Integration Week & Bengals Win V Steelers!

Weekdays : 

• Monday - I headed into the downtown office for what would be a busy final week before Rally integrates into United HealthGroup.  We had so much "swag" to give away and my fam benefited - Clint got a nice Patagonia fleece, I got some good Lulu Lemon, Nike and NorthFace gear and even the kids got some footballs, mesh football jerseys etc.  Maci had soccer practice at night.
• Tuesday - Headed downtown once again.  This time Connor had soccer practice at night.  On my way home, I picked up Panda Express for the kids' school "takeout Tuesday" fundraiser.  I met Clint at the field with his food and then took Maci on home with me.
• Wednesday - Yet another day downtown for me and Maci had yet another night of soccer practice
• Thursday - Final day downtown for me which was a bit sad saying goodbye to some of the people who won't be with us on the other side of integration.  My friend Katie and I decided to have a "we made it!" happy hour after work.  We enjoyed a beer and Monte Carlo wings.  It was a beautiful fall night on the patio!

Friday : 

• The final day of Rally!  It was such a whirlwind of emotions all day.  I think I teared up/cried 4 different times for so many reasons.  I was so proud of the accomplishments the team I led had made, the fun times we all had working together over the last 3 years and some sadness for what had been that will be no more.  Clint was awesome and kept popping in the office checking on me!  #rallyon
• At 5p we both drove to school to pick up the kids.  I was off to Maci's soccer game and Clint was taking Connor to his gymnastics.  Maci unfortunately had to miss her lesson due to her game conflict this one time.  Maci's team lost 3-1 after having such an awesome win the Sunday prior!
• Maci and I then met Clint and Connor at Sunshine Factory for dinner after all the sports.
• Once home, we watched this week's episode of Ted Lasso before crashing after all the emotional highs and lows of this crazy (can't believe it is finally here) week!

What a crazy ride you have been Rally

Saturday : 

• Clint was up and at 'em early as he had a 8a massage and 910a haircut.
• We then headed to Connor's soccer game at 1015a.  He did great with several goals and a whole bunch of hustle!  However, it was a chilly game, probably only in low 50s and a bit breezy.
• Afterward, we headed home to get household needs done, Clint painted some excess trim from our remodel as we are going to install it in the basement.
• Around 5p our pals the Cassem's came over for the kids to play (Natalie and Stella are their girls) and we enjoyed some carryout sushi and Brussel sprouts.  Around 830p they headed home and w put the kids to bed.
• It was then a great night to welcome back neighborhood fires!  Harty's hosted and we were one of 4 other couples to join in!  It was also homecoming night so we had fun looking at pictures of our neighbor Wes' friend group and watching some of the kids head back home for an after party around midnight. 
• We called it around that time too!

National Daughter's Day - We will keep her 💜

Sunday : 

• Got some things done around the house and sent an email to check what is going on with Sunday school as it seems to keep getting bounced around.
• Right about when I finished the chores it was time for Sunday football on the couch!
• Connor joined me for cuddles and watched almost the entire 2nd quarter through to the end of the game.  He kept referring to Ben R on the Steelers as "old man number 7" and I LOVED it HA.  The Bengals looked great and the Steelers almost looked like the typical Bengals.  Felt great to get that W!
• We are now watching the Dolphins vs Raiders which is awkward b/c Connor says the Raiders are his #1 team thanks to his Godfather Bryan but we all know the Phins are Clint's team.  Thankfully Connor went outside on this beautiful day to play with Nash and isn't in side running his mouth HAHA
• We are going to enjoy the rest of our lazy low key Sunday.

We hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend!  

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

1st Full Week of School & Soccer Games!

