No Work, No School = We Love Winter Break!!!

Weekdays:

• Monday - We headed out to lunch at Bunny's while our cleaning lady came.  After lunch we did a Target run for a few grocery items and for the kids to spend their gift cards etc.  We bought a handful of Switch games and Maci bought a new Rainbow High doll.  Another afternoon of naps, game playing etc.

I don't feel like buying the Basketball Pictures so here are the previews HA

So Much Fun!

• Tuesday - Maci and I had an early morning!  We were out of the house before 7a for her Holiday Classic 5v5 Soccer tournament.  This was not directly through her club so parents volunteer to coach and I was coaching the Slayin Santas while another mother helped with the Clever Clauses.  Maci's team slayed the competition winning 6-2 and then 9-2 in the 1st and 2nd games.  We then went out to eat for lunch as a team before coming back for game 3.  Clint and Connor got there in time for game 3 but unfortunately we played a really strong club team who put their entire team on this 5v5 so we had 1 sub and they had like 6.  Our girls fought so hard but ultimately lost 4-2.  We hung around as the Clever Clauses made it to the Championship game but had to play the team that beat us as they won bracket 1.  Unfortunately, more of the same, they hung so well but with only 1 sub again they ultimately fell 5-2.  Even though there were tears and ended not the way we had wanted, it was such a fun morning and afternoon with my gal.  Once home, Maci and I napped + I went to bed early and Clint had the Harty's over for bourbon and Golden Tee fun.

• Wednesday - I don't even recall what we did HA!  I think we puzzled, ice skated, watched TV, played Switch etc - LOVE THESE HOLIDAY LAZY DAYS!!

Model Selfies I find in my photo albums

This beauty has had fun playing with some makeup lately

• Thursday - Another lazy day followed by a super fun neighborhood night at the rink!  The Harty's put a bonfire out, the kids played endless hockey - our kids used their new sticks from Santa - and the adults had cocktails.  Such a great group of neighbors and a fun holiday evening!

Friday : 

• Clint had to work today as they all took a turn covering a day.  So he went into the office while I was home with the kiddos.
• We were super duper lazy with the only real to do was to take Rosie to the groomer at 3p
• Clint picked Rosie up around 5p on his way home
• Shortly after he was home, we were dressed and off to the Ice Castle event at a winery in Delano.
• It was super COLD but fun.  Connor had an attitude which wasn't appreciated and therefore got nothing from the gift shop but apologized for his behavior once we got home.  Once home, we walked over to the rink and said hi to the Harty's friends who just got in town from southern MN and Iowa.  They are 2 of the couples going to Costa Rica with us later this winter/early spring.  All the kids were playing hockey but in their boots so our kids jumped right in and played until about 830p.
• We then hurried home and got some popcorn and pistachios out as we were hosting the Harty's and their friends for a night of ladies hot tub and dudes doing Golden Tee and bourbon tasting.
• We didnt wrap until 130a so needless to say we were all pretty tired and ready for bed :)

Saturday :

• Happy NYE!!
• All of us slept in after a late night!
• We put away our holiday gear, did some laundry, ordered groceries from HyVee & Costco and also enjoyed some couch time while the kids sledded with the Harty's and their friends' kiddos.
• We watched the Michigan game and were hoping they could pull it off given my friend Rachelle's husband is the D Coordinator but no such luck.
• The adults all went to Farmer's Eatry in St Michael for a NYE dinner and drinks while the kids all hung out at the Harty's.
• Once back at the Harty's, the kids ate pizza, the adults got new beverages and we settled in to watch the OSU game.  What a total disappointment in the final moments as I swore we had that one!!!!
• We had taken all the kids to bed and then started playing cards but after the ball drop, Clint and I headed home as Maci and Connor really wanted to celebrate with us and hadn't fallen asleep yet!

Sunday :

• Happy 2023!!!
• Another sleep in day!!!  Dang we need an early bedtime tonight HA
• We got some stuff done around the house and watched Clint's Dolphins fall apart against the Patriots.  I ran Connor to his buddy Chuck's house for a play date.
• We are now watching the Vikings get their booty whooped by the Packers while we start making some dinner together.  Connor is napping and Maci is ice skating across the street :)
• Clint and I are looking forward to an evening in the hot tub and one more day off from work and school tomorrow!  This has been such a great break but also good to get back into the routine of things.

