Sushi Sweetheart

Good evening everyone. Another week in the books. Actually, sort of an emotional one, but we'll get to that in a bit. April Fools Day, she played the ultimate prank on her classmates by using food markers on her sandwiches and lunch. I had a weird work week, getting a Tuesday off because of getting stuck working on a Thursday, but I made the best of it. Mia's 2nd grade teacher had her very last week of school for the year. She's officially on maternity leave, so the kids were pretty emotional this week. Her teacher and I decided to continue the tradition of myself doing a one-off drawing lesson with her class. I knew I didn't have a lot of weeks left, and with the art show, I was getting pretty busy. Luckily, we found a good day to do it. The kids were super surprised I was there, and Mia's mouth dropped when she heard us explain that we will be drawing Stitch to celebrate Ohana. I sorta rushed through it a bit due to a lack of time, but the kids had a lot of fun, and it went really well. I was requested to draw using the Smart board projector which works, but it also distorts the art when I'm drawing. Sorry kids. Finally, they enjoyed looking at all the sketches in my 2 binders. It was cute that Mia sat next to me in the chair while her classmates gushed about all the art. Hopefully it reminded her how lucky it is that I take the time to draw her something special daily.

Later, she got ready and went off to dance class. Picked her up a few hours later and it was quite nice to hear about how much fun it was. She even showed me a couple things she gets to do during her Spring performance. Jill and I voted on election day. Sadly, the referendum did not pass and they are considering some "tough choices" which include consolidating the high schools and/or closing Mia's. It's really too bad that because the school district struggles financially that ultimately the students end up suffering the most. Guess time will tell when we find out what the decisions they come up with. At the end of the week, Mia gave some baby clothes to her teacher as well as a card she made. I did a little pineapple sketch for her as well.

Saturday, we held a 2nd birthday celebration for Mia, which consisted of family. It was a lot of fun celebrating with everyone. In the morning, Mia made a cake for the party, and aided Jill with making sushi and Chinese food. The nephews Easton and Camden were crazy fun as usual. Mia crashed with Jill on the couch as I finished a pen drawing for her for Monday.

Today, not much going on. Mia woke up and immediately went to work on a Lego set Uncle Tommy got her.  When I got home tonight, I saw she completed one set. Awesome. Looks like she's done some fashion drawing as well. This week, nothing major planned. Supposed to have some weird weather this week. Chelsea is back in action tomorrow so I hope they can hop a few teams and sneak into 3rd.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Space Oddity

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

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

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

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

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

A Wizardry Birthday Celebration!

Good evening everyone! This week was by far, the most insane week I've had in quite a while. Maybe since he holidays when I was trying to bang out Mia's Christmas book. Thinking about it now makes me wonder how in the world I survived it. Tuesday through Thursday, I had elementary schools to photograph at. Tuesday, I was at Lowell Elementary for a couple hours before I went to work. Wednesday, I was at Tonawanda in Elm Grove. Let me tell you, photographing the kids isn't the hard part, its navagating the weird layouts. Every school is slightly to wackadoodle different. Tonawanda could have been filed under "wackadoodle" They have had what I was told the 1970's layout since they opened that year. A lot of schools used to do it, and they're one of the rare ones that still do. I first experienced it when I walked into the Kindergarten area and every classroom had ZERO walls and was a completely open-concept layout. It made it difficult for photographers to snap a picture of the class teacher's door to put sort of a label on the pictures you're taking of their kids. I made it work.

I thought maybe that was the end of the bizarre layout. Nope. The library was the center hub for the rest of the classes which had similar layouts. It's cool in theory but really painful for myself, PLUS every teacher switched their kids around so I had to work with that. Seriously? When I was done, I jetted down to Milwaukee for a photo session with Milwaukee Wave star Ian Bennett. He wanted some new shots for his 2nd clothing line. After getting escorted through the building, I found myself watching the Wave practicing before their Baltimore Blast playoff game. It was fun to watch them from their player's bench. After the practice ended, Ian and a few of the guys did a quick photo session. I think for the most part the photos turned out alright. Afterwards I wished them good luck and was on my way. Got home, had some luck and watched some of the UCL Chelsea vs Barca game. It was a rough one, so after I picked up Mia, I didn't watch much more of it because we did a little Harry Potter part 2 photo session. Went a lot better than the last one and throughout the week, I did some edits and have about one more left to do. After the session, we drove to Target to pick up something for her friend Ryan's birthday party on Sunday.

