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

The Gilroy Family Takes Minneapolis

    Catching Snowflakes

What a Fun & Exhausting Weekend!!!  Dustin and his family left this morning and at 8p, I can barely keep my eyes open :)  Due to my desire to get a hot bath and good night sleep, I will do a quick run down of our week of fun!


Mon/Tues - SUPER BUSY work days!  I can't even begin to prepare myself for what all I have to do tomorrow but alas it will get done like it always does :)

Maci's First Braid at Daycare

Wed - Clint and I had the day off to finalize our plans for the Gilroy family arrival!  Maci went to daycare so we could really get ready and not run around after her.  After dropping Maci at daycare, Clint and I were able to get all of our Christmas cards mailed at the post office, do a huge grocery shopping trip, unpack all the groceries, do some last minute cleaning and pay the bills.  WOAH we get a lot done when cutie Miss M isn't around.  Then the Gilroy clan arrived!!!  It was about 1130a when they pulled up.  You could tell they were all happy to be out of a car.  We chatted for a bit but then headed to Toby Keith's at the West End for some lunch (still without Maci).  Afterward, we dropped off Tiffany and Aidan and headed to Maci's daycare to pick her up from school.  Maci was quite shocked to see 3 adults and 2 kids there to pick her up.  We then wrapped up the afternoon by sledding at the neighborhood hill.  Maci wasn't the biggest fan of this large hill or snow in her face.  However, Dustin and his kids had a blast :)  We ate some Toppers pizza for dinner and called it a night.

Thurs - Turkey Day!  It was a very cold day but the sun was out which made it nice.  We started the morning with the Macy's parade on TV and then slowly worked on food throughout the day.

Snuggles During the Parade

The big event of the day was when we deep fried the turkey in the backyard.  Clint was so excited to have a reason to use the fire pit one last time this year.  The kids just thought it was cool to have a fire while sled riding on our small hill and playing on the swing set.  I am happy to say we didn't blow up the house either!

Putting Maci to Work 

 Swinging Crew

 The Men and their Fire

We then ate around 5p and it was YUMMY.  The Gilroy girls wanted to get dressed up for dinner so they threw on their skirts quick and did some picture taking before we ate :)  During dinner, Maci entertained all of us with her answering of yes/no questions with screaming "YEA"  I have a video on Facebook of this nutty girl and her cousins.

Oh and Mom, I used the bunny bowl for Cranberry Sauce :)

Friday - What a busy fun day we had on Friday!  We started the day by going to a large indoor park and playground for all the ages of kids we have.  Tiffany hung back at the house to get homework done for her degree while Dustin, Clint and I braved the 4 kids.  We all had fun going through the massive tubes, slides and wheeling around on the rolling scooters.

After some lunch at the house and nap time for Maci girl/mom, we packed up the car and headed to Mall of America.  The kids were amazed by the rides inside the mall and Aidan loved the lego land store.  We had our dinner at the Rainforest Cafe inside the mall, visited with Santa and headed back home around 8p with a few starting to crash in the car :)

Girls Hanging Out in the Disney Princess Castle

 Ugh - Clint's Lighting 

Rainforest Cafe - Aunt Tellie and the Kiddos

Santa Time

I have a really good purchased photo of the group

 Nickelodeon Universe

 Hanging with this Cutie while the Kids Buy Souvenirs 

Saturday - We hung around the house in the morning and then went to downtown Hopkins to see reindeer's and walk the small shops for small business Saturday.  We had lunch at the Wild Boar and the Gilroy group got to try cheese curds :)  Maci then took a late nap while the big kids headed back to the sledding hill.  That allowed us adults time to watch college football and the Gilroy parents to start packing.  After the kids went to bed, Dustin/Tiffany/Clint and I played a vicious game of Taboo and we all realized we aren't as young as we used to be ;-)

Sunday - Up and at 'em at 7a so Dustin could get on the road at a good time.  We took the family to the Egg & I, one of our favorite breakfast spots, before they hit the road around 9a :( .  After they left, we attempted to get some sleep but Maci had other plans.  We then wrapped up our long holiday weekend cleaning, running errands and cheering on the Bengals in a painfully close win.  Whew, I am exhausted just recapping our weekend!

This week Clint leaves to ND on Tues but gets back Wed.  I will leave work a little early on Thursday to pick up our next house guest - Christie!!!  She gets in on Thursday night and leaves Sunday morning.  I am taking Friday off work for some much needed R&R with my bestie!  We haven't been able to connect in so long so I look forward to pedicures, cocktails and shopping :)  SAFE TRAVELS CHRISTIE GIRL!!!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Thanksgiving Prep!

