Holiday Family Time

Evening everyone. Boy was it a busy week as we prepare to close out the year in a few days. Got to spend some time with my brother Bryan and his family from California which is always fun. Christmas Eve, we had dinner at my parents and opened gifts. We closed the night with a traditional game of PIT which is always a blast. I did my best to help Mia win a hand, which of course she enjoyed. The next morning, Mia woke up around 8:00am excited to open gifts. 8 isn't too bad to wake up since I've heard most kids are up around 6 or 6:30. My co-worker's daughter got up at 4:15am. That's crazy.

Anyways, Mia had a great time opening stuff but always gives Jill's and my gifts first. She made us little ornaments out of clay. She gave Jill the jewelry that she picked out from the Mall and Target with my a week prior. Jill and Mia got me some high end markers and illustration paper. My big goal for 2020 is to learn how to layer markers for pieces. It'll take some patience and practice but I'm game. Mia LOVED her new Nintendo Switch and games. Luckily unlike most kids, she hasn't been overly obsessed with it, which to me is surprising.

We had lunch at Jill's parents house with Tommy before I went to work. They made their traditional crab legs, mashed potatoes and other tasty food. Mia opened more gifts and had a great time. Work was super busy but somehow I got through it.

Thursday was Boxing Day, so I met up with my brother Bryan at my Mom and Dad's to watch Chelsea take out Southampton. They surprisingly lost to the Saints which certainly sucked. Can't give away points like that. Both BJ and I were certainly disappointed. Later, we all met at Jill's studio to take one large family photo all dressed in our favorite sports teams attire. Jill finished editing it today and it turned out pretty good. We said our goodbyes Thursday to Bryan and the fam as they left Friday morning for the long trek back to CA.

Friday, I worked on a special project with Micah and Gigi. The girls painted a slab of wood for their Dad's office table and needed my guidance and technical advice. They went with a galaxy-style painting with a quote from a movie the family enjoys. Awesome. Later we had my parents over for dinner and my nephews Luke and Joseph with my bro Todd as well. The kids played the Switch with Mia and had a great time.

Saturday morning, I held our New Berlin Dragon's only practice. We reserved some time on a futsal court. Half the girls that RSVP'd to play were on time, other half were a little late. I felt like I'm usually more organized with drills and what I wanted to accomplish but overall, the kids did well. Did a couple drills and a scrimmage which is what I wanted to do. For a lot of them, it was their first time on a futsal court including Mia. Takes a little time getting used to. Hopefully this week, we'll have a schedule soon.

Later, Mia, myself and my bro with Camden went to the Admirals vs Griffins game. It was the kids very first Ads game and they had a great time. Cam ate a lot but enjoyed the hockey. Mia loved all of the action and in between periods stuff like the human hockey puck and some figure skating. It was Princess Night so Elsa even dropped the puck. They had a princess meet up outside out section but Mia claimed that she didn't care about princesses anymore. Despite the Admirals losing, we all had a great time.

Today, I watched Chelsea take on Arsenal. Last match of 2019. The Gunners struck first and held a 0-1 lead for quite a while into the 2nd half. A few adjustments here and there and Jorginho picked up an equalizer off a mistake from the keeper and with that momentum, Tammy Abraham got the 2nd goal securing 3 big points for the Blues against their London neighbors. Great way to end the year. January Transfer Window opens soon so we'll see who they pick up. Returned back to work today only to wish I didn't show up.

This week, I hope to have my soccer schedule, Mia's going to enjoy what she can of her break and returns back to school on Thursday. Thanks for reading!

Holidays

Evening everyone! I gotta say, it's a bit weird that it got to 54 degrees today and I honestly would love a nice dumping of snow right now. Anyways...let's get to it.

Mia had her last week of school this week and is officially on break. Didn't do a lot of drawings for her because she took hot lunch every day. Not sure why but whatever works. Her book is complete (minus drawing the title). She's excited to have some much needed time off to relax with family and friends. Thursday, we picked up a couple things for Jill on Mia's request despite the fact that Jill and I usually don't buy for each other. Oh well. Friday, Mia had a great holiday party and had a lot of fun with her friends and classmates.

Saturday, we had an indoor soccer meeting with her team and met some of the parents and new players at the library. It was a great time and all of the kids are stoked to start up. We were missing Scarlett and Angie sadly. We handed out the beautiful Adidas kits that the kids love. They also saw the logo I designed too which may end up on the jersey. Vida snagged one of the signs for her room. She's quite excited for the season to start. A lot of parents really want to get a practice in, so we're going to try and get in a practice THIS Saturday on the futsal court in New Berlin. We'll be for sure short Adalyn and Cecilia but any practice is better than no practice.

The rest of the day, we hung out, did some shopping and made dinner while watching Elf. Jill wrapped up some gifts as well. Today, the girls went off to Walmart while I watched the Chelsea vs Spurs derby. Going into this match, I was hella nervous because the Blues haven't been doing that well and the Spurs are starting to return to a better form after picking up our former manager Jose Mourinho. There's always a heated rivalry between the clubs so this was certainly going to be a tough one.

Even though they started some players that haven't been playing much lately and even changed it to a 3-4-3, the Blues got two goals in the 2nd half from Willian. One off a great shot early and the 2nd after a careless foul from the keeper in the box. I missed the red card foul early in the 2nd half when Mia and I ran to Noodles for lunch and the racial comments shouted at Rudiger. That's just horrific and uncalled for. It's hard to believe this crap still happens in sports yet here we are. The announcers were super upset about it. All in all, good win for a team that really needed it. While I was at work, Mia and Jill made some cookies. After work, I stopped by my parents to visit with my brother, sister in law and nephew who just arrived from CA for the holidays. Looking forward to spending time with them. Mia especially is excited to chill with Alex. This week, I've got some shifts at work, off Tues Thur and Friday. My brother Todd is coming as well so we'll get to hang with him and his boys as well. Should be a great time. Jill's got to work tomorrow a bit unfortunately.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Mia's Epic Weekend

Greetings everyone. STILL no snow here sadly, but it certainly didn't ruin our week and Mia's incredibly busy weekend. I had off on Wednesday so Myself, Jill and our family could join us watching Mia and the other 3rd and 4th graders. For the first time since Mia's been at OL, they actually sang holiday-themed songs! Shocking right? They did an awesome job. The songs were incredible and best of all, Mia did a great job at her hand chime part with Cecilia and Charlie. All in all, it was amazing and Mia was stoked everyone could make it including uncle Tommy and Auntie Cheryl. Thanks guys!

Thursday. it was announced that Alkaline Trio and Bad Religion were touring together in Spring of 2020. I was on the fence about going, but the more and more I thought about it, it's been several years since I've seen either band, so sure enough, Friday when tickets went on sale I bought one. I'll be joining my bro Andy and a few of his buddies for this once in a life time chance to see them. Looking forward to it.

Saturday, I got up to watch the Chelsea vs Bournemouth match. A massive disappointment losing to a team that can barely stay out of the bottom 3. Another weekend, another loss. It's ridiculous. The January transfer window can't come soon enough. After the game, Mia went to her friend Noelle's Skateland party. She had me come with to help her skate a little. She's definitely improving her skills and overall. had an amazing time.

When she got home, she crashed and took a nap for about an hour. She skated almost nonstop with Noelle so I wasn't surprised she was exhausted. When she woke up, it was time for  to meet up with Scarlett. They ALSO went to Skateland. Mia, Scarlett, Angelina and her friend as well as Sofia and her friends hung out  and skated. Mia, for the first time skated solo. When I picked her up today, she told me she had no problems skating on her own and did really well. Totally proud of her. She also won 7 different stuffed animals from the claw machine. Unbelievable. She had a great time Scarlett and her sisters. When they got back, they played till way late and overall, had an incredible sleepover. It was Scarlett's first time having a friend stay the night and Mia was honored it was her.

While they were having fun, Jill and I ran some errands and got sushi and some wine to share. Those date nights are rare for us, but it was a great evening. Mia couldn't stop talking about her incredibly fun Saturday with her friends and I look forward to Mia having her over after the holidays. We talked about maybe laser tag and sushi with her and Cecilia sometime. Other than that, I gather Mia relaxed the rest of Sunday, did her homework and crashed early. I'm so glad she had an amazing weekend.

This week, she has her last week of school, holiday party on Friday and we have our soccer meeting on Saturday. Sunday, I've got family coming in. Jill has to write Mia's book that I finished illustrated. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Bring On the Snow!

Evening everyone. Mild week over here for us but with Christmas fast approaching, things will quickly change so let's get right to it. The weather has been real mild so Mia and I have been desperately craving some snow so we can start snowboarding. The Rock is attempting to open this coming weekend with the upcoming temp change dropping to the teens they'll be able to make snow. Our goal is to at least snowboard there at least once. Other than that, we'll continue hitting up local spots and creating jib spots with PVC pipes.

Chelsea played Villa middle of the week so before work I watched a little bit of it before work. They pulled off a win but sadly didn't work out for them Sat, but I get back to that later. Thursday I had my year end meeting for work in the morning. After wards, I worked on the book and waited for Jill to come home so we could pick up Mia from school. Sadly, the diva had a pretty rough day with a friend. Luckily, Friday was better. I wish I could fix these issues but unfortunately, Mia has to learn to handle then on her own. It's frustrating. I helped her with homework and made dinner for Jill, Mia and myself before they crashed for the night.

