Light You Up

Good evening. Going to make this quick, hopefully. Still waiting on consistent warm weather here in Wisconsin as it's pouring on this dreary Sunday night. Monday on the other hand, was really nice out. Mia had a 2nd round of pictures taken at school complete with graduation photos with cap and gown! It's hard to believe her school year is almost over. She wore the nicest dress on the rare warm day we had. Sadly the weather didn't last. School is still going well for her. Wednesday after school, BFF Olivia and Mia went to Chuck E Cheese. Mia still is afraid of Chuck so when he came out and danced and tossed tickets to the kids, Mia hid, but Olivia ran out and grabbed some for her. Such a sweetheart. The kids played a bunch and picked out some prizes. I hope they can keep their friendship as long as possible.

Anyways, throughout the week, I've been doing some Torrent stuff and started the salon logo in Illustrator. I'm still baffled by this woman's concept that she wants. It's just about complete so we'll see what she thinks. I found out this week that Mia's all-time favorite band Tegan and Sara are coming to Milwaukee in October, but unfortunately on a school night. I wish they were coming in Summer so I could take her, but it's just too late of a show. They're headlining a huge tour all across the globe. Mia was pretty obsessed that I told her we can't take her but alas, I'm going to make the best attempt to write the band, maybe have Mia draw the girls a picture and see if they can meet her downtown Milwaukee before the show. It's worth a shot. She's such a huge fan of them.

Speaking of music, she's been singing Maritime's "Light You Up" a lot lately and dancing in the car. It's pretty cute :) Saturday, the Torrent played their 3rd friendly against UW-Green Bay. I didn't go to the game on the cold and dreary Saturday, but I did stream it while cleaning the living room. They ended with a 0-0 draw and it sounded like the fans had a good time. Mia and I went to a cookout at my younger brother's house while Jill sadly had to work a 2-7. The kids chased each other around and Mia even drew the boys pictures. A lion for Cam and a Popsicle for Easton. She was pretty proud of her art and glad to have done it.

Later we had dinner with Jill and watched the Penguins vs Capitals game as a family. Those moments together are always short which can be pretty upsetting. I'm glad the good guys won :) This week, hopefully better weather, I want to finish the salon logo(s) and try to complete the Chelsea supporters banner for the Milwaukee chapter. The boys in Blue play the Spurs tomorrow at 2pm which I'll sadly miss. If they win or draw the Spurs, Leicester wins the league so I'm hoping they don't disappoint.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Venue Vortex

Good afternoon everyone. Well, it's afternoon currently. I may or may not finish this before work, but we'll see what happens. It was yet, another jam-packed week with all kinds of wonderful things to discuss. Mia had a great week at school. I think she's really starting to get the hang of writing under-case letters (especially in her name) She used to struggle more with the "a". I'm proud. Wednesday, I took on the challenge of chaperoning a 4-K class to the New Berlin Fire Department. Mia's class has 9 kids total. Not super big, but some can be a challenge. Olivia was her bus-riding buddy and they were quite good sitting for the 8 min ride. During the tour of the building, the kids were great. Learning about where the fire fighters sleep and eat. Checking out the trucks (both fire and ambulance) and even getting to put out a "fire" in a building. That was easily, Mia's favorite part. After, the kids went on a nature walk. Irianna, the little "runner" from 3-K was closely walking with me, hand in hand so she wouldn't bolt into the woods. The kids (plus about 3 other classes) were handing things they discovered on the walk to their teachers to put in a bag for the upcoming week) I was referring Irianna as my boomerang because she would go and give something to Ms Susan, and come running back to me.

After the walk, the kids were allowed to run around in the open area. Mia and Olivia preferred to sit by my feet and relax. I think both ladies were quite hungry. To get them moving, I offered to play a game. They would be the fairies, and I would have to catch them. Other kids joined in And than, EVERY kid wanted to play. So, I had about 25 kids trying to jump at me. We had to put an end to that so the kids quickly dispersed and that was about it. They walked slowly back to the bus. I had about 5 attached to me at once. I had Irianna, Mia, Olivia, Alexa and Audrey. It was a long chain trying to maneuver down the sidewalk. One of the teachers joked "Hey Mike, bet you never thought you'd have 5 girls walking with you at once" I responded with "I never thought they would be this short". They laughed.

On the bus ride home, Mia and I had Irianna and Olivia in our set. The girls were making their best effort to smush me. I noticed Mia's friend Kailee was sitting solo. Mia said "aww I'll go sit with her". The two girls sat and talked holding hands. I think that was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. My heart melted as her two BFF's were trying to bounce on top of me. Mia can be such a sweetie with her friends.

