Legos! Legos! Legos!

Good evening everyone!  Just about complete with our wild April full of warm days, freezing ice storms and snow. Luckily, I think we are finally in the clear, so that's great :) This week was pretty normal. I photographed at a school on Tuesday, which went really well. Kids were great, most of the teachers were good. Overall, fun time.

Wednesday, Mia played with Noelle after school. Weather was good, just pretty chilly. Thursday was Spaghetti Night/Basket Night. I had drawn a BB-8 sketch and donated some time to draw with a class of whom won. The woman that built the basket really wanted to win the session and ended up the winner. Now I just have to figure out what as a class, we'll be drawing. I always look forward to working with kids so it'll be a great time.

Saturday, I watched Chelsea scrape 3 points from the Swansea vs CFC match. Good game, but need to win the rest of the games to possibly stay in the Champions League. If Spurs blow it, we can top them and finish in the top 4. Later, Jill and I went to a long time buddy of mine's wedding. It was really enjoyable catching up with old friends at the reception and after the wedding. Sunday, we got up early and drove down to Legoland in Schaumburg to meet up with some friends Jacqui, Rick, Leanne, Caleb and Leanne's little niece Lucy. The kids LOVED Legoland and had a blast running around exploring the exhibits. I was pretty impressed with the Chicago display and Star Wars. The kids really enjoyed the Lego jungle and the rides. 

Afterwards, we grabbed a bite at Rainforest Cafe, and walked around a bit before heading home. Really nice having a full weekend off after an intense week. 

Friday is the always intense High Interest Day. I'll be leading a rock painting session with classes of 10 kids each. Should be a great time. The Torrent start their NPSL season against Ann Arbor on Saturday. They've drawn, won and lost the three games so far in the pre-season with one more match to go before Saturdays match. It's a tough one so we hope they can pull of the massive win.

That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

Wild in Chicago

Good morning everyone. Another busy week in the books with what feels like Summer speeding quickly by. Tuesday I went to the last league home match between the Torrent and GRFC. We had a 2-0 lead before giving up a pair of goals to end the match in a draw. It was a frustrating match that had a lot of missed calls, but we chanted and cheered anyways. Next blog, I'll give my full review and thoughts on our frustrating season. Wednesday afternoon, Mia went to her friend Cecilia's house for a few hours. For some reason, she was hella shy with Cecilia's Mom Andrea. I don't know why. She's seen her before at school and outside of school but decided she would just be shy for the day. The kids played, watched a movie and later, Cecilia's neighbors and fellow classmate Harper and Hayden came over. Harper is such a sweetheart for playing with her sister and her friends. Hayden is a ball of crazy fun that loves to give hugs. Before long, it was time to go. I've been so grateful that the parents that I've met so far in Mia's grade school are genuine and incredibly friendly.

Later, I went out with old college friends Nicole (and her boyfriend), Steve and Shawn. We met at the Karaoke bar Shawn works at during the week. Both Nicole and Steve did karaoke but I did not. Just not my thing. I play drums for a reason. No matter how much I may enjoy singing songs at shows, I'd prefer to stick behind my kit playing the best that I can. I think I'd need a lot more Guinness in me to do karaoke. We had a good time catching up before I headed home. Saturday, we left early for the Brookfield Zoo and after visit Whitney and Matt in downtown Chicago. The zoo was a lot of fun and we got to see some animals Mia hasn't seen in person. The first stop was her favorite-The Red Panda. Although the little fuzzy one was asleep, she's always happy to see her favorite animal. We got to pet a wallaby! That was something unique for the diva. William the wallaby was super soft and adorable. Mia also got to see an emu up close in the same attraction. She fed some goats and really enjoyed feeding all of the parakeets as well. The underwater viewing of the sea lions was really nice. Mia liked the ones that would swim upside down backwards. Her favorite thing we did was the dolphin show.

