Week 2 of School

Weekdays:

• Monday : I had my first meeting with our new CEO and I like what I saw.  I did a really hard Peloton ride to wrap my day but it was exactly what I needed!!  Connor and M continued to have great days at school!

Tree in our cul-de-sac 🍁

• Tuesday : We started our carpool with Mini Hops which was super nice to not have to take breaks 2 different times both in the morning and afternoon to drop/get kids.  I also rode the Peloton again as planned and it was great!

Connor writing his name & enjoying the tooty ta dance!

• Wednesday : Busy day for us!  Maci's crown started to bug her in her mouth so Clint fit her into a dentist apt around 4p, I grabbed Connor and then we all headed to mass to kick off Maci's religion education (big year in 2nd grade with Reconciliation & Holy Communion!) and then Clint and kids headed out to soccer for Maci while I finished up at church by getting the materials etc - We will only attend a "class" 1x per month and then do the other 3 weeks at home each month so I had to learn my materials etc to work with her.

Tracing with his class using imaginary pencils 

Listening to a story next to his best pal Anna (YES SHE HAS A NAME!!!)

• Thursday : Clint picked up Maci early from Mini Hops to head to the Dentist where they extracted the crown tooth with the issue, thank goodness for baby teeth!  Can you believe the dentist gave her $10 for that 1 tooth??!!  I told the fairy that she should owe us money after having that one pulled out!  I had a late work meeting with our new CEO so Maci and C and then got on the Peloton to get some good exercise in before the Dolphins game.  After a good sweat, I got us ready for the big game and hot tub dip with the Harty's.  It was a great time in the tub and Clint's Dolphins actually won!

Maci's Cool Hair mom actually could do & Connor hearing from Maci's fav Ms Sharon 

Weekend!

• Friday : We got Connor to school, got Maci's zoom calls with her class and the 1:1 with her teacher done and then the 3 of us headed out for my company's virtual 5k.  I was super proud that I ran a good portion of it b/c I had to get back for a 10a call HAHA - after a good day of work, Clint picked up Connor and then we all headed to Gymnastics class.  We had some dinner delivered so that it wasn't long to receive it after we got home.  We watched a bit of Drew's football game and then called it a night

Pre our 5k & tribute to Maci on National Daughter Day

• Saturday : Nice Saturday morning walk with Clint before we got ready to head to Maci's soccer game.  Her team once again KILLED the competition to the point of being borderline sad for them.  Maci had about 4 goals and her team may have had 30+ with the other team scoring 2.  We got home did some stuff around the house and I road the bike again but this time with 2 of my co-workers and it was a HARD but GOOD ride!  That gave me energy to get a ton of to dos completed in the afternoon before ordering BW3 for dinner and then heading to the Harty's post bedtime for a fire.
• Sunday : Clint golfed this morning with Ryan.  I got stuff done around the house and hopped on the bike with the same 2 coworker pals right after Clint got home.  I took a nice shower and then plopped on the couch for the Bengals game.  Man was that a long game and while we still aren't looking great, other than Burrow and some receivers (O Line you should be embarrassed) we at least got a tie, gross!  After the game ended, Maci and I did her weekly religion homework, cleaned Gidget's cage and then had some smoked loaded baked potatoes for dinner.  We are now watching football and counting down the time to bedtime 😉

Connor being interesting with Stickers and proudly choosing the Raiders this week - too bad they lost!!

The temps are starting to drop this coming week (50s/60s for highs) and fall is here with all the colors in the neighborhood!  While I am not quite ready to feel closed up in the house and deal with colder temps which are only weeks/months away, I am ready for the change of season.  We hope you all are enjoying the transition of the season and staying healthy!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

School is Back - Kind of 😆

From Last Sunday - My Boy has turned on me 😓

Even cheered for the Browns Thursday night

Weekdays : 

• Monday - Maci loaded up on the bus just in time, we are getting use to earlier wake up times!  Once she was off, Connor and I headed into the same school (they simply don't let pre-K ride the bus) for his first day of Pre-K w. Miss Mindy!  Both kids had a great first day!  Maci got her new school iPad, Connor made friends but doesn't know their names and Clint and I enjoyed a quiet day of work from home!  Once they were home, we quickly ate dinner and Clint and I were then off to church for a Reconciliation meeting for Maci, big 2nd grade year all while Emily Sullivan watched the kids!  Oof we were all tired when it was time for bed!

So BIG and Excited!!

Bus Stop Gang

Went right on in like a big boy and plopped down with a toy

• Tuesday - Day 2 of school for Connor and day 1 of "school camp" at Mini Hops for Maci.  Since she is on a virtual schedule, she does not physically go to a school on Tu, Th, Friday.  So instead she will head to Mini Hops on Tues/Thurs where she will have help with her remote school work and then gets to work on her gymnastics/have fun with friends.  On Tuesdays our neighborhood pals Tyce and Hudson also go so she has a blast and we have car pool pals!  Once M got home, I got ready to head to my pal Amber's house for a former (some still current) Cargill gals happy hour.  Maci tagged along so she could play with Amber's 3rd grader Avery.  We grabbed some McDonald's nuggets on the way home and got M to bed since she has another earlier wake up for the bus next day.

