Happy Holidaze

Good evening everyone. Going to bang this one out quickly because I'm barely keeping myself awake at the moment. It's been a crazy busy week but mainly a ton of fun. My brother and his family arrived last week via railway so I picked them up and brought them back to our house for pizza. My half brother Todd and our good friend Leanne also met up at our house for a few days of fun. It was great catching up and there was even more fun in store the next day. We went to StoneFire Pizza for lunch. The kids had so much fun playing all the games on Christmas Eve morning. We had a go at the VR game but Luke and Alex kept having issues walking so they ended up giving us credits. Mia and I attempted to do some rock climbing as well. Super fun and reminded me how much fun my friend Andy and I had at Adventure Rock a handful of years ago. The wall I climbed at StoneFire seemed to be more difficult since you had mainly window sills to pull yourself up on.

While I wait up top for Mia to try to catch up, I heard a girl crying from behind me. I turned around and saw a small child dangling from the rope climb. The entire staff looked confused so I repelled down the wall and switched clamps to carefully rescue her. I climbed the rope climb carefully and calmed her down. I released her foot and slowly we made our decent. The Mother was so relieved I jumped into rescue her and throughout the rest of our time at StoneFire Pizza, she would smile and thank me. Just happy she was okay. Later, Jill and I had a Christmas Party to attend to for her boss. Great food and fun times.
The next day, we had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents and everyone opened gifts. Lots of fun playing card games and having an all-out indoor snowball fight (soft balls). Christmas Day, Mia was SO happy we had a dusting of snow. She immediately got up and gave us our painted glassware she made on her own. "DO YOU KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO KEEP THESE A SECRET??!" She did great. She also gave me a pencil holder and Jill a clay giraffe. She loved all of our presents, especially her new snowboard and her Mia and Red Panda Adventures book. She always looks forward to reading them. Jill's family came over and gave out some gifts to us.  My family came over later and we had some delicious pasta as well as Jill's tiramisu (I assume is was good). Awesome evening. The kids decorated cookies which were super fun.

Boxing Day, I picked up Bryan and the family and we watched the first of two soccer games. Fiorentina unfortunately lost to Parma, but at least Chelsea got the win against Watford. Later, we suited up and did some much-needed snow tubing. Alex really wanted to have snow here after the long train ride so this was the closest thing we could deliver. Bryan joined us as well as we raced the iced tube trails. We had a blast racing and the highlight was Bryan slipping out of the tube and having to run down the tube run chasing after it. We didn't last too long as the kids were getting pretty tired but it was a fantastic time. We had some leftovers when we got home and called it a night. This whole week has gone by so quickly...

Today, Mia and Jill traveled to Ohio to visit Aunt Gail. It was an early and rainy drive to Midway Airport but Mia was excited to see her aunt that she sees about this time of the year. They'll return on New Years Eve so I'll work and try to get everything ready for my week off in a few weeks to lead art classes for the big school-wide art show coming in March. So much to do, so little time. For now, it's time for a shower and to hit the bed. That's all for now thanks for reading!

Chef Mia

Greetings and good morning everyone. Hard to believe December has been flying by and Christmas is literally right around the corner. Certainly doesn't look like it around here, but what can you do, right? Going to try and complete this rather quickly and get back to the Chelsea vs Brighton match. I completed the illustrations for Mia's book this week. Very stoked about that, considering how much work goes into Mia's traditional book we enjoy creating for her. Every year she gets more and more excited about it, so we try to come up with fun adventures that get her hooked. Jill worked on the writing part and should be able to finish it in the next day or so. We have a LOT of wrapping still to do and have to find time this week to work on it.

This week, Mia had Career Day where she dressed in the career she wants. For the last 3 years from 4K-1st grade, Mia's always wanted to be a dolphin trainer. She recently changed her mind to a more reasonable field of study. Mia wants to be a baker and own a cafe. She was learned a lot this year in baking and even created and baked macrons this week to decorate her 4-layer cake that she also made all by herself. I'm super impressed with her patience and technique with baking and I think she could easily fulfill this dream. Thursday, we had an art meeting for the massive art gala night at Mia's school. We have a ton to do before the week I take off from work and lead classes in January but if all this comes together, it'll be one amazing night. Friday, Mia had College Week this week and proudly wore her Carroll gear to support where her parents went to. Go Pios! Friday was the Step into your Future thing, where different parents come to school and discuss their careers with everyone. Mia went to a hairdresser, a firefighter, and engineer and someone in marketing/advertising.She LOVED it and waited up Friday night to tell me about all the different careers. She really liked the engineer but I  bet with all the math, she'd not be excited about that career.

Saturday, I did the finishing touches in the kitchen, painting-wise. We just have to complete and hang the cabinets and we're good. Later, we went to my in-laws for an early Christmas dinner. Super tasty crab legs and homemade pasta. We ate Mia's cake and it was absolutely amazing. We played some Family Feud and this musical game that was new before heading home. Mia crashed on the way and remained asleep upon arriving home.

This week is her last week of school, so she'll have a holiday party. Lots of art for the gala night to complete. That's all for now, thanks for reading.

Believe

Good evening everyone. Going to try to make this a quick one. Getting a late start on the blog so bare with me. This week was the "week from hell" from me. 6 days straight of late-shifts till 10. I especially wasn't digging it because it meant I'd only see Mia an hour a day which was to get her ready for school. We hardly get a lot of time to talk in that time and by the time I see her the following day, asking her "how was school" usually gets responded with "I dunno, I forgot." I had told myself "If a survive the week, I'll go to lunch with Mia on Friday" so with that, I surprised her on Friday by lunch time. She totally didn't see that one coming and was stoked I surprised her. We ate lunch with all her crazy friends and had a good time.

One of the things I noticed first hand is how hard it is for her to hang out with a particular friend for recess. If she wants to hang with Cecilia, Charlie or Vida or (insert friend here) want to hang out but don't necessarily want to do what another friend wants to do. Because Mia's such a kind kid, she has a hard time telling one friend she doesn't want to hang out with them for the day because she doesn't want to hurt anyones feelings. She ended up doing a jump rope contest with Vida, Leilani and Charlie for a little bit. Charlie didn't really care for the whole jump rope thing and wanted to play fairies with Mia but Mia was preoccupied with whatever Vida wanted her to do. I could tell Mia was torn between several friends wanting her attention. Poor kid. Eventually when it was time to go, Charlie quietly told Mia how she misses when they would just play together. She's been having issues missing her Mom at school and I think could have used a friend to distract her. Recess is always a part of my lunch time visit I loath because I see how hard it can be on her and friends when they want to all play together, but end up struggling to find things to do. She gave me huge hugs before I left and quietly asked "can you PLEASE ask Mrs Mayer if you could give our class art lessons? She wasn't the only kid begging for that. I had at least 3 of her friends asking the same thing so of course I asked so she'll figure out a good time to do it. I have to figure out what exactly I want to teach. :P

This week was difficult with myself doubting I'll ever get out of KT and into a job I thrive creatively but to hear the sincere requests just to have me come and teach art made me feel better. I've been updating my resume as well as my online portfolio in hopes of possibly getting something new in 2019. I need a job that allows me to be home in the evenings with Mia. I've gone too long working 2nd shift. I'm very grateful that I had the opportunity to hold a job at night so my parents (and later Jill's) could help with Mia. She's at a good age where I should be able to switch a career so I can spend more time with the family. Mia ultimately would be happier if I could be around more too. I truly believe that I can find a new career in 2019 and will have to work really hard to get the job I so very want and deserve.

Friday night she waited up for me which was super nice. Saturday, I watched Chelsea pull off the miracle of the season (so far) beating Man City 2-0. Earlier in the week they lost to the Wolves which really was pretty lousy. I didn't even want to watch the highlights, they were that bad. Somehow Kante and Luiz pulled out two great goals to give City their first loss of the seasons. Unbelievable. We spent the majority of the day working on the kitchen and have a little bit more to do. Getting so close.

Sunday, we drove to Jill's friend Heather's house to bake and decorate cookies with all the kids. I went to work shortly after the kids started to decorate but from what Jill said when I got home tonight, Mia had the BEST time. Arabella really enjoys spending time with Mia and she's pretty chill so Mia always enjoys her.

This week, I will continue my quest for a snowboard for myself. Almost found one on the FB Marketplace but discovered it's an all-mountain board and I need a freestyle board for park riding. Jill and I have an art meeting after school Thursday to hammer out any more details we need for the art gala night at OL. Awesome! That's all for now thanks for reading!