She purposely picked for us to sit in the splash zone. Jill had told her that we'd probably get like a misting of water but it was more like a wave. The dolphins played a game of "who could soak the most people" and just as Jill handed me her camera to stick in my backpack, we got hit. Mia thought it was the greatest thing. "I CAN TASTE SALT WATER IN MY MOUTH AND I DON'T CARE!" She was worried we wouldn't get wet, but was pleasantly soaked and had a great time.

We stopped by the arts and crafts area before hitting up the butterfly garden. She was bummed none landed on her, which was the signal that it was time to go. We soon met up with Whit and Matt in their new condo. Beautiful place with a nice rooftop area to enjoy. They made us pizza and tequitos. Mia had fun being silly with Matt and it was overall, a really fun night catching up. She fell asleep shortly in the car on our trek back home, arriving at 12:30am.

Sunday, Jill and I cut the grass before going to a cookout at her parents house. I couldn't stay for long and had to work at 2. This week, Nothing in the books. Mia may hang out with friends at some point. We have to do some back-to-school shopping at some point (school items are on sale). At this point, nothing going on for the weekend.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

End of 2016, Hello 2017

Good morning everyone. Well, what was supposed to be a relaxing rest of my week while the girls were gone turned into a freezing disaster. Last I left you, I was taking the girls with Jill's Dad to Midway airport. When I came back, the temp in the house read 46 degrees. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Long story short, we had a guy come look at it the next morning and the very next day, he replaced the central board for the furnace costing over $500. Not exactly what I'd want to be putting out right after the holidays. From Tuesday till Thursday evening, I had no heat in the house. I can't tell you how incredibly cold it was in here. I had no motivation to do any art because I couldn't hold a pen or pencil. I didn't really want to go to work because I knew there was a possibility I'd come home to a house with no heat. Luckily, he had it working by Thursday night.

Saturday morning, I watched Chelsea triumphantly beat Stoke 4-2. What a great way to end the year. Later, Jill's Dad and I met and drove to get the girls. Took us way less time to get to Midway this time so we had a lot of time before they even left Ohio to land in Chicago. Midway may be one of the least exciting airports I've been in. Nothing really to do. No shops to look at or anything. Just a kiosk that sells over-priced sandwiches. When they finally arrived, we got their bags and were gone. On 294 in Chicago, we got a flat. My father in law must have hit something rough, and we were stranded for about an hour. He couldn't get the tire off as poor Mia was standing out upset exclaiming "we are gonna miss NEW YEARS!!"

The guy arrived and was able to blast the bad tire off wit ha 4x4 piece of wood. He got the donut on and we were on our way. Made it home by 10:30, all very exhausted. We watched the ball drop and the star rise (in Chicago) and that was it.

2016 was a busy year. I have never been more busy graphic design-wise doing double duties with both the Milwaukee Torrent and later Ian Bennett's clothing line. I have been drawing a ton for Mia completing a lunch note sketch every day. They range from mildly easy to pretty damn difficult. It's been great to use this daily routine to get better at drawing. Speaking of art, I was very fortunate this year to start and complete my 1/2 sleeve Hawaiian-themed tattoo. I love this piece and would go back to my very talented artist in the future. Mia graduated 4K and started Kindergarten. She made a ton of great friends and somehow, started liking boys again (specifically ONE boy from preschool has her heart) She got to travel twice this year via plane. Florida and recently Ohio. Mia enrolled in a tap/ballet dance class that she loves and did some art classes over the Summer. I got to see The Falcon and meet one of my all-time favorite musicians. With all of the positives, there were definitely some negatives in 2016. Our dishwasher broke, the control with in the furnace broke. Trump became President, Chelsea had a really bad 15/16 season and a slew of amazing musicians and actors passed away. Hoping for a better 2017.

My goals are simple: More art. Better shape. This week, today is Mia's LAST day before she goes back to school. I've got a Flood meeting Saturday. Other than that, that's about it. Have a great week and thanks for reading over the year!

