Connor 6th Birthday & Christmas 2021!

Weekdays : 

• Monday : I went into the office and had a dentist apt at 6p after work - Clint took the kids for dinner after picking them up and we had a nice quiet evening at home once we were all done running around.
• Tuesday : HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY Connor Man!  We started the day with the kids' 6 month dental cleaning - Connor got 2 bouncy balls instead of one and they both had clean bills of health.  I then ran the kids into school and Connor got to bring in his birthday gifts for his class (super hero pencils, slap bracelet and sticker).  I then ran into the office for the day.  Clint picked the kids up from school and grabbed them McDonalds before a quick run for their first COVID shots and then off to Maci's soccer practice.  Thankfully Connor had an entire weekend of celebrating him b/c we had a busy Tuesday on his actual birthday!!

Uncle DKO hooked him up with the hat for his birthday!

School Birthday Pic - Look how Excited he is!

• Wednesday - I worked from home but now Clint ran into the office.  It was a much quieter day so I was able to get rocking on a project that needed some heads down think time.  Maci had no soccer this Wednesday as we are getting close to holiday break fun!
• Thursday - Last day of work and school for all of us!  Clint and I both worked from home and it was SLOW, thankfully.  I had two quick 30 min calls in the morning and got some reading done and email cleaned.  I then cleaned our pantry in the afternoon so we could take donated food items to Christmas Eve mass the next day.  The kids came home on the bus and we celebrated break starting by heading out to the ice skating rink with the Harty boys!  We then wrapped the night with hot tub party with the Harty's to kick off the weekend!

Festive Siblings on the last day at school!

Goodbye 2021 - Hilarious (sadly also true) HR Cartoon

Friday : 

• Happy Christmas Eve!!
• It was oddly warm so we couldn't ice skate as there was some melting and we don't want to hurt the rink
• Instead we had a super lazy day around the house - I did a ton of puzzling and watched a marathon of Friends Christmas' episodes 
• We started to get ready for mass and dinner in the late afternoon.  We were out the door by 430p for our 5p mass time.
• Maci's eyes were bugging her during mass and Connor kept reminding us how boring it was, he is usually in Sunday school when we are at mass.  We made it through with a few warnings of Santa watching, a quick pic of the kids afterward and then we were off to Benihana.  
• Connor slept on the drive while the rest of us pointed out lights
• We enjoyed a HUGE meal of Benihana, headed home for a quick dip as a family in the hot tub and then fed the Reindeers before the kids went to bed!
• We LOVE Christmas Eve!!!

Cuties after Mass

Benihana Snapchat Fun!

Family Selfie

Hot Tub Family Fun!

Saturday : 

• Merry Christmas!!!
• We got the kids to stay in their rooms until 7a.  Around 645a, Clint and I got up, made coffee and got situated so when the kids came down at 710a we were all set.
• We spent a few hours opening gifts, shouting with excitement and saying lots of Thank Yous!
• Clint made some eggs and gotta for breakfast and did a quick battery run as well :)
• We hung out all day in jammies playing with toys and new gifts - I tried to tidy the house a bit and Clint had fun tearing down box after box!
• We headed out of the house for a 5p movie, Sing 2 - We all LOVED it!  Such a cute movie.  It was nice to get out of the house and then was just as nice to get home and relax the rest of the evening.
• I was extra excited when I saw the Browns LOST and the Ravens were on a 3rd or 4th string QB the next day!

Kid Christmas Morning Fun!

Sunday : 

• We decided against last minute tickets to the Vikings game - good choice as the Vikings LOST and my Bengals were a blast to watch!  Huge W
• We watched a lot of football, continued work on the puzzle and continued playing with new gifts throughout the day.
• After having some Pizza Hut for dinner, we invited the Harty's and Herness' couples over for Golden Tee, Pool, Touch Screen games and football in the basement for a holiday Sunday night.
• We had a lot of fun and then looked up to realize it was 1230a and time for all of us to turn into pumpkins - love our neighbors!

We hope you all had a magical Christmas this year as well!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Connor's 6th Birthday Party Fun!