Saturday, I got up nice and early to watch Chelsea blow the match to one of the worst teams in the EPL. Everton fired their manager towards the end of the week so picking up the interm manager seemed to really turn their team around. They played completely different against the Blues so it was disappointing to see Chelsea struggle. Big game this week against Lille on Tuesday so I hope things get better.

Mia woke up after the game and relaxed with me till we went grocery shopping. After we got home, we celebrated her Grandpa Chicago's birthday. Friday night, Mia made him a special present-shaped cake that turned out amazing. Of course her Grandpa Chicago loved it as well and the gifts. They took their annual Christmas card photo as well with an awesome dinner by Grandma Missy Shell.

Today, Mia made us all pancakes which were pretty tasty! Jill and her hung out with Tommy and Grandpa and Grandpa when I left for work. It was a typical day at work and I was pretty gutted to find out I wasn't granted my week off for the Christmas week while Bryan and the family come in. Totally bummed out, which fuels me even more to leave and find something new.  I'm counting down the days till the indoor season starts so Mia and I can't wait.

This week, I hope to finish the book and Mia's got a birthday party and possible sleepover. that's all for now, thanks for reading!

Turkey Break 2019

Greetings everyone. It's officially December which means every one's fully into the holiday spirit. Mia had a nice short week at school before Thanksgiving break. Wednesday, we roamed around the mall for fun, which she couldn't believe I'd let her do. She walked around Learning Express, Zumiez, the ornament stores, Claire's, Hallmark and that was about it. She unfortunately found out Justice at the Brookfield location closed down and some random and weird toy store opened up there. I say random, because it appeared the store was mainly weird and random junk piled up. Wasn't the best replacement, but Mia still enjoyed our time together.

Thursday was Thanksgiving at my parents house so Jill made two amazing stuffing dishes. One jalapeño cornbread and the 2nd one a savory turkey mushroom. Mia helped mince the mushrooms for that as well as peel and cut potatoes for the mashed potatoes. On top of all that, Jill even made macarons. Everything tasted amazing and we had a great time with family. On our way home, we stopped at Walmart to partake in the craziness. It looked like a damn flea market. Just merch everywhere, people grabbing whatever they could. Mia picked up the 2nd Lego Movie and Jill got a cheap pair of Stitch PJ's and that was enough.

Friday, we set up the Christmas tree as well as decorated a bit before I went to work. I went off to Mega Media Exchange and found one of the Switch games Mia REALLY wants. She'll be so stoked come Christmas.

 Saturday, I got up and watched the Chelsea vs West Ham match. Certainly didn't think it would end 0-1 against one of the worst teams in the league. The Blues played two players that haven't seen any action all season. Both struggled along with the rest of the squad. It was a rough sight. We can't afford to drop points to these kinds of teams. They got a draw against Valencia during the week so Lampard decided it was best to rest some of the crucial players over the weekend. They play again this week against Villa so hopefully it'll be a better result.

Later after a visit to Trader's, we went to Jill's parent's Thanksgiving festivities. Awesome food and overall great time with family including Uncle Tommy. We went home later, relaxed and Mia hit the bed late as Jill and I started preparing for Mia's Elf on the Shelf to arrive.

Today, she woke up excited to see what kind of excitement and mischief her elf got into. This week, I've got our Year-End Meeting for KT, Mia's back at school and we're celebrating Jill's Dad's birthday on Saturday. I have almost everyone registered for the indoor team and most kids have payed. Jerseys are to arrive this week so we'll have to set up a meeting day for that.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Up and At Them

Evening everyone. It's been an alright week with some added stress, so let's get right to it. Starting this week, Jill's able to work from home on my day off, which is nice. We're able to get some things done when possible all the while getting our own work done. For me, I'm looking at jobs, working on Mia's Christmas book and trying to get this indoor soccer team up and running. We picked up some little liquor bottles for Jill to experiment with some macarons for my parents birthday presents. She made Friday evening some Chocolate Kahlua macarons for my Dad as well as some Cherry Amaretto ones for my Mom.

The New Berlin Dragons Have all the players and now I'm in the process of getting all the money and funds for the team. We're going with a Rave Green jersey color with black socks and shorts. It'll look nice and hopefully I'll get everything in order so we can get the jerseys ordered. I'm just thrilled everyone ones to play but it's a bit stressful gathering everything.

Saturday, my brother Andy and I made plans to meet with his BFF at the Highbury Pub in Bayview to watch the Chelsea vs City match. We had to suffer through the Liverpool vs Palace match first. The pub was super packed with Gunners fans watching them struggle against the Saints, and surprisingly there were Palace fans watching the Liverpool match. They almost had them but Liverpool had a pair of ugly goals that got them the win. BOO! Chelsea was next. Great crowd of Blues fans and a handful of City fans as we watched a tight match. Sadly, they couldn't get the win but it was a great time. I don't make the Highbury that often with the fellow Chelsea fans, but we had some good fun cheering. Andy even got himself a free MKE Blues scarf. We wanted the pins, but they had nothing. Boo. It was my first time literally losing my voice at a football pub, but to cheer on our team was worth it.

While I was at the pub with Andy, Jill and Mia saw Frozen 2 and had a day at the mall. Later, the two did some reading while I worked on her book. I'm trying to knock out a page a day so we're not struggling at the end of the month. So much on my plate, so little time. We had dinner with my family at Red Robin for my parent's birthday celebration. Mia wanted me to tell the staff it was my Dad's birthday so they'd sing to him but I let it go. We had some annoying teens behind me slamming into my chair and making annoying noises so I wasn't exactly in the best mood.

Today, we did some grocery shopping and I had hoped to mulch some leafs but sadly the rider's battery was dead. Jill told me later her Dad tried to mulch with the rider but it didn't really make a difference. Ugh.

This week, Mia's got a short week of school with just Monday and Tuesday. Thanksgiving is Thursday so we'll have dinner with family at my parents. Jill will make her famous mashed potatoes and her new recipe for stuffing that's pretty awesome. Will we go get some Black Friday deals? Not sure, we'll have to see what's available.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Roll Out

Greetings! It's been a crazy week with a lot of different things to discuss so let's get to it. Sunday through Wednesday, Remi unfortunately had diarrhea. Ugh. Woke up to crap in our bedroom so we had to clean that pile up. Monday night, I was taking him out every hour and only got an average of about 3 hours of sleep, maybe. Felt like a complete zombie at work and it certainly was a horrid start to the week. Luckily by the end of the weekend, he was better.

Wednesday into Friday, I can't discuss via social media the absolute craziness that occurred but it was definitely an experience for Jill, Mia and myself. Saturday, Mia was stoked to go to her friend Charlie's birthday party at Skate Land. I had all the intentions of leaving Mia after she got her skates on and was ready to go have fun. I ended up talking a while with Scarlett's Mom for a while and after she got on her skates to join in the fun, I honestly thought I was leaving. But...when Vida arrived, her, Tenley and Ryan demanded I stick around and help them skate. Vida was super scared and Tenley struggled as well but after asking Mia "Mia, should I stay or leave?" she responded with "Stay and help, Daddy" so I would have 3-4 girls on my arms at a time. Vida would keep her eyes on the skates and and Tenley would be all over the place. She was actually doing well taking my advice about alternating feet to glide. We would also get one of Mia's new friend's, Lily's who had her first time on roller skates that day as well attach to my arm. Scarlett's sisters laughed and said "WHY are you so popular?!" I don't know. A lot of parents see me as a "fun" Dad for some reason. Only Mia really knows why her friends like me and want the help. It was hard to have so many kids all stay on their feet, but I did my very best preventing them from eating it. Overall, It was a great time and they had a blast. On our way to the party, Mia wasn't sure if she wanted to go to Cecilia's for a sleepover till we were skating and after she heard "Despacito" and I said out loud "Aw, I miss Cecilia" and Mia responds "Alright, I'll sleep over at Cecilia's".

Later, Mia went over for sushi and an epic sleepover. Jill and I wrapped gifts, watched a movie and crashed rather earlier than usual. We got up and after breakfast I went to pick up the diva. Upon arriving, she wasn't even at Cecilia's but on foot with Hayden and Harper walking down the driveway after I had been there a few minutes. She ended up sticking around to play while I ran to Waukesha to feed my in-laws cat as they hang out in Florida with Jill's Grandpa. I came back and the girls made ornaments. Cute. Mia said her goodbyes and we went home. Cecilia's Dad and I discussed the upcoming indoor season and everything going into it. The rest of the day, Mia relaxed with Jill the rest of the day while I went off to work. When I got home I discovered some amazing homemade macadamia nut cookies the girls made for me. Awesome! Before I went into work, I started getting more info for the indoor soccer team. One of the parents said she would order jerseys for the girls so for an additional $10, the kids will have matching uniforms. Totally cool. It's surreal so many kids want to play soccer this Janurary so I'm thrilled to make it happen.

This week, we have Mia's conferences. The little snow we had has mostly melted and with the upcoming warm up, there will be nothing left. Not totally bummed out since it's still November. I worked on my board set up and discovered the previous owner made a mistake with the ankle strap and I ended up having to order a replacement one from Burton. I'll work on Mia's book this week as well so hopefully I'll make some good progress.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

It's Coming Together

Greetings everyone. Plenty to discuss so let's get right to it. My work week was a quite one because I worked the weekend, so that was somewhat nice. Wednesday, we got some snow so I spent the majority of my day off working on art, looking at jobs and all in all, enjoying watching the weird snow in November. I also made a few concept football kits for EPL teams so that was a lot of fun. I'll design an Everton one this week as well. It was nice because anything I had to do, it could wait till Thursday because I was off then too :) Thursday, I drove to Play it Again Sports to sell my black Lamar Mission snowboard. I had picked it up off the Facebook marketplace and it just was way too heavy for any freestyle or park riding. Surprisingly, they gave me $60 for it so I was happy. When I got home, I met up with Mia for lunch. She was pretty surprised as I hung out with her and her crazy friends. It was difficult to eat because literally every one of them at our table had to ask me a million questions. I'm glad they're all intrigued about whatever is going on in my lame life but in the end, Mia was happy I was there. Of course I had to go to recess with them so we played our traditional street soccer. Some boys joined in and it was girls vs boys. Mia was proud that she nutmegged a couple boys and scored. After saying goodbyes, I went home.