Thursday, I had one last school to get through before work. Swallow in Hartland. Did a good group of classrooms before encountering my first classroom of middle schoolers. They were by far, the least favorite class I've done. They were awkward and weird and totally OVER getting their photos take for year book. Get over it kids. Didn't do the other class because the teacher was doing a test and didn't really want me there oh well. After that one, I packed up and went home. The majority of the week, we made final preparations for Mia's epic Wizardy Harry Potter party. Saturday, Mia was both stoked and excited to see what her leprechaun left her and her very exciting party. After a quick scavenger hunt, she quickly got in her Hogwarts robe and tie and helped us get ready for the party. It wasn't long before the kids started arriving. Mia was so excited to see who'd be the first one. Turns out, it was Easton. His Mom said he likes to get to parties early. It wasn't long before Charlie, Noelle, Cecilia and the rest of Mia's guests arrived. We had a Quidditch tournament in the living room, a make-your-own-tie session in the den, and a Potions 101 class in the dining room. We had forgotten to do the pin the scar on Harry. Oops. Before they did the projects and tournament, they were sorted out with their own personal sorting hat. If I could find the Qudditch board, I could post which kids were in which Hogwarts house. Oh well. Mia, Cecilia and Charlie represented Gryffindor, Izzy and Ryan were in Slytherin and that's all I can recall for now.  Anyways, Gryffindor won the tournament of Quidditch. Mia, Charlie and Cecilia did really well throwing the balls through the hoop. They all had fun designing ties and participating in Potions 101. The cake turned out great and Mia loved all of their gifts. I made my best effort to take as many photos as possible. Jill's parents were a MASSIVE help with the whole party as well as our friend Leanne that drove in. We couldn't have made this happen without their help. I dressed as Severus Snape and Jill dressed up as well. Hopefully everyone had fun.

Later, Jill and Leanne went out for sushi so Mia and I hung out at home. She fell asleep during Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Probably a good thing since the ending was pretty dark and creepy for her. We'll probably not watch any more of the movies with her since I have heard they get creepy.

Sunday, Mia and I drove to Ryan's birthday party with Grandma Gail. She refused to go to the Chuck E Cheese party without the both of us. Immediately upon arriving, she didn't want to be there. She got very upset and the mere thought of Chuck E showing up like he has before at parties. Since she didn't have Cecilia to hide with, she had to use us to block any view of the terrorizing mouse from hell. She got herself through it, and played plenty of games with her friends. She will always remember the moment she won 100 tickets on the Pirate Wheel game. She joined the "100 club" with Ryan and Charlie that have both won 100 tickets at Chuck E Cheese. Charlie won again before all the kids had to pick out prizes. Despite the lack of effort from the staff that gave the game cards to the kids almost 30 minutes late, they all had a blast. Mia, eventually. Just as long as the rodent didn't see her. I missed the Chelsea FA cup match but was told later they won. Quarter finals, here we go!

This week, I've got plenty of photos to edit and need to start working on a couple of drawings for an auction basket for a fundraiser coming up in April. Mia's been taking hot lunch, so I've substituted drawings for some fun #dadjokes. She likes them a lot.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Hop, Skip and a JUMP

Good evening everyone! Busy week with an even busier week ahead preparing for Mia's epic birthday party. Wednesday, I helped Jill photograph a college friend of ours little twins. The two boys are super adorable so it was a fun photoshoot.  After school, Mia decided to show me her new jump rope tricks she taught herself. It's just always amazing to see her learn something new, especially when she teaches herself. She'll be hoping on one leg while jumping while switching to the traditional two-footed jump. Very impressive kid. We made pizza and watched Big Hero 6 while Jill and my Mom did some wine and chocolate eating at night in downtown Waukesha. Awesome night for them. I made them pizza when they got back as they finished Coco, which is easily one of Pixar's best movies ever.