After we got home, we went to a couple of Halloween stores in search of some parts to my costume. I got the stach' I just need to trim it to replicate the person I'm going as. Friday night, Leanne, Jill's buddy came in to town. So it was fun having her around. Saturday, Jill and her pal went to tour a winery place while Mia and I watched Chelsea beat Aston Villa. Great game. Good to see some time on the pitch for Baba and Loftus-Cheek, even if it wasn't top notch. Loftus-Cheek looked like he was ready to help turn around the team in desperate need to help. Hazard spent most of the game on the bench, surprisingly, but I think Mourinho wanted to make an example of him that he hasn't been the bright shining star that he was last season, and he needs some improvement big time. I believe there is a mid-week Champions League game this week and I hope to catch it. It was a really enjoyable Saturday with Mia, doing some art and hanging out. Later, my sister Cheryl came over and we went to see Maritime.

I've been a big fan of their since they released their EP. They hosted a record release show at the Cactus Club, and old tiny venue in Bay View (that smelled like baked cookies near the stage). It was a great night. They came on about 11-something and plowed through a pretty lengthy set that including a lot of material off the last record. When they played "No One Will Remember" I was surprised how most of the crowd was unfamiliar with that song. The guy next to me who danced most of the night said "is that new?" Other tracks they blasted through were "It's Casual", "Guns of Naverone", "Science Fiction""Paraphernalia" "Satellite Love" and plenty of others. The crowd seemed to absolutely love their single "Milwaukee" which was released separate from the new album. Such a solid performance. I was lucky to catch up with some of the band members before and after the show. Davey said afterwards "Phew, that was exhausting. Getting out of shape, I need to do rockstar calisthenics" He apologized to me as well for accidentally booting an empty PBR can into my collar bone while dancing. No big deal, Davey :) They always always always have a blast live. Great banter and overall, fantastic night.

Got home about 1:20am. Ears still ringing and absolutely beat. Today, Jill and Mia went over to the Elegant Farmer to pick apples as I worked on laundry and went to work.

This week is going to be yet, another busy one. Getting ready for the party this Saturday, Mia's got her field trip and I'm photographing the Milwaukee Torrent's tryouts Friday evening.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading! :)

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere

Good morning. The sickness is officially out of everyone's system. Mia still gets coughing fits from time to time, but no more stuffy noses, so that's wonderful. We had a pretty good week as well. She's learning new letters to write and all kinds of facts about bats. I always enjoy hearing her tell me what she learned at school, and I always ask her what was her favorite part. It always varies. From "hanging with Kailee at recess" to "Show and Tell", every day it's always something different. She's She's got a field trip this week at the New Berlin Fire Department that I will be going with her to. She's pretty stoked. I am too. Should be a lot of fun. Wednesday, I spent about an hour working on free kicks and PKs while she was at school. The weather was perfect so the session was quite enjoyable. Wasn't bending the ball as well as I was hoping, but a few bent nicely.

Friday, Mia went to the movies with Jill and her family to see Hotel Transylvania 2. From what I was told, she loved it. When I got home from work, she was passed out. Always a good sign. Saturday, we went to a pumpkin patch place down the road. Jump houses, games and of course pumpkins. She had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect as well. She did a ring toss, find the key in the hay, and bounced in a bounce house. Later, we went over to a bon fire/house warming party at a friend from Carroll College (or University if you wanna be technical). It was a lot of fun catching up and swapping stories. Mia was a good girl with her Grandparents and when we came back, they had green face paint on. Mia gave them monster make overs. This kid loves Halloween. Sunday, I cut grass and worked as Jill and Mia went over to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum. From what they said, it was a lot of fun. Not real big, but they had a great time. Mia loved the "fix the car" place where she replaced a muffler, changed an air filter and filled the windshield wash. She also enjoyed the bakery along with all kinds of other fun activities.

Lots going on this week. Field trip on Wednesday, Chelsea is back in action on Saturday and I'm going to see local hometown heroes Maritime at the Cactus Club for their record release show. I'm pretty stoked about it because I haven't seen them in a lot time, and they're just amazing live. I was supposed to have a Flood meeting (Torrent supporters group) at noon, but it looks like we're not going to have a good turnout. No big deal. Still need to pick up a few items for my Halloween costume and purchase some pumpkins for our annual carving.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!