Weekdays

• Monday : Connor was star student for the week so he was super pumped to get to school.  Each kid gave their teachers their gifts for the year.  
• Tuesday : I got Connor enrolled in intro to Basketball which he can not stop talking about.  Maci had her soccer finishing camp in the evening.
• Wednesday : Happy Birthday to our niece Sophie!  I got a call from Connor's teacher which can never be good!  Turns out after recess they play a letter of the alphabet song and Connor decided to yell out a letter that starts with F and ends with K for what starts with "F". UGH!  We had a good conversation with him that evening and we think he will never do this again or at least think twice.  Maci missed soccer as we were potentially going to get tornado weather and figured an 8 year old didn't need to be in a dome during that :) 
• Thursday : Had hot tub fun with the Harty's after kiddo bed time.

Friday : 

• Picked the kids up from school for Gymnastics - this is Connor's last week as he is no longer having fun like he used to and would rather do other sports.  Maci had a great week at class and has tested to get into the competitive level 1 classes vs rec.  Go figure there is a waitlist of 8 names for the Level 1 class on Fridays but hey, way to go M!  Afterward, we went to River Inn for a nice family dinner.  Connor got a birthday dessert which he shared with Maci - we got home and all were ready for bed!

Saturday : 

• Clint had a massage at 8a to start the day
• While he was doing this, I was doing things around the house and got the evite sent for Maci's January birthday party
• After the massage, Clint ran to pick up Connor's cupcake cake for his party
• He then picked us up and we all headed to SkyZone at 11a for Connor's big birthday party!!!  He had 10 friends attend and they had a blast bouncing for an hour and then an hour of pizza, cake and presents in a party room.
• Afterward, he was invited to Chuck's house to have a mini play date with Chuck and Hendrick.  I was happy to drop one off and then nap on the couch!  Oofff those kids can wear you out!
• Once we were all back home, we decided to go to Kobe for Connor's official birthday dinner since we have COVID shots and soccer on his actual birthday night, Tuesday.
• Maci really enjoyed Kobe, her first time, and the kids laughed at the cook shooting them with lemonade in the mouth.
• We put the kids to bed and then hosted the Harty's and Cari in our basement for some guys golden teen and ladies touch screen game fun!

He is so much taller and getting so big!

Birthday Party!

Jumping Time!!

Dodge Ball :)

Gift Time!!

Thank you Chuck!

Thank you Oliver!

Thank you Elliot!

Thank you Anna - Anna Banana that is 😉

Thank you Hendrick - icing on your face looks great!

Thank you Marek - You also have some great icing!

Thank you Louie!

Thank you Fletcher!

Thank you Grady!

Thank you Luke!

The 6 Year Old Crew!!

Dinner Time!

New Hat from Uncle DKO for the Birthday Boy :)

Check out that dessert

Sunday : 

• Given we were pretty lazy other than Connor's party the day before, I had to get after things like laundry, groceries etc today.  Thankfully my Bengals are the afternoon game so I had all morning/early afternoon to complete.
• Clint's Dolphins pulled off the W in the 12p game, yay!
• Our family enjoyed Burgers on the grill for dinner.
• Now Connor and I are watching the end of the Bengals game together while Clint and Maci head to her 6p soccer practice.
• I am going to do some jigsaw puzzle and wine to end my Sunday night this evening.

Morning Crafts!

She made some ornaments 

Clint had a crazy busy week at work and mine has just been a nutty year HA so we are both excited for a quieter week this coming week (many already starting to be out of the office) and then for some much needed family holiday time from Dec 24 - Jan 2!

We hope you are also enjoying a blessed and special holiday season!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C 

Finally Some Snow!

Weekdays : 

• Monday - Started the day with a Peloton ride and then headed to the office.  Kids had a normal day of school and we were able to enjoy a dinner and lazy night at home with no to dos :)
• Tuesday - After work, I went to a holiday happy hour with my former Cargill colleagues at our pal Peter's house.  While I was having some fun, Clint was taking both kids to Maci's 730p finishing class for soccer.
• Wednesday - I ordered food for us on my way out of work and Clint ran Maci to her 6p soccer practice.
• Thursday - Picked up the kids after work and Clint made some yummy Larosa's meatball hoagies that we got with our last Goetta shipment.  I then had a great chat with my best pal Christie girl as our holiday catch up call.  It was so good to hear from her and laugh about the Amish horse names and just completely different worlds that we both live in these days.  Love ya Christie!  We skipped hot tub as I was just exhausted.