Popped popcorn thought it would be regular but it was a bag of kettle corn and so delightful - the little things in life!

• Wednesday - Both were back to school, Clint and I took a break in the work day to recycle Connor's car seats and buy him new booster seat chairs instead.  After dinner we were off to Maci's soccer practice which is so dang fun to watch and Connor runs around like a mad man HA
• Thursday - Busy but fun day!  M was off to camp and Connor to school.  Clint and I both got a good chunk of work done and at 4p I was off to my hair point - cut and color.  After my hair apt I hurried home for the Bengals/Browns Thursday night game.  The Harty's came over at half time to enjoy the 2nd half from the hot tub.  While we lost, I am super pumped to see Joe Burrow rock his rookie season thus far!

Weekend!

• Friday - Maci and I were office mates the first part of the day after I ran Connor into school.  I got her on her first live zoom call for the morning meeting, she will now do this every Tues, Thurs, Fri morning at 8a.  We then worked through a few exercises, pretty light given week one.  She then enjoyed some iPad and outdoor park time with her neighbor buddies the Harty's - all kids are home on Fridays right now.  After school, we grabbed Connor and headed to gymnastics for their Friday night classes.  Clint got us coffees, first week of new routine is tiring HAHA  Afterward, we grabbed pizza from Casey's and came home where Clint watched Drew's game and I headed up to our bedroom for quiet time/early bed!
• Saturday - Clint and I took a morning stroll with coffee and when we got back he headed for a haircut.  While he was at his haircut, I was getting kids ready for the big soccer game at 10a.  Maci had a GREAT game!  2 back to back goals, some great defense, good hustle and a HUGE team win yet again!  Their team really is pretty flipping impressive for 2nd grade girls.  After the game, we grabbed some Ham's Sandwich, got home and I napped (HA!) while Clint worked on his latest landscape project (adding stone and removing the black rubber stripping around our front island).  I had a nice long chat with my Aunt Sue on the phone and then joined the family outside as they wrapped up the landscape and all the kids were playing nerf wars.  We then ordered some BW3 for dinner, watched college football and once again I fell asleep early vs making it to fire time, YIKES haha - my body was clearly exhausted!

• Sunday - Clint's alarm went off for golf and I felt great!  He left for golf, I got up and made coffee and started to put away my folded laundry.  I got so many random to dos complete so that when he got home from golf, I was ready to order groceries/plan our meals etc.  I got a quick Peloton ride in while Clint took a well deserved power nap.  Now we are all watching football, kids are outside playing and I am getting some things prepared for the week ahead.  

We hope you are all finding joy in your new "routines" like we are as well as enjoying some of the touches of Fall that are showing up here and there!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Football is Back!!

Weekdays

•  Busy schedule this whole week given short work week, CEO changing at my work and I was taking Friday off!
• Our pal Gena was kind enough to watch Connor Tues/Thurs of this week b/c we were without childcare since school is starting a week later than usual.  Connor thought he was so cool hanging with Emmitt and his big boy neighbor pals!  Clint took Wednesday off and hung out with Connor
• Maci headed to Mini Hops for camp Tues-Thurs
• Maci started back to soccer Wednesday night and it was chilly!!!
• Thursday I hosted Megan and John for happy hour on our deck - great pals from my days at Cargill - it was lots of laughs and so good for the soul!

Connor riding Emmitt's old bike which is big but he does it so well 

Trampoline Fun

Soccer Practice

Cuties enjoying hot cocoa on Thurs

Friday : 

• I had the day off!!!  Kids were also home with us given no care.
• Started the day quietly cleaning some email and taking a few quick calls.
• Clint and Maci headed to get this protective film fixed on the Volvo's driver side mirror
• I picked up Potbelly for lunch with Connor
• After eating, I got to disappear for some me time - 1 hour massage and then a quick run to Old Navy for kids stuff
• It was an amazing massage and I have decided to get one monthly from here on out AHHH!
• We also started back to gymnastics class on Friday night, nice to have some normal routine back even if there are temperature checks, masks etc
• We then ate at our fav Mexican restaurant and grabbed a small Cherryberry ice cream before heading home
• Kids went to bed and Clint and I watched our nephew, Drew's high school game - They got their first W of the season!!

Saturday : 

• Maci had her first soccer game of the fall season - their team won and she had 2 goals and some good hustle!
• We ran by the apple orchard but Honeycrisp aren't ready yet and they cancelled the market last minute
• Stopped by Subway for some lunch 
• I napped on the couch and Clint did some tulip planting final weed prevention barrier laying etc
• Once I was up, we put together our new rectec smoker/grill and planned meals for the week/ordered groceries
• Clint picked up Asian food for dinner and we watched some college football
• I did a little bit of work while waiting on the grocery delivery
• Once we finally put away groceries, we grabbed some cocktails and headed to the Harty's for fire and fun
• Before heading to bed we had to boil a brine for our brisket that is being smoked all day today!

