Whatever the Weather

Good evening everyone. I would have wrote this morning per the usual, but I had Mia home ill today. She woke up feeling dizzy and not feeling good, so she spent the day with me before I went to work.
The week wasn't too bad. Wednesday I finally got my oil changed. Still need to get some tires. Hopefully very soon before the next batch of crappy weather hits us. After Mia came home from school, we did some homework and waited for Jill to come home from work. After she got home, we ran to Mayfair and the girls explored some stores. We stumbled onto this very interesting store called BoxLunch. Lots of pop culture clothes, collectibles etc from all kinds of genres and subjects including Disney, Game of Thrones, Marvel and Gilmore Girls just to name a few. The profits help benefit the local food banks. Jill found a top and shirt for an early birthday present so we got that.

I did a picture for Mia's friend Cecilia during the week of Moana. Mia told me she really wanted a picture from me, so I spent the majority of my Wednesday evening working on this. I think Mia said she liked it. Saturday morning, I got up early to watch the Chelsea game. They played earlier in the week against Liverpool and drew 1-1 unfortunately. David Luiz had a sneaky goal that royally pissed off Liverpool fans, but in the end, we couldn't convert a PK for a game winning goal. Bad on Costa, but it happens. Anyways so I got up early to watch the Blues take on rivals Arsenal. I knew this would be a great game, but didn't think we'd win 3-1.  Alonso started it off early with a header and Hazard had one of the most beautiful runs all season to get the 2nd goal. Fabregas took advantage of a bad pass and chipped it over Cech. Great game. Arsenal didn't look like they wanted this match. Chelsea grabbed the game by the scruff and ran off with it. Speaking about Chelsea, former Blue Lampard retired from soccer/football and Ivanovic made it official to leave the club for Zenit St Petersburg. Two quality Blues players that we won't ever forget.

 After the game, Jill and I drove to her studio to do some manual labor moving some heavy duty walls while Grandpa Chicago took Mia to dance class. We spent a good 4 hours working on these to move to their new space. Super exhausted by the end of the day. After wards, we went to the pet expo with my Mom. Tons of beautiful dogs and cats. I really love the big malamutes and husky dogs. Mia likes the smaller ones. Later, we had dinner at Jill's parents house. Mia lost ANOTHER tooth totaling 3 teeth so far. She was pretty excited this little bugger finally fell out. Sunday, we didn't do that much. Mia did her homework and we met up with my in-laws for brunch before I went to work. Less Than Jake released a new EP this week and I've desperately been trying to buy it online on iTunes and for some stupid reason, iTunes isn't working at ALL to download it. UGHHHH!!!!!

This week, I think she's going to hang out with her friend Charlie after school on Wednesday. Should be fun. She really wants to bring her homework by and work together on it. Dance this weekend after the Chelsea match. Not sure what else is planned.

Thanks for reading!

Working Week

Good morning everyone. Back to normal work/school week for Jill and Mia. Although Mia didn't have to go back till Tuesday but Jill went back Monday. I'm back to drawing lunch notes for Mia experimenting with new color pencils and different texture paper. It's fun trying new paper because you honestly don't know how the pencil will effect the paper so I get to learn new techniques again.

Wednesday was a frustrating one for the Blues. Chelsea's long run of 13 wins in a row stopped at 13 when those dirty rotten Spurs ruined the run at White Hart Lane. Wish we would have played better but we did win over the weekend in the FA cup 4-1. Despite the red card on Terry, they finished strong and will move on to the next round. Saturday I took Mia to Cascio to get her violin tuned and working. She LOVES this thing and has been playing it a lot. We're most likely going to be investing in lessons come Summertime when she's not as busy with everything. When we got home, Mia wanted to watch The Force Awakens. WHAT? Really? Okay. So I skipped through some darker scarier scenes and she really liked it and NOW wants to watch the original trilogy.

Later, we met up at our old favorite place to eat in Waukesha Steaming Cup with Jill's family.
I had a Flood meeting later that evening. It sort of was a bust because some of the guys that were supposed to come forgot or blew it off. We did however meet with one of the members of The Barons (who want an MLS team in the state) and they'll be joining The Flood with supporting the Torrent at the 2017 games. The stadium is way closer to my house and a lot of bars in the area so we're hoping to march to matches. Looking forward to the busy season.