I forgot the mention that about the middle of the week, I sent out information to Mia's team in search of kids that wanted to continue playing soccer. Immediately, I got a response from Alice's Mom that wanted to sign her up. Amazing. I put the info out in the community and had about 9 kids so far confirmed to play including Ice Breakers Mia, Cecilia, Elia and Alice. Bella from the Pink Panthers (and my 1st year team), a couple of girls from SC Wave, Vida the beast in defense and Adalyn from my team last year. We've got a few "maybe's" but still need 3 more kids to get a 12 kid squad. I'm stoked that so many kids want to play and really hope I can make this happen since they all want to play. I need to find a gym for practices still as well.

After pick up on Thursday, Mia immediately put her snowboard gear and wanted to go snowboarding. Since we don't nearly enough snow for that, Mia had to settle for a little PVC pipe rail setup to work on building muscle memory for grinds. I didn't think she'd be able to develop and progress that easily, but she certainly surprised me. She went from a basic 50/50 grind position to frontside lip slides, backside board slides, backside 50/50s and frontside board slides. Unreal. I know it's not the same as in motion, but for her to build the muscle memory from an ollie to twist herself was remarkable. Hopefully she can try them out soon with a regular amount of some good powder.

Friday, I got up nice and early to watch the Chelsea vs Palace match. Goal-less 1st half, but it didn't take long in the 2nd half for Tammy to net his 10th goal of the season. Pulisic picked up one as well to find the match. Earlier in the week, Chelsea played against Ajax and came from behind to draw the match. Azpi had the 5th goal that would have won it but VAR confirmed that there was a handball. Ugh. Good effort coming back though. The rest of the day, we did some cleaning, shopping and made a late dinner.

Today, Mia and I attempted to find some regular water-proof boots for playing in snow at recess, accept oops, the mall stores weren't open. Target had nothing so later while Jill and her former co-workers at tacos at our house, Mia and my in-laws and myself went out to lunch and Mia later found some boots when the mall opened. This week, I hope to complete the team, I need to reassemble my snowboard bindings and illustrate Mia's book. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Merry Halloween

Greetings everyone. Normally I write late Sunday night after a long night at work, but due to a couple of failed attempts at drawing Penny Parker for Mia's lunch note, I stayed up working on a sketch of Spidey instead. The week was manly uneventful but things certainly got interesting on Thursday. Wednesday night into Thursday we had a little snow that turned into about 2-4 inches total Thursday afternoon. Unreal. Most kids have never seen snow this early before for the majority of the trick or treaters in Waukesha, that didn't stop them. Sure, a lot of kids stayed home but if you're motivated enough for candy, you'll dredge through the snow bundled up. Mia said the kids were going around school saying "Merry Halloween!" So cute...

Friday, Jill and I volunteered at Mia's school Fall party for her class. It always goes super fast because everything is in stations. Jill ran a make your own scarecrow craft and I did rock painting. Vida's Mom did cookie decorating and Elia's Mom helped with snacks. The kids honestly only had about 10-12 minutes per station so not a lot of time for kids to come up with a rock idea. A lot of the boys just scribbled obnoxiously on the rocks while the majority of the girls carefully painted their rocks. Mia did a cute red panda (shocking). After that, we went home for the day and relaxed on a rare Friday off from work. Saturday, I watched the 1st half of the Chelsea match before heading to an even more rare Saturday shift. Luckily, they got the job done and are still in the top 4. The shift was utterly insane and I hope I don't have to do it again. Getting short shifted is all too regular and I can't even walk in the door without thinking "so who's going to call out 'sick' a gain?" After the shift, I stayed up drawing till late since it was Daylight Savings. Such a stupid thing to observe.

Sunday, Mia cleaned out her room of toys and clothes she doesn't wear anymore. I'm honestly surprised that she was able to part with a lot of her stuff so that was a positive experience. Came home last night and continued drawing till 12am.

This week, not much going on. I may have lunch with Mia this week. I'm going to also attempt to create an indoor team interest for the Jan-Feb season since I can't do futsal with the kids.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Reflection

Evening everyone. Plenty to write about from this weird week, so let's get right to it. The week started a bit strange after I applied for a job. I got an immediate response looking for a Hangouts chat interview. Okay. First time for that but that sounded positive. The next day was the interview for this company called O&J productions. I started getting suspicious when I couldn't find any website or anything. Still, I went through with the interview. The person interviewing me asked some pretty generic questions, mentioned it would be a 20-40 hour a week $30.00 an hour freelance position. Okay then. Then it got super suspicious. They wanted me to purchase an entire "mini-office" list of supplies to set up at home which included a MacBook Pro, printers and a whole lot of expensive supplies. They said they would send a check for everything and I'd get immediately trained after signing a contract. Hell, no. Everything that I was suspicious about was confirmed. This "company" didn't really feel like a company and I wanted nothing to do with it. Luckily, I have people in my network that called BS when I explained everything. The next day, I e-mailed that I would terminate the contract and wanted nothing to do with the production company. I'm just glad I've got people in my life looking out for me.

Thursday we had our last soccer practice. Sadly, the conditions weren't the best and the field was a disaster. We couldn't really use the net for any shooting or goalie drills for Elia but the kids definitely had fun. Last match of the season was Friday. Going into it, I had a plan to release Olivia in the 2nd half and stick Elia in goal with a strong defense to keep her safe since she has never played goalie. 1st half, the Lazer Hornets (yes that's how they spelled it) got one up on us in the middle of the 1st half. Ryan picked up an equalizer before the end of the 2nd half. The girls were looking good and things were looking up. Remember, a draw would have secured us 1st place so all we had to do was keep it up. 2nd half, we started dominating the Hornets and Alice picked up a beautiful goal. 2-1. They got back into this and it was 2-2. 30 seconds left, Ryan took an injury to the face or hand and we subbed her out quick. Next thing we know, they got ONE more goal on Elia in the final seconds finishing the dramatic finale 2-3. Such a heartbreaker. These girls worked so hard all season and all of them thought we could pull this one off. It was such a major bummer. Both of us tied but they got 1st place only on GD. Ughh...

The good news was that they earned themselves 2nd place trophies. I couldn't have been more proud of these talented girls and I hope each and every one of them continue with soccer wherever they play next. Alice finished off the season with 14 goals, Ryan had 5. Linnea had 5.Alice was such a good team player and excelled every match. Ally wins my vote for Most Improved Player with all the skills and heart she played with every single game and practice. Olivia was a coach's dream as far as goalies are considered. Earlier in the season, she had a great kick save and in the tournament, she had a beautiful save that was heading over her head. She struggled in the 2nd half of our final match on the field when I pulled her out of goal per her request but couldn't stick to ONE position when I gave it to her, but what can ya do...She had an AWESOME PK save that had all of us holding our breath in the final match. The whole crowd went crazy when she saved it. Linnea was a warrior all season. She could attack and dribble with the best of them and I sincerely appreciated having this girl on my team. I fully believe if Ava didn't end her season 5 weeks ago with an injury, these kids wouldn't have been in this high-stress match but it happens. Elia was fantastic and always played with heart. Ryan was super competitive which didn't surprise me and probably always will be. Mia and Cecilia both made improvements and I hope wherever they play next season, they can work on their attack and drive. Playing with and against 4th graders certainly wasn't easy for both of these two but I think with a lot of off-season work, they can make major improvements. Lastly, it was awesome having Coach Kevin and Coach Jim this season helping out with the girls. Both had a great time and I'm thankful they joined me this season. I didn't get to watch the Chelsea vs Burnley match but saw highlights of them winning 4-2. Pulisic got a beautiful hat trick and will be one to watch this season now that he's getting into the starting XL.

Later, Mia went tick or treating in the downtown Waukesha businesses picking up some candy while dressed in her soccer attire, complete with her new trophy. Most of the day, she never let it go. We attempted to do some Spiderman/Spider Gwen pictures at Jill's studio but Mia HATED the costume. We got a few before I send it back this week to Amazon.  My parents came over later to carve pumpkins with us before we called it a night.  Today, we started our day with a visit to the zoo. I had informed the diva that the weather was perfect for the red pandas to be out and about. What do you know, I was correct. Kiki, Dr. Anne and Dash were roaming around. Mia watched them for probably an hour. They were so cute playing, yawning and eating. When we got back, Mia dyed her hair and it looks pretty rad. After washing it out, we got ready for our family trick or treating. My sister handed out treats as my parents, brother, sister-in law and nephews plus Jill and Mia ventured out looking for fun and treats. The older these kids get, the longer they last trick or treating. On top of that, the weather was close to perfect for the end of October. When we got back, everyone split and we made spaghetti before Mia and Jill went off to sleep. This week, I'll try to get some good edits of the Spidey photos and Mia's trick or treating Thursday in Waukesha. Friday, Jill and I are helping out at Mia's Fall party. Should be a lot of fun. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Gutted But Not Out

Evening everyone. It's totally weird being off on a Sunday, but we'll get back to that later. The week was a rough one at work with almost daily someone calling in sick but we somehow got through it. Thursday, I took some time to attempt to write a drum part to "This Is Halloween". It's a really fun song to drum to, and changes tempo and time signature often. All in all, really fun afternoon playing drums again. I really don't get to drum often so anytime I have that chance, I try to make the most of it creating covers and drumming to fun songs.