Friday : 

• Snowmagedon!  You would have thought we were going to get 3 feet of snow the way the city was acting.  The kids had early dismissal and I quickly scrambled to get them to be on the bus to get sent home to us before snow at 1215p, which they loved.  The snow started around 1p and by 3p the kids were loving to play outside in the snow while I was finishing my workday which was quite productive. 
• We did not have gymnastics b/c of the snow so we instead had some frozen pizza for dinner and watched Christmas vacation.
• Clint and I also started the Sex and the City reboot, a little strange, before bed.

Saturday : 

• We had an awesome lazy day at the house.  We were supposed to do our new momma Christmas but one of the families came down with COVID so we had to delay.
• Clint cleared the driveway and got the snowmobile running - the kids went riding around with him for about an hour while I got things done around the house.
• We enjoyed watching my pal PJ coach Navy in the Army/Navy game and were so pumped for his W but not as pumped as the kids when they saw him on the TV!
• We had the neighborhood fire at night and laughed at how smoky the fire was which made us all still smell of smoke and our eyes burning throughout the night.

Sunday : 

• Got groceries delivered to start the day.  Then put laundry away before getting ready for mass/Sunday school.
• After church, we ran to Target to get our final Christmas gifts - gift cards for the teachers.  We then enjoyed a lunch together at Oak Eatry since none of us had a 12p game today.
• Once home, I quickly got some work prep complete so I could tune into my Bengals game at 330p.
• So far the Bengals look more like the Bungles of the past so I am hoping for a great 2nd half
• Clint is picking up some dinner and then Maci needs to go to her 6p soccer practice before showers, clothes lay out and bedtime.

We hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and enjoying some snow like we are!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

We saw Santa & Mrs Clause!

Weekdays : 

• Monday - Didn't have the greatest day at work but ended the day with a happy hour with my pal Amber and she was able to give some good advice and cheer me up - Thanks to Clint for having the kiddos while I could hang with a friend.
• Tuesday - A bit of an interesting day again but ended the day with a good chat with my boss and it really seemed to give me perspective.  I ran Maci to her finishing class for soccer that evening and did some reading in the car before picking her back up.
• Wednesday - Good day at work which included getting a new headshot taken.  Also our 1st day of the advent calendar.  This year's calendar is an arts and crafts one so each day is a new little craft - fun!  Maci was supposed to have soccer at night but we were running late and decided to have a quiet night at home.
• Thursday - I picked up the kids after work and we got some dinner.  Clint had his ASIS networking holiday party but got home shortly after us.  I then had a video catch up with my pal and former colleague Row.  After putting the kids to bed we did hot tub party with the Harty's, always a fun Thursday night.

Friday : 

• Clint and I both worked from home and had pretty quiet productive days
• We picked up the kids from school in time to head to gymnastics 
• Connor has decided he really doesn't enjoy gymnastics any more and with him doing basketball, flag football, baseball and soccer we can let him drop one so he will see out December and then end gymnastics in January but Maci LOVES it and will keep having her Friday lessons
• After gymnastics, we headed to Sunshine Factory for dinner and I won $100 in pull tabs!

Saturday : 

• Up and at 'em for our Santa picture time at Holy Name church 
• The kids were so excited by the surprise of getting pictures/sharing their list ideas with Santa.
• It was a super cute set up and we were in and out.
• After pictures we went to Maggie's for breakfast then to Chuck and Don's for dog Christmas gifts
• I took a nap on the couch during college football and Clint helped Nate with the ice skating rink liner.  When I got up we cheered on those UC Bearcats to victory!
• We got lots of stuff done around the house, had some dinner and then ended the night in the snow with the neighbors standing around a fire at the Harty house

Santa Pics!

Ohhhhh YEA UC!

Sunday : 

• Got some morning to dos done while Clint helped Nate fix the rink liner since we had some major wind come through in the morning.  The kids also did some early morning snow playing since we got our first 1-2 inches of the year last night.
• We then had Sunday school/mass 
• Got home in time for football which is a bit iffy right now as I write this and watch the games.
• I need to put laundry away, finish a few household to dos and prep some work for the week.
• Maci has her soccer practice around dinner time and then we will call it a day.

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Thanksgiving 2021!