Later we went to see Sing at the theaters. The girls saw it in Ohio but wanted to see it with me. Good movie. Sad moments but the saddest thing about it, was that the main character (to me) was far from likable. He wasn't memorable for the movie. Everything else was really fun and enjoyable but the koala was just not that exciting of a character. Sorry.

Sunday I watched the FA Cup Chelsea match. We did some cleaning and later I went to work.
This week, more art, hopefully not a lot of snow and Mia's back at dance on Saturday.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Fun With Friends

Good morning everyone. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is just about here. Last week was an intense one for Mia. She returned back to school on Monday only to receive 15 sheets of HOMEWORK! Oh em Gee. Luckily, she didn't stress out about it, and even though she didn't have to do it all in one night, she did anyway. She didn't want to get behind and conquered it all. For the most part, homework for her is just repetitive sheets all very similar. Write this out, rhyme words, etc. She also has to read through sight words and poems every day. Seems daunting for a kindergartner but she seems to handle it just fine. I was off Tuesday and worked early Wednesday morning. Strange schedule, but it was nice to spend time with Mia on both days. Unfortunately this week, she got sick (along with Jill). Thursday, she didn't sleep much but got herself to school. We had told her that if she didn't feel good enough to stay at school, she could go to the office and have them call. She apparently was too afraid and instead, drew some pictures that said "Mom Dad, I don't feel good". The other one said "I am miserable".
Felt so bad.

She didn't make it to school Friday and took the day off to try and knock out her sickness. Her goal was to be better enough for her new level dance class and her friend Charlie's birthday party. Mia woke up super excited that we had snow in the grass. She wanted to play in it, but A-there was too little of it, and B-she had dance to get ready for. She made it to dance and really liked it. She's mentioned that its harder than her previous dance class, but she seems to like it all the same. We got home and she changed into a dress and was off to her friend Charlie's 6th birthday party. She was joined with the majority of her classmates at a fancy dress up party. When we walked up the driveway, girls ran out the door to greet her. One gave her a huge hug and they all asked "ARE YOU FEELING BETTER MIA???!!" All remembering that the previous day, Mia didn't make it to school. They did nails, make up, hair, jewelry and a fashion show. All things a Dad would excel at. I helped the the girls tie on their necklaces and was asked by Birthday girl Charlie to help judge the fashion show. They had parfaits, pink lemonade and danced like crazy. I think what was really nice, is during hot potato (or their version was pass the crown) when a kid went out, they weren't upset. They played and danced around while the remaining girls continued. Mia was the last one to leave the party. She (and Charlie) didn't want to split, but I reminded her that she is off Wednesday from school as well as her friends are and that maybe they can hang out. Charlie was Mia's first new friend when she started kindergarten. In fact, her first day they became friends. She would tell us all about her, and apparently Charlie would tell her parents about Mia. It's cute.

Later, we met up with my parents and got some Blaze Pizza for my Mom's birthday. My Dad was sporting his new tattoo (first one in over 40 years). He tries to put up a front that it doesn't hurt but he's not fooling me :) Mia, Jill and I watched Finding Dory till Mia fell asleep.

Sunday I got up and watched the Chelsea/Boro game. Great game. Tricky one but they got the win and are on top of the table once again. Boro played really well, but Costa got the best of Valdes with a quick little kick on an open side. Pedro almost doubled the lead but ended up smacking the crossbar. It's been great to see Chelsea playing so well and I hope they can continue the momentum.

Today, I'll complete my 50th picture for Mia. Haven't decided what I'll do yet, but it should be good. She's got a short week this week and I'm working back to back early shifts on Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday everyone and thanks for reading! :)

Dance Little Girl

Good morning everyone. It was a pretty busy week so let's get right to it. Monday, I dressed up for work for Halloween. I was 80's hair metal drummer Metal Mike. It's the one holiday we can dress up (sorta) at work so I donned a black/blonde wig with aviators and had drum sticks in my back pocket.
I got all kinds of compliments and guesses who I was supposed to be. Bob Marley, Howard Stern and Ted Nugent were just a few of them.  Wednesday after school Mia and I hung out with her friend Noelle, and Noelle's sister Cora and neighbor Caitlyn. The kids had fun playing in the driveway despite the drab weather till Mia looks at me and says "Dad, I'm pretty hungry, but I REALLY want to play still". We went home. Jill and I stayed up and watched the World Series (which I can honestly say, I've never watched ever) in its entirety. She was so excited the Cubs won (despite being a White Sox fan) Jill believes in city solidarity. If a Chicago team can win a championship, she's stoked. Blackhawks, White Sox, Bears etc.