Friday night after work, I came home to an empty house. Jill and Mia spent the night at Grandma/Grandpa Chicago's so they could hang out with uncle Tommy in the morning. I worked on some of the prize bags for Mia's party while watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Really good movie with a bit of a twist towards the end. Saturday morning I drove out to my parents with Remi to watch the Chelsea vs Palace match. My bro Andy joined us as well as we watched them win 2-1. The 2nd leg of the Barcelona vs CFC match is this week so I'm pretty nervous. Later, I drove to meet up with Jill and Mia and we hung out at my in laws till it was time to go. Mia fell asleep on the ride home and stayed asleep till about 5:00am when she woke up on the couch looking for me. Oops.

Sunday, I woke up a bit confused with the daylight savings. We all cleaned the house as much as we could and it looks pretty good. Sincerely appreciate all the help and Mia is super excited for this weekend's party. There will be so many fun games and good to eat. This week, we have to finish any last minute things, and Mia's got to get her friend Ryan a present for her birthday party the day after Mia's. I'll be photographing schools Tuesday and Thursday  as well as Ian Bennett on Wednesday.  Just way too much to do, plus I've been fighting a cold and sinus headache for days now. Need it to clear up soon.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Dance Party at Mia's House

Good morning everyone. It was quite the busy week over here so let's get to it. Monday was Mia's actual birthday, so I surprised her class by joining Mia for lunch. It was truly a trip. A few of them yelled "MIA'S DAD!" when they saw me as I joined her for lunch. I got to first hand, watch how they do everything. She sorta forgot I was with her, as she walked off to get her strawberry milk and mark where her name is on the list for payment. All of her fiends tried to figure out where to sit and where I'm sitting. They all talked my ear off about everything from boys, to math to "how do you do art so well?" It was fun. There was no chance that I'd leave without joining them for recess, so after they finished their food and were dismissed, they got their coats and went outside. The weather was pretty lousy, but they made the most of it. Most of the time, they tried to figure out what they actually wanted to do. We ended up playing duck, duck, goose. It was fun. They were sad when I had to leave, but Mia was glad I was able to join her and didn't let me leave till I got a kiss on the cheek.

Later, Jill and I together picked her up. She was totally surprised that Jill got to join me. She's never picked up Mia before, so it was truly a treat. We went to Stone Fire Pizza for dinner and games after. Mia's getting really good at racing games and beat both Jill and I at Mario Kart. We had an amazing time, just the three of us.

Wednesday, I was off again and Mia got to walk home with Noelle. Wish it was warmer out, but luckily Saturday was pretty great. She went to dance class as I watched Chelsea let a pair of stupid goals go in from Palace. No clue how we blew this game, and couldn't get any of the dozens of shots in. They play this week so I hope we can beat Man City and widen the gap back to 10 points. Later, we got our taxes done and set up for Mia's friends-from-school party. We had 8 girls total in the living room watching Moana after a very noisy dinner of pizza. The kids ware crazy, but from what I could tell, had a great time. They didn't make it through the movie, since some of them wanted to do art projects. A few wanted to sit with me and watch it. One lounged on my lap as the others were having a dance party. It was intense. After about 8pm, they all started leaving one by one, giving Mia big hugs. She said this was the best birthday party ever. I'm truly happy we could give her something like this. It wasn't an overly expensive party at a big place, but it was fun enough for the kids and thats all that matters. She's got some really fun friends that love her to pieces and I love watching them interact and talk about which boy likes that girl" etc etc. They got her light sabers, Shopkins, a handmade pillow case, and dolls for her birthday.