Weekdays : 

• Monday - Connor got sick through the night so he was home with dad for the day to be safe - thankfully he never got sick again so a fluke.  I went into the office for the day and was going to meet my pal/former co-worker Katie for dinner but her daughter ended up testing positive for COVID so we had to reschedule.  That allowed me to get home and participate in Maci's virtual soccer evaluation with her coach.  Maci was grinning the entire time as the coach gave her nice compliments.  After the call, Maci said "well that was nice!" and went on her way HA

Fred & Naked Skinny Rosie

The best of pals, sharing a toy

• Tuesday - I headed downtown once the kids were on the bus.  I was giving two leaders a tour of our downtown location mid day so decided to just work from there.  I wrapped up for the week and headed home to pick up the kids from school.  Clint made us dinner and then ran Maci to her soccer camp at the dome.  After we got the kids down, we did hot tub party with the Harty's since we are all off the next day and they are heading to Kansas City the next day.

Connor's Recipe in the Cutie Kindergarten Book

Connor and a pal at school

• Wednesday - I woke up feeling a bit off so I had a super lazy day on the couch.  Maci and I cranked on the puzzle and got that done!  While we stayed home working on the puzzle, Clint had a busy day with his annual physical, then he and Connor got haircuts followed by picking up turkey dinner and pies.  We wrapped the evening by watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Finished puzzle with 3 missing side pieces thanks to Rosie and Connor

• Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving!!  Clint and I bundled up to start the day with a chilly walk around the 'hood.  We then joined the kids on the couch for the parade followed by some dog show.  Maci and I started a 2nd puzzle but we are struggling on even the border so this may take a while.  We watched some football and started making food around 2p.  We dropped our Christmas cards in the mail and Maci/Connor delivered to the neighbors who were home for the weekend.  We ate around 430-500p.  The kids were so excited that we ate in the dining room even with just the 4 of us.  We watched football the rest of the day and just enjoyed having quiet time at home.

I'm thankful that Rosie's hair is growing!

Maci feeding carrots to one of her pets - Gidget the Guniea Pig

Friday : 

• Holiday continues!  We were off to see Elf Jr the Musical in Hopkins at 10a.  The kids loved it but struggled to sit still which probably had something to do with staying up way too late the night before.
• We ran some errands afterward and picked up some lunch.
• Maci and I did a Target run for a birthday present but then I also picked up some holiday fun for our powder room, kids jammies etc.  Dang I just love Target!
• I felt my most motivated of the weekend so we got the house decorated for Christmas, plowed through laundry, paid bills etc.

Saturday : 

• I enjoyed a massage to start the morning which really helped since my back and shoulders had been giving me some pain
• Once home, we loaded up the car including Rosie and headed out to get our Christmas tree from Hanson Tree Farm!
• We were pumped to find a good one even though they warned they weren't as tall this year due to the drought 
• We got home in time for the 2nd half of the OSU game - BOO!  However, we were pumped to see MN beat WI at home.'
• We decorated the tree and then it was 4p and time to take Maci to her Birthday party
• Penny lives in the neighborhood near us and a handful of girls were having pizza, heading to the movie theatre and then back to their house for cake, gifts and Bingo.
• While Maci was at the party, Clint, Connor and I did a quick grocery run, dropped some more cards and then enjoyed dinner at Kobe Japanese Steak House, not quite Benihana but we enjoyed it - Connor even got some drink with a marble in it HAHA
• We picked up Maci at 8p and finished the night with some college football

The chosen one and she looks great in the house

Sleeping with his dog on the drive home

Birthday Party Fun!

Documented and shared by Penny's mom, Jen

Maci loves her new hat, if you can't tell HA

Sunday : 

• Last day of sleeping in for the long weekend!  
• Clint ran some morning errands while I fed the kiddos breakfast
• Clint surprised me by one of the errands being cleaning my car, oh man it needed it - thanks!!!
• Thankfully we got most weekend house stuff done on Friday or Saturday so today will be a lazy football day!!!!
• Clint and Connor are also going to shoot BB guns later today, something Connor has wanted to do all weekend!  I may even join them 💙 Maci said hard pass.

Sometimes they really play well 

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend with loved ones and are able to enjoy this holiday season!!!

Lot of Love,

C, K, M & C