Early Bird Wedding in the Windy City

Good evening everyone! MY was it a busy week! I'll try to jet through this quick since there is a lot to discuss. 4th of July was a busy day. Mia rode her (new) bike in the mini parade which consisted of kids who decorated their bikes all patriotic around a parking lot following an old woman in a golf cart. They had to get there early as well to participate. There were a TON of kids and Mia had a pretty good time. She loved the guy who made balloon animals. These were balloon animals to the next level. He did a Ghostbusters pack, a giant hot dog and a large octopus all while joking around with the kids. He was very fun to watch. She and Jill went to the fireworks later while I made time and a half at work. When she got home, she discovered the harsh reality that she had some gnarly mosquito bites. The one that bothered her the most was right on the bridge of her foot.

For the rest of the week, she whined and complained about it which unfortunately, made our lives miserable. Wednesday, she was to start her dance class and I had a 2nd tattoo session. The whole morning, she just went through ice pack after ice pack totally unsure if she'd be okay to dance. My in laws came over to take her to class when I left for my tattoo session. I was "under the needle" for about 3 1/2 hours totally 7 1/2 so far. Another 4 1/2 to go most likely. Can't wait to get the water, shark, turtle and Diamond Head filled in next. When I got home, Mia explained that she had a blast at dance class but didn't do any dancing because of her foot. I totally understand and hope this week she'll be able to dance. I'm taking her this time and will wait in the hall for her. I also hope she meets some nice friends since she apparently was pretty shy.

Thursday was a rough recovery day on my tattoo. I wrapped it up just to be safe to keep any bacteria out. Made it easier too when people wanted to see what it looked like. Friday afternoon, we left for Chicago. The traffic was all kinds of fun, and when we arrived at the hotel late, we found out that the hotel we set up a reservation to was under construction, and that the whole wedding block moved to a DIFFERENT location. Awesome... They didn't have any open rooms at the new location and didn't transfer our names, but they ended up giving us a recently renovated room at the hotel (under construction). Good. We almost didn't have a place to stay for the night. Almost. The room was very nice and thanks to some Chicago traffic, we missed the dress rehearsal but luckily found them and got to enjoy the picnic. The sunset over the city was gorgeous as we ate and enjoyed the beach.

The next morning, we woke up at 3:30am. Yes, that's right. The wedding was at 6, so we had to get up super early. Mia wasn't a fan of it. "WHY IS IT STILL DARK OUT!? ITS NOT MORNING" Yes it is kid. Luckily, she didn't put up too much of a fuss, and we got out the door and made it to the beach. The sun was beautiful as we watched from a distance Matt and Whitney getting photographed in the early hours of the morning. There were probably 25 people on the beach in a very intimate ceremony. It was real nice and probably the last beach wedding I'll attend. We had some donuts and bagels and were on our way. With the reception not for 10-12 hours, we had a LOT of time to kill, so we hung out for a while in Downtown Chicago. There wasn't a lot opened and Mia had her heart set on going to the infamous Dylan's Candy Store. We spent some time roaming around Michigan ave and luckily the Disney store was opened. What was funny, is that the employees there, act the exact same way as the ones in Florida at Disney World. They treated Mia like a princess and were very courteous to her. It was fun.

Finally, Dylan's was opened and Mia had a blast going through their crazy candy store. She picked out a bag's worth of candy to enjoy. We went back to the parking garage, paid our enormous parking bill and left. Napped on an off at the hotel before checking out, and switching to the OTHER hotel. After that mess was cleared, we went to the reception. The food was incredible. Mia didn't care for it and during the speeches she fell asleep. Yes. Right on Jill's lap. The long day wore her out and she slept for about an hour before we woke her for a little square of chocolate cake. The crab was too cranky to bowl or do anything so we left. Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast with the wedding group. Absolutely delicious veggie omelet made right in front of me. After breakfast, we went home. First, we stopped at Gurnee Mills to see what all the hype was. It's actually pretty disappointing. From what I hear from everyone that goes, it's this amazing mall that's a blast to shop in. No, not even for Jill. When we got home, we had a quick dinner and went to Secret Life of Pets with both sets of parents + Tommy. It was very funny and well worth watching. Over the weekend, the Torrent won their home game thus clinching the Midwest Central Championship. Very proud of these guys.