Sunday, Mia did homework before I went to work. This week, nothing super busy going on. I may have a photoshoot for Ian Bennett's clothing line, but we'll see how the weather is. I was recently presented with the possibility of teaching a 2nd grade class art and drawing techniques as a "reward' for good behavior during class. This is an honor and I'm excited to dive into it. Haven't completely decided on what to do, but it should be a lot of fun.

That's all for now, thanks for reading! :)

Birthday Beauty

Today is Mia's 6th BIRTHDAY! But...before we get to that, much to cover from the week. I had some random days off including Monday (for some reason) so Mia and I spent the first day of Spring hanging with her neighbor friend and classmate Noelle. We also brought Remi along with us so Noelle's dog Daisy and Remi ran around their fenced in yard. It was cute. They just chased each other all over the place and had a blast. She tuckered Remi out a few times. All in all, everyone had fun.

Wednesday after school. Mia wanted to do some drumming. She can just about reach the bass drum pedal. I think then next time she wants to play, I'll lower things so she can reach them a bit more comfortably. She can rotate sticks in between beats like a pro when she's playing the lower tom. "Dad, can you teach me something new on drums?" was probably the coolest thing she's said lately. Next time, we'll try something new and fun.

Saturday was her birthday party with family, but first was dance class. She had a great class and they had a demo of some dance moves from older kids. Mia was pretty impressed. Later, family came over and we celebrated her birthday. She got lots of great gifts and enjoyed spending time with her family. Her Grandpa Chicago and I had to build this big Monster High play set of the catacombs in her room. Took about an hour but it was worth it since Mia absolutely loves it. Another gift she's been really enjoying is this Hello Kitty Instmax style camera that prints out photos immediately. She's got about 25 pictures on the wall of her room. Her Grandpa Grumpy bought her 4 small containers of butter because apparently thats all she asked from him and today, Mia's wearing this beautiful dress she got from her Auntie Ashley and Uncle Zombie. After Mia fell asleep Saturday, Jill and I stayed up and binged Skin Wars on Netflix. That show is pretty fascinating.

Sunday I took off, and we spent some of the day cleaning and Mia spent it playing with new toys and such. Jill's parents came over for dinner since Mia wanted to stay in tank top and shorts and not leave the house. Eventually, the diva went to sleep and I spent the rest of the night drawing her picture while Jill did some photo work.

Today, I took off and will be joining Mia for lunch. Jill secretly is getting out early so she can walk over with me to meet up with Mia for some birthday fun. We love our little diva and are fortunate that we'll get to spend time with her today. It's hard to believe for us that she's already 6. She's grown so much in a short amount of time. Between 5-6, she's learned amazing things. She can write really well,  she doesn't have the stage fright she used to get, her art is beautiful and she writes the best stories. I think the most amazing thing, is that she she learned how to make friends. This may seem simple but think about that. You send your kid into a new school where they know almost no one. They walk into a class room full of 20 kids and they have to figure out who do they have something in common with. Mia made so many friends since starting Kindergarten in the Fall that to this day, impresses me. It could be as simple as finding people that are into the same things you're into, but it's still interesting to me. Mia's still in love with a boy from her 4K class, Trey. She talks about him every day and how she'l marry him one day. With all the great things she does and has done, she still has her diva moments and we have little battles. It's not all sunshine and cupcake here. Sometimes the battle is about clothes, going to bed/getting up or toys. Ugh. I'm hoping at 6 years old, she'll figure out tying her shoes and/or riding a bike with two wheels since they're two goals she'd like to accomplish.

