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!

"BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!"

Another crazy week in the books. Summer is flying and it's almost July. Wow. I had a week off from art lessons so Mia and I spent some time doing fun things before my normal shifts. Mia's BFF Cecilia returned from her trip with her family to Italy as well as other countries so Mia was stoked to see her. Sadly, the weather was a bit too hot for the park. Bummer. The kids however hung out at Cecilia's, played, drew some pictures, and went the sun went down, played some soccer in her yard. Cecilia is totally motivated this season to score a goal. She was a fearless defender and I think she'll transition nicely into an attacking forward. Later we picked up Jill from work and had dinner. Friday was a rainy morning, but Mia and I made the best of it. We watched Into the Spiderverse which was surprisingly, a really good movie. Mia was actually super into it. She doesn't get excited about super hero movies (and neither do I) but man was it good. Later, we met up with old friends Hannah and Gracie for a long overdo reunion. These two sisters were Mia's FIRST best friends when she was only 2 1/2 years old. They hung out every Friday at play group at the library where they first met and over time, hung out at parks, pools etc etc. Over time, they didn't get to hang as much do to school and other activities but in the Summer, they try to hang out when possible. Mia had a great time for a couple hours, but it was time to go order some food and prepare for Jill's birthday dinner.

It's been quite a while, but we decided on Ono Kine Grindz for dinner. Mia and I picked up 8 individual orders from our favorite little Hawaiian cafe/store in Tosa. The only place in town you can get POG juice as well as some super tasty Hawaiian delicacies. After dinner, we had the cake Mia made on Thursday. Yum. Jill loved all the gifts she got from my family and hers.

Saturday, we got up early and drove down for Jill's very special surprise birthday party. We met her friend Leanne at a Jewel so she could take Jill out to keep her busy while Mia and I met up with friend Jacqui to set up for the party. One by one, more of her friends came in as well as spouses and family. Finally, it was time for Leanne to bring the birthday girl. We were so excited and when Jill came in, we all yelled "ALOHA!!!" Jill was shocked. A beautiful Hawaiian birthday party for my amazing wife. All she asked for this year for her birthday was to see her friends. I had told her at that moment "Okay" and began preparing for this. I literally made her birthday wish come true. I couldn't believe Mia kept the secret. So awesome. We had Puka Dogs (or at least the closest thing to them) complete with sauces made by Leanne. They were fantastic. Also some fruit bowls and an amazing cake made by Jacqui and some shave ice. Yum! It was a great Hawaiian-themed party. I couldn't believe we pulled this off. About 10:30, we called it a night and drove home. While Mia slept on the long ride back, Jill stared at her photos of herself with friends with the happiest tears I've seen in a while. I'm so glad I could give her this gift. Once again, thank you ladies for making this possible. Thank you to their spouses for coming as well.

Sunday, Mia and Jill tried out her new baking toys and after I came home from a really lousy shift, I saw their awesome Pride brownies and large cookie. Jill said Mia had a blast with her new air brush.

This week, I've got a lot of art lessons and apparently, we're having a 4th of July party on Thursday. Crazy. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Two-Wheelin' Chef

Good evening. What. A. Week. I know I post that often but so much went down this week with even more going down this week so I best get right to it. This week was Mia's Spring Break. The goal was to relax and have plenty of fun. The weather was absolutely amazing and we took full advantage of that from the beginning. Mia and I made a little trip to Target in pursuit of a new bike. The diva took a 2 1/2 year hiatus on having any interest in riding her bike. She would ride bike with the training wheels every once in a while, but it was super rare. she never had any interest in actually learning to ride it sans training wheels up till this week. She saw over the weekend prior this teal mountain bike that peaked her interest. There was no way I was going to get it if she didn't think she'd she could learn how to ride it. Bought the bike on sale and a brand new helmet. She brought it over to my Mom's when I had to go to work. She made a few laps attempting to get used to riding and balancing at the same time. A little wobbly at times but I definitely admire her first go at it. The next morning she said goodbye to Jill when she went to work and immediately wanted to go back outside and ride. Did a little more riding before my in-laws came over. I once again had to work, so my father in law took the next shift at helping Mia ride her bike. When I got home from work, Mia was awake waiting up for me just to tell me that she learned how to ride her bike! Two solid days of practice and patience and determination. She did it. She was out till dark riding laps around the house. The rest of the week, she wanted to ride her bike. I had told her from the very beginning that once she learned how to do it, she'll always want to be riding it. Boy was I right. I want to take this opportunity to thank my very patient Mom and in-laws for helping Mia. The next day, she had me running with her and she rode around for at least an hour and a half. So fun, yet exhausting running along with her.

Thursday, I was off so my Mom and I took Mia to the zoo. The weather was actually too nice out that some of the animals weren't out. Most importantly, the red pandas weren't out. Sadly, the otters area was drained and they were cleaning their compound. Bummer, my Mom really wanted to see it. We did get to see a seal/sea lion trainer train another zoo member on tricks for the creatures which was fun. The onlooking polar bear was super jealous of his neighbors getting tossed fish. A little lunch and a few other exhibits before calling it a day. All in all, really fun time. Friday, Mia and I did some fashion photo session at her school in the back on the playground. She picked out about a dozen outfits and sadly, we couldn't get to all of then. I've got plenty to edit this week, that's for sure.

Saturday the snow came in. I did some grocery shopping while Mia had a play date with BFF Cecilia for a few hours. It was nice the two could get together and hang before school started up again. Later, Mia planned a fun dinner for Jill and I. She made us Fettuccine, mashed potatoes with sparking strawberry drinks with a lime wedge. Mia prepared everything and did a great job. This was sort of an intro to her very exciting class she would have the next day with BFF Charlie.

Today, we got up early and I took Mia and her friend Charlie to Maggianos Little Italy for an authentic Italian cooking class. I had planned to just drop the kiddos off and pick them up later, but A-they really wanted parents/guardians to stick around and B-The class actually ended early. Oh well.  It ended up being fun snapping photos of the divas playing and creating meatballs. The girls were taught by a real chef which both thought it was really cool. They had a little breakfast/lunch while the chefs fired up the meatballs. After wards, they decorated cookies, learned how to flip food in a pan and colored. All in all, amazing time for the kids with a truly unique experience. The little bonus was that the proceeds from the ticket prices went to the Make a Wish foundation. I took Charlie back to her house before heading back to watch the rest of Chelsea vs Man hoping they'd get the win but it ended in a draw 1-1. Still in 4th place. 3rd is still a possibility. Mia shared a bit of her meatballs with Jill and I and they were pretty awesome. Totally proud of her and I'm so glad she had fun day with her bestie. Over the weekend, I found out one of my ALL-TIME favorite bands The Lawrence Arms is playing in some old arcade in of all places, Cudahy in June so I immediately picked up tickets before they sell out. More bands are to be announced for this show, so it'll be interesting to see who else is on the bill.

This week, I've got High Interest Day rock painting on Friday, Mia's got dance photos Saturday before a HAWS event she's receiving an award for. That's all for now, thanks for reading!!