 Later, we had practice. Despite being short Alice, we had a pretty solid scrimmage which would showcase seriously good communication. The kids looked ready for the big tournament ahead. Saturday morning, I watched Chelsea beat Newcastle which gives them 3 big wins in a row. Things are looking solid so far for the Blues. Next was our first match of the tournament for the Ice Breakers. Was it the long obnoxious break in between games from poor field conditions that through the girls off the first half? Perhaps. Was it the fact we were short a crucial member of our team due to a broken toe from 3 weeks ago? Most likely. Where the refs missing way too many calls? 100% yes. Whatever it was, our poor girls were struggling and were trailing 0-3 at HT. I saw something I haven't seen for the first time this season. A group of seriously pissed off kids. Olivia through her goalie gloves frustrated that she didn't want to play goalie anymore. Cecilia was visibly angry and all in all, we just needed to get back into the game. The girls needed to focus big time. 2nd half was a glimmer of hope. They started strong and Alice got us back in the game with a quick goal. Ally, Ryan and Alice were giving it their all and with every chance they had, they just couldn't bang in all the goals needed. Linnea put a 2nd one in giving us a little more hope. It's 2-3 and the tension was growing. Girls were pushing hard on both sides. Mia was struggling with keeping up with the pace but her and Cecilia were still digging. The last few minutes, we decided to push our defense forward and then Olivia from goal. Cecilia's Dad thought "we've got a minute or so left, let's give her a chance. They caught us and despite Olivia making it back in time to dive on the ball, the ref (who wasn't shy of making horrible calls) gave the goal to the Panthers. One more goal from the light pink team sealed the unfortunate loss to the Ice Breakers knocking us early out of the tournament. The refs for some reason, didn't pay attention to the game time and it extended another 4-5 random minutes. We had some seriously upset girls and tears from Linnea who was great in defense and her goal was sick. They couldn't believe we couldn't pull off the win, but we still have a title to play for next weekend against the Lazer Hornets (yes, that's how they spell it) who would play against Mia's friend's team next after our game. Apparently, that game got out of control and after two overtimes and a shootout, the Pink Panthers beat the Hornets. The coach on that team lost it at his kids and the parent supporters were yelling at him to relax. Can't wait to play them next weekend.  Normally, I would have some photos to post from the match, but Jill wasn't feeling great and none were taken with the exception of one I snapped from the side lines and one my sis got. Oh well.

We had some dinner later and relaxed the rest of the night. I watched the Torrent beat DCFC in Detroit during the live feed. Despite the fact that DCFC already had the title, to see the Torrent beat them for the first time was awesome.  Later, Mia brought up that if Cecilia plays with her, she'd like to join SC Wave to insure she'd get to play more soccer. She's got a variety of friends that want to play as well. Ironically, I got an offer for an assistant coach role a team that would have 2 players leaving in the Spring. That would be a perfect option for Mia and Cecilia, but what about two other girls that want to play with Mia? Who knows. We'll cross that bridge come December when Spring sign up happens.

I had a hard time sleeping thinking about what could have happened if we did this, or didn't do that...Ugh. I talked to Mia the next day about being a good sport and going to the Championship match between the (dark) Pink Panthers and the (light) Pink Panthers. She brought along our DSLR Nikon to snap some photos at the match. This was a good exercise to learning how to handle a loss, while at the same time showing love and support when your friends can use it sports-wise. They were stoked she came to cheer them on and in the end, the BFF's team got the win 2-1. Great match despite a lot of heavy pushing, some profanity and losing reffing once again. It was super weird being on this side of the field, and honestly tough not to be giving advice, but it was a great time cheering with Olivia's Dad and Scarlett's Mom and daughter. In the end, Mia was excited for her friends and glad she came. On top of that, she snapped some great photos. It was her first time shooting a soccer match so it was fun to watch her in action. Seeing the girls with the trophies sparked a fire in her and gave her some motivation for our big match this coming Saturday. We'll need everyone 100% for this game and hopefully, we can grab the win and secure the title with a full undefeated season finish. I'm not going to lie, I'm totally nervous for our girls, but I'll do my absolute best at our last practice. Trick or treating this weekend as well. Speaking of which, Mia's made the decision to return her Spider Gwen costume. The material made her itchy and the mask made it hard to breath. Ugh. Oh well. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Only Here To Disappoint

Greetings everyone. Another rainy damp week has ended so let's get right to it. The week started awesome with low 80's, but as the week went, the rain moved back in. Wonderful. Mid week, Jill and I photographed at a school in the morning. Man, 3 year olds are difficult to get to sit still for pictures!
As I was preparing for our match this week, I got word that two more players wouldn't make our match. Linnea came to practice late telling me that she was out of town, like Ally. Myself and Coach Kevin were in shock thinking "how are we going to handle this playing 6 girls with zero subs?" Practice was okay. The girls were a bit squarely, and it was raining a bit. Mia was having a rough practice and her heart wasn't in it. She hurt her leg a bit and couldn't shoot as hard as she normally does. Before practice, she was fine but they were all yelling and she was pretty upset. Later, I started thinking of ideas of Alice playing a sort of sweeper role where she could move freely from striker to defense. Made sense.

The rain cranked up Thursday evening, and I kept thinking "If enough rain comes in, will they cancel our game AGAIN..." Well, it kept raining Friday and by the time it stopped, it was enough rain to cancel all games Saturday. All fields had standing water. Talk about a big disappointment. For me and the coaches, it was a blessing in disguise. Not that we didn't have faith in the girls that were available to play, but I knew that not having subs would have sucked for them. Alice and Ryan looked like beasts that could have easily lit up the field, Elia and Cecilia would have been solid in the back but Mia was nervous with not getting a break. In the end, all of that didn't matter because the match could possibly get rescheduled and we'll have a full roster by then. Well, hopefully Ava. We'll see what happens.

Since Saturday was a bust and there's an EPL International Break (which means no Chelsea) we went to the movies at the new Movie Tavern at the mall. Mia wanted to see the new Adams Family animated movie. It wasn't too bad and she dug it. The new theater is nice as well. Later, the girls made macarons while I went to the final Torrent match of the season. It was a Halloween Night so we decided to have fans join us in costume. The Torrent pulled off a great 2-1 win. It's been a rough season at home, so it was great to see them pick up the much-needed win. They have two road matches left before the Member's Cup is complete. Not the most positive season, but a significantly better team overall.

I went home, changed and drove to a friend's annual Halloween party dressed as Spiderman. Super fun time catching up with friends like always. Made it back home around 1:45am. Today, we all slept in a bit, made some pancakes and we helped Mia with her homework before I went to work.

This week, I'll work on some drills for practice Thursday so we can prepare for the tournament over the weekend. This will be Mia's opportunity to win her first trophy with these incredible teammates. Exciting, right? That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Pain of Rain

Greetings everyone. Let's dive into the week, eh? Okay. The first three days were utter crap with a pile of rain and a tornado touched down briefly in Wales where I grew up. hearing about the tornado brought back crazy memories of the late 80's with the tornado ripping down our street. My Mom carrying my sister and I in each arm while pregnant with my little brother. What a crazy time that was. Luckily, the tornado didn't head our way and there were no fatalities. Phew. Mia had a fever on one of the days early this week at school. but luckily after a day of rest, was good to go again. Thursday, I joined Mia and her buddies for lunch. I swear, they get way more hyped when I show up than Mia :P They all asked "So, are you staying for recess?" Of course I am. They always love it, no matter what they plan on doing.

Recess turned into a full on game of street soccer with any and every girl that wanted to play with us. A handful of Mia's teammates including Ryan and Cecilia played so it was fun. Mia picked up a couple goals and Ryan had a great time attempting goalie again. I said my goodbyes and had to split. Unfortunately, we had to cancel practice due to the back fields being totally under water. I was having inner struggles that maybe we should have practiced. The temps had warmed up, but the fields were still terrible. I eventually made peace with it and that was that. Friday, it finally didn't rain and I thought that just maybe the game fields would possibly dry out. Sadly Friday night, I got the text from one of my assistant coach they cancelled the Minors, Juniors and Majors matches. Total bummer. Picture Day was still on so we still had to be there for photos at 7:45AM. Talk about a total bummer and tease for the kids. "Hey, get in your full uniform for photos, but no game". On top of that, they didn't allow cleats in the building. Ugh. Mia wasn't a fan of it at all. After photos she kicked the ball around with Alice and Ally while Ally's Mom talked to me about how the season has been going. She explained how proud she is of her daughter and overall how the team has bonded and played throughout the year. As a coach, I never really know how I'm doing but when I hear little random things like that from parents I have barely met, it's really humbling and always nice to hear. I also ran into old players Jana, Charley and Ainslee. Ainslee's Mom told me she'd really like to get an early request to have me coach her when she gets into 3rd grade next year. Talk about sweet eh? She was a sick goalie last year and I'd love to work with her like I have with Olivia. Olivia has been very patient playing mainly goalie, and with Ava out with an injury, I don't know if I can convince anyone else to play in net. I hope she can play in our final game on the 26th against the 2nd place team. If we win this upcoming match and the 2nd place team loses, we take the league title.