This week, we'll be getting ready for Mia's 2nd and last birthday party. This one's with friends so it should be fun and crazy with a bunch of girls running around the house. Hopefully they'll have fun. I'm sure Mia will want to take pictures with all of them with her new camera. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Last Days

Good morning. I'm a day or two late on writing due to the incredibly busy weekend we had, but we'll get back to that shortly. Earlier in the week, I made it to the park for some much-needed stress release on the soccer ball. Took some slow-motion video of some free kicks. Took about 8 or 9 tries to get some good footage, but it was fun nonetheless. Wednesday after school, Mia went to the park with some friends from her class and got to enjoy the gorgeous weather we've been having. Friday, we had a bunch of cleaning to start with some friends coming into town next week so we spent the majority of the day doing that. Saturday, I had the Champions League match on while we cleaned the house. Sad that Real Madrid won their 11th UCL after a good 2nd half from Atletico. I laughed when Mia would call them "Let It Go".

Later, we went to Blaze Pizza for dinner (still amazing) and set up my parent's new computer. Sunday, I was off so we did MORE cleaning then my nephew Camden's 2nd birthday party. Mia took some time and made him a really sweet card complete with a sea turtle. It was again, a gorgeous and warm day so they had water balloon/gun fights. Jill surprised my Chicago-hating brother with a Blackhawks shirt for Camden. HAHA! Mia had a great time playing with the boys and being silly. We stopped at Jill's parent's house to say "hi" on the way home, which turned into dinner. MMM BBQ Chicken :) Haven't been to their house since Thanksgiving so I got to see the early progress with their sunroom they're putting on in the back. It's going to look great.

Monday we did MORE cleaning and I worked 2-10. It was real nice enjoying the couple days off despite all the cleaning we've been doing. The weather has been real enjoyable. Today, Mia's going to her very last field trip for 4K and it's the one my Mom's been holding out to attend. The Milwaukee County Zoo. I dropped them off this morning, both with custom made lunch bags. Mia's got Shopkins and my Mom's got an Olaf that I drew out. her last day of school is Wednesday and Thursday is Graduation day. It's a bitter-sweet ending to her two years at Smarty Pants. The school has been great for the diva and she's made some amazing friends. We'll get to hang out over the Summer and she'll instantly gain a pen-pal with Alexa when she moves to Texas. This weekend, Jill's BFF's are coming to town and my pal from work Shelby will be "friend sitting" Mia and her long distance friend Caleb Saturday night. The Torrent take on the Mustangs in Chicago on their 2nd league game. Hope they pull off the big win. Tattoo sketch is complete so it's only a matter of time before the ink starts to fly!

Oh, and today marks Jill's and My 8th Wedding Anniversary. I remember like it was yesterday :)
Thanks all for now, thanks for reading! :)

Friends In Fun Places

Good morning all. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Last week was pretty busy. Mia's been learning a lot in school and especially has been playing with a boy from 3K, Nate. Last year, she wanted nothing to do with him. He would give her a kiss while her friends would give her hugs good bye and she was totally grossed out. This year, they've become close friends. She would ask him to open her Lunchable during lunch time because "Daddy, boys are stronger and can open things I can't". They play at recess too. Just about every day. He was out last week with a fever and she was pretty bummed out. She learned that she had to open her Lunchable by herself and at recess, was just hanging with Irianna. The 3K boys at recess were playing "guns" and were annoying Mia and her girl posse. So she would simply just hang out on the bench and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Wednesday after school, Mia and I watched the UCL match between Chelsea and Dynamo. Luckily, CFC got a great win with a fantastic free kick from Willian. I'll get back to this weekend's disaster a little later. Mia and I had all kinds of fun watching them win. Her favorite thing to do when Chelsea scores, is me tossing her into the air. It's amazing.  I was supposed to go rock climbing with my pal Andy, but when I arrived there was absolutely nowhere to park, which can't be a good sign. When he got in, we walked in and saw first hand, that they were hella busy. We rescheduled for the next week during the day. Hopefully we'll be able to do it and have some fun.

Friday evening when I came home from work, Mia was working on math! That's right. She's actually pretty good at it, which is awesome because I always hated it. With that, I'm trying to encourage her to keep working on it since it's actually something she enjoys. Saturday, Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs Stoke game (most of it) before taking her to her pal Alexa's 5th birthday party. Kids in Motion was absolute madness. At least 7 birthday parties going on at once with at least  100 kids running around the indoor play place. Mia's entire 4K class attended and she had so much fun. She played quite a bit with her friend Audrey in the market, the kitchen, submarine and the jungle gym. Alexa loved her present and Mia's hoping she will make her a friendship bracelet in the near future. I love watching her play with her friends. They're so fun to watch running around and being imaginative.

