Sharks, Lobsters and Squids OH MY!

Good evening. A little late today, but Mia and I had quite the busy morning, so I didn't have time to write. I'll explain in a bit. Last week, we tried to squeeze as much "friend time" with Mia and her friends as possible in before all of the kids go back to school. Wednesday, (despite the sort of chilly weather) we hung out with Olivia and her brother at the park. The kids were cute as always. Mia and her shared snacks and a juice box together under the stairs of the playground. I'm so glad she'll be in Mia's class this year. Friday, we went to the park with her OTHER friends Hannah, Gracie and Weston. All friends from playgroup that she's known (what seems like) forever. They had a lot of fun and we even brought Remi. It sort of wasn't the best idea because throughout the few hours we were there, they were randomly in his face. Remi's great with kids, but the parent's were nervous about him snapping. I totally understand. Saturday, we spent the day helping Jill's parent's move. Her Dad and I moved all of the heavy stuff while Jill, her Mom and Mia worked on the other boxes. Mia took great joy in being the official lever operator getting Me and her Grandpa up and down the big truck safely.

It's a bit weird seeing that they have this new house, but it's exciting because now they're 2 1/2 hours closer, and only 20 minutes away. The place is real nice. Plenty of yard like hours and tons of storage in the finished basement. Mia had a lot of fun playing with Uncle Tommy's old Legos he had saved for her. Even the Star Wars and Harry Potter ones.

Sunday, Jill myself and Mia got a little extra sleep. She went with Jill later to a party my sister-in-law was throwing. Saturday, Chelsea FC was playing Crystal Palace. At first, I was bummed I was going to miss it, but dammit, I'm glad I did. They lost somehow 2-1. Falcao FINALLY got a goal but it wasn't enough. I didn't get to see any highlights but read about it. We have got to get our act together. Defending champs don't lose to CP like that. They've got a two week break before the next game so I hope they can shake this off and win.

Today, Mia and I joined her super friends at Hoyt Pool in Tosa' for Tot-Time swimming. Basically, any kids under 6 is 4 bucks each. The place wasn't hard to find, and it was really nice. Even if it was only 65 degrees out, the water was decently warm and the kids had a total blast. Mia had fun chasing Hannah and Gracie as sharks, and hiding from Weston (the lobster) and his brother Simon (the other shark) and I was a squid. She wasn't stoked about the slides because she would get water in her mouth, so next time we're bringing goggles.

Tomorrow is her FIRST day of 4K. This will be her very last year at Smarty Pants Learning Center. She'll be in class 3 days a week from 9am-1pm. I'm sorta overwhelmed that I'll have that kind of time, but have a lot to do. Last week, the Milwaukee Torrent launched their other  online store through Admiral gear where you can purchase your very own home and away kits (as well as the keeper kits) that I took a part in designing. It's pretty cool seeing my design up for sale and I'm still waiting for my custom one to be complete. I ended up changing the number since one of their players took the number #26.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Summer Wind

Morning all. Last week of Summer before Mia starts her new adventures in 4K at Smarty Pants Learning Center. This will also be her last year at SP before starting KINDERGARTEN at the school across from our house. Earlier in the week, Mia hung out with some friends at Kids in Motion doing art, playing dress up and serving me play-food in the diner. She loves that place. Wednesday, I bad a biometric test for our health insurance, so Mia tagged along. She didn't like it when they poked my finger for blood, but I was rather stoked my results were very positive. After, we went back-to-school shopping with my Mom and Dad. Mia had fun picking out outfits that she wants to wear. She hung out for a short while with her BFF Olivia on a very cold Thursday morning for a while. It's funny, she wore capris and was super cold, but then didn't wanna leave when it was tome to go. I sincerely hope we can get her pals together this week before everyone starts school and they can have one last Summer hang out. Her friends Gracie and Hannah will rarely see her because they're at a different school that's every day. Luckily, she'll see Olivia and be reunited with her other friend Alexa next week when school starts. Mia had her open house Thursday. Jill and my parents went. Mia's still pretty stoked to go.