Laughter for Life

Good evening everyone! What. A. Week. What easily could have been a quick and painless week ended up being a pretty stressful one leading up to my incredible 3 days off. Work has just been uber stressful and it has me wanting to leave in 2019 and hopefully find a more suitable job in my field. I've never been more mentally exhausted in all my life. Just completely burned out, and in desperate need of change.

Thursday was the start of my much deserved 3 days off so it was nice to pick up the kiddo. She hung out and attempted to snowboard on her saucer in the little bit of snow we had. She fell so many times but laughed so hard. She's totally ready to start snowboarding (come Christmas time). I just need to find a board for myself + boots.

 Friday after school, I picked her up and we had the furnace guy here AGAIN fixing something. Hopefully it's good. Anyways, we packed up Mia's overnight bag and picked up Jill from work and drove to Grandma Gail's for Mia to have a sleep over. We picked up a bit of food and Jill and I were off to Milwaukee to the Conan and Friends comedy show. The Riverside is such a nice theater and provided the perfect venue for this event. The crowd was packed and Conan was absolutely hilarious. The comedians were also incredible and each of them had their own unique style of comedy. James Veitch was a definite highlight. My face hurt from laughing so hard. Ron Funches closed the night and was equally great. Conan came back out along with Flula to answer some questions. Some of the questions asked were really stupid so I was bummed that I didn't get to ask anything before they ran out of time. Bugger. Would have loved to hang around to see if he was going to come out to meet up with fans, but we ended up leaving. When we got home, we watched a bit of Trevor Noah before heading off to bed. It was a night of comedy and I sure needed it after this week.

 Saturday, Mia came back home after a successful sleepover and we went to Donuts with Santa. Mia wanted noting to do with him (she didn't think he was the real Santa) and ended up hanging a bit with her new friend this year Vida. They share a lot of similarities and is overall a really nice kid.  We didn't get our photos taken with the big man, and ended up leaving. Mia did make a nice ornament though. We drove out later to my in-laws for a great belated Thanksgiving and birthday for my father in law. It was nice to relax and have a great meal with everyone. Mia always loves it when Tommy visits :) 

Sunday, I way overslept and missed my early alarm for the Chelsea vs Fulham match. Caught 10 minutes of the 2nd half and caught RLC's goal. Great win for the Blues. Need to keep it going. Later after painting, I went to work for the night. 

This week, I have to continue working on the book, I have a store meeting Tuesday and I am literally working every day and won't be off till Saturday. Major bummer. That's all for now, thanks for reading!! 

Wreck it Turkey

Good evening everyone. Busy and enjoyable little break for Mia and the family (with the exception of myself working). Early in the week, I finally found a snowboard for Mia. On a whim, I decided to drive to the Play it Again Sports in Greenfield and luckily discovered a board perfect for Mia. I picked up a pair of matching boots too, so I imagine both were sold together. Cost a little more than I wanted to spend on it, but I wasn't going to keep looking. The guy behind the counter said kid sized boards don't last long at their store. They're just such a hot item for Christmas so I think Mia's going to sincerely love her present. Thursday morning I had a group art lesson. Added two new students to my group so we worked on drawing feathers. My other older student Micah worked on a pencil sketch of Lord Voldermort. She really nailed her sketch so I was totally proud of her. My other kids weren't totally stoked on their feathers but it was a good thing to start out with.  Thanksgiving morning was fantastic. We got to see Ralph Breaks the Internet which was pretty amazing. We had tickets to a 10:15am show so we picked up some breakfast food at KT and made our way to the Ridge. The movie was just such an amazing sequel that has me wondering if it's better than the original. That's not always the easiest to say but all three of us really liked it.

Later after the movie, we went home and Jill made her infamous mashed potatoes before we drove to my parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great time and everything was tasty. Friday, we did some painting on the cabinets before I went to work.

Saturday, I watched a very frustrating Chelsea vs Spurs match. They struggled everywhere and unfortunately ended their unbeaten streak. They have a Europa match this week so hopefully they can pull off a win. Later, we took my parents out for their birthdays to Big Tuna. Had the best sushi. They always are good so it was a nice dinner.

Today, we set up the Christmas tree. Mia enjoyed going through all the different ornaments and when I got home, I noticed she set up her Christmas village. Always cute. Over the weekend, she had to complete a science project over the weekend, and hers consisted of chemical reactions when you mix liquids together. Hopefully she wrote her report correctly. This week, super stoked for Conan O'Brien on Friday. I've been looking forward to this for quite a while.  I think we're grabbing a bite to each before and Mia's having a sleepover. I'll work on her book throughout the week as well and hopefully can find myself a board at some point. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Space Oddity

Good evening everyone. I'll get through this quickly so I can crash for the night. So most of the week, I've been thoroughly scouring the webs and store websites looking for a nice snowboard for Mia for Christmas. She's been really really wanting one so I've spent a great deal of time trying to get the most bang for my buck. I'd prefer we find a board her size, but have looked at some a bit bigger. Wednesday I was off so after school, Mia and I hit up a Play it Again Sports in Tosa. The store was much older and smaller than the one I've been to in Greenfield, but we checked to see if we could get her boot size figured out. Turns out I was right and she is a size 2. The guy helped us figure out how to tighten them on these apparently better boots. She liked them, so when I eventually get her board, I'll pick up some boots too. Boots are a heck of a lot easier to get than the perfect board. The hunt continues...

I had debated about getting one for myself for cheap as well so we could learn together. We'll see how this goes. I know the sport is tricky and difficult but I don't want Mia to get discouraged so if we both fall and laugh about it, it'll make the the all-important process of learning all the more enjoyable. Saturday, Mia made a birthday card for her friend Charlie while Jill and I did some painting in the kitchen. We tried a couple of new paint colors for the wall. Not sold on either so we'll try again. Mia mentioned how much she misses soccer and wished we still played matches on Saturday. I miss coaching it too kiddo. The fact that she ended this season on the high note of scoring her first goal was amazing and she's setting her goal for the 2019 season of a hat trick, is feasible. I like her determination so I think it's very possible.

Sunday, Mia went off to her friend's birthday party. Always cute how they greet her "MIA'S HERE!!!!!" We cleaned out Jill's car and picked up Mia an hour or so later. She had a blast making slime and chilling with her friends. We started to think what to do with Mia's birthday next year, so we'll see what happens. Mia wants it "Red Panda" themed. Not sure what that means for her, but we'll figure it out. Plenty of time, although the month of March will be hectic because we'll be hosting the school-wide art gallery show. So much going on, so little time.

This week, we've obviously got Thanksgiving, so that'll be fun. Mia's got Pajama Day on Tuesday along with a big writing day. Not sure what they have the kids doing but it's supposed to be a ton of fun. Wednesday I have a pair of art lessons so this week leading up to it, I'll have to come up with a good lesson plan. I've been sorta casually looking at jobs here and there. Something to get me out of the current FT place. Nothing serious as of now. Chelsea are back in action on Saturday after a 2 week international break so it'll be good to catch them again.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Quality Creative Time

Good evening everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the week including a little snow tease. Mia enjoyed her first week in full bright purple hair. She got plenty of compliments which is always nice. I watched the Bate vs Chelsea match Thursday. The good guys got the win thankfully so we'll be moving on in the Europa. Later after school, Mia and I met up with Jill and attended her conference with her teacher. It was the very first time we've gone to a conference together since Mia's been in school. Her teacher had only the best things to tell us so that was nice to hear.  Mia sat and drew while her teacher told us she's doing amazing with reading and comprehension. Later, we went to Stonefire Pizza for dinner and games. Mia earned over 3,000 points over a few visits there so she picked out a big surfing penguin. Awesome!

Friday, Jill chaperoned Mia's class to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum. Originally, Mia had wrote in that I was going to do it, but I have to watch how many days I take off, so I had to cross that off but apparently Mia put Jill on the list. Jill got a group of 6 kids and they all had a blast. Saturday we had a low-key kind of a day. We weren't able to do any yard work due to the new bit of snow that came. Jill went to acupuncture while I watched Mia play in the snow. Later, we grabbed lunch at a new exciting place called FreshFin Poke. Super tasty. I had a coconut shrimp curry and Jill had spicy tuna. Mia had a little cup of fish eggs as well. In Hawaii, Jill fell in love with their poke so we were very curious on this new place. It turns out, it was better than what Jill had and of course Mia enjoyed her fav little fishy eggs.