Connor's cutie Kindergarten class

Weekdays : 

• Monday - We had new exterior lights installed and some new Ring cameras for the backyard.  I had a work virtual happy hour with a Jeopardy game so Clint picked up the kids and ran Maci to soccer practice.  No sooner did they get there did it lightening so they cancelled practice and rescheduled it for Thursday.
• Tuesday - I went into the Optum office for the day and after work had an in person happy hour at Redstone.  Clint once again was daddy duty and grabbed the kids, did dinner and ran Connor to soccer practice 
• Wednesday - Maci had soccer practice and I ran her after work/dinner and took some pics of a house going on the market in our hood for some friends to consider then ran and picked her back up after planning some Nashville fun with my sisters
• Thursday - Rally office day for me downtown - Clint ran Maci to soccer practice as I was on my way home and I picked her up.  We had a fun time chatting about her day and the neighbor boys played outside up until bed time, so cute!

Friday : 

• Productive work from home day for both Clint and me.  I got some laundry rolling and got caught up on work
• Clint grabbed the kids and kindly took them to their first week of gymnastics solo
• I had a get together with my mommy and me girlfriends - we headed out to Stillwater to see Halston and John's new home - they recently built and I hadn't seen it yet
• We had some good laughs playing games and eating pizza/beers

Saturday : 

• Busy Soccer Mom Saturday morning and I loved it!!!
• Connor had a 9a soccer game - he CRUSHED it - great hustle, 3 goals, 1 huge defensive save, was sweating and had a BLAST!  I told him I had 2 rules - hustle and have fun - after the game he was so happy to tell me he did both!!
• Maci then had a select game at 1115a - this was her first game even though the team played last weekend with 1 W and 1 Tie.  Yesterday's game was ROUGH!  We only had 1 sub, our team looked confused (they move to a bigger field this year and have a goalie) we were timid and Maci was exhausted b/c she did her usual crazy hustle but she wasn't staying in her position so she was sprinting all around a full size field.  Needless to say we got a L and have a lot to build from :)
• We grabbed some Culver's on the way home and then Maci and I did a Target run, ordered groceries etc.
• Clint watched the Toledo game which was pretty UGLY
• We then headed as a family up to Medina Celebration Day for some dinner and fireworks - so fun as we realize we know so many people in this community now.  We ran into 3 sets of neighbor families and several of Connor and Maci's classmates.  Fireworks went off around 8p and we were able to get home shortly after 830p thanks to how close Hamel Legion Park is to our home.
• Clint and I watched some college ball while waiting on grocery delivery and then I crashed on the couch and slept there all night WOOF, I hate when I do that!

Sunday : 

• Lots of morning to dos and errands all in prep for sitting on the couch and enjoying NFL Sunday football!
• We are about to settle into our 12p games for both our teams and enjoying some smoked buffalo chicken dip for lunch.
• Maci has another soccer game today at 330p and it will be a HOT one, let's hope they take some of the learnings from yesterday and have a better showing 
• We may swim at the Harty's for a bit today but TBD with football and Maci's game.

I'm going to have a busy but exciting week with our integration of Rally into Optum finally occurring on 9/26 (over next weekend).  We hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have exciting weeks ahead as well!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

How about them Rockets?! Crazy fast weekend in the MidWest!

Weekdays : 

• Monday - Yay Holiday weekends!  Read some book, hung at the park, took a walk and ran into neighbors where we talked about the first day of school and made some yummy wings on the grill - good Labor Day!

• Tuesday - Clint had to take the jet for work back and forth to New Orleans the same day to help with the recent damage from Hurricane Ida.  I had the kids at home solo with no childcare option b/c for some odd reason school didn't start the Tuesday after Labor Day.  However, the kids were pretty good for me and played outside with their neighbor pals most of the day :)  The kids and I then ran solo to Connor's soccer practice while Clint got back home.
• Wednesday - 1st day of school!!!!  WAHOOOO!!!!  The kids were so pumped to get up and to get on that school bus!  Connor finally got his turn too!  After school Clint ran Maci to her soccer practice and afterward I had a chat with my girlfriend/former coworker Row while Clint drafted for one of his many fantasy leagues w. Nate