Great Game & Great Smile (NOT) from Maci at the Orchard, she wanted to do the corn maze, not in the plans today

Boomer is feeling better with some muscle relaxers 💓 - the vet thinks it is a herniated disk in his back - these kids don't leave this dog alone no matter how doped up he may be 

Sunday : 

• Clint got up early (YUCK!) and played golf
• I slept in a bit until the kids wouldnt leave me alone any longer
• We all did some chores around the house, I gabbed with my mom on the phone and when Clint got home he threw the brisket on the smoker - IT SMELLS SO GOOD!
• We finished getting "to dos" complete just in time for the 12p kickoff of Vikings, Dolphins etc 
• Connor chose a Vikings shirt today which had me sad but it was even worse when the neighbors came over and Connor said "Bengals already lost" I yell "no they didn't" and Connor says to them "oh well they probably will" Ugh our kids loathe our teams HAHA
• All that said, Connor said he is wearing a Bengals shirt for the first day of school tomorrow so who knows HAH!
• I am finishing up a little more week prep before my Bengals take the field at 3p YAY and we enjoy Brisket at dinner time!!  

We hope you all are enjoying your "almost fall" Sunday and have an awesome week ahead!!  We are so ready for our new "routine."

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Labor Day Weekend!!

 Short Busy Week :

• Kids were at camp again but Connor is only there from 830-100p so no sooner would we get in a good rhythm it is time to get him
• I had some big learning blocks for training with my team and a 2 hour presentation one morning as well 
• Thankfully Thursday was a fairly tame day for both Clint and I so we got some good work done before the long weekend

Thursday : 

• I worked a bit later into the evening
• Kids headed to bed 
• Clint and I met up with the Harty's for some late night bags and Clint made my drink too strong so I had fun but stunk at bags and felt not so swell Friday morning

Friday : 

• Kids didn't have camp and we both took the day off
• This is usually our MN State Fair day but this year since no fair we thankfully got tickets to the drive thru MN food parade
• It was not the same at all but still super glad we did it and we bought 5 lbs of our fav shredded turkey frozen so hopefully we can enjoy it a few more times this fall/winter
• After the fair, we headed to WI for some more fireworks b/c after the 4th of July we have gotten really into these!!
• Once we were finally home we played outside a bit before coming in to stream cousin Drew's football game!  We got to see him return a punt for a touchdown but unfortunately that was about the only highlight of the game, they have had a rough team start to the season but go Drew!

Saturday : 

• Lots of to dos around the house like decorating for fall mixed in with some fun in the sun
• We met the new neighbors who moved into the Christenson's old house this weekend - they seem like a nice family with a 6th and 8th grade boy - Maci was unimpressed and still calls it Clara's house HA
• Clint helped Nate take down a little tree along with Nate's buddies that were in town for the weekend from Southern MN and Iowa
• Around 3p the Cassem's arrived for a grill out - Natalie, Maci, Stella and Connor had fun attacking the Harty's party with water balloons and they retaliated with water guns - super fun time that ended with kids doing a rotation between their swimming pool and our hot tub right up until dinner
• After dinner we got all set up for the big fireworks!  About 4 other neighbor families came to join at a social distance and we lit up the 'hood.  We figure if this didn't attract the Medina police then we are pretty good to do this most holidays b/c it was a big show
• After the Cassem's left - we joined the Harty's and their pals for an outdoor bonfire before calling it a night

Makeup fun - Connor was out with the neighbor boys at this point

Sunday : 

• Love Long Weekends!!!
• More random to dos around the house - I did a good 20 min run, attempting to get a routine going again on fitness and Clint did some more yard work
• We were being pretty lazy with a movie when the text came that Harty's guests had left and it was time for our FINAL pool day - we have looked at the 15 day forecast and there really isn't a reason with school and temps to plan to get back in again, they could keep it heated but alas we decided to have this be the final hoorah!! 
• We ended our evening with BW3 wings feast for our 2 families and killer brownies for dessert
• Kids went to bed early after a long fun weekend
• Adults headed out to play bags - 2 games to 2 - Boo!

Final Summer Swim!

Monday : 

• Happy Labor Day!
• It is cool here - we went from 80s to a high of 61 today - woah!
• Kids and I did a Target run this morning after Clint and I did a chilly walk with coffees
• Clint is doing more yard work and I am about to hop on the Peloton to rock out on a Prince ride
• I got to do some work prep for a very short week - 3 days as I am taking off next Friday for a me day - lunch date with a pal, massage and just some R&R
• Here's to long weekends of fun, productive and chill mixed together!!!!

This coming week is a strange one for us as school should typically start tomorrow but got bumped to the 14th.  So Maci will go to camp Tues-Thurs but they weren't taking 4 year olds as this is now the school offering.  So Connor is going to our pal Gena's house tomorrow and Thursday and Clint will take off Wed while I am "around" for them both on Friday.  We are counting down the days until the 14th when Connor goes to Pre-K full day M-F and Maci will go to Greenwood Mon, Wed and then Mini Hops school help/camp Tues/Thurs.  It won't be "normal" but it will feel like more routine than we have had in a long time.

We hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and a wonderful fall start!!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C