Later, we spent some quality time together making art. Mia and Jill creating some ceramic masterpieces while I just doodled. Doesn't seem like much, but when you rarely get to spend time with your family, it's truly special. Most likely, the highlight of our weekend. We put on Zootopia later and had some pasta for dinner before crashing for the evening. Today, I woke up and watched Chelsea struggle to beat Everton. The match ended 0-0. Bugger. Plenty of chances but Everton was outplaying us. Lots of yellow cards and some dirty garbage the refs were missing on the Toffees. Still unbeaten, so there's that. I was hoping City would lose today, but they stomped on Man U. Damn. Need to step it up and grab some much needed wins. This week, maybe some art lessons, Mia's got a birthday party coming up and I've got to continue working on the Christmas book. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is already next week. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!

Comeback Kid

Good evening everyone! Busy week with some much-needed and deserved time off. Wednesday, we took Mia out trick or treating one last time for the year in Waukesha where my parents live. Not the warmest weather but Mia braved a cute little outfit without sleeves. She's either acclimated to the cold temps, or just doesn't care when it comes to candy hunting. She had a great time going house to house and it was an overall fun night out. Thursday was my usual time off so I started to work on some of our book for Mia's Christmas book. Later I had some art lessons. Micah and Gigi. Gigi went first and we worked on a baby Moana sketch. She did awesome. Micah had some struggling moments with her Dobbie sketch but she'll get it worked out. I met 3 new students that are eager to start new art lessons. It's going to be a lot of fun working with more kids that are passionate about art.

This week, my father in law burned us a copy on both the computer and a physical disc of the last match, so we have a permanent copy of Mia's goal. Because it had went to fast on that day, I didn't quite catch how she got the ball and got it in so it was fun to see the how Ainslee cleared the ball out, Sophie snagged it from the opponent, passed it directly to Mia and she outran one of their players to blast it on the left side of the net. She did a slight jump and was ready to restart and try to get another goal. I've literally watched the video clip 30 times. Every time, better than the last.  So incredibly proud of her. She was so timid last season and this year finished strong with pure confidence. What a comeback for her. She's looking forward to next season alongside her BFF. It'll be a new challenge that both of us as well as my loyal assistant Coach Kevin. 

Friday, I helped out with her Fall party. I ran a little candy corn race in the hallway. The kids were crazy but a lot of fun. Later after the park, Mia and I walked home and she packed up her bag for a sleepover with Cecilia. They had pizza and pasta from Mama Mia's (yum!) and we hung out and chatted with her parents till later in the evening. Mia and Cecilia watched The Emoji Movie and passed out and fell asleep in the living room. We ran some errands in the morning including dropping off the soccer gear before picking up the diva. She had a blast playing with Cecilia in the morning after chocolate chip pancakes. The kids hugged goodbye and we were off on our way. We did some yard work later after Mia and Jill went to an arts and crafts fair. 

 Earlier in the week, we made an attempt to dye her hair with some stuff from Target. It didn't work at all and the purple was pretty light so later Saturday, we found some Manic Panic vegan purple hair dye. Manic Panic was standard in punk rock hair dye, and pretty much every punk rock fan or musician that dyed their hair used it. It's apparently actually good for hair. Neat. Anyways, after she washed it last night, we let it dry overnight and Jill dyed it this morning. Turned out super bright and vibrant. She LOVES it. I watched the Chelsea vs Palace match. 3-1 win to the good guys. Morata has been on fire lately and I hope he can continue his strong form. In between halves, I helped Jill start our big project of painting our cabinets and trim. It's going to look so nice when it's all done.

This week, I've gotta vote, I've got plenty of art to accomplish and we have Mia's conference. We're stoked that both Jill and I can go for the first time ever. She's got a super sweet 2nd grade teacher so it'll be nice that we both get to go and hear how awesome our kid is :P Friday, she has a field trip to the Betty Brinn and she's pretty excited for that one too. That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

Hard Work Pays Off

Good morning everyone. What a busy week and exciting week it was. Almost could say a bit of sadness but we'll get back to that.
Throughout the week (art-wise) I did some spooky Halloween-inspired drawings for Mia. Some were okay, others "meh". I got my car back finally after almost a month of repairs and painting.  I'm going to totally miss the 2018  Rogue, but it was good to have my ride back. They did a fantastic job on it and now I'm just waiting for my insurance specialist to get the deductible back from the truck company. That part of this whole thing has been pretty frustrating so hopefully they'll get it.

Thursday I watched the Chelsea vs BATE match. Great win as always. Mia was stoked to see my car with Remi in the front seat (with his signature sunglasses of course) because she doesn't have to really look for my car, she just hears the chorus of kids screaming "OOOOOHHH LOOK AT THAT DOG!!!" and she knows "yeah my Dad's here". We got a snack post-school and Mia immediately got ready for practice. She wanted to get to the field as soon as possible to prepare herself for a possible 2nd chance at a PK since she missed last week. Okay fine. She didn't really work on the PK's when we arrived and more so worked on dribbling around me to shoot from every angle. Also equally important. We had a few girls missing but ran the practice as usual. Did a bit of a relay working on ball control and speed. A lot of the girls are very quick so it was well worth it. Did a few pass and shoot drills and did something we haven't done in a long time: A scrimmage. They really liked revisiting this familiar part of our practices and played well into the darkness. We called practice a little before 6:30 before visibility was practically gone. Overall, solid practice and they all felt confident going into Saturday's match.

Saturday came. Our final game of the season.  Mia was pretty bummed thinking about it as she got ready after breakfast. We got to the fields, I got the medals as Mia said a quick "hi" to her preschool BFF Olivia and new friend Tenley that played earlier and she joined her team warming up. The kids did their usual 1v1 against a defender and keeper. A few other quick drills and it was time to play. Olivia took the captain role for the last match. The Leprechauns looked almost like mainly 2nd graders. Or, they've got some seriously tall 1st graders on team. Most likely, the 1st one with the way they were shooting. Tons of power but somehow our girls weren't letting them through. In fact, some of these girls played their best game all season. One notable one was Charley. She had the most amazing 1st half ever. Every time the ball came near her, she booted the ball far and high out of our side of the field. Adalyn picked up our first goal of the match dribbling around a few of their players and finally finding the net getting her 9th goal of the season. The big shocker was still to come though.

Mia got the ball and outran one of their much bigger players and left footed it from outside the box right in the left side of the net.  UNBELIEVABLE. She was very reserve in her celebration. Originally she said she'd pick up her BFF when she'd score but she wasn't in at the moment. Her and fellow winger Sophie just looked at each other with big smiles and Mia ran back to the line ready to have another go at a goal. Her bench went crazy because I promised I'd do the "floss" dance if she scored...and well she finally scored. All the hard work paid off and she did so well in our last match. She made two goals this year. Learn to skateboard and score a goal. She accomplished the 2nd one very well. Adalyn got one more goal totaling 10 for the season. Great goal before the end of the half. The girls were feeling great going into the next half. Ainslee was solid in the back getting a great clean sheet. Sofia's turn. The Leprechauns put on the pressure but we did our best to keep them from scoring. A few scary moments of our defense clearing the ball to them gave me small heart attacks. Thanks Jana :P They got a handball against Ainslee and blasted a free kick that sneaked from under Sofia's legs and she scrambled to grab it and it leaked in. Damn. Game ended 3-1 and the girls went insane. Their traditional "Cheetah pile" before saying "good game" to the other team...then they piled up again. As promised as parents circled around the team for the medal ceremony, I floss-danced with the kids. They loved it and we had a good time. In sports, you have to keep it fun and this team was a complete blast. We gave each one of them their medals as we revealed their stats for the season and highlights. I hope they all enjoyed their time this season as much as I did. They bonded so well and were a blast to coach. The frustrating moments always subsided when I'd see the fun and smiles they had. We had just a great group of girls and both Coach Kevin and I are so proud of them. He was a great help this season and I couldn't do it without him.

Next season, 4 of them will be moving up to the 3rd/4th grader's Juniors division. If the sign up is low, they may add 5th graders like they did this season. I hope it doesn't come to that but we'll prepare for it. Mia and Cecilia will (and anyone else who wants to join us) will train over the Summer  for this new challenge. If the younger kids want to play casually with us as well, I fully welcome it. Love the kids so it'll be fun. Later after the game, We went to business trick or treating in downtown Waukesha. Mia kept her soccer uniform on with new medal so she went as a "champion soccer player". The weather was pretty great and she got plenty of good candy. Later, my parents met us up at MOD for pizza and we carved pumpkins. Jill made a gorgeous sugar skull, Mia did a red panda and I did Oogey Boogey. Sunday I had to work an early shift. Later we went trick or treating with Mia's cousins. Not the best weather but they had a total blast. I was Snape, Jill was McGonagall, and Mia was Hermione. This week, a return to art lessons, a Fall party at her school and I have to turn in the equipment back to the NBAA. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!