Throughout the week, I worked on an image/sticker for The Flood's Founder's Pack where you can purchase a scarf, a sheet of stickers as well as a supporter's flag for a mere $40. Hopefully we can get some orders in and get these bad boys manufactured. It's been a labor of love, and I hope we get the supporters we need. The dog portrait is SO close to getting finished too :)

Saturday, we did yard work ALL day. As exhausting as it was, it looks nice, cut and clean and we spent the evening at Zoo Ala Carte. It's a fun event to go to, but in the end expensive. Some of the food runs out (Jill was bummed they ran out of kraut for the Ruben Sliders) and it's quite crowded. Wish they had better quality performers then an old dude covering Neil Diamond songs. All in all, the night was fun. Who knows if we'll go back next year. Sunday I watched the Chelsea vs West Brom game bright and early at 7:30am. FINALLY a win. They were looking rough the last few games, but it was great to see Diego Costa getting a goal and fighting hard. Our new signing Pedro scored too while making Man of the Match which is a great sign of good things to come for the new Spanish international.

This week, Jill's parent's are moving up to Wisconsin. Wednesday, the bigger truck is bringing everything in, and Thursday, they'll drive up the other vehicle full of stuff. It's weird thinking that they won't be in that house. It was beautiful and we've been traveling to there for the last 11 years.
As far as the weekend, I'm unsure what we're going to do, but most likely help them in any way.

Thanks for reading!

The Fair

Morning everyone. Another busy weekend has come and gone. Wednesday, Mia and I hung out with her friends at the park. The girl from the previous week that had a healthy inventory of My Little Ponys was there again, so Mia and her pals played with her till it was time to go. We stayed a bit after and played with a dog that was there. He was really good at fetch so Mia had fun tossing the ball to him. It's hard to believe that school is almost starting. It's a bitter-sweet moment because while I'm glad she'll get back into a routine in the week, it also means she'll see her long-time friends less, and it IS a bit expensive. Mia's really excited to start, so that's great. Saturday, we went to the Wisconsin State Fair. Last weekend, and it was REALLY hot. Didn't walk around the Expo too much due to heavy crowds, but we did have lunch with my brother and his familia. Mia got in the "state fair" spirit and skewered a hot dog. She also tried Dippin' Dots for the very first time and loved them. For some reason, she had very little interest in seeing all the animals. While walking through the cow barn, a cow mooed at her which she of course thought was hilarious. She mostly came for the rides and games. We bought a sheet and blew through the tickets pretty quickly. While trying to figure out what to do with the remaining few tickets, a guy turned around and gave us a sheet that had about 17 left on them :) Talk about a nice gesture! We rode a few more rides and played some games before passing on the last few tickets to some teen girls.

Later, we went to Kopps with my parents which is always tasty. Sunday was awful. Watched the Chelsea vs Manchester City match. Chelsea played horrifically. With Begovic in the net, I was a bit nervous, but as the first half went on, he was a total beast stopping every shot. Eventually, Aguero got one of the three that went passed him. Defense was lousy. Offense was lackluster. Costa needs to work on his game. Every time he gets fouled, he stops and gets mad. If the play is going on, what difference does it make yelling at the refs? Sigh. They need to beat West Brom the next match to get some points in the standings.  Most of the week, I've been diligently working on The Flood's supporter's items including the scarf design and recently the sticker sheet that will be included in the package that will be up for sale next month. I've also been working hard on this dog portrait I started many months ago. I rarely can rush through anything that's fine art. I prefer to take my time (when I actually get the time) and make it look as close to perfect as possible. Since I work with a photorealism style, it's even more difficult to get everything just right. It's very close to completion and I can't wait to give it to my coworker. Mia's got her open house this week for school. Zoo Ala Carte is Saturday. Chelsea game Sunday morning.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Tea for Three

Good morning. It was a busy week, with an even busier (but enjoyable) weekend. Monday was the funeral for my Great Aunt. I am quite fortunate my in laws were able to keep an eye on Mia while we payed our respects. As I and my cousins/brother/cousin's husband walked her to and from the church and burial grounds, I couldn't help but think of all the different family members I was a paul bearer for. So many relatives that I've seen pass. It was really nice seeing my Grandpa and Grandma's graves again. I miss them so much. After the funeral, Jill and I had to jet to work. Tuesday, Mia and I hung out with her friend Oliva and her brother. For the most part, they had  a lot of fun, but I swear I will NEVER let her wear sandals at parks that have wood chips AGAIN. Every 5 seconds she gets one in her feet. She wanted to go bear-foot but it made her feet dirty, so that was the end of that. 

