need to remember to give her more vitamins HA 

Selfie at the Fall

 Chilling by Some Rapids

 This Girl & Her Posing

 Huge Bird on a Limb

 This Posing - Connor Didn't Quite Know What to Do

Oh and He Didn't Pee his Pants - They are Wet b/c he can't Stay Out of the Water!

 More Posing HAHA

 These Two Walked Across the Water from Falls to River

 Sand Baby

 Same Spot on Way Back

 We are NOT Cool Enough for Her

 These 2 💙

Resting on the Walk Back

 Maci was "Playing" with her "Friends" Outside

We each took showers since we were sticky from the hot sun and while I waited for Clint to finish his, I totally fell asleep on the couch (8p) - man sun wipes you out!!!

Sunday - We started the morning with an early donut run while Clint headed to Home Depot for some landscaping needs.  The kids and I had an outdoor picnic back at home and waited for Clint to show up with rocks and mulch.  I did laundry and ordered groceries inside while Clint redid the landscaping on the side yard (opposite side of the driveway).  Connor is now sleeping, we are awaiting our grocery delivery and Maci is watching the Troll movie.  Once Connor is up and errands are done we are off to the pool for a fun afternoon in the sun . . . I am sure this will lead to early bedtimes yet again - that is what summer is good for!

Donut Picnic!

Connor Drinks Milk w. No Hands

We are excited to get through this week and head to the WI Dells with my sister Meghan and her family and Clint's sister Patricia and Drew + buddy for a long weekend of water park fun!

We hope you are all living up this summer fun!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Mom Hosted a Share Group & Maci Turns into a Fish

I obviously posted the blog way too early on our Sunday last week because the day quickly became a Sunday Funday!

Nail Salon w. Maci Girl

She is a little too familiar with this treat ;-)

 Boy LOVES Ranch

I LOVE those Eyes!

 We ran so many errands it wasn't going to be worth 

the pool admission for the time we would be there so we made our own fun out back!

 While Dad went to get dinner and Mom attempted work - this happened!

The saying is true "They were TOO quiet"

Not the best color lipstick C man!

We moved through our work weeks and found out our new salaries and bonus payouts for the end of this Fiscal Year - the Mondell house is in good spirits.  We are extremely grateful for all we have and proud of the hard work we put into our professions every day - hopefully our kiddos emulate this hard work one day!  Come Tuesday afternoon, I was welcoming my colleague from Kimberly Clark to host the first ever CFO HR share group.  Unfortunately the happy hour on Tuesday night had a poor turn out but Fortunately that wasn't a foreshadowing of the 2 day working session.  All companies really enjoyed their time, felt we had good balance of sharing between external experts and networking between organizations.  By Thursday night I was ready to CRASH and I was so grateful for my teammate, Clint, and all he did for the house while I was totally out of pocket - even on our actual anniversary when I was having dinner with colleagues - What a guy?!

 Annual Firefighter Visit!

 "They DIDN'T let us drive the truck Mom!"

Umm - Thank you!

 Miss Kim, Maci's Favorite Teacher has Stage 4 Breast Cancer

Her Sister and Mom Were the Mystery Readers this Week 😢

Keep Fighting - We are with you Miss Kim 💜💜

 Connor Playing with Baby Dolls or Finding a Way to Get Close to the Ladies ;-)

 HAHA - Daycare Sent this to Us

"Sad because I am wearing Dolphins Today"

Love that they share in our sense of humor 😀

Friday - WE MADE IT!  I was so ready to head home, eat pizza and put my feet up - all things I did!  We had a lazy evening and it was amazing!

Saturday - Clint went golfing at 7a with Ryan, John (momma friends) and John (former neighbor with cabin).  I got the kids to play and entertain themselves for a bit while I got ready and then we were off to YoYo Donuts for a morning breakfast treat!  I honestly asked one girl how long she had worked there, if she loves that job etc.  She probably thought I was weird and I wanted her job!

Afterward, they played together in the basement while I watched junky reality TV.  I was going to take them to a bookstore but Maci said she wanted to stay home and play with her brother, don't have to ask me twice.

Clint got home around noon and we were off to the pool.  Maci is becoming a total fish and Connor was more interested this time in eating and attempting a nap!

Jumping in Alone & Swimming to the Wall

 R&R with Chill Man

We then took a yay bonus time family dinner to Benihana.  Maci has such a crazy memory - she remembered from Christmas that they cook the food with fire and she gets corn HAHA!  They loved it until they were done eating and we were still eating - Maci got a little crazy at that point and so she had an early bed time as a punishment.

Clint and I settled in to watch some pretty little liars and at that moment the sun, chlorine and cocktails at dinner all hit and I quickly crashed on the couch LAME!

Sunday - Started attacking the to do list around the house and then ran a ton of errands as a family but rewarded the kids with a trip to Wild Rumpus books to stock up on some new stories (Bedtime Rebel Women Stories for Maci - grow my STRONG girl! and Belly Buttons & Owls for Connor).  We got home in time for a late nap for Connor and Maci snoozed in the car while I got some more errands done around the house including Laundry - it feels never ending.  The kiddos are now playing with dad downstairs while I finish the blog.  We are thinking about dinner and getting ready for another week ahead.

We hope you all are enjoying your summer which is currently flying by for us!
Lots of Love,
C, K, M & C