Spooky Times & Soccer in Sleet

Good evening everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Been some weird weather but so what else is new. I took on a challenge to create some realistic food sketches that for the most part, worked out. The last day of the drawings, I literally threw away 4 sketches that didn't work. Frustrated, but I somehow finished it and was glad it was over. Working with toned paper and trying to nail realistic food drawings can be tricky. Toned paper isn't forgiving. You make too many erase marks, and it starts to wear out. Thursday, Mia requested I join her for lunch. REALLY? Alright. So I met up with her and her crazy friends. They all wanted to sit next to Mia. Not sure if that had anything to do with me being there, but it was a good time.

We went out for recess and all of them wanted to know what we were doing. Mia spent a lot of time trying to find BFF Cecilia. Eventually, I spotted her playing soccer with a bunch of kids. Mia joined in and I helped. It was pure chaos. The boys were insane. They'd run the ball in hands, put it down in front of a line of unfortunate kids at the net and blast it. The ball wasn't like a regular soccer ball. It was very light so when you kick it, it's going to travel very quickly. One of her friends Hayden got blasted in the stomach. A few tears and she was okay. Someone else took one as well. I told Mia today that come Monday, her and Cecilia should just grab a ball and go practice by themselves for their last game. Later, we had a soccer practice and actually had a complete team. The girls weren't listening at times, but other they were fine. They were all feeling good going into our next match.

Friday was the annual Star Trek to pickle pond. I volunteered to help. Not the best day for the trek, but the kids had fun. They did an obstacle course and played on the playground while it rained. Yuck. They didn't seem to mind and had an awesome time. Saturday morning was the return of Soccer Saturday.  I got up nice and early to watch Chelsea take on Man U. An early lead, and they were looking great. Man U's Pogba was awful the first half and after our goal, I thought we had them. 2nd half, they tied us and got another goal to pull ahead. Luckily, Barkley got the equalizer and we picked up a point. Frustrating but entertaining match.

Later, Mia and the Cheetahs took on her good friends Charlie and Tenley at 12:30. We also found out her long time BFF from pre-school Olivia was on their team. Crazy. It was our first match in a few weeks (due to all the cancellations) so I didn't know how great we'd be. The weather was godawful. Heavy winds, sleat/snow and freezing temps were not playing in our favor. A lot of the kids were out of sorts playing in the cold temps. The Lady Badgers caught Ainslee out a few times and picked up 2 goals on us. Ugh. Our kids kept trampling over each other, and not getting ahead of their defense. 2nd half, they had a hands in the box so we were rewarded a PK. Mia made the attempt and shot it straight at her friend Charlie. Damn. If I would have got her to take a running start and shoot, she would have had a better chance of getting her first goal. Luckily, Ainslee picked up one for us and the crowd went crazy. I don't know why, but it always seems like we have a lot more supporters than the other team. A few more chances but we just couldn't equalize. They had a PK on our end and their biggest kid took a blast at our wall of a keeper Sofia and she stopped her with ease. The funny thing is, that she didn't even want to play goalie but said "okay, I'll do it" pretty easy and had a great cleat sheet the 2nd half. Not the result we wanted but the kids still had fun. ONE last game left. Can we pull off a win? I certainly hope so. It's been such a frustrating season. While some players are doing pretty well, others just lack the focus to A-pass the ball, B-not run into fellow teammates, and C-LISTEN! Mia's been the hardest on herself lately and I have to figure out how to get her to listen more. She played very well, but sometimes backs off too much on the ball.

Later, Jill and I went to our friends Kat and Gregg's annual Halloween party dressed as Snape and Trixxxy the witch (Jill's made up character) Plenty of drinks and fun with old friends and like always, met some pretty awesome new people. We picked up Mia and went home. We watched a weird movie on Netflix before heading off to bed. Today, I didn't get much accomplished before work, but when I got home, it appears they took off all the cabinet doors to start the new project.

This week, hopefully a practice, some drums (maybe) and our last game. Trick or treating is Sunday so I've got an early day. We'll have to find time to carve pumpkins as well. That's all for now, thanks for reading

No Mas Lluvia Por Favor

Good evening everyone. Another week in the books. A rather disappointing week unfortunately so this won't take long. We had yet another spell of crap weather unfortunately which cancelled our soccer practice. I felt bad because we probably should have had it, but I'm sure the parents didn't mind chilling inside a warm house. Mia ended up reuniting and playing with her friend Noelle after school for a few hours, which was nice. The two always can pick up where they left off and play after several weeks apart. 

Saturday, we were supposed to play, but Friday night, we got an email cancelling the match. 4 out of the 7 fields still had standing water. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Mia was super disappointed because her fav Milwaukee Torrent Women's Player Mariah Downs had planned to attend the game. Mia was going to play against her preschool BFF Olivia as well. Her BFF Cecilia misses playing as well. She was stoked because Adalyn's Mom was going to make hot chocolate for everyone too.  The only good thing about our game getting cancelled was that we were going to be short two players. Ainslee was out of town as well as Charley was ill and be out for the game, leaving us short on the bench. Mia still felt confident she'd score, but sadly we didn't get to play. The Cheetahs just can't catch a break this season. There's even a chance the game won't even get a make up because the season should be wrapping up at the end of October. So disappointing. We spent the Saturday running some errands, a little yard work, relaxing, and some Dominos/Sushi for dinner. We even watching the Brewers game. Mia for some reason, was booing them. Later, we went to my brother's beer league hockey game. They unfortunately lost, but Mia enjoyed watching her uncle. He even hooked her up with a game-used puck which she was pretty stoked about. 

Today, not much going on. Laundry then work. This week, hopefully we can practice and we have one make-up game as well. Mia takes on her friends Tenley and Charlie. We should have a full roster if my kids can stay healthy. My car should also be finished getting fixed. I definitely didn't mind driving in this SUV, but it'll be interesting to see my Corolla fixed. I'm honestly surprised they didn't total it, but it's still got plenty of life left in it. I'll miss push starting my car, and how incredibly smooth the Rogue drove. Chelsea is back in action this weekend as well, so hopefully they can pull off a win against Man U. That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

Shutterbug

Good evening everyone. Going to try and make this late-night post brief. It's been a busy day and I'm exhausted thinking about tomorrow's busy day too. The week was a busy one per the usual. I got my rental car this on Tuesday which is ridiculously fun to drive. It's a 2018 Nissan Rogue. This thing is loaded with features that I'm going to totally miss when my Corolla is fixed. Mia does too and she'll miss the Rogue as well.  We had a practice on Thursday that was mainly okay. With the help of Jana's Dad (since my assistant coach was at the Brewers game) we got some pass and shoot drills that seemed to work well. At the end, we were ready for our game. Sadly Friday night, we found out that it was cancelled. We've had a lot of rain for a while and unfortunately the game fields never had enough time to dry. Our make up game is all set, so hopefully we'll get a win. When I had to text the kid's parents Saturday morning, I found the sad news one of our players Ainslee was crying. She loves loves loves this team and she's missing the next game because she's out of town. Total bummer. The talented 1st grader will be missed but luckily will have another couple of matches.

We spent the rest of the Saturday taking out Mia's clothes from the Summer and replacing them her Fall/Winter apparel. We also met up with my in-laws to celebrate Uncle Tommy's belated birthday with a tasty dinner.

Sunday we didn't do much. I watched Chelsea win 3-0 over Southampton. Such a solid match. Hazard looks great and I hope he continues to keep the great form. Recently they announced John Terry officially retired from football. 22 year career with some great memories mainly at CFC.
They all came over again we mainly just hung out till I went off to work.

Today, Mia was off, so the simple goal was to go to the zoo and see the brand new baby red panda. Upon walking Remi on my morning walk, the temp seemed warm, giving me the unfortunate thought that the red pandas wouldn't be out. They only let them out if it's below 70. Mia got up, dressed, ate and we were off to the zoo. We immediately made our way to the red pandas and like I assumed, they were not out. BUMMER. It was too humid and they prefer cooler temps. Mia did enjoy snapping photos of the river otters, giraffes, penguins, bears and other animals. After my busy day at work, I pulled up the photos she took and they're actually very impressive. The kid has a total eye for photography. Loved watching her creatively get different angels of the animals today.

Tomorrow, Jill and I've got an early meeting for the epic art show we're putting together. A few days ago, we started going over artists we were going to focus on and some pieces we'd like to use for inspiration and I swear, it felt like we were back in college doing research. Totally a lot of fun.