The rest of the day, we hung out with my in-laws for a belated birthday celebration with Tommy. Friday night, Mia made an impressive 8-layered cake for her Uncle. 8 layers of 8 different colors. Unreal. Sunday, I watched the Chelsea vs Southampton match. Blues got the big win 4-1 and are moving up the table right before the International Break. We later went to the zoo in pursuit of the baby red panda. Sadly, the red pandas weren't out either so Mia was pretty disappointed. She enjoyed the polar bear being cute laying in the sun as well as the river otters playing in the water.

This week, Mia's off tomorrow and hoping to find friends to hang out with. Hopefully, we can hold a practice Thursday before our 2nd to last league match. The Torrent have their final match of the year so possibly I will attempt to make it. They had a game over the weekend that I really wanted to go to, but I wasn't feeling that great Saturday for a while, and it was pouring out.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Can't Stop

Greetings everyone! Quite a lot to talk about so let's get right into it. It was busy week and through the early week, I worked on what drills we'd work on Thursday. It was Mia's first practice in a few weeks and she was excited to get back into it. While her teammates prior did a speed drill test for a time trial, she wanted to do it as well. So we set up cones before practice and Mia did her first run. Unbelievably, she had the fastest time on her FIRST run. Her 2nd run, she beat that run! I was shocked. I love Mia to death, but she's not always the fastest but she proved the soccer camp helped her with speed and ball control. When I read off all the times to the kids, I think some were a bit surprised by Mia's as well. I hope I can encourage her more to use that speed in our upcoming match this weekend. We worked on finishing, passes, crosses and PK's. I even brought back Sharks and Minnows which the kids really enjoyed. At the time, I thought our upcoming match would be against the 2nd place team. I was nervous because during our practice, some of the girls were a bit silly. My assistant coach Kevin was way more nervous that because they were playing at 8:30am, and he typically is concerned with the girls getting enough sleep. Friday after work, Mia was asleep so luckily, I wasn't really worried about her.

Saturday morning came. Ryan confessed that her and Charlie were up till 12am Friday night. Remember kid when we said don't stay up too late? Oh well. It was our 4th match of the season and definitely our coldest so far. Our keeper Olivia stayed in net the whole match for two reasons. 1-She was cold and wanted to keep the long sleeve goalie jersey on, and 2- our 2nd half Ava didn't want to play goalie Saturday. The Ice Breakers took on the Neon Green team again. The game started pretty even but after a bit, we started netting in goal after goal. Alice and Ryan started piling them in. Cecilia had a great assist to Ryan's goal which I hope she was proud of. Sadly, Ava picked up an injury and sat out quite a bit of the 2nd half. Her Dad and 2nd assistant coach Jim iced her foot for a while, she walked around trying to shake off what looked like an injury to her bridge of the foot. We didn't see how she picked it up, but it certainly didn't look like she would be in the rest of the match. Linnea moved up to wing and picked up a slick goal. After Alice put in her 6 (yes 6) goal, she started switching her strategy to setting up goals for Cecilia and Mia. Both girls were desperate to score but couldn't find the back of the net. Alice was super kid setting them up with pass after pass...so close. The game ended 8-1. Before the match, I had saw the Hornets had bumped us out of 1st place and we dropped to 2nd because they (who are also undefeated) had more goals than us. Hopefully with our big win, we'll move back to 1st. The girls looked fierce and this Saturday, we take on that team. One of us will lose our undefeated record, unless it goes to a draw. I'm anticipating a close one with hopefully the Ice Breakers coming out on top!

After the match we went home, and Mia and I watched the rest of the Chelsea vs Brighton match. The Blues finally got a league win at home. Woo!! After wards we all (Jill and Grandma and Grandpa)went  on an adventure to the Bear Den Zoo in Waterford. I've always heard great things about it, so I was stoked we could go check it out. Immediately, Mia fell in love with the kittens, bunnies and little chicks out front. She could have spent all day playing with them, but alas it was time to explore the other animal areas. We saw porcupines, foxes, ducks, turkeys, a bear, alpacas and plenty plenty more. Mia loved holding the baby kangaroo for a short while. She was super sweet and absolutely adorable. For the first time in years, Mia even rode a pony, Montana. We went back to the kitties before heading home. Mia had a really hard time leaving that area. She was in love with these kittens but we just can't have another one. The silent tears on our ride home were tough. She wouldn't talk to anyone. We picked up some late lunch before I went over to my friend Nichole's baby shower in West Allis. So stoked she's having a little girl.

Early Saturday morning, my brother and Dad did the Honor Flight for the U.S. Veterans so later, we all met at the airport to celebrate them returning home. There was an insane amount of people there to greet these veterans which was a total surprise. Some vets were clearly shocked and emotional with tears as they shook hands and waved. Others acted like total rock stars hyping the crowd. My Dad was shocked to see us and had great things to say about the trip. Glad Andy and him could enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event. Mia was so exhausted that she crashed on our ride home. Jill and I had a little food while watching a Netflix comedy special before crashing before 2am.

Today was a rainy one. Jill was unfortunately suffering from a gnarly headache so Mia relaxed, we edited her video from the Bear Den Zoo and she took a bath before I went to work. This week, soccer practice, our big match Saturday to hopefully secure 1st place and celebrating Tommy's birthday. That's all for now thanks for reading!!

Fevers and Wins

Evening everyone. Quite the busy week as usual with some ups and downs. I took Tuesday off so my Dad and I could go see the Torrent take on Forward Madison in Madison. Around noon, I surprised Mia and her friends with a lunch and recess visit. Immediately when her friends spotted me waiting for her class, they'd point and say "HEY SAVE ME A SEAT NEXT TO YOU, KAY?? Mia was shocked I made it and we had a great time.

 Since my Mom and Dad were arriving to Milwaukee from Vegas Tuesday, it was no surprise he would be too tired to make the match. My brother Andy and I ended up going together. Breese Field is something special. The city truly has embraced this team and it's a great place for a USL-One soccer team. Torrent got the early lead, so per the usual, us in the Supporters section went nuts. We were lookin good at half time with the 1-0 lead. 2nd half, they caught up and equalized. Damn. A little later, they got a 2nd goal which finished off the Torrent. The away supporters never gave up on the Torrent. It would have been nice to win their little trophy but it wasn't in the cards. It was nice the players came around and thanked us from both teams for coming. It was a long ride back, but a nice time hanging with Andy at a soccer game.

Early Thursday morning, Mia woke up with a burning hot fever. She unfortunately had to stay home. Jill came home later from a school to hang with the resting diva. I still had to hold a practice sans diva so later after school was over, I met with the team. I set up a couple group exercises for myself and coach Kevin to run, and Coach Jim to run a different one. Coach Kevin and I ran a quick sprint drill with the ball where we'd time to kids so they could beat their own personal times. I wasn't sure how they'd handle being timed, but they really liked trying to beat their own and their fellow teammates times. Coach Jim ran a long pass drill where they would do crosses to each other. I guess it kind of worked? I really need to get these girls to put some more muscle behind their passes. We did a scrimmage, did some shots from far outside the box and worked on some PKs as well. This was probably the most productive practice we'd had and everyone looked ready for their upcoming match. I came home and told Mia about practice and what we worked on as she sipped on some Ginger Ale.

Friday, Mia's health was still not at 100% and she took another day off. She finally was able to eat something. Even if it was just a little bit. At my parents, she was able to get some Golden Grahams down before I went off to work. My mind was occupied the whole shift if Mia was going to be okay enough to play Saturday. When I came home, she was passed out on the couch and I explained to Jill that if Mia would to play what she can play in the match, that it would be fine. I didn't want her to overdo it, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to play against some of her friends.

Saturday she woke up feeling mostly okay and ready for our 11AM match. Most of the girls were already waiting for myself and Mia to arrive. A little quick kickabout before we did our jog and stretches. We did a few quick drills and warmed up Olivia in goal before the 1st half started. I believe Alice or Ava netted the first goal or couple goals but the real highlight was Ally getting her first goal ever. I started her on a wing for the first time since she typically plays defense. She started the half strong and was able to dribble through plenty of people. Before long, she banged a goal in. Totally proud. Bummed she didn't do a cartwheel like she did at practice, but there will be other games. Mia, who looked great at warm up, was struggling to run. She had a few good moments, but sat out most of the rest of the game. At half, we had a pretty good lead 6-2. 2nd half (maybe 7?) We net a few more goals as well as the Pink Panthers. When it was all said it done, we won 8-4. Despite the big win, these girls played tough and we may end up playing against these girls in the tournament. Immediately after the match, Vida and Scarlett came over and gave hugs. I snapped a photo with the OL girls. After Scarlett and Vida gave hugs, Scarlett's sister Sophie invited Mia to hang with Scarlett on Sunday at Stonefire. Of course Mia totally wanted to go so she said yes. The rain moved in later after the games were over so we were happy we got our 3rd win in a row in. Tommy made the trek from Madison along with Mia's grandparents. We relaxed most of the rest of Saturday. I had a meeting for work while Mia and Jill got some Halloween decor for Jill's studio. We later played some games, watched Into the Spiderverse and called it a night.

Sunday, we woke up to rain and I watched the Chelsea vs Liverpool match. Tough match with Liverpool getting the unfortunate win. Azpi's goal should not have been disallowed which is proving VAR is a double-edged sword in the EPL. Went to work later, per the usual.