This week, Mia may hang with her friends Tuesday. Hopefully the weather is good. Dance class is weds and my half brother is coming in for the weekend. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Sing Out! Sing Out! Sing Out!

Good morning everyone on a very rainy disgusting Monday. It was a very busy week with all kinds of things to discuss. Here we go. Monday, Miss Mia went on a field trip with her class (and Grandma) to Apple Holler. It's about 45 minutes away for a play called Mrs. Claus. They got to meet Santa and his better half. From the pictures, it looked like they had fun. Tuesday was the big day. It was her Christmas Concert. 8 people came from mine and Jill's family. Our parents, her brother and my sister plus us, of course. We took up an entire row. Anyways, as the class came out into the gym, I got nervous. "Is Mia actually going to go through with this and sing? Or, is she going to stand there and not want anything to do with it" Turns out, the diva did amazing and sang her little heart out.

I stood there in the back, with Olivia's Dad videoing our little blond divas. His kid singing as loud as possible (which was funny). I couldn't get over the fact that my little peanut was actually singing in front of a group of probably 50 people. It was great. She sang every single song. When the whole thing was over, I said "I am SO proud of you for singing!" She responded with "I TOLD YOU I could do IT!" Smart ass. Anyways, afterwards she gave Jill and myself a beautiful ornament she made in the class. Three snowmen painted on the ornament. Thanks kid :) After a few pictures with some of her friends, we headed home. Wednesday, she didn't have school because she was going on Thursday for the holiday party. Well, actually it was a Pajama Day. She picked out her Chelsea PJ's (honestly, I had nothing to do with it) They watched Elf and exchanged books. All in all, great time.

Saturday, we were Chicago-bound to visit Jill's pal Whitney on the West Side. Jill and I both loved her apartment. Mia especially enjoyed spending time with Whitney. After an amazing brunch complete with mimosas, we took the L train into downtown and wandered around the German Christmas thing.  It was FREEZING cold, but it was fun. We made our way to Millennium Park and Mia played on the playground till it got dark. I always enjoy going downtown Chicago. Especially with Mia since she hasn't explored much of the city. The few times she goes to the city, it's to the Shedd. Later we went back to the apartment for hot cocoa (Mia and Jill) and said our goodbyes and went home. It was a busy little Saturday off, but we had a great time.

Sunday we cleaned ALL morning. Exciting right? Now on to soccer-related news. Thursday, Chelsea "parted" ways with fan-fav manager Jose Mourinho. Easily the best manager we had, but for some reason this season, we can't get many wins. It's been a really rough season full of lack of confidence, some injuries and one very frustrated manager. The board was sick of the losses, and had "no choice" but to let him go. He was really never to blame, but the players. The same players that one the league last season couldn't get the magic back. The players that were banging out goal after goal last season were barely getting anything in the net. The players knew it was there fault Saturday when Chelsea faced Sunderland. I missed the game, but I saw the highlights and that they won 3-1. First EPL win in 9 games. That's horrid and downright pathetic. The fans gave them a piece of their mind, and now the players who blew the season for Chelsea have something else to fight for: The fight to win back the fans. This Saturday, I'm going to watch Chelsea take on Watford with my little brother at a soccer bar in Milwaukee. It's something that has been on my list of things I want to do for a while, so I'm looking forward to it.