Practice on Thursday (unless our weather is crap again) as well as a game Saturday. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Apple of My Irony

Good evening everyone. Been a busy end of September, so let's get right to it. The majority of the week I've been working to get my car situation under control and figured out. Originally they wanted to total it, but I got a call that they want to attempt to fix it and if they can't repair the quarter panel, it'll be considered total. Meanwhile I'll get my rental car this Tuesday and will at least be able to drive legally.

Thursday, I attended recess and lunch with Mia. She was so stoked I joined her and her friends also had fun. They did jump rope at recess so I got to meet a few new friends. Later,  we had practice. The kids were riding high off their big victory, but we still had work to do on space and passing. I had the concept to work on passing between two players with one defender attacking them. We had to set up cones so they didn't cross over and be on top of each other. Sorta worked, but we'll have to work on it at the next practice.

Friday night, I came home to a house full of Jill's friends. Leanne and Jacqui plus Caleb were here. Mia and Caleb tried to sleep in the living room while the other two where in our bed. I slept downstairs the with kids and Jill joined them. Mia couldn't get comfortable so she ended up sleeping on top of me. Great. We woke up early and she got ready for her Picture Day for soccer. Always a hectic event. Had a few late arrivals and a few out of dress but we got them suited up and all the kids looked cute. Then, it was off to the fields!

We got an early lead on the Flamingos with Adalyn getting her 7th goal of the season. Things were looking good. I tried to prep my girls who were going in for subs about space and passing and at the time, they said they got it. The starting lineup was bunching and it was a bit frustrating because we just explained about creating space. The Flamingos got one back and it was 1-1. Damn. The subs went in and we were back in action. Mia was desperately trying to get some chances to score, but kept backing off the ball. Cecilia strangely enough was too at times, which would let them come in on Sofia in goal. Finally, we got our 2nd goal. Adalyn found the net again totaling 8 goals for the season and two for the match. They got one back and it was tied again 2-2 in the 2nd half. Ainslee came off her line trying to kick it instead of pouncing on it and they got it back. Mia had an incredible breakaway shot way too early and wasn't able to pull a goal back for us which would have got us ahead. DAMN. They caught Ainslee out one more time and got the last goal of the game giving us a 2-3 at FT. We were pretty even with them and could have easily got a win if they'd create space and pass more. Mia had a great throw in as well. SO close. Oh well. Much to work on and hopefully everyone will be on the same page. On a positive note, Chelsea beat Liverpool early in the week knocking them out of the Carabaeo Cup and ended up getting a draw Saturday against the Reds. We'll take it. Hazard was a beast in both games.

Later we did apple picking and a corn maze with Jill's crew. They went out to for wine and sushi while I hung out with the kids eating Dominos and watching Big Hero 6. All in all, great weekend.

This week, practice, hopefully get my car fixed and a late game for the Cheetahs. We play an undefeated team so I'm not thrilled about that match. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

U-Turn

What a week it's been. As I type this, I'm watching Chelsea take on West Ham(they unfortunately drew) this morning reflecting on one of the most intense weeks this month. Here we go. Most of the week went as normal. Mia dragging herself to school etc etc. My day off on Thursday can go down as the worst one this year. The morning started out with a torrential downpour. Great. I monitored the rain most the day till it about stopped. I knew the fields would be pretty rough, and the mosquito's this week were absolutely terrible so the added rain would only make things worse, so unfortunately I had to cancel. My DJI Spark drone FINALLY arrived so I was stoked to get to play with that and teach myself how to fly it.

Later in the morning I had a vet appt with Remi. Just a normal update on some shots. On our drive back home, I got in my first car accident. A short woman driving a large semi-truck tried to pull a U-turn and clipped the back end of my Corolla. Remi got tossed to the ground but somehow we survived. The woman claimed she never saw me and thought maybe I was speeding. No, I wasn't speeding. The fact that you tried to do a U-turn with a semi truck into traffic probably wasn't the smartest idea. My tail light is busted (but still works) and I have  gnarly dent with a scrape on the side of my sad Toyota. When I got home, still shook up, I had to call insurance, Jill and as well as talk to a specialist about getting my claim taken care of. Can't believe I got hit. Luckily my car is still drivable but I hope to get it fixed when I can. After school I did an art lesson with one of my students. She was struggling a bit with a horse sketch that she was giving as a gift so Mia and I after school went over and I helped her our. Mia drew a picture of her dog Elsa. Later, we did Stonefire Pizza with Jill since we didn't have practice.

Saturday was the big game. Our 3rd game of the season. It was a day we really really needed to improve in skills and win. I requested all of the kids arrive early so we could get in a last minute practice before kickoff since ours was cancelled this week. We started out with running drills, some 1v1 and finally I introduced a new formation. This would debut having RW and LW (or right wing/left wing) on each side of the striker, with a holding center back. The goal was to keep them spaced out. Makes sense right? Opening few minutes, they were starting to bunch up. Come on guys...Early in the half, we scored! I can't remember who got the first one, but the bench and fans went crazy. We haven't had a lead yet this season so it was awesome. Next thing I know, Olivia scored not one but TWO goals. She was in pure shock that her face was grinning from ear to ear. Even Ainslee, who's found the net a few times proudly amped her up with a big hug. Sofia was solid in the back with the keeper without much worry. Cecilia had an incredible 1st half in the back and never let her down. Ainslee found the net before the 1st half concluded. 2nd half, we switched keepers. Ainslee was eager to take on her favorite position and I was excited to see how Sofia would do this half on the field. Just like I hoped, she got a goal. Perfect throw in to her, she spun it around and shot it that went off one of the other player's back and over the short keeper's shoulder. Amazing!

Sophie would also find the net for the very first time as well. She's always been a one-to-watch for me. She's very quick and has a good understanding where to be on the pitch. She can dribble around people like Adalyn so it was only a matter of time before she got her first goal. One of the other shocking goals besides Olivia's double goals was Charley. She was playing in only her 2nd game ever and found the net for the first time. She was so excited. One of the most enjoyable moments of the 2nd half was watching Ainslee dive and roll after every single ball. Her parents told me earlier in the season that she watches a lot of Hope Solo videos (the USWNT goalie) for inspiration. You can tell she loves the position and just like Sophie, she had a cleat sheet as well. The final score was a commanding 8-0. The girls were SO excited that they finally won a game. They were communicating well and passing better. Mia was both excited and bummed. She was stoked she won but still couldn't get a goal. one of the hardest part of being coach in general, is that every single person wants to play. No one wanted to go out ever. Cecilia was even giving her Dad a bit of attitude that she had to sit out to give Jana a chance in the defense. She also really did well both in the back and on the wing. After the match concluded, the girls tackled each other in a big massive team hug. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen as a coach and as a parent. So much excitement from these kids. Everyone happy and stoked for their next game. I'm also glad my parent supporters were patient with these girls and I knew eventually, we could turn this team around and start getting some goals. I was pretty happy that one of my students and her Mom came to cheer us on as well. The rest of the day, we hung out, hand lunch and cleaned the house in preparation for the upcoming weekend with Jill's friends.

 Hopefully my car gets fixed this week and after the game/picture day, we're going to the Elegant Farmer with Jill's crew. Should be a busy but fun weekend. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!

Skills to Improve

Good morning everyone. As Mia sleeps in this beautiful Sunday morning, I figured I'd get a blog in before getting stuck at work the rest of the day. This was Mia's first full week of school. She's not getting up at 6:30am anymore. Back to the 7:00am roll out of bed. Still loves school and her teacher, just doesn't get up as early as that first week. Minus a few problems with a certain kid in her class, everything seems to be going well.

We had a very not-productive practice Thursday. I only say that because the girls weren't very motivated to learn from their mistakes of last weeks game, and try to fix a few things. We started with a 1v1 challenge which in theory could have worked. We did a scrimmage like usual. Everyone wanted to play keeper for some reason. We started to see some improvement with Ainslee in goal as well as Addy's dribbling. This modest player can get around just about anyone and she proved that Saturday morning.