This week, I'm pretty ahead of Mia's sketches due to her getting sick, so I hope to keep it that way. I really need to get some drumming in this week. I'll put together our upcoming practice before our next early game. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Forza Azzurro!

Greetings everyone. It was quite the wet and soggy week but we made it through. Mia was pretty excited to show her friends on Monday that her hair was dyed purple and teal and even curled it for the ultimate level of adorable-ness. Throughout the week, we had plenty of rain unfortunately which lead to us canceling practice. I had a lot of endurance drills I wanted to work into practice, but the  super soggy field was too wet to play on. Great. My next concern was if we 'd get to play Saturday. Malone Park really need a good few days to fully dry and I wasn't confident that was enough time. Friday night, they STILL didn't know if we'd play.

Saturday morning came and I got word at about 8:00am that our game at 9:45 was STILL on. Phew. I sent the word out to everyone and we met at the incredibly drenched field. The girls were excited to play the Pink Panthers.  We did a little pass and shoot drills and were ready to roll. The Pink Panthers got a quick goal on a Olivia. Bummer. Alice answered it with a great equalizer when the keeper lost control in the box. WOO! Panther's grabbed another goal when Olivia let one slip through her gloves as well and we were all squared again. Alice picked up a 2nd goal and we were all squared again. She was on a bloody hat trick! Ava and Ryan picked up some goals before half time. Ice Breakers were looking good. Linnea was performing quite well in the back and would continue that in the 2nd half. I mixed things up with Ally, who mainly plays as a defender starting as a striker. She unfortunately later picked up an injury while in defense and would sit out for another 10 or so minutes. Linnea saved her with some solid defending skills. Cecilia was desperate to score and had some pretty close moments where she was open but they couldn't get the pass to her. Like last game, Olivia was running all over the field and got herself a banger of a goal. We ended the match 5-2. The girls did quite well despite the lousy field conditions and a lack of a team practice. Hopefully this week, we'll get one in because i have a lot I need to work on going into the next game. Charlie cheered on Mia as well and she got hugs from pre-school BFF Olivia and  classmate Scarlett who we'll play next weekend. We're still in first place :) Mia was most excited Tommy came to cheer her on and we hung out with him and her grandparents throughout the day. I made a run to Madison to pick up a new snowboard for the Winter season.

Mia went to the JBF sale and got a few things including a winter coat. She'll still need to get some new snow pants at some point. They had dinner while I went to the Torrent vs DCFC match. Rough one. An own-goal was the only goal scored and we lost 0-1. We (the Torrent supporters)  met up with some traveling fans who were pretty friendly. Things got pretty out of control on the pitch but hopefully the Blues can beat them in Detroit. The reffing was just godawful missing blatant calls when they should be calling it, and calling soft-tackles when there was nothing. It's no secret the refs clearly hate the Torrent and have always botched games for the last 4 years.  The good news, was that during Mia's game Saturday, Chelsea got a massive win 5-2 as well so I watched the highlights when Jill and Mia hit the bed.

Sunday, didn't do much before work. Jill and Mia made a cake apparently. This week, practice hopefully, plenty of art and my quest for a better job. I'm going to the Torrent vs Forward Madison friendly in Madison with the old man if he's not too tired. 11am match Saturday :) That's all for now. thanks for reading!

Back to School & Soccer

Greetings everyone. What a busy week it's been. Monday on Labor Day, Mia and I ran over to tab her sidewalks for the incoming kids. Well, unfortunately on Tuesday morning, Jill and I awoke to rain storms. Wonderful. 6:00am and it's thundering out. Mia set a brand new 1st Day of School record of awaking literally at that early. Last year she got up at 6:30 but Monday, she just couldn't wait to go. Unreal. I tried to talk her into getting a bit more sleep. Nope. She got up, got dressed and had breakfast. We said our goodbyes for the first time this year and drove out to Brookfield to Marcy Elementary to snap some photos of the kids and staff. My always helpful in-laws joined us as well as our buddy Christina. Great to work with everyone. Later I ventured back home to get some art done and excitingly picked up the diva on foot so we could have a nice chat about her 1st day. She had some minor homework but overall, had a great day.

Thursday was soccer practice day. We had a full team and a thorough practice. We attempted to get there early to get the whole field but because Mia wanted to hit the bathroom before we left and when we got back, a team took half the field. We got a rough side. We set up a small scrimmage to get these kids ready. We did some 1v1 drills, a few passing ones as well as myself getting a pair of keepers ready for our first match. Olivia and Ryan jumped at the opportunity. Myself and Ryan took some shots on Olivia from different points of the field, and we switched it up with Olivia and myself shooting at Ryan. The girls all wrote down an idea for their team name, we pulled one name out and it was Icebreakers. Turned out, 5 of the 9 girls wrote down Icebreakers. Clearly, it was going to happen. It took me and Mia about a day to get over the silly hockey-like name, but we did.

Saturday we got up bright and early for Mia's first match. I had my line up and we were ready to roll. 8:00am, we had the majority of the team on the pitch and ready to go. Coach Kevin got them jogging and stretching and we did some shooting on Olivia before going over the positions. They lined up and were ready to for kickoff. Ava, one of our 4th graders picked up the first goal of the match and season. It was a beauty. Ryan, Linnea and Alice all picked up goals before the 2nd half. The girls dominated the 1st half and Olivia in goal didn't have a lot to do. She made a few solid saves. Alice was incredible in defense as well as on the wing. Really great 1st half from her. Mia had a few good chances but couldn't find the net. Cecilia played well on the wing and in defense along with Elia.

2nd half, Ryan took over in keeper and Olivia came out. She started in defense and made her way to the wing. She picked up two goals in 2 minutes! Unreal. She loves playing goalie but it way better on the field. A few mistakes by Ryan found the green team picking up a couple goals. Ava banged a few more goals in to cap off her very first hat trick. Her Dad and 2nd assistant coach Jim was totally proud as well as the rest of us. Cecilia and Alice played great in the back and despite being a solid defender, Cici really wants to score a goal this season. All in all, fantastic match with great support from their fans. Mia was a bit disappointed that they didn't pile on top of each other like last year's team, but hey, they haven't bonded yet to reach that level. Despite Ryan letting a pair of goals in, she's a brave one. I'm still shocked by Olivia's fast dribbling skills that got her those two goals. Lastly, Mia was totally thrilled that Charlie was working concessions and was cheering her team on. We hit up Stonefire for lunch which was pretty fun as always.

Later, I cut some grass and went to the Torrent vs Chattanooga match. Great crowd, even with the loud, yet supportive MKE Spurs fans. Chatta picked up the 1st goal in the 2nd half but the Torrent battled hard to get a beautiful bicycle kick to equalize. Shortly, they got ONE more goal but it was called offsides. The crowd went insane. It was totally on. The game ended 1-1. My voice was completely gone after two intense soccer matches.  Sunday we didn't do much. Just Trader's before work and Mia worked on homework. This week, art, soccer practice and another Saturday full of games. I believe Chelsea is back in action soon. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

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

Greetings everyone. Well, we've unfortunately hit the end of Summer Break. What an awesome but quick time off for the diva. Hopefully she can look back on the fun memories she made with the people she cares about. My personal highlights where meeting and seeing The Lawrence Arms live, going to the Fiorentina match in Chicago with my Dad, and getting Mia's drawing tattooed on my arm. Other notable moments were every time we spent together as a family, all of the art lessons I did with the super talented kids and the big surprise party we put together for Jill in Illinois. Seeing Jill cry tears of joy at the party and on the way home was something special I'll never forget so thank you everyone involved for helping with that memorable moment.

This week, I worked on the table with Micah, Mia and Gigi. It looks pretty solid and I hope they're happy with how it's looking. I've really enjoyed watching these talented kids grow in art and I hope they carry their abilities throughout the year. Gianna thinks I'll be teaching art again this school year. I don't think their school can do another major project, but maybe I'll come to art club. Speaking of which, Mia met her teacher and saw her classroom on Wednesday. She's stoked she found out her super sweet friend Scarlett is in her class as well as well as new buddy Kostadina. She digs her new teacher as well. Going to be a fun year for sure.

Thursday was our first Fall soccer practice. We were short 3 girls but made the most of the 6 that made it. We also gained a 2nd assistant coach which I wasn't super thrilled with because we really don't need more hands but his enthusiasm makes up for his knowledge of the game and I think he'll be fine. We've got a great group of girls that are really good listeners and I think plenty show a lot of potential. One girl, Elia who I coached back when she was in 1st grade definitely improved last season on whatever team she was on and at practice proved she can get around the defense to score. Awesome. Looking forward to our first scrimmage Thursday with a full roster and we'll have our team name officially picked out :)

We went to MOD later for pizza and Mia picked out a few more clothes at Target before calling it night. Saturday, Jill went in to the studio to get some major work done. She's been super busy with schools so she's got a lot of work to do back at the studio. I watched Chelsea take on Shefield United. The boys took an early lead in the 1st half 2-0 but something happened in the 2nd half where Shefield equalized on some lousy goals. Our defense was in shambles and they really need to finish a game with a win. Our friend Leanne and her boyfriend Dave stopped by for the weekend to visit. Mia and I later went to my cousin's wedding party at my aunt's house. She enjoyed running around with the kids and meeting some people she probably barely remembered meeting when she was younger. Some were a little louder than she would prefer, but that's just how my family is on that side :P

We hung out with Leanne and her dude when we got home. Sunday, they left and we just kind of relaxed till I went to work. Mia played some trumpet with Jill as I went off to work.