• Thursday - Wrapped work for the day, ate dinner, turned on the Cowboys vs. Bucs and started to pack for our weekend out of town 

Friday : 

• Kids already had to miss the 3rd day of school 
• Clint and I took the dogs for a walk then finished packing, cleaning up the house etc 
• We were off to the airport around 10a and on our flight by about noon
• We had a nice smooth flight to Detroit, grabbed our rental car and then headed the 1 hour to Clint's parents in Sylvania 
• We chatted with Kathy for a bit before saying bye to her and the kids, getting back in the car and driving 2.5 hours to South Bend
• We quickly checked into the hotel, found some Mexican food for dinner and then walked by the grotto before calling it a night - we were spent!

Grotto behind us, such a cool place

Such a pretty campus

Saturday : 

• Checked out of our hotel around 9a
• Found some coffee and a breakfast sandwich and then parked the car in our lot for the day
• We walked around campus, found the bookstore and got Maci a ND bow and Connor an Irish football 
• By the time we finished, it was time to go into the Toledo alumni tent for drinks, food and tailgating 
• We watched the first half of the OSU game and then it was time to go into our game
• Toledo played one hell of a game!!  They were up 5 with only 1:30 something left and the crowd was going insane!  However, we got some odd penalty calls against us and Notre Dame scored and got the 2 point conversion so then we were down 3.  The Rockets were driving but then had their own turnover and alas it was over.  :(  While we were on an emotional rollercoaster, we were all so proud of the Rockets and almost beating a #8 ranked team at home!
• We left the stadium, sat in the parking lot with our car for what felt like hours and finally got on the road.  We ran into all sorts of stupid traffic in IN and finally got to Clint's parents at like 1030p.  We had left the game around 630p UGH, so much time of the weekend in cars and airplanes but it was exciting to be at this big game!

Alumni Tent Fun

It was a HOT one

At the end - such a great game!

Keep your head high boys!

Sunday : 

• Up and at 'em around 8a and left Sylvania after saying bye to Jack and Kathy around 930a
• Got to the Detroit airport after dealing with some construction, dropped the car, got settled, had some food and were on the plane by 1p EST.
• We had a slightly more bumpy but still not bad flight home to Minneapolis.  I was able to watch live NFL but only a dumb game was on - Jets v Carolina.  However, I could watch the ticker for the Bengals v Vikings game
• Once we landed and got on the tram to our car, I was staring at my phone and texting with my brother at the game - thank goodness I got to watch OT on Clint's phone in our car on the drive home and got to celebrate the OT W!!!
• We got home around 4p and have been doing laundry, unpacking and preparing for the week ever since.  We are all EXHAUSTED so early bedtimes all around this house after we eat in a bit.

We hope you all had an exiting and maybe slightly more relaxing ;-) weekend!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Grandma Janet, Fair Fun and Labor Day Weekend!

Weekdays : 

• So great having grandma here to do crafts, walk to the park, play outside etc!
• Monday - We found out the kids' teachers for the year - Maci has Mrs Hembre who she didn't know but she was super pumped to have many of her pals in her class and Connor has Mrs Eames who Maci had in kindergarten so now mom may be more excited than Connor.  We didn't recognize names on the list even though he did pre-K there but I am sure that will change as he gets situated.  We also had Maci soccer practice at 6p that evening but I was trying to get some work wrapped up so my mom and Clint took Maci and I hung back with Connor.
• Tuesday - We had the granite in our kitchen refinished, I swear we are almost done with our list of home projects!  Connor had his soccer practice, first time I got to see him play and he is great for his age, such a hustler!  Afterward, Grandma treated us to ice cream at Honey Mackies and we got home for showers etc.
• Wednesday - Clint smoked some pork for us, yum!  Then we headed to Open House at Greenwood. Turns out Connor does know a kid in his class, Jack from his coach pitch team is in the class and the family is so sweet!  Then in Maci's class we realized her best friend Nora is sitting right next to her, looking like a great year for both kiddos!  We then quickly hustled to Maci's soccer where my mom ran in with both kids while Clint and I did a fast Target run for pencil cases, Nora had cool ones and Maci didn't have any so we needed to get that before day 1 ;-)
• Thursday - Connor and Clint got some haircuts in the morning, fly and ready for the first day of school!  We worked the day away and then wrapped around 430p to get ready for the OSU vs U of MN football game.  My dear friend Megan has season tickets and they kindly offered two to Clint and I so we met up to tailgate for a bit and then watched the Buckeyes pull out a great W in the rain.  We even ran into my college pal from Ohio, Leslie - so great to see her!  My mom stayed back to watch the kids and oversaw the delivery of our two camel colored leather Arhaus chairs for the living room, see house is almost done!