Midnight with my buddy Tena

My fav little people :)

We hope you have also had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a healthy and happy 2023!!

Lots of Love, 

C, K, M & C

Winter Break Starts & We Wish You a Merry Christmas!!

Weekdays : 

• Monday - I was supposed to go to Maci's classroom to read but just as I was leaving the house to head up to the school I got a call from the nurse saying Connor was hurt on the playground.  It sounds like him and some buddies were racing up and down an icy snow hill and both Connor and a pal lost their footing and as they fell the one other kid punched Connor in the mouth causing his mouth to bleed and his tooth to get super wiggly.  I ended up taking him and getting into a late dentist apt to ensure it was just a loose baby tooth vs any further damage.  Thankfully it was a baby tooth and all good.  Connor proceeded to not want to eat all night (this is becoming way too common with his loose teeth) but finally at 930p he let Clint put his hand in there and wiggle it which caused it to pop right out!  We told him how proud of him we are and got him to go to bed in time for the tooth fairy to bring the yoyo he begged for 
• Tuesday - Today was the last day of school before winter break! I went into school to join Connor for lunch to celebrate his birthday a day early and he got to hand out sports straws to every one in his class.  In the evening, Maci had a soccer technical training that I took her to and since it was only 45 minutes I just hung out and chatted with Lucy's mom Kristi.  It's nice to have that 1:1 time with M during our drives.

Rocking his Birthday Hat at Lunch

• Wednesday - Happy 7th Birthday Connor!!!  Given we were now on winter break but Mom and Dad weren't off work yet, we had signed the kids up for kid care with their school district.  Neither kid was super excited about doing this as they wanted to sleep in and be lazy.  Well they got lucky, snow really started to come and the program closed by 2p and then already decided they would be closed on Thursday so they got their wish.  I picked them up around lunch and shared the good news that they wouldn't have to go back the next day HAHA.  They played at the house and then we headed out in the snow to eat at Kobe's hibachi restaurant for Connor's birthday dinner!

Our Baby!

• Thursday - My calendar is getting so nice and clear!!!  I was checking things off the to do list and taking just a random call here and there, a lot of the team was starting to be on PTO so the holidays are so close!!  We watched the Christmas Story as a family for movie night before bed.

Friday : 

• A wonderful lazy day of skating, TV and puzzling!
• We watched a lot of football and started to get super excited for Christmas to come!!!
• We even ended our evening with some family time in the hot tub!

So Cold & So Much Snow

Hot Tub Party Time!

Saturday :

• Merry Christmas Eve!
• The Bengals played the Patriots which was super fun/boring in the 1st half and then nearly caused me a heart attack at the end of the game.  Fortunately we pulled the W and then enjoyed some more football as we got ready for our Christmas Eve family dinner at Wildfire.
• Maci, Clint and I all got some filet medallions and Connor got kids meal cheese burger.  We had a lot of fun trying some new foods and getting dressed up.
• Once home, we laid out reindeer food and got everything ready for Santa.
• Clint and I had some "assembly" to do before calling it a night ourselves.

Wildfire Dinner

Sunday :

• Merry Christmas!!!
• The kids did a great job of staying in their rooms until 7a.
• They loved all their gifts and thankfully are very appreciative.
• Maci's favorites were her soccer goal from Santa & Apple iWatch from mom & dad
• Connor's favorite was his Nintendo Switch from mom & dad plus the new LED lights in the finally finished playroom.
• We played games, watched football and talked to family on the phone throughout the day.
• Before we knew it, we were ready to head to Park Tavern for our annual pizza, beer and bowling with the 4 of us.
• We decided to play 3 games this year and the kids LOVED it.  Connor got a little sad in the last game b/c he was the only one that didn't get a strike or spare but had done so in earlier rounds.  We wrapped with a stop in the arcade and then headed home to crash!

Legos & Stuffy from God Mommy Christie

Even Connor got one!

God Father DKO Gifts

Switch Games!

Puzzles!!

Hats from my parents

Park Tavern Fun

 

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C

Connor's 7th Birthday Party!