Wednesday morning on a whim, we joined her friends Gracie and Hannah at the Hales Corner library to watch a magic show. On the way there Mia was explaining to me that "magic isn't real and everything that they do isn't real" Give me a break, kid. We met up with her long-time friends and they watched the show. Gracie sat up front making friends with all of the kids, and Mia and Hannah shared a chair together. She was astonished by the the different tricks and really liked it when he would make doves appear and his rabbit. She first said "BIRDS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE LIBRARY!!" It was fun. After, they gave the kids a small ice cream treat for coming. Later, we watched the last pre-season Chelsea game with my Dad. Such a bust. Fiorentina beat us with ease. Pre-season wise, Chelsea wasn't the best. We were able to beat Barca and PSG in PK's but that's about it. 

While playing outside Thursday with her tea set, Mia had an idea to have a tea party with her friends. I shared her idea with Jill and she took it to another level. We got her friends Gracie and Hannah confirmed to meet at the park Friday and tea would be served with little heart-shaped sandwiches made with nutella and red velvet, flower-shaped sandwiches some made with ham and cream cheese, the other cucumber and garden cream cheese and last but not least, they had little strawberry and creme cheese wraps. The tea was strawberry lemonade. The girl's mom brought a mini cake as well for the ladies all dressed fancy. It was very adorable and the girls had a great time. Friday evening, my half-bro and his two boys came to visit. I didn't see them, but Saturday we met up at my parent's house for lunch. I caught parts of the Chelsea vs Swansea game here and there, but from what I saw, the 2-2 draw was awful. Hoping for a better rest of the season. The kids ran around  the park in Hartland after lunch. Later, we had dinner at Mine and Jill's house followed by Chuck E Cheese arcade fun. It was a good time. Todd and his boys stayed the night, and had breakfast with us in the morning. Mia tried to keep the peace in the house, and every time they would run around her play-kitchen she'd grab her phone and say "911, YES THEY ARE MESSING UP MY KITCHEN PLEASE SEND THE POLICE AND FIRE TRUCKS THANK YOU!" The boys had fun playing with the animals, and left later in the morning for Michigan. 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading! 

Saying Goodbye (again)

Good morning. It was a busy week last week with some sadness to report. Earlier in the week, I got a call from Jill that my Great Aunt passed away. Sunday, I had heard she fell and was in the hospital. I didn't think much of that and that she would get out soon. Next thing I know, I get a text reading that she's dying and won't have much longer to live. I was shocked that it took that drastic turn for the worst. Kidney failure started to take effect and before I knew it, she was gone by 6pm. She was a very loving and caring person. I always remembered when she thought it was real cool that I went to "school dances" in Middle School. She absolutely loved Mia. The very last time Mia saw her, she was teaching her how to do "punk rock hands". It was rather amazing. It's going to be tough today. There's not a lot of family left on either my Mom's and Dad's side (elderly-speaking) These are the people I remember visiting as a small child so it's weird to me that they are disappearing.

Wednesday, Mia and I got to spend some much-needed time with my best friend Jay, his wife Erin and kid Caleb at the "castle park" in Delafield. That place is so much fun. As soon as we arrived, a day care (or some sort of group of campers) stopped by. Two small buses full of them. We didn't let that spoil our fun. Jay and I go way back to Middle School and have been friends since. Mia, who barely remembers the last time she saw him took an immediately liking to my tattooed pal. I remembered when she was a baby and he was holding her with this panic look. At least now he's got his own to hold :P Hopefully, we can hang out again.

She had her last day of swim class Wednesday. I finally got to watch her swim! My parents came along as the kids demonstrated their different techniques they developed over the course of a month. The kids did great and Mia really enjoyed it. Unsure if she'll do gymnastics next. She's got a slight interest in going to an open gym night with her friend Olivia so we'll see how that goes. Saturday, Mia opened her Sweets and Treats stand at our house in the front yard and made $110.00. I tell you, it's hard to turn down a kid at lemonade stand. I watched Chelsea take on Arsenal Sunday for the Community Shield. Crappy game. Chelsea didn't play that well and for the first time in 2 1/2 years, got scored on by ARSEnal. Costa with his hammy injury didn't help. Hopefully we can do better this weekend on the opening day of EPL. Cech wasn't letting up for his former teammates trying desperately to equalize during the game. Earlier in the week, they defeated Barca in PKs so THAT was awesome :)

This week-Play date with her BFF Olivia tomorrow, not sure what we're doing yet Wednesday and I've got my half-bro and his kiddos coming to town at the end of the week. Should be a lot of fun. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!!