This week is going to be quite busy. Work today and tomorrow. Off Wed-Thurs. Back to work on Christmas. Jill and Mia leave Saturday for Ohio. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Thank you very much for reading! :)

When It Rains, It Pours

Good morning. Late, per the usual. It's been a hectic few days. Over the weekend we visited Jill's family for her bro Tommy's birthday. He's been working crazy hours, so we didn't get to see him till about 10:30pm Saturday night. Mia was so anxious and excited. Jill made rhubarb pie for the birthday boy. All in all, it was a fun day. Sunday morning before we headed back to Wisco, I watched the Chelsea vs Arsenal game. Great win for the Blues. Any time we defeat a rival, its a great day. Hazard's PK was perfect and Costa's 9th goal sealed the deal. International break this week, so no games, which is fine. When we got back to our house, our lower-level bathroom sink had over flood. So today, we've got a plumber coming to fix that. THEN on top of that, our furnace went out. We've had no heat for two days now. We got a space heater from Jill's work and she picked one up from Walgreen's the other night for upstairs, but it's still been incredibly cold in here. 54 degrees yesterday. So glad it'll all be done today. THEN when picking through clothes the other day, I noticed I stupidly washed Mia's Torres jersey and like an idiot, didn't realize I tossed it in the dryer. Even with it inside-out some of the thread unraveled. Super pissed about that one. May find another one for her (not Torres), or see if Jill can fix it.

Over the weekend, Tommy gave us his Roku for Netflix. Jill had resigned up for Netflix on Friday. His Roku will allow us to watch Netflix on instant on the TV rather then sitting at a computer. We used to have Netflix before we had Mia on my laptop and the mail-in movies, but after she came along, we just didn't have time. Mia's already loves watching Scooby Doo.

She had a great day in school Friday. I love hearing about her day, even if it's just a few hours, it gets her into a more social environment. If we could afford it, she would easily do the two days/per week, but she's told me she really likes her class. She even hugged her new friend Olivia goodbye Friday. I on the other hand, took my few hours of peace and quiet, and played my drums, did some cleaning and working on art. I will be restarting a portrait I was working on. Didn't like the direction it was going. Oh well. I found out recently that there are TWO indoor games (this wed and next wed) that I could play. 6pm is the problem. Jill gets out of work at 5pm so I don't know how it'd work. She'd have to meet me at the arena and I'd bring Mia or something. I dunno if I'll be able to do it, but I REALLY want to. Okay that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

The Turkey Day Tour

Greetings everyone. Yeah, I'm late on writing, it was an intense week. Work, work, and of course Thanksgiving. Thursday, I worked the early shift. We were steady and busy throughout the day, but once the clock struck 2pm, I was excited to get home and get ready for our first Thanksgiving at our house (that we hosted) We've had many Thanksgivings by your ourselves (Jill and I) but this was the first one we hosted with my entire immediate family. It was intense and stressful at times, but everything looked amazing. All of the credit goes to my amazing wife. Wednesday, we started getting things ready and doing some baking. My job was to keep Mia as busy as possible and not in the way. Lucky, it worked.

Thursday, everything looked amazing. The house smelled fantastic, and in the end, the food was delicious. It was an awesome night. Jill's mini apple-shaped pies were a big hit. She's so awesome and creative. Friday, we packed up the car, and headed down to Illinois for the weekend. We had our 2nd and last Thanksgiving Friday evening with Jill's family and her Grandma. Mia, like Thursday night, didn't care for eating much, BUT did try everything that was on her plate. "I'm gonna try this, I might like it...oo...don't like it" I was quite proud of her for TRYING things. Kids are freakin' picky as hell about eating, and this was a rare moment for her to actually try everything on that little plate. Saturday, we hung out and relaxed with her family, Jill's friend Leanne came over later to catch up and have dinner while Mia was passed out on the couch. All in all, good solid weekend. Today, we drove home with a very cranky kid.

Her folks are coming up this weekend for her Dad's birthday. Not sure quite yet what we're doing, but I've got the early shift Sunday.