This week is Mia's 1st week at school. I'm off on Tuesday so I can hear all about her exciting day. We'll have practice on Thursday and our first match is Saturday. The Torrent play Saturday night so we'll see if Mia and I can make it. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Last Days

Greetings everyone. Plenty to get through and I've got an early morning ahead of me so I'll try to move quickly. Most of the week, I've been carefully and painstakingly recovering from my tattoo a week ago. First few days is always difficult but the tegerderm helps keep it clean. The catch is that no matter what, it hurts badly peeling it off. It was super nice hearing sweet compliments at KT from guests of Mia's awesome drawing abilities. She totally likes hearing about it too. Throughout the week, I worked on a table with the talented Micah and Gigi. Tuesday after Mia's school picture, we went over and began to make some progress on the pieces. They even let Mia help with the bench and table. The bench is almost done and the table has a few more sessions left on it. I think it'll be great complete and I'm stoked to help. Thursday, I wanted to pack the day with lots of fun for the diva. She's running out of Summer and has been getting a bit stir crazy in the house. We first met up with Cecilia and her sister at the park and the girls played and played. Later while walking Remi, we stopped by Noelle's house and Mia played with her, Ellahrose, Katelyn and their sisters. On the walk back home, Mia said "today was a REALLY fun day". Always happy to hear that.  Thursday night was the coaches meeting. Mia met up with Cecilia and played at the school while her Dad and I went to the meeting. We have 5 girls from one school and another 4 from OL which are all friends. Mia, Cecilia, Ryan and Eliah. Hopefully, everyone bonds and things go great. We'll be missing a few players for our first team practice, but we'll make the most of it. Mia's stoked the shirts are blue.

Friday, Mia met up with Vida at the Zoo and the pair hung out for an hour and a half checking out all the animals. The major highlight was that Dash, the mail red panda was out and about. Talk about good timing. You basically can never see the red pandas out in the Summer due to the warm temps. Mia could have watched the cute fella for hours but we obviously couldn't stay very long. I was fortunate to get some cute pictures of him. All in all, awesome time hanging with her buddy and her friendly family.

Saturday, I got up real early to watch Chelsea beat Norwich. Tammy got two fantastic goals which helped secure the win. Great job Blues. Later, we ventured to Madison with my in-laws to visit Tommy and check out the Zoo. Due to the severe lack of parking, we ended up going to the gardens first for a while. Mia enjoyed snapping plenty of pictures of all the beautiful flowers. Later, we tried the zoo again but with an hour left before closing, not a lot of animals were out including her red pandas. She did get to see a capybara and some other fun animals. Later, Mia went swimming in the chilly pool at Tommy's place. Brave kid. Tommy and her Dad looked pretty cold :P

We grabbed a bite for dinner at Monty's before calling it a day. We'll have to hit up the zoo again earlier in the day. Sunday, I cut grass, we did some housework and it wasn't long before I had to head to work.

This week, Jill's got some long long nights ahead of her. The poor woman's going to work herself exhausted every night but luckily, she has family for support. I've got to help complete the art projects, maybe squeeze in a lesson or two. Mia meets her teacher on Wednesday and she's stoked. We may have a visitor coming up Saturday so we'll see what adventure awaits. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Mia and Daddy Ink

Greetings! It was quite the busy week mainly art-wise. Started the week with an art lesson with my main girls Gigi and Micah. I came up with an idea for a multi-media sketch which combined pen, watercolor and color pencil ON tone paper. Phew. First of all, I've never watercolor painted on tone paper before so I was a bit curious how this would turn out. Luckily, it worked. The subject was a cool firefly flying out of a jar piece. Surprisingly, my youngest student Gigi did fantastic and her sister shockingly stumbled. Turns out, a severe lack of sleep the last few nights really was the main factor. She let the lesson get the best of her sadly. Two days later, we did a group lesson adding two more to our class. Before class, I was requested that we do a Snape sketch. Upon arriving, Micah did a 3rd attempt of her firefly picture and did beautifully. She realized later that her original piece was actually totally fine and maybe tossing it in the garbage was a bad idea?

Anyways, my oldest students Micah and Vivian did a great job on their Snape sketches and didn't want me to start painting with their sisters. Sorry kids, but I gotta paint with the littles.  They did a unique platypus that I purposely picked because Gigi told me a few days prior, are her favorite animals. Because she nailed her first lesson earlier in the week, I thought she'd like to do this one with her buddy Lydia. They both did a great job in watercolor and overall, the art lessons for the week went great. Always humbled when everything works out and the kids show improvement. I also love that they are great listeners and take the advice and instructions seriously.

After art lessons, Mia and I went to HAWS to donate her $405.00 that she raised for the animal shelter. Everyone there was super nice with her and she even got a tour of the entire place. Before her tour started, she got a really sweet kitty to take a photo with. This beautiful black kitty with orange eyes named Salem. Mia said she was the softest kitten ever. The woman who took us on tour introduced Mia to everyone on staff proudly telling them about all the money she raised. Mia played with a rabbit, plenty of cats, some dogs and even a rat. Mia mainly enjoyed playing with the rat, Moose. They had a little pen for Mia to sit with the cute little creature and she could have totally spent another hour with the rat. She enjoyed all the hugs she got from the woman's bulldogs as well before we left for the day. Despite Mia remaining quiet throughout the day at HAWS, immediately after departing, she goes "BEST DAY EVER!!" Animals have such a special place in Mia's heart and I'm so glad we got to tour HAWS together.

Saturday, Mia and I went out to Ink Spot Tattoo to get her drawing of a red panda holding a pineapple with her signature tattooed on my left forearm. Mia did a great sketch and I was honored to have my tattoo artist permanently ink this one on me. He did my Hawaiian half sleeve which turned out great so it was a no brainer he'd do this one. He put on Netflix for Mia as she drew in her sketch book and glanced a bit every once in a while to see how the tattoo was going. I was thrilled to have her with me and loved watching her work with him picking out the colors and size for the piece. She did a great job on her cat and flower sketch she left for him. Who knows when my next tattoo will be, but I'm stoked she created this very special tattoo for me.

Today, I washed off the plasma before applying new Tegaderm which will stay on till for a few days. This is such a clean and safe way to recover and heal from tattoos. Especially where I work. Speaking of which, Mia got PLENTY of great compliments on her tattoo she drew and I couldn't wait to come home and tell her all about it. She was hella stoked. Watched a bit of the Chelsea vs Leicester match which ended in a 1-1 draw. Bummer. They need to continue to improve to climb up the table. Come on CHELS!! Fiorentina got a great win today and the Torrent drew on the road in NY. Awesome come back!

This week, tomorrow Mia finds out who her teacher is, which of course will lead to finding out which friends will be in her class. Tuesday is Picture Day followed by some painting with my students on their picnic table. Should be fun. Wednesday is another art lesson day. Thursday is the coaches meeting where we'll receive our rosters, equipment and jerseys for the season. Can't wait to start soccer. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Be a Sweetie For The Needy!

Good evening everyone! It was quite the busy week preparing for the big rummage sale and lemonade stand. Mia and Jill returned Tuesday evening so after I got out of work, I couldn't wait to get home and see the girls. Mia gave the biggest hug and it was nice to have them back. The rest of the week, the girls baked and baked and baked. From cookies to dog treats, they had plenty of great items for Mia's cause along with a lot of our stuff we wanted out of our garage. We could probably clean out the basement and find much more crap to sell. Anyways, Thursday night we set up the tables and got things ready to go.

Friday, Mia was ready to sell sell sell. It was a slow start. We had a few families come through and some didn't get the whole "donation" thing and wanted a price. Eventually, we started seeing more traffic our way and Mia finally got pour some sweet homemade lemonade. The kids that stopped by really liked it and one was cute and said "cookies go great with lemonade" as he chomped on one of the shortbread cookies. I later had to leave and go to work. Saturday, we set up early again and hopped for bigger sales. Some of my awesome co-workers stopped by to support Mia and we had a few families as well. Sold a lot of bigger stuff and will donate the rest. Overall, Mia made over $405.45 in two days. Way more than previous years and we'll probably get some extra sales from others. I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped make this possible. My awesome in-laws and parents for helping set up and taking down the rummage sale and overall, supporting Mia. She sincerely appreciates it and it wouldn't be possible without everyone's support.

Saturday night, Mia and I went to the Torrent vs Napa Valley 1839 match. First one for the Founder's Cup. Great turn out and even better result with the might Blues picking up a pair of goals. Filippi and Luca Lemos netted two beauties getting 3 points. Awesome game. Mia had a great time playing drums and cheering. She still hopes to get a ball tossed out, but will have to be more aggressive if she thinks she'll grab one. For some reason, one of her favorite things to do is help the flag man T-Man take down all the international flags as well as the banners. Such a sweetie.

On the ride home, I shockingly got pulled over for a bad headlight. Ugh. Today before the Chelsea vs Man U match. Chelsea looked strong in the 1st half but gave up a PK. Ugh. 2nd half, the Red Devils secured the win with a few more goals ending it with a very disappointing 4-0. Lampard has his work cut out for him with some big players out on injury and the obviously missed Eden Hazard. After I left work tonight, I unfortunately found out that my light is not working well still. Ugh.