Sidewalk Chalk Fun w. Grandma

Who doesn't love spending the morning with Grandma?

One of the many cool things they made with Grandma

Growing some real little flowers

Connor ready for his Soccer Night

OSU Game!

It was wet but fun!

Megan & Me + Leslie & Me Reunited!

Friday - 

• MN State Fair Day!!!  Maybe one of my favorite days of the year!
• It was an overcast and drizzly rainy day all day but that kept the crowds low and kept temperatures more comfy than other years!  We got there around 930a but Clint had to hang back at the parking lot to take a quick work call.  When he met us at the fair, we had already had a pickle dog, Maci got a Vikings sweatshirt and my mom, Connor and I all got some MN United soccer gear.  Mainly b/c we were chillier than expected so we got me, Connor and Maci hoodies and my mom got this nice black weather resistant jacket.  
• We ate so many yummy bites, enjoyed riding rides, playing games, building things and watching performers.
• Finally around 630p we said, ready to roll!  We hit the road and were zoning out on the couch ready to sleep around 8p

Heading in and you can see it was wet

Maci & her daddy + some of the corn lovers!

Hopefully the only time they are in a cop car

+

The infamous PICKLE DOGS - the boys won't touch them!

Rides!

A little cold, pre-sweatshirt purchases

Butterfly Fun!

More Rides!

Grandma Posing!

Another Great Fair in the Books!

Saturday - 

• Grandma leaves today!!  :(
• Clint had a massage in the morning and then brought home bagels for all of us
• After the bagels, we took a nice family walk and stopped at the park for a bit - what a gorgeous day!
• We then got some stuff done around the house before running grandma to the airport at 1p
• After we said our goodbyes, we hit up Punch Pizza for a late lunch and then Chuck & Don's for more Rosie food, treats and dog toys
• We then had a chill but also productive day around the house - I ordered some coasters for the new end table and got Maci a kids Fitbit since her junky watches keep having the batteries die.
• We got groceries delivered, way better experience this week!  And also ordered Crave's Sushi rolls for dinner.
• Clint and I watched a ton of college football and even took a hot tub dip, first in a long time, before crashing post this week's Ted Lasso.

Sunday - 

• Another gorgeous day!!!
• Clint and I got up and had coffee, books, phone on the deck
• We then took a walk with the dogs while the kids held down the fort with their iPads etc
• Clint installed some new Ring cameras in the back of the house while I picked up a picture of the kids for the new frame on the end table in the living room
• Now we are about to dig into some smoked buffalo chicken dip for lunch, Maci is hosting her friend Aria at our house from 2-4p.
• Clint and I may do a run/jog together around 4p after she leaves and then promised the kids some River Inn for dinner.
• LONG LIVE LONG WEEKENDS!!!!

Maci woke before us and gave the dogs peanut butter in their kong  

Look at the gorgeous morning and Rosie girl is so glad to have the cone off!!

Tomorrow we have no real plans and that has been a wonderful way to unofficially wrap our summer!  The kids both start school on Wednesday (K & 3) and we are all really excited for that bus to come!

We hope you had amazing holiday weekends as well!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C