During the party, I found out that Chelsea once again, blew the game losing 0-1. They are in dire crisis. JM was absent for the game with a stadium ban, and they just couldn't win. Defense was a mess, with Azp making a rare mistake leaving the attacker open for an acrobatic shot at Begovic. They're in an international break for the week, and I hope they can pull a win next week against Norwich. JM doesn't deserve the sacking that is surely coming. Patience is key, and the Blues need to strengthen every bit of their squad to stay out of the relegation zone.

Saturday evening, we watched Inside Out. Such a solid and intriguing movie. One of Pixar's best in my opinion. Sunday, I worked 2-10 so nothing too exciting to discuss. This week, I'm going to try to rock climb again and I have a Flood meeting for the Torrent Saturday afternoon. Should be fun. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

White Wedding

Morning everyone. Another week to go till Florida, and yet another busy weekend. Friday, Mia had her very last day of 3K. She brought some things for her teacher. Some Wild Tree products (that she mentioned she loved) as well as a painting Mia made shrunk down into a necklace. She said that whenever she wears it, she'll think of Mia. Her teacher told me that she's doing well with the singing for her concert and will be ready to roll come Thursday for the graduation. I had planned to photograph her while she gave hugs to everyone in class, but one of her classmates Brayden was talking my ear off and showing me everything in the room. He was later joined by Nate. Her teacher smiles and goes "they have a LOT to say". Yes, they most certainly do. Saturday, we had a wedding to go to. Jill's old roommate Willa from College got married in Plover, WI (yeah I have no idea where that is). Mia's been to a handful of weddings. Mostly when she was real real little. It was a tad cold for an outdoor ceremony but she loved quietly watching and listening to everything. She even grimaced when they kissed at the end. While the families were taking photos, Mia and the flower-girl Hannah played on the playground. Mia would talk to her like they've been friends forever (they met just once before the wedding) At the reception, she had SO much fun. When we arrived, we were introduced to a little girl (maybe 5?) named Jayden. They immediately became friends and played 99% of the time. Mia would run around holding hands and she just couldn't stop smiling.

Every once in a while, Jayden would try to pick her up and carry her places. Mia would just go along with it, but at one point she decided that was it. Jayden tried to carry Mia with her arm under her legs but Mia was too much, and she dropped her a little. Mia was totally fine and didn't hurt herself, but that was enough to scare her and start up the water works. She cried and cried. To make it worse, so did Jayden because she felt SO bad that she hurt her new friend. She even went to her Mom and said "sniff sniff, Mia HATES me now!" It took a while, but Mia felt better and they kids played again. Mia even asked the DJ to play Tegan and Sara, and he DID :) Every time we told Mia it was time to go (it was a 2 1/2 hour drive and we had to get home that night) she just wanted to stick around and play. I love that even though these were bigger kids, they played real nice with her. She danced with this other girl named Lily as well. It was nice for Jill to see first hand, how amazing Mia plays with other kids she barely knows. It was a nice and quiet drive home because the little party animal was fast asleep. Probably dreaming about the delicious cup cakes they had there. Mmmmmm. Sunday, Jill and Mia went to my nephew Camden's birthday party. It was also our 7 year anniversary. Later, Mia stopped in the store with Jill and couldn't stop talking about how great the party was, and kept reminding me that the vanilla ice cream cake was so good. "Sorry Dad, but it was REALLY GOOD AND WE DIDNT BRING ANY FOR YOU" haha. She helped open a few gifts and collect trash. She also was less shy than normal, so that's great.

Concert and graduation on Thursday. End-of-the-year picnic with her classmates Friday. So much packing to do as well. Thanks for reading!