Last week, Mia and I went out looking for some things Jill wants for Christmas. She went ahead and TOLD Jill one of them, with a goofy smile on her face. I can NOT tell that kid ANYTHING without her telling! Same thing happened with my Dad. She told one of his birthday gifts too. Sigh. Jill said she's glad Mia doesn't know what she got for ME for Christmas..haha. Last but not least, well done CHELSEA on winning :)

Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading :P

Not The Same

Hey all! As I type this, I've got my little girl sitting on my lap watching an episode of Hello Kitty on Youtube. She's like a teenager, I swear. Anyways, before I get into this week, I'd like to share a first for her and I. Friday, Mia and I went to a Friday Morning Play Group at the local library. There were a good amount of kids in this little room filled with toys. The kids get an hour to play and interact with other ones. Mia was a bit timid at first. But soon relaxed and was playing with some girls. Some were older then her. As soon as her and I sat down in the room, this little girl came right up to me, sat on my lap and complimented Mia on her princess shirt. Throughout the hour, Mia became friends with her. Her name was Grace and Mia really enjoyed playing with her, and her sister Hannah (which may actually be closer to age with Mia) Mia didn't want the playgroup to end, but we'll deffinatly be coming back this Friday. Over the weekend, we were in Illinois for my brother in law's birthday. It was a good visit, and he loved Mia's one-of-a-kind painting (including her key explaining what all of the obscure shapes and colours were). Mia has proven to be a hell of a lot easier with the 2 1/2 hour drive to and from Illinois, which is fantastic.

Today, Mia and I visited one of my best friends Jay, his wife Erin and their brand new baby Caleb. Mia didn't feel like talking, but it was good catching up and seeing their new little addition. Mia seemed more impressed with the wild turkeys wondering his back yard. She also liked Caleb's jungle nursery.  Other then a visit to Grandma and work and Grandpa at home, nothing too exciting to report. This weekend, my sister is having her bridal shower. Lots of family coming in, so it should be a lot of fun. Lastly, Chelsea FC's doing great (which is always wonderful) and the hockey season just started. That's all for now! I've got some NEW interesting freelance art I'm working on, but more on that later Thanks for reading.

Jump Around

Greetings! Keeping this one sort. Gotta get up very early to get Jill up for an early day at work for her. Not fun, but it's that busy time of the year at her studio. Friday I was off, which was great so my Dad, Mia and I watched my lil bro play some beer league hockey. Great time. Especially when Mia would yell "ANDY I CANT BELIEVE YOU KEEP DOING THAT!" in regards to him falling/not getting a goal. Saturday, we watched Chelsea beat Fullam. AWESOME :) Today, Mia had a check up. This was the very very first time I had to take her to the doctor solo without Jill. Ever since Mia was born, we've gone to the doc together, but today she had too much work to do. I was not stoked to have to wake her up. Luckily, she wasn't upset or anything. We had a very
lengthy discussion on our doctor appt and how there will be NO shots. Today, when I got her up, I reminded her that the appt will be fine. At first, she didn't wanna leave, but I said I'd hold her hand. She was talkative to the nurses, and sat through the basic check up like a champ. Wasn't a fan at first of the blood pressure test device, but noticed that she had the same contraption in her doctor kid at home. So, I was quite happy that everything went well.