I watched Chelsea beat Cardiff 4-1 before our match. We had our 2nd game of the season at 11:15. When we arrived, a lot of the players were already there warming up. Without my assistant coach, I was riding solo, just like I did all season. I started Sofia in goal and she was phenomenal. Despite letting a few goals in, this kid never backs down and jumps on anything that comes her way. The Jaguar Gummy Girls got a few on us, but we got one back. It had to by Adalyn getting her 4th goal. I don't know why, but it appeared we had way more fans than the other team because after she scored, there was an eruption of cheers from the sidelines. We finally got one back and hopefully could build on the momentum. At that moment, their coach was LIVID that his team let one slip by. He was screaming at his kids and post-game, I had some family members telling me how rough he was. Dude, you're WINNING settle down. They're just kids. We weren't done yet however. Ainslee got her 1st goal of the season, and immediately after when I thought she was going to do her celebratory cartwheel, she just turned and smiled at me. The heat was too much for this kid to do her cartwheel. 2-4 was the final score. It was a tough game, but we had some variables that weren't in our favor. Charley returned after a 2 week absence and we tried Olivia in goal for the very first time. She did mostly okay, but at one point I heard a parent yell "you can USE your hands!" Charley was lost in her first game, mainly because she's never played before and doesn't know the formality of a soccer game. She'll catch up and improve this week. We tried a new formation and I think for the most part it really worked. Cecilia was the solo defender in the back and she had a really solid 2nd half. Totally proud of the pint-size attacking defender. She had a great run with the ball towards the end of the game before it went out. Mia was stoked her friend Hayden had come and watched Cecilia and her play Saturday. Always nice when your friend cheers you on.

After the game, we grabbed some lunch in downtown Waukesha with Jill's family and just sorta chilled out for the remainder of the day. Today. Jill's at church so in a bit I'm going to wake up Mia.

This week, nothing special going on. We'll have our practice Thursday and another match Saturday. Much to improve but we'll get better.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Back to the Grind

Good evening everyone. About a day behind but it was a busy week so yeah..catching up today. Here we go. Last Tuesday was her first day of 2nd grade. She woke up at 6:30 AM ready to go! She did the same thing on Wednesday as well. How does my kid wake up early? She was super excited for school and because I took the day off Tuesday, I got to hear how great it was. She loved they did math with gummy worms :P It was great to reunite with her friends at lunch and recess as well (of course Cecilia). She seems to have balanced everything out nicely in that department. Going into 2nd grade, she wasn't thrilled not to have her BFF in her class, but she knew she'd see her at lunch and recess, so she was okay with that, plus she gets to hang out with her friend Charlie and Ryan during class time that she befriended in Kindergarten. Awesome. Plus, she really really likes her teacher so that's awesome as well. I helped out Jill for a few hours at a school before heading back home for the day. Later, I had to run and pick up some extra backup socks

Thursday, Jill had an early day so I helped her pack up her car and off she went to a Picture Day at another school. I stupidly thought "hey, I'll get a bit more sleep before getting Mia up". My alarm never went off and I woke up at 7:50am. That meant I had about 30 minutes to get Mia to school. She woke up quick, had her breakfast and we were ready to roll. Phew. Never want to do that again. We had practice later in the soggy field. The whole week, we got rain every single day so I didn't know what was the field going to be like. Like I pictured, it was pretty bad. We didn't even use the goal because that section of the field was just a swamp. Jana, one of our players's Dad referred to it as the "swimming pool". We set up about 15 feet away from the field some cones as makeshift goals and had a scrimmage. The kids did fine and we had some great goalies and standout goal scorers which gave me and my assistant coach Kevin confidence going into our first game. We did a team huddle and a 1,2,3 CHEETAHS before calling it a day. Later, we went to Stonefire and took advantage of their new promo before heading home and calling it a night. Friday Mia finally let Jill change her earrings. It was an ordeal. but we had to do it because it's mandatory for soccer games.

Saturday was the big game. Mia slept in her uniform all fired up and ready for the match. They re-positioned the fields this season, which confused everyone. Once we got all of our players, we warmed up and were ready to roll. They got the first goal against us. Ainslee was a bit sketched jumping on the ball and they took advantage of it. Damn. They picked up a couple other ones before Adalyn scored our first goal. Insane. She was playing defense and ended up taking the ball straight to the goal. Crowd went crazy. Seriously. Too funny. Half time came around and we switched out keepers. Addy got another goal which sent their keeper into a sobbing fit. They had to stop the game to comfort her and get her to stop crying. Aww..Cotton Candy picked up another goal  before Addy got our last goal of the match. Her hat trick. Unbelievable. Her family was totally proud. Despite the loss, everyone on the Cheetahs was in good spirits. We had so much possession the first half and could have easily scored 4-5 goals. We'll work on 1v1 at practice as well as trying a new formation. Every single girl wanted to continue playing, and no one wanted to sit out. Sorry guys, I have to always be rotating players in and out. They're all looking forward to the next game.

Later, Jill and I went to Mayville for my friend Nichole's wedding. Awesome time and as always great to reunite with my old college friends. Sunday, nothing much happened before I went to work.

This week, practice, plenty of work, maybe catch a Chelsea game and Mia's got her game Saturday. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!

Summer's Gone, Carry On, I'm a Ghost in the Dawn

Hello  everyone. Summer Break officially ends tomorrow on Labor Day, and the diva goes back to school Tuesday. It's bittersweet for a lot of different reasons. First, Summer went by pretty quickly. Traveling a good chunk of July didn't help, but we had an amazing time and made some incredible memories so that's a good trade off :) We didn't get to do her annually lemonade stand which sucks because she always has a great time with friends doing it and loves to give all the money to HAWS. We may try to do something in the Fall if there's time and the weather is good.

She definitely needs to be back at school again. She needs to be on that routine again and having things to do. Plus, it'll be good to reunite with friends again. She had her open house this week and got to meet her new teacher. She technically already has met her at random moments at school so I'm pretty happy she's got her as a 2nd grade teacher. She found out she's got a few other friends in her class as well as some troublemakers. Hopefully there aren't any issues.

Thursday I had my art lessons. Micah worked on a very tricky horse for a friend while her sister did a cartoon of Harry Potter. These girls are super fun to work with. Micah wasn't able to finish it, however she'll get it complete for her friend's belated birthday gift at some point. She's a patient and talented artist and I look forward to seeing when it's complete. I picked up Mia later and we ran over to Ella's house for my last art lesson of the day. We did some water colour painting of some fish. Mia drew her dogs while we had fun painting. I haven't water color painted in a really really long time so it was fun to challenge myself as well as Ella. She did a great job and her fish sorta accidentally had this Japanese style of painting to it. I loved seeing how proud she was.

With school starting this week, I'm not quite sure how the art lesson schedule will work with my 3 students. I have others that are interested so I have to figure out how to work everything out. After Ella's lesson, Mia and I grabbed some snacks and made a quick drive to the zoo. The Summer has been so busy and I feel like we haven't been able to do much together. She was so awesome at Ella's lesson just hanging out, drawing and even talking to both Ella and her Mom so a trip to the zoo before soccer was a great idea.

We got a rare moment watching the lion and lioness roaring in the enclosure. It's been at least 5 years since I've seen that with the diva so it was pretty cool. I think he was irritated with all the kids waving at him. Mia loved watching the tiger playing in the water outside but was pretty bummed the red pandas were not out. The river otters were super cute playing down the slides as well as the baby giraffe attempting to eat the sign outside the habitat.

We had to book it home and get ready for our 2nd soccer practice. Plenty of teams were on the field and we split a quarter of the field with a couple teams. We met our newest addition Ainslee and she already had meshed well with our team. We ran our first scrimmage and went over positions so they get a better idea of what to expect on game day. The girls did really well and I'm most excited to see big improvements from Mia and Cecilia. Both are getting in the mix more and exploring their different skills. Cecilia really likes to play defense while using her loud voice to help and control the back line, while Mia actually is getting into the mix as a striker. I'm hoping the fields eventually dry up and we don't get rain this week. Our newest addition already likes playing goalie so we have a good list of talent for that position. Our two big goal scorers will be Sophie and Sofia. Both found the net 4 times. I hope to develop the rest of the girls into well-rounded players that can be assists in all positions while having fun in the process. My favorite moment was the big team hug after practice. These girls have only had two practices and already really getting along together and bonding.

Later, we went to StoneFire Pizza as sort of a "last night as a family to do fun stuff" before school starts. Over the weekend, I watched Chelsea beat the Cherries, and Sunday the girls drove to Illinois for a housewarming party. Today, we're visiting with my in laws for a Labor Day lunch before I go to work.

This week, possibly art lessons in-between first week of school, soccer and Mia's FIRST game of the season! That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Summer Chillin'

Good morning everyone. Only about a week and a half before school starts so we're making the most of the little Summer we've got left. My work schedule adjusted this week to having Thursday off (which should be my weekday-off till October till Mia's soccer season completes. During the week, we made an attempt to get some shoes at the Journey's down the road from our house at the mall. Mia tried on a pair of Vans with kitty mermaids on her sneakers. Didn't like how tight they were on the bridge of her foot. Tried on a pair of mermaid Chuck Taylors. Wasn't a huge fan of how they felt on her ankle because she was wearing a shorter sock. Dammit.