So this week I've got a full week of art lessons. Tomorrow, I'll lesson plan before work. Not completely sure what I'm doing yet, but it'll be a fun week. Saturday is tattoo day and I'm stoked. Will Mia have a sleepover this weekend? Possibly.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Road to Ohio

Evening everyone! I've had a nice quiet evening post-work with a beer and reflecting on the week. not an overly exciting week, but a good one nonetheless. Been getting things ready for Mia's big lemonade sale which for the first time, will include art. I've got one piece complete and will try to make another one. Thursday wasn't the best day for us. Mia wasn't feeling confident in a lot of things including art, her bass and just her attitude. Not sure what the problem was but we're trying to promote a more positive environment so she can stay positive and have less self-doubt.  I know I'm not the best with handling things like that, which probably has taken a bit of a toll on her, but I need to work on it. I don't want her picking it up from me or anyone. I want her to stay confidence and strong like she always has. She's an incredible person with a heart of gold and I want to keep it like that as long as possible.

Friday, she reunited with BFF Cecilia for a few hours while I worked on some Torrent posters for an upcoming match next week. Hopefully they look solid like the ones I did the previous years. I asked Mia "what did you guys do for a few hours?" She responds with "eh, I dunno, hung out, played with dolls, played outside" Well, it was enough for me to get some work done so I was glad she was able to chill. The two girls are looking to set up a sleepover soon. I feel like August is going to fly with a lot of things getting booked quickly. We'll try to make the most of the time. Currently, they're in Ohio. Jill's got a work conference Monday, so my in-laws are hanging out with Mia and Aunt Gail. Because of the last minute plan for it, I couldn't take off to drive down and had to work. Luckily, I've been keeping busy working on art. Saturday, they made the drive down early, so after they left, I went back to sleep a bit. Later, I went to the Milwaukee Torrent vs Risers match. It was the 2nd leg for the Wischigan trophy with the Blues up 3-0 in aggregate. They certainly blew them out of the water. The game ended 8-0 (11-0 on aggregate) so for the 2nd time, the trophy stays in Tosa. This team is certainly a higher caliber then any Torrent fan has ever seen. They are hungry for victory and never let up for 90 minutes of the match. It's refreshing and exciting to see these guys whom many came from 11 different countries tear apart the opposing team. One picked up 4 great goals who looks to be an immediate threat this season. I expect more goals as the Founders Cup season starts. All in all, great night with The Flood chanting, cheering and singing our Blues to victory. The supporters group grows every match and has become more of a family which is really special. It used to be be and a few more fellas. That was it. I hope it gets bigger and more hang with us to cheer this fierce team this season.

When I got home, I made some food, finished up a drawing and hit the bed. Mia FaceTime'd me when I got home, and this morning. I think she misses me a little bit. One of the hardest things is when she goes on these little trips but I try to keep busy so it doesn't bother me. Earlier today, I sold some of Mia's old shoes this morning and hope to sell the rest on the ol' Facebook Marketplace.

This week, they return on Tuesday evening and will work on getting the food and treats ready for the big sale which takes place Friday and Saturday. Later Saturday evening, the Torrent take on Napa Valley so hopefully I can get Mia to the match since she was pretty bummed to miss last weekend. Chelsea take on Man U to start off the season this weekend as well. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Cousins Weekend

Greetings. Dead exhausted as I type this, but I'll try to get through it before passing out. The week was a fun one. Spent a lot of time with Mia outside hanging and she did a little art while relaxing in her hammock. Wednesday, Mia proudly showed me some new bass things she's learned at lessons. She's slowly starting to show progression and a bit more confidence which is fantastic. Thursday, Mia picked up a pair of Nike Neymar Hypervenom boots off the Facebook Marketplace. After a few weeks of convincing her cleats were getting too small on her, she finally agreed and we got these for a steal. $10. Not bad for a used pair of pristine boots. Too bad they're Neymar signature but it's all good. Mia digs them and is looking forward to Fall soccer. We drove over to Guitar Center for fun and she played a pricy Fender bass, did some drumming on the E-kit. She somehow has double bass drum techniques down. I've never even explained it to her other than "both feet usually go pretty fast if you want to do blast beats" and she quickly got the hand of it. Later, we went to the studio for some lemonade photos as well as a few fashion pictures for the kid. We even got Remi in on the ad. Never easy getting him to cooperate, but eventually we got the shot. All in all, awesome day with the kid. A little lunch, new cleats, some great photos and later, we put together the ad and published it for the public to advertise Mia's big charity sale.

Friday was mine and my twin sister's birthday. I decided to not take off and work like any other day. Work was pretty busy but the day wasn't too bad. Mia made me a lunch before taking her over to her Grandma and Grandpa Ridenour's house. There, she made me a cute little square piece via sewing machine with a "C" on it for Chelsea. Soo sweet. When I got home from work, she also gave me a cool tropical t-shirt and a soccer ball cake. Awesome.

Saturday, we went to Dave and Busters for lunch. Never been there before but it was a great time. Food was alright, but the games were fantastic. The highlight was the incredibly fun Star Wars pod game. Raced on a speeder bike on Endor shooting at scout troops. Total blast. Cheryl really enjoyed it too. Mia did a fun but difficult plane game, a ring toss one and a few other different games. All in all, great time.

Later, the boys Easton and Camden came over for the weekend. Jill planned a lot of fun activities like  bingo, crafts, Nerf Gun battle, silly string, etc etc etc. The kids woke up today at 5:30am and I think I got about 2 hours of sleep. We went to the park for a few hours and rode around our driveway as well. Later, they were picked up by their Grandma and said their goodbyes. Tonight after work, I discovered my house completely dark with Jill and Mia fast asleep. Clearly, worn out from the weekend. On that note, I think I'm going to crash myself. This week, maybe some art lessons, I've got art to create for our upcoming sale and Mia is heading to Ohio Saturday. I'm going to go to the Torrent match Saturday.

In a few weeks, I'll be getting my tattoo done of a very cool drawing Mia made for me. Can't wait.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Forza Viola a Chicago!

Buona sera a tutti. It's been quite a week with some awesome memories, so let's get right to it. My work week was a bit weird because of my Tuesday off leaving me with working Mon, Wed, Fri. Tuesday, Mia met up at the park with buddy Vida and the girls played for about an hour or so. Weather a bit warm, but they had a great time swinging, playing tic-tac-toe and running around Malone Park. Later, My Dad arrived at my house for our big and exciting trip to Bridgeview for the AFC Fiorentina vs Chivas Guadalajara match. I thought we'd be able to beat any traffic heading into and around the city but man, we certainly got stuck in it. Ugh. Luckily because we left with plenty of time, we arrived with an hour to spare. Phew. We knew immediately upon arriving Fiorentina fans would be outnumbered 10-1 against the Chivas fans. Luckily, the environment was positive and a hell of a lot of fun. 

 I bought tickets specifically in the Fiorentina supporters designated section so I could give my Dad a great experience, but I didn't expect to find so many Chivas fans sitting with us. Then again, the ticket price was super cheap and we were literally on the ground level pitch behind the net. We walked around a bit, checked out some of the overpriced merchandise and made our way to our seats. We got to watch the team warm up right in front of us smashing balls at the keeper. I knew that this was probably the closest I'll get him to a professional football match between to international teams. Anyways, they walked out, we all cheered stuffed on the bleachers with a variety of supporters right in the front row and the match started.

Chivas got a goal off a deflection and the crowd went insane. Drums, horns and cheers filled the crowd as 10,000 of us watched on. Quickly, Simeone from Fiorentina equalized and the Viola fans went crazy. Amazing!! Halftime, and it was 1-1. Some of the fans that were stuffed onto our bench split and surprisingly, some didn't come back. Great. 2nd half started and we had an obnoxious steward standing directly in front of us. Are you kidding me? Luckily after 10 or so minutes, he was gone and moved down. Awesome. The Chivas drums started up again and the match continued. Viola started to pick up possession and it wasn't long before Riccardo Sottil picked up an incredible goal and the Fiorentina fans went crazy. I was even texted by my older brother that he saw me on TV get up and cheer. My Mom mentioned as well that she saw my DSLR camera flash go off a few times. The game ended 2-1 to Fiorentina and we were quite happy. My Dad had a fantastic time. I'm really glad I could take him to what probably will be the only time he'll see Fiorentina again. Not to sound so grim or anything, but Viola doesn't come to the states that often, or even this close to Wisconsin. On the long long drive back, he kept thanking me for taking him and wants to make a drive to Madison to see their USLOne team in action. I was dead exhausted, but made it back home and crashed into my pillow about 1:30am. I went to sleep with this feeling of accomplishment that I was able to take my Dad to something special he's always wanted to do and it was an incredible time.

Wednesday, Mia went to her friend Noelle's house to swim with her and her sister. Mia had a great time and looks forward to coming over again.  Thursday, I had art lessons with Micah and Gigi. We did some fruit water coloring and the kids had a great time. Gianna's really great at getting her shadows in when it comes to painting or drawing and Micah really nailed her apple sketch. I talked her into taking a bite of it to give the piece really fun texture and dimension. Awesome. I always look forward to working with these talented girls. Later, we had sushi and bobba tea from Fusion Cafe. Totally fun trying new places for sushi and we were excited to find a bobba tea place near us. 

Over the weekend, we had some gnarly storms roll in along with a rough heatwave which sadly cancelled the Torrent vs Risers match that Mia was looking forward to going to. We hung out, got her school supplies and made waffles for dinner. Mia played bass and we hit the bed soon after. 

Today, we just hung out and relaxed before I went to work. This week, nothing major planned till my birthday weekend. Maybe art lessons? Who knows, guess we'll find out :) That's all for now, thanks for reading!