Weekdays:

• Monday - I had an early morning calibration for end of year performance reviews.  Our team decided to head to an early happy hour to celebrate the end of this busy timeframe!
• Tuesday - Another day of work and what not with some snow.  A quiet night at home.
• Wednesday - I had a work holiday happy hour to end the day.  Clint ran Maci to soccer and Connor to religion.  I left in time to pick up Maci from Soccer and Clint grabbed Connor from religion.  He was super sad b/c he was 1 sticker shy of being able to purchase a yo yo at the sticker store.  He is now asking Santa for a yo yo via our elf :)
• Thursday - We had a calibration on our own people team ratings.  In the evening Maci had soccer practice which Clint kindly ran her to and from.

It's like she has boots on HAHA

Friday :

• The kids were off to school on the bus and Clint and I started our day with bagels and coffee.
• I got a lot of work done before heading to Juut for my hair coloring and cut at 2p
• I cleaned email and took a few phone calls while enjoying my "me time"
• The kids came home on the bus and Maci was excited to show Clint her secret Santa exchange with her pals on the bus.
• I got home around dinner time to eat some pizza.
• We told the kids Maci was in charge and by 7p we were off to our neighbors holiday party at the Jonas home.
• We had a lot of laughs and catch ups before finally calling it at midnight!

Boomer was able to get up on the couch & 

Rosie had to ensure she was closest to Clint

Saturday :

• Clint and Connor had basketball practice at 940a
• While they were gone, Maci and I picked up Connor's cupcakes for his party 
• Connor got home from basketball all upset - turns out he got slammed in the mouth and now had a wiggly bloody tooth.  However, it wasn't wiggly enough for Clint to pull but wiggly enough that Connor didnt want to eat and was in a bad mood
• I got him to take a quick nap with me on the couch and then we were off.
• We dropped Maci at the Bryant's b/c they were kindly taking her to and from soccer practice while we had the party
• Connor was in good spirits at first but about 1/2 way through the party his mouth was really bugging him, I think he was hungry and moody and tired.  So he started pouting which was not super fun!
• He did ok through cupcakes and singing and finally popped up a bit during the gifts.  No fun feeling like pooh at your own birthday!
• We came home and he played with some toys while I got him to eat some liquids - the dentist on call wanted us to just Tylenol and try to leave it alone
• Connor and I ended up falling asleep together on the couch watching football which was so sweet!
• At 5p, Maci's pal Penny came over for a slumber party - thankfully they are great kids and quiet together b/c we were all exhausted from the day and emotions!
• Clint and I called it at 11p and the girls finally crashed at 1230a!!

Smiling through the pain pre-party

Maci having Pizza with her pal Mikah

Mouth is starting to be a little sore waiting on buddies to arrive

Presents with Pals

Anders (neighborhood, basketball & school pal)

The infamous Anna - his best pal since pre-K

Grady - A preK pal that plays all sorts of sports with C man

Elliott - Same kind of pal like Grady

Chuck - They first met at daycare and then were Pre-K Pals

Hendrix - He lives behind us and was also a Pre-K pal!

Fletcher, AKA the smiliest kid around!!!  Also a pre-K buddy

Vinny - 1st Grade & Basketball Buddy

Bikram - Sweet friend in his 1st grade class

Oliver - Neighborhood, Bus & Class Pal

Colton - Neighborhood, Bus & Class Pal

Louie - Neighborhood, Bus and Pal since Pre-K

Anders - Buddy since Pre-K

Sunday :

• Slow morning for us!
• Penny got picked up at 10a after we ate some donuts.
• We all enjoyed the crazy ending to the World Cup - most of us were cheering for France so boo but a fun game for sure!!
• We got some stuff done around the house and before we knew it, it was time for the Bengals game.
• Holy ugly 1st half but then in the 2nd half we KILLED Tom Brady and the Bucs - love them Bengals!
• We got the rest of our prep for the week complete and now are getting ready to end the night with the hot tub and some wine!

We hope you are enjoying these final days before the holidays!  The kids are so pumped they only have 2 days until break starts and Connor is excited for his actual 7th birthday on Wednesday, first day of break!!

Lots of Love,

C, K, M & C