Later, we FINALLY got to the Helium Trampoline Park. Once again, at first she was a bit timid. Sorta confused that we were not at the back up hangout AKA the library. So she gets on the trampoline "Dadda I don't know about this" but when she realized that these are for jumping she got SO excited. Jumped and jumped and jumped. Finally 35 minutes in, "Daddy, I'm thirsty! Later after a little water, I wanted to jump in the foam pit. Well of course Miss Mia wanted to as well. The pit was pretty deep and difficult to get out of. But, she didn't care and wanted to get in. So I held her hand, and she crawled INTO the pit, instead of jumping. After I got her out of the pit, I got back on the trampoline and did a 360 into it. So much fun. Earlier on a 360 spin that I was trying to rotate to a 540, I landed my knee straight into my wrist head on, so it's been hurting the rest of the night. Looks a bit swollen. Hopefully it'll go down. This weekend, we're off to Illinois for some family time with Jill's group. Her brother's birthday is coming up so we've got to spend some time with him :) Should be a good time. If you notice the picture way way in the background, you can see Mia waiting for me to kick the ball to her. :) That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Best Imitations Of Myself

Hey! Hope every one's enjoying this rather strange week. 4th of July on a Thursday is a bit strange. Some people are getting a full 4-day weekend, others (like my wife) get just Thursday off. Me? I'm not off. Didn't take the holiday off. Used to back in the day when we would go to to catch Less Than Jake every 4th of July at Summerfest. Lots of fun, but as time went on, I just stopped wanting to go to Milwaukee's famous fest. Loss of interest. Would take a lot for me to go now. The Lawrence Arms would guarantee me to attend, as well as probably Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. Okay, that's enough of that.

Over the weekend, we drove down to Illinois Friday after work.  After we gassed up and got on 43, Mia fell asleep rather quickly watching her new favourite movie "The Princess Frog". While driving through Huntley, there were cones and cops everywhere with floodlights in a parking lot. I swear, it looked like border control. Well, they were stopping every single car and did a "safety check", which of course meant they were checking for drunk drivers. Great idea, but crap, they just HAD to shine the flash light in poor sleeping Mia's eyes.  She fell asleep soon after we went on our adventure. Saturday morning, we drove to the Shedd Aquarium. LOVE LOVE LOVE driving through the city. Leanne (one of Jill's friend's) came with too. It was a great time. Was quite blown away by how amazing the beluga whales are. I've seen them there before, but every time we go, they impress me more and more. The string ray touch thingy was actually better then the Milwaukee County Zoo one. Why? Well, the cow-nose rays were SUPER friendly. They swim right up to you like a dog would rub their head. It was pretty amazing. My favourite part of the Shedd (besides the awesome penguins) still is the Reef animals down stairs. Plenty of awesome sharks swimming. Nice 6 foot ones too. A rad part of the experience, was Mia was enthused to shoot some pictures of the coral and fish with our DSLR camera. "Daddy, I take a pictures of this" *CLICK- CLICK- CLICK- CLICK* All in all, great time at the Shedd. I figured something out why Chicago residents drive rather defensive in Wisconsin. In the city, its "drive defensive, or be crushed" as my bro in law puts it. Everyone in the city has to be on their toes to get to where they're going. Cutting people off to make a turn is just part of it. There's no hesitating or middle fingers flying when someone makes a bold move to get in front of you. It's their way of life. So with that, I have 0 hatred for "FIB drivers" here in good ol' Wisconsin.

 Anyways, so Thursday is the holiday. Jill's taking Mia to the fireworks in Waukesha with my parents. We heard some neighbors shooting some off today and it peaked her interest, but of course they stopped. We put on the local news channel that had the fireworks on and I said to Mia "hey, look fireworks" and she responded "Daddy, I'm learning Spanish!" Well alright then! Saturday, we're going to see Wicked. Should be fun. Jill's parents got her tickets for her birthday. I've heard only great things about the play/musical for quite a while so I'm anticipating a wonderful evening. PLUS after work Sunday, I've got soccer. It's been a few weeks, so I'm stoked to play again.  Before I finish this, I gotta bring up this new thing Mia does every once in a while. Maybe once a day. Sometimes when we ask her about something such as for example "what would Daddy say if you fell off the swing?" Mia responds with this hilarious impression or imitation of me saying "Oh no, Mia fell off, don't cry Mia" She imitates Jill and Remi all the time too. HILARIOUS! That's all for now. Thanks for reading!