I had not one, not two but THREE art lessons on Thursday. I added a 3rd student, Gigi. My 2nd student's little sister. She's a fun kid that loves to draw. Micah did a great job with her Hermione sketch as well as Gigi did with her grape drawings. I met up with to grab some lunch and we went to my 3rd lesson of the day with Ella. We tackled a tricky sketch of Hagrid, but she nailed it. She's always willing to learn new and challenging mediums and techniques which is amazing. After the lesson, Mia and I went to the Journeys Kidz store at Mayfair in attempt to find some sneakers. Tried a few similar pairs from the other store, wasn't a fan. Just as we were about to leave, she was eyeing up a pair of Doc Martens. She tried a pair that were on clearance and we ended up getting them. She loves these boots, but they weren't sneakers. She NEEDED sneakers. We stopped at Payless and she picked up a cheaper pair for everyday use and gym class. Note to self: Go to Payless next year. Lucky little diva picking up a pair of boots. Good thing I'm pulling in some extra cash doing art lessons :)

Later, we had our 1st team practice for the season. Last year, we were very lucky to have the entire field to ourselves. This season, we're sharing. There were at least 3 other teams across the back field including a much older group on our field. Luckily, they shared it and we were fine. Met all the parents and players and overall, we had a solid first practice. The kids learned proper passing techniques, dribbling, shooting and how to do a throw-in. Already these kids are starting better than my team last season. The majority of my team have played before with the exception of one 1st grader. I received an email a few hours before practice of an extra player to be added. She couldn't make the practice but we'll meet with her next week. Hopefully we can get a scrimmage in. Mia's proudest moment of the day was her booting the ball over the keeper's head and in the net. She's literally told everyone she knows about it. Even yesterday when she went ice skating with her BFF and teammate Cecilia. "CAN YOU BELIEVE I SHOT IT OVER HER HEAD??!" That reminds me, we have a very ambitious and solid player who would like to play keeper this season. I'll probably use the same strategy that I did last season: Play the keeper for one half and switch her out on the field the 2nd half.

As mentioned earlier, Saturday, Mia hung out with Cecilia for the day at the Petit. Both girls really wanted to go ice skating so her Dad dropped her off and we did some open skating. The girls had a blast. They also made some gummy worms/bears with Jill and loved mixing the colors.

Today, I'm watching the Chelsea game while Jill travels to Illinois for a baby shower. Work later. Blah. That's about it for now. This week, Mia's got open house to meet the already familiar 2nd grade teacher, and we've got our 2nd practice for the New Berlin Cheetahs. Thanks for reading!

Kick IT!

Another busy week in the books. August is truly flying by. This week, I started two art lessons with two different students. Both just happen to be friends. I did a 2 hour lesson with Micah, a sorta shy, but very open artist. We drew a warmup sketch of a strawberry, and moved onto the Sorting Hat. Yeah, she's a major Harry Potter fan like Ella. She did a great job with both and was really proud of her work. It's just amazing to see pride in your art, so I was stoked to see that in Micah. Later, I met up with Ella and we did a very tricky Dobby sketch in pen with some color pencil for eyes. Her first mixed media piece. It was a difficult challenge but she nailed it. I believe we're doing Hagrid for the next sketch.

Later, Mia and I met up with Cecilia and her Dad for the NBAA soccer coaches meeting. We got our roster, equipment and team shirts, and info for the season. Mia and Cecilia will be sporting yellow kits this season. I was glad we got anything but pink since we had that last season. Our roster is very even. 4 2nd graders, 4 1st graders. Myself and Cecilia's Dad are looking forward to starting this week with the kids. Both girls immediately grabbed their shirts with preferred numbers and ran out kicking a ball around. Love the enthusiasm. They played a bit on the playground and we eventually had to say goodbye.

Friday night, Mia and Jill made a cute plushie fox. Not an easy thing to make but the end result is pretty cute. Saturday, Jill and I watched Chelsea beat the Gunners 3-2. Solid game but we let them back in. Gotta work on our defense. Later, we did some cleaning, met up with Mia's cousins Easton and Cam and aunt and uncle Ashley and Andy at the park. Warm day out, but the kids had fun. Mia did some tricky hula-hooping. I've never seen her do that well at hula hooping so it was pretty cute. We tried Mechi's frozen yogurt for the first time. Very tasty.

Later, we cut some grass, Mia played outside and we made some tacos. Today, they left early in the day to help uncle Tommy move into his new condo. I've been working on graphic design stuff before head off to work. This week I've got more art lessons, Mia's got Picture Day and we've got our first practice. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Reunited At Last

Good afternoon everyone. Back to work this week and it's been hell. Boss has been gone so like usual, everything has been lousy. Mia got to hang out with long time friends Gracie and Hannah on Tuesday. It was a warm day at the park but the kids had fun. Always nice catching up with them and their Mom. I think Mia would like to hang with Hannah one-on-one some time. Their Mom can't wait for the girls to start school again, which I can totally relate at times. Wish the girls had more time to hang out together. Summer just goes so fast.

Wednesday was art lesson day with Ella. We drew a jellyfish with pencils on toned paper. We didn't get to finish it, but she totally got the concept and I look forward to seeing how hers turned out. She is such a fantastic artist and wants to tackle another Harry Potter-themed lesson this week. I may be adding another kid to my art lesson schedule so we'll have to see if/when that happens.

I spent a lot of time video-editing our recent trip. I think it turned out pretty good. Wish at moments I would have done more video work. Still have to show both sets of our parents.

Saturday, we didn't do too much. The first Premier League matches for the season started so I watched Chelsea beat Huddersfield 3-0. Great match and awesome to see our new keeper in action.  Jill had to photograph her brother's friend's baby at the studio. We had Noodles later and watched some of a movie before Mia got tired. Today, they went to Illinois to help her friend Jacqui unpack so I had a few hours to myself to clean before I went to work.

This week, I have some graphic design work to accomplish, more photo editing, art lesson and I have the coaches meeting this Wednesday for Mia's team. We'll get the roster, schedule, "jerseys" and equipment for the season. Should be an exciting 2nd season of rec soccer. Mia's super excited to start, but I still need to do some work with her skills.

That's all for now thanks for reading!

Tea for 5

Greetings everyone. Well, we're all back to work officially post-vacation. Jill's been back since we got back into WI, and I finally returned to work today. Ugh. The time off was so nice and enjoyable and unfortunately, I don't think I got to enjoy the post-vacation off time. Let's get into that..

Throughout the week, I've been tutoring my awesome 7th grade student Ella (who's doing AMAZING by the way) and have been here and there picking up some school supplies for Mia. She did a bit of back-to-school clothing shopping as well. Always a bit tricky because she hates pants but she did find a pair that are comfy enough to wear this year. We also had to take a visit to Dick's Sporting Goods to pick up some new cleats. Her beloved black/pink Adidas cleats outgrew her, so she picked out some black/neon yellow Nike boots for the season. Just like she used to do when she was a tiny toddler. She used to try on random boots and dribble soccer balls around the aisles. After she laced her new boots up, we found a ball and she got some kicks in. With some great powerful passes to me, she was pleasantly pleased with these boots so we paid and were on our way.

Friday, Mia went clothing shopping with my Mom and than later had a tea party with her friends Noelle, Katelyn and their sisters. Great fun playing and eating little treats! These kids always have the best time pretending to run a bakery, a kitchen, etc.

Saturday, we packed up the car and went to Steven's Point. Jill helped her friend and former roommate Willa photograph a wedding. We got to hang out and catch up with her and her family. Mia enjoyed spending time with their 11 year old kiddo Hanna. She's a tween alright, but super sweet and enjoyed playing with Mia. Sunday, we did breakfast and went to Sculpture Park checking out all the fun contraptions and creations. We said our goodbyes and made the drive back home. Later, had dinner with Jill's parents for the evening.

This week, play date tomorrow with long time friends Hannah and Gracie, I've got a tutoring lesson on Wednesday and hopefully enjoy what we can of the week.  Premier League officially starts this week. Chelsea needs to kick it into high gear and start the season off winning!

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Aloha mākou iā Hawaii

Good morning everyone! It's been an incredibly busy few weeks traveling over 4,000 miles and back to CA then two islands in Hawaii. It's been a blur but we're trying to get back to normalcy. California was our first stop. Upon arriving at the SFO airport, we took a Lyft to Chinatown and explored the sunny city. Mia loved al of the little stores and soon after picking up a large fortune cookie, we headed over to pier 43 in SF. Awesome day to be down by the area checking out the boats and street musicians. We took the BART to Sacramento to meet up with my sister in law and made it to our first AirBnB. The complex was owned by a police officer and ice cream truck owner. Cool! We had dinner later with my brother and his family. Round Table pizza is pretty amazing and we all loved it.

