CHRISTMAS 2014 - Cincinnati

Wahoo it always feels like Christmas once I get to Cincinnati.  I love sharing these holiday traditions with my little lady now.  We spent Christmas Eve doing the usual 4p children's mass and then heading to Maury's Tiny Cove for dinner with some family and family friends.  However, we started the morning by heading to Busken Bakery so Maci could enjoy mommy's favorite job ever :)  We then ran some errands with Aunt Molly before taking a nap!

Christmas Day!!!!

Cabbage Patch Doll

 LOVES UNWRAPPING

 Puppy!

 Aunt Marilyn's House

 Playing with Karoline

 Now Daddy gets a Turn

 Gohs Siblings - Mom, Tom & Marilyn

 Yep - She got naked again!

Happy to see Cousin Preston though!

 Tickle Time

 Cousins!

 The Boys - Clint, John and Joe

 Aunt Meghan & Maci

 Mommy's Gal

 Mondell Family!

Uncle Clint & The Future Bengal Stars

 Yep - This looks about right!

 Day After Christmas @ Dustin's!

Spicy Popcorn with Grandpa

 The Men - Clint, Grandpa, Mike

 The Hosts!

 Aunt Meghan and the Kids - Again. . . 

 Daddy & Miss M Coloring!

 Cousins and Aunt Molly!

 Surprise - Happy 18th Molly!

 Maci also Loved the Bday Glasses!

 Grandma & Maci

 Yep - Aunt Sue got them Guns :)

 Aunt Tiffany is the Fav - Giving Whip Cream 

Whew!!!  What a whirlwind but wonderful trip.  This week will be a fairly quiet one at work which will be nice.  We will spend NYE at the Cassem's house along with our friends the Zehr's and Fike's.  While we love the holidays and we are so blessed to spend them with so many friends and family members - we are also excited to get back into our routine in 2015.  We have no current plans to travel as a family or visitors to come to our home.  It will be nice to relax and enjoy Maci's 2nd birthday month!!!

A Safe and Happy 2015 to All,
C, K & M

CHRISTMAS 2014 - Toledo

We are exhausted from yet another wonderful Christmas visit in Ohio!  These posts are taking forever because I have so many pictures to share!

Before we left to Ohio on Dec 20th, Maci had a few more fun holiday events at school.

SHE LOVES ART!!!

 Costume Kim paid a Holiday Visit!

We arrived in Toledo on Sat Dec 20th and left on Tues Dec 23rd.  Maci had a good time playing with the dogs even if a few of them didn't enjoy her.  It was nice to see Clint's family and both Bryan and Billy's families.  Maci had a blast playing with Vivian and Alice at the Demko's house on the 21st.  I also had fun rubbing the Bengals Monday night win in Jack's face during our trip.  

She Cried the Whole Time!!

 Our Wild Naked Girl!

 Someone was TIRED on the way to Cabela's 

 Vivian, Maci & Alice Playing Kitchen!

 Bengal's Best Cheerleader

 The Moody's Came for a Visit

Maci thought the girls were so cool!

 PRESENT TIME!

 Maci and Cousin Drew

 Maci and Grandpa

Next Stop - Cincinnati!!!

It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas!

The Mondell Family had all sorts of Holiday fun this past week which sure helped to get us in the spirit.  Tuesday was Maci's holiday party at daycare after work.  Then I had my HR team's holiday party Thursday afternoon and evening.  Lastly, Clint had his team's holiday party for lunch on Friday and I joined the Tax team's holiday party on Friday afternoon as well since I am their HR manager.

Our lil Rudolph 

 Daddy Date Night on Thursday While Mommy is at Happy Hour

Friday - Since both Clint and I got out of work a little early thanks to the parties, we decided to pick Maci up early and head to the mall for our last Christmas needs and an exchange.  Macy's department store was having a kids day so Maci got a balloon animal and some free popcorn - fun!  We then came home and watched Christmas movies as a family until both Maci and I fell asleep on the couch.

Saturday - Usual Lil gym in the morning and errands.  After nap time, we got ready to go to our friends' Gena & Vinny's house for the annual new momma holiday get together.  The kids had a blast as did the adults but we realized that many of the kids are scared of Santa where last year they had no clue who he was :)  We just LOVE our group of friends from new momma - we sure do have a good group!

Best Friends - Maci & Natalie

  

Emmett joined the Hugging Fun!

 Maci got an Elmo from Santa - How Does He Know?!

3's Company - Harper, Natalie & Maci

 Our Attempt at a "GROUP" picture this year - FAIL

 Yep, they aren't having the picture

 Maci Loves Natalie's Lil Sister Stella

Sunday - Today was an errand, football, prep for the week and finalize Holiday plans - kind of day.  Way to go Bengals!  That put a pep in my step while I prepare for my last week at work before the Christmas haul to Ohio.

Daddy let her play on the BIG giraffe in her room today!

We hope everyone can find peace and happiness amidst all the holiday madness.  We are excited to see so many friends and family members over the Christmas period and we look forward to a joyous 2015.  We will be spending our new year's eve with a close group of parent friends here in Minneapolis.

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Christie Girl Comes to Visit!

It was a fast and busy week at work and school for our family.  I left work a little early on Thursday to get my Global Entry at the airport and after that concluded my fun weekend could begin!  Christie girl landed at 345p and after picking her up we headed off to pick up Maci from daycare.  We then met Clint at home and headed to Olive Garden for some dinner - Yum!

Friday - Maci and Clint headed to work/school while Christie and I enjoyed some coffee and cereal.  Around 10a we headed out to the West End for some light shopping, lunch and pedicures.  We then took a brief nap at home before heading to 1 hour massage appointments at 430p.  We came home from our day of pampering and relaxation around 6p and enjoyed pizza, wine and R&R on the couch the rest of the night.

Saturday - Christie got to experience Maci's gym class.  Afterward, we enjoyed some Bruegger bagels for breakfast before heading to Mall of America for the rest of the day.  Miss M was a bit crazy at times but for the most part she hung with Clint, Christie and I for an all day shopping excursion.  We stopped by Chipotle on the way home to pick up some dinner and Miss M finally napped in the car after a very busy day!  We then spent our last night together cheering on the OSU Buckeyes and wrapping presents!

Shop Till You Drop!

Cuddle Time

Sunday - We laid around this morning enjoying our remaining time with Christie and played with toys.  Maci sure made a best bud in Christie over the last few days and would wander around the house saying "where Christie go?" every time she was out of her site.  Fortunately for Maci, she fell asleep in the car on the way to the airport and therefore didn't have to say goodbye to Christie :(  We dropped her off around 1130a, ran a few errands and then just wasted the last few hours watching the Bengals and Dolphins play.

This week starts much of the holiday fun with Maci's holiday party at daycare Tuesday evening, my team's holiday get together Thursday in the afternoon and the Global Tax & Customs afternoon holiday affair Friday.  We hope everyone reading has a wonderful start to the holiday season!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M