The week started out with Clint leaving to Iowa for Monday afternoon through Tuesday evening.  This left Miss M and I to fend for ourselves - AKA McDonald's chicken nuggets on Monday evening for dinner :)  Maci and I then went to my friend Lisa's house for cookbook on Tuesday evening and Miss M got to play with her buddy Brody.  Wednesday Clint stayed home from work in the morning to help oversee the completion of the fireplace from wood to gas conversion in the basement family room.  Clint is so very happy that this 3.5 year plan is finally a reality!

Thursday was then a big day for me as my boss had his much awaited retirement party.  We all had a really good time but I realized that I am unable to hang out on a work night past 10p :)  We were all responsible drinkers but to be at a party mingling from 330-1030 proves to be too much for this aging momma HA

We aren't ready to get up!!!!!

Maci and her Boyfriend Jack playing on the slide!

Then it was finally the weekend!!!

Friday - We had our final swim lessons after work.  Clint is soooo happy that swim lessons have ended as the cold weather has made getting wet a miserable idea let alone reality.  After swim we headed to the Cassem house for our regular pizza.  We also got to meet adorable baby Stella who was born last week.  She is so tiny, normal size for a newborn but felt so tiny in my arms!!!  She is actually the size of Maci when she was about 6 weeks old - tiny tiny Maci girl!

Saturday - Gym class was a blast as usual.  Afterward we grabbed some bagels and took Boomer to his annual vet appointment.  Boomer was down 1.5 lbs but he gained it all back by the number of treats the Dr and Maci kept giving him in the room.  The Dr said Ole' Boomer is looking great!  We then spent the rest of the day planning ideas for when Dustin, Tiffany and the kids visit this coming week for Thanksgiving.  We are very excited to have them visit us!

Sunday - We just finished watching my Bengals game (NICE W) while we also stuffed all our Christmas cards.  We are now about to change our attention to Clint's Dolphins who I hope beat the Broncos because my Bengals would move to 2nd place in the AFC :)  Go Phins!  During this game, I am going to finish my plans for the Gilroy visit, make my grocery list for when we go Wednesday and maybe doing a little bit of work since it is only a 2 day work week!!!

We hope everyone has a nice short work week and a very blessed Thanksgiving!
We wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and special Christmas season!

Lots of Love,
C, K & M

Busy, Fun, COLD Weekend!

This week was pretty darn cold with our first real round of snow starting on Monday and lingering through the week.  Like most of the US, we were cold throughout the week and thank goodness it warms back up this coming week, I was not quite ready for teens as the high!!!

Official First Day in Toddler Room was Monday!

She is such a big girl and LOVES Art Time

 Costume Kim came to visit midweek

Maci got to enjoy her first snow outing with friends at school

They put socks over their gloves to keep them on :)

Thanks Nanny and Grandpa Mondell for my winter gear!

Friday - I left work a little later than usual as we are putting finishing touches on my boss' retirement party which is this coming Thursday.  When I left, it was so cold that I asked Clint if we could skip swim lessons - he was quite happy to oblige since he gets in the pool.  We met up with our friends Halston/John/Harper after swim at their house for the usual pizza.  Maci's good buddy Natalie and family were not there as Natalie's new baby sister Stella was born earlier that week and they just got home from the hospital on Friday.

Saturday - We had our usual gym and Maci got to give Natalie her personal congrats on being a big sister.  Ryan (Natalie's dad) took her to gym while Mommy and Stella hung at home.  Miss Natalie loves her sister but was struggling with listening since baby has come home so they decided to break out and do their own thing for a bit.  After gym, I had an Arbonne (facial care products) party at our house.  It was fun to have brunch and Mimosas with some of my new momma friends and one of my newer neighbor friends as well.  It was a good time and by 2p everyone was gone.  Maci then woke from nap and we ran our errands which included picking up our free turkey at the grocer for Turkey day, thank you Cargill!  We can't wait to eat this big 25lb bird with my brother and his wonderful family over Thanksgiving!!!  We then wrapped up our Saturday with some good college football games, ordering our Christmas cards and printing some of the Christmas TV schedules :)  A very productive day indeed!

Sunday - After running a few errands in the morning, we had some of our good friends from Cargill over for football Sunday!  We made our usual white chicken chili and enjoyed snacks, drinks and laughter.  Everyone took off part way into the 2nd round of games and since Maci skipped nap time, she just went to bed for the night at 530p :)  She loved playing with the kids and did her usual balling when the last big kids left around 430p.  I am now cleaning up the house and getting caught up on some work before a busy week ahead.  

Clint leaves for a quick trip to Iowa tomorrow and will return late Tuesday night.  We will both enjoy my boss' retirement party on Thursday as this is a true legend leaving Cargill after 39 years!!

Lots of Love,

C, K & M