Sunday, January 7, 2018

Short First Week of the New Year

We had a very brief week thanks to our late flight back to MN from OH after the new year!

Thursday - First day back to school and work.  We were all in very relaxed moods after 1.5 days away :)  So nice!  The kids were both really excited to be back with their teachers and friends.  It was nice for Clint and I to start the catch up effort on the work front as well.  My evening was a bit hectic with 2 night calls given a variety of moving pieces and some new gym shoe online purchasing for M.

Friday - ALREADY FRIDAY!!!  Wahoo!  Another hectic day with it being only the 2nd day back in the swing of things.  At 4p I got a cal on my cell that poor C man had started puking at school.  Turns out there was a tummy bug going around the center and seems he picked up the remnants of the bug! Clint went and picked him up so I could finish up a few more things before heading home.  We had a lazy evening at the house and enjoyed our usual Friday Pizza!

Saturday - We had a productive morning while the kids watched Monsters Inc.  We were so productive that we left too late for dance and got there 15 mins late - ugh good start to being on time in 2018!  Maci was so excited to be back at dance with her pals!  We then ran some errands and enjoyed piggy place (Ham's Sandwich) for lunch.  We then had a very nice lazy day around the house with football!
Boomer Snuggles with his #1 Fans



Sunday - Back to Sunday school!  Maci was also excited to be back with her teachers and friends as well as telling them all about Ohio.  Connor did pretty well at mass and afterward we took M to Natalie's house for a play date.  While M was at Natalie's and C took a nap, Clint and I started our "prep for the big move this spring" efforts!  We are attempting to tackle 1 room each weekend.  Today's challenge = guest bedroom/office.  We had several bags of garbage, a bag of donation books, lots of boxes of things we could already pack/hide under the bed and sold our current desk/chair - they are on their way to pick it up now.  This room is now ready for staging and moving when ready (except for some essentials and the furniture - WAHOO!  I love decluttering!  Now M is home and we are enjoying some early dinner with a pot of Wild Rice soup.  I will start doing some work in front of football/golden globes in a short while.  We believe we are all prepared for our first full week back in the swing of things.

We hope you are all off to a great start in 2018!
Lots of Love,
C, K, M & C

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Ohio Christmas & New Year 2018!!

Behind on this blog post as well given way too much fun and busy days while in Ohio for our annual "late" Christmas and NYE fun!

Tuesday Post Christmas - Kids went to school and it was a holiday for us!  We did some breakfast at Egg & I and some shopping at Ridgedale Mall before heading home for some naps before picking up our kiddos and heading to How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Children's Theatre.  It was so good and both kids stayed engaged the entire time!  Connor even stayed awake until the 830p end time :)

Wednesday Dec 27th - Again Clint and I took the day and sent kiddos to daycare.  However, we started our morning with Connor's 2 year check up.  All things are going great and he is 80% weight, 70% height and head.  He is a very proportionate and rock solid boy!  We then grabbed a late breakfast sans kids and then headed home for packing/errand running before our big trip to Ohio the next day.

Thursday Dec 28th - We were off from the house by 6a for the airport.  The kids were SO EXCITED to see all their family in Ohio, not to mention the snacks on the plane HAHA!
Connor Man Taking His Nightly Neb Like a BIG BOY!  
2 is Doing You Right Bud!

Unfortunately our flight was 1.5 hours delayed and then once on the plane we sat for another 1.5 hours thanks to traffic and deicing UGH!  We finally landed at 2p (2 hours late) and then had our 2 hour drive to Cincinnati from Columbus.  We got in and headed almost right away to Dewey's for dinner with our crew, Molly, my mom and my sister's crew.  After a crazy kiddo dinner, we headed to my sister's for some cousin play time before heading to my parents for the night.
Playing with Preston's Virtual Reality Game
Friday Dec 29th - We started our morning with the annual Cincy 6 Christmas at Price Hill Chili.  It was so fun as 5 of the 6 of us could make it (missed you Emily!)  There were so many kiddos and so much laughter - sure love those long term high school girlfriends.
 





After breakfast we made a quick run to Busken Bakery for some yummy cookies/donuts and then to Graeters for my kiddos first time with the world's best ice cream :)



After some naps we did Christmas with my parents and the kiddos loved all their toys.  That evening Molly, Clint and I hit up Champions for the OSU cotton bowl game and a wonderful W!

Saturday Dec 30th - The early afternoon was spent at cousin Hailey's 2nd birthday party at Scene 75 a really fun arcade place with indoor bouncing and laser tag.
We once again came home for naps and then that evening my parents hosted an open house for family/friends to come see us before we headed out of Cincy.  It was such a fun evening and so great to see the Brockman's, Aunt Marilyn/Uncle Ken and the Hollan's yet again!
Kiddos had a rowdy dance party :)

 Not a Dance Party Until Shirts Come Off HAHA
 Sister Sisters
Sunday Dec 31st - NYE!  We headed out fairly early to Wapakoneta to see my grandparents.  It was so nice to see them and the kiddos had a blast with Grandma's dice.  We then headed to my parents lake house.  I can't wait to go back when it is warm to actually enjoy the views and play outside - so much space!  Clint's parents Kathy and Jack joined us late in the afternoon and then we were ready for the party.  We caught the end of the Viking game and then watched the AMAZING Bengals win over the Ravens!  Before dinner we opened Christmas fun from the Mondell side.  We had some YUMMY carry out from Woodys and then the ladies + Clint played cards against humanity while the other guys caught up on NFL info.  We watched the ball drop sans kids and then all crashed - Here's to a Great 2018!
Party Animal!
 Princess Maci Perfecting her Wave

Monday Jan 1st - 2018!!  We got up and said our goodbyes to the Mondell crew.  Clint and I then slowly got ready to head to Columbus to party for Molly's 21st at midnight!  We got up there around 5p and had such a fun night!  Many of Molly's pals were staying in that night because the big birthday plan was for her the next night, many weren't feeling great after NYE and it was FREAZING cold.  However the girls that came out were a blast and Clint and I kept them laughing!  It was so much fun and we all felt it the next day - success!
Kicking it off right with Bowl Games at Chumley's
 1st Shot - Tequila with Clint
 Midnight!
 She is 21!!!
 Silly Girls!
 Midnight Shots!
 Cant believe this lil baby I dressed up is now 21
So proud of you lady and thanks for wanting us to be there!!
Tuesday Jan 2nd - We got breakfast and bought Molly good booze from a liquor store for her Christmas/Birthday present.  Clint and I were then on our way back to the lake house to meet back up with my mom and our kiddos.  We thankfully all took afternoon naps and then headed to the Moose for a yummy dinner before binge watching 3 law and orders before all crashing for the night.  Sure am going to miss my momma!

Wednesday Jan 3rd - Vacation is now over - sad but also enjoyed this 1.5 weeks away from the daily grind.  We had such a wonderful balance of relaxing time as a family of 4 and also the whirlwind of family fun.  So many laughs, lots of memories and now only 2 days before a weekend :)  Mom and I did the usual ugly faced crying when saying our goodbyes and Maci reminded me we will  see her on my phone again soon :)  We had a great flight home and actually landed early.  This afternoon has been a blur of errands, laundry and Christmas decor tear down.  I am now ready to crash and get back into the swing of things tomorrow.
Hoping to take more time enjoying this good stuff in 2018!

Lots of Love & Happy 2018!
C, K, M & C