The next few days we hit up SF again (for the GG Bridge) the Japanese Tea Gardens and the Pink Ladies.  A much chillier day due to the marine layer. Such a weird phenomenon, but anyways, it was fun attempting to walk the bridge. If you've ever attempted it, it's pretty chilly and very crowded due to everyone wanting to bike across it. We didn't make it too far on the bridge before turning around.

We went to the Japanese Tea Gardens later. Great place to visit. Mia loved climbing the steep bridge, watching the koi and playing with cousin Alex. Later, we checked out the Pink Ladies. Also, known as the Full House house. It's a fun little tourist thing to check out. Mia and Alex once again, ran around and played with each other for quite a while, while we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful day. We later, went to a very dirty beach before heading home for the day. Our last day in CA, we spent at Lake Tahoe. This was probably one of our group's favorite part of the CA trip. I've been to Lake Tahoe before but every time I make it to the glassy lake, it's always enjoyable. We pulled up to what felt like our own beach to enjoy. The kids played in the water (sorta, Alex forgot his swimsuit). Mia was literally neck-deep in the chilly waters shooting photos of wildlife. Never matters how cold temps are, she sincerely loves being in the water.

The next morning, we packed up early (very early) and took the plane to Oahu. Hawaiian Airlines didn't have the massive amount of free movies and shows that Alaskan Airlines did that Mia totally loved, but it did have a breakfast box complete with parfait, grapes and a chive roll, and LATER they gave us BOOZE :) Yes, rum! And no, Mia did not have the rum. One of the memorable events we had planned to celebrate was our 10 year anniversary so we both took the time to write our own vowels. Mia helped me a bit, so that was pretty sweet. I'm not going to go through everything we did in Hawaii, but I'll hit up some of the highlights. Upon arriving, our amazing friend Andy and Jess gave us a bit of a tour of our beloved island of Oahu. We stopped to grab donuts, take some scenic photos at one of the many many points around the island before grabbing our rental car and getting to our 2nd AirBnB.  Beautiful places with an amazing view of the mountains from above a plumeria tree. We didn't stay there long before hitting up the beach. It was both Leanne and my first time body/boogie boarding so Andy gave us pointers. It was pretty easy to catch on but tricky at times. It was an absolute blast and I sincerely wish I would have done in more on Oahu. Flying in a helicopter with Andy was definitely a highlight (as well as Jill and Leanne's when they did it on Kaua'i'. We flew for a few hours and I snapped as many photos as possible with Jill's camera and some videos with my GoPro. Of course our wedding vowel renewal was memorable. Our friends officiated it and took photos/videos on the beautiful beach. We dressed up and and the ceremony was amazing. Mia was both a flower girl and ring bearer holding our unique anniversary rings in a bowl full of plumeria flowers. We later had dinner at our house with our local friends. All in all, amazing night.

One of the last highlights I'll mention was the highly anticipated shark dive with OneOcean Research and Dive. We (Leanne, Andy and myself) arrived a bit early for our trip out. We saw the co-owners boarding the first boat. Dammit. I sincerely wanted to dive with them. Later, our vessel arrived and we took it out 3 miles from shore. Immediately while departing the harbor, our boat got a call that there was a pregnant tiger shark in the area. Nikki. I instantly got excited, while others would have been fearful. Are we actually going to swim with a tiger shark?!! We found out that she was swimming near the other boat. Ugh. Oh well. Anyways, after about 10 or so minutes on our journey, the waves were hitting our side the heaviest, we were getting nice and soaked before jumping into the waters with these amazing creatures. The current took its toll on some of us in the waters, making it difficult to keep level. I had some issues accidentally inhaling the salt water once which unfortunately was a heavy distraction from Galapagos sharks at times. I tried to keep composure and get the best footage I could.

What I love about this company is how knowledgable they are about sharks. Our guides were super friendly and you can tell that safety is #1 with them. The man driving the boat always had his eyes on every single person, as well as the guides in the water. I would instantly do this again in a heartbeat and I strongly recommend it over any cage diving experience. They promote sort of a fear mongering approach, keeping you "safe" in a cage, while OneOcean wants the humans to co-exist with these apex predators all while educating the importance of sharks. Other notable places we re-visted were the Pali Lookout, Dole Plantation, hiked Makapu'u and my favorite, Macadamia Nut Farm. We had plenty of sushi and for the first time, experienced the Polynesian Culture Center which is a must if you visit Oahu. The island traditions are fun to participate in as well as luau and shows.

For 4 days, we'd explore the small island of Kaua'i', a short 15-25 min flight from Oahu. It was a totally different experience that Oahu. Kaua'i' is much more green with a lot less city, for starters. Plenty of beaches to explore. Some you can't really swim at, but can easily enjoy the view. Our final AirBnB felt more like a hotel than the places we stayed at. All of us were disappointed, but Mia did like that it had a pool. WHY would that even matter on an island?! Oh well. One of our days, Leanne and I drove around for 4-5 hours trying to find a good beach to bodyboard at. Out of the 7 we checked out, we where only able to hit one of them. It wasn't as great as the one in Kailua where we stayed on Oahu, but it was still fun. We kept having kids behind us getting in the way. Later, we made the trek back home. One of our other highlights was a very long and winding drive up one of the mountain ranges. It was highly recommended by our friend Andy. We drove what felt like forever up the mountains to the Pu'u O Kila Lookout and when we finally got to the top, the stars were beautiful. The sky was very clear, (from 5,000 feet up) and you could literally just about feel the clouds. It was so peaceful. I would have loved to have seen the views during the daytime, but with a sleepy diva, I don't know if she'd ever want to make this long drive again. Jill and Leanne had some fun doing a beekeeping course, did a chocolate tour and a helicopter tour. We also got to visit the small town of Hanapepe, which was the setting of Lilo and Stitch. Mia snapped a photo of herself by the painted mural on the side of the Aloha Theater which is the only sign in the entire little town that Disney director based the movie here. She loved playing with one of the many wild cats. Speaking of wild animals, both islands have an over abundance of chickens and roosters hanging around. In fact, when we where leaving Lihue airport, we saw some roosters that got through security near the terminal waiting area. Too funny.

One of the last highlights of Kaua'i 'I'll mention is our doggy field trip. So at their humane society, you can take a dog out for a day. One morning, we were hanging outside a store while Leanne was shopping, a stray pit bull ran up to us. The poor girl could have gotten hit, so after about 20 minutes of waiting around for someone to claim her, we drove her to the humane society we had already planned on going to. Mia picked out this cute calm little black lab-looking dog Hina. She was super sweet. She would often sleep in the car and she really enjoyed her Shave Ice (all ice). We had plenty of people wanting to pet her and ask about adopting etc etc. We were happy to be able to give her a nice day out and hope she'll get adopted soon.

Speaking of Shave Ice (NEVER add the "d") after having copious amounts of the local treat, we become snobs about it. Some places had better Shave Ice than others, and the very last place we got some, ended up being the best. Some of the weird flavor combos Mia would get, would be tigers blood/wedding cake/vanilla, or another day she had gummy bear/root beer/vanilla. The root beer overpowered the other flavors.

We had a very long flight to Denver over night from Kaua'i'. American Airlines had free movies/shows like AA, so Mia watched till she couldn't stay awake anymore. Jill and I stayed awake watching movie and shows till we landed. Airplanes are pretty uncomfortable for me, so I was fine staying awake. We landed at 6:30am Denver time, which was around 2am Hawaii time. Yikes. Mia was super tired as well as Leanne who also crashed on the plane. We soon boarded our last flight and before we knew it, landed in MKE. The trip was over. It was bittersweet and I think for Jill, Leanne and I, we could have easily stayed longer. Mia was missing home and her animals. Hawaii is one of the few states we've been to that we feel like we could actually live at. Jill and Leanne really liked the kindness of the drivers (Oahu) how they would just let you in when you're trying to turn or lane change, and you'd exchange a "shakka" in return. Can't do that here or anywhere else. I'm missing the ocean, the POG juice and our friends. We're still trying to get back to the swing of things. I low-key celebrated my birthday with my in-laws, I started tutoring again, Mia hung out with friends for a while and Jill went back to work. Saturday, she visited friends and Mia and I had a Daddy/Daughter date night at StoneFire Pizza.

I have one week left off so I'm hoping to enjoy it as much as possible. Almost a month left before Mia goes back to school, soccer starts as well as dance. Insane how quick Summer went. We knew traveling would effect our Summer.

Thats all for now, thanks for reading!