Mia had dance class Saturday. Apparently, it went really well because when we went to pick her up the woman who runs it pulled us aside and said "Okay, Mia's doing REALLY well and we want to see if she'd like to move up. She's got all of the technical skills down and I think she'd benefit from a more challenging dance group". Awesome. We had no idea what to expect when signing her up for dance or if she'd even like it. Turns out she likes it enough to be the best in class. To be fair, her group consists of 3-5 year olds but since it was her first formal dance class, we didn't know what to expect nor want to give her something she didn't feel confident doing. Starting tomorrow, she's in a new group at a different time. The reason why she's in Tuesday's dance class is because Wednesday, she's leaving for Florida with Jill and her family so it's a "make up day" for her. Hopefully it goes well and she likes it.

After dance class. we worked on the yard and raked leaves (despite the fact that on Sunday you could barely tell we even tried) Later, we drove to my parents house and Jill/Mia/my Mom went to a craft fair at HAWS while my Dad and I watched Chelsea thrash Everton 5-0. What a game. Hazard putting away two goals, Alonso gets his first and Costa adding to his already impressive list with Pedro grabbing the last one. It was a great performance showcasing confidence and pure raw talent that they so badly lacked last season. Conte is bringing the best out of these players and it makes watching every match more enjoyable when you see the players entering the pitch with their heads up high confident they'll bring home another victory.

Later, we drove to Milwaukee's First Stage Theater to watch the Goosebumps-Phantom of the Auditorium play. Mia loved it. Anything with ghosts and creepy singing, she enjoys. Afterwards, we're walking out and she says "I'm going to write and direct my own play called Shopkin: The Musical and have all of my friends star in it". Love this kid's creativity. Before the night ended, she completed a few sheets of homework before calling it a night. Sunday, we cleaned some of the garage before I went to work. Jill went to her parent's house and made her first batch of macaroons. She wasn't too happy with the final result so she'll have some tweaking to do with the recipe.

This week is a busy one. Tomorrow, Mia's got her last day of school and first day of her new dance class before she leaves for Florida early Wednesday morning. They'll return to Wisconsin Saturday evening. My plan is to do a lot of art, organize Mia's play area and make the most of the time. Saturday my friend is having a housewarming party so I'll probably stop over. Going to miss my girls. This is the first time she's ever flown without me.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Halloween Weekend (Blah bla blahhhhhhh)

Afternoon everyone. Quite the busy end to October with a short week for the diva (she was off Friday). Wednesday was her first conference at her new school. Her teacher praised her skills, she's in a higher level of reading group and has conquered 59 sight words. I was quite amazed as she told me all of these amazing skills. We had other grounds to cover, regarding her recent issues with a friend, playing "too rough". Mia was reminded to tell the teacher if anyone gets out of line and hurts her. Hopefully the problem is solved.

Saturday was a busy one. Dance class was first. After we picked her up, we jetted to Madison to meet with Jill's family to stroll the Botanical Gardens. Gorgeous weather made the walk oh so enjoyable. We grabbed some lunch before changing into costumes for Mia's boy, Trey's Halloween Party. The adults packed up the beer coolers full of jello shots, drunken gummies and brews and we were on our way.  It was a lot of fun walking around East Troy with this large group of kids and adults. Some houses even handed out shots to the adults. Awesome! Towards the end of the trick or treat session, I volunteered to pull the wagon with some kids in it up and down the hills. I don't know what the capacity of children for this particular wagon was, but they somehow squeezed 5 kids in it totaling the combined weight to about 250 pounds (not counting the candy). The task was difficult at times, but the kids had fun as I charged the hills thinking "WHY THE HELL AM I RUNNING??"

After wards, we ate, watched some of the baseball game and were outta there. Mia had SO much fun running around with her old preschool friends and fell fast asleep on the 30 minute ride home.

Sunday morning was an early one for me. Worked 6am-2pm so I could go with Mia and the gang trick or treating in New Berlin. Chelsea beat Southhampton while I was at work 2-0 and are back in 2nd place. We met up with my brother/sis-in-law and their kids with his bro in laws girlfriend. My in laws joined us as well. The kids had a blast. The weather wasn't as warm but they didn't seem to mind. After wards, they went home and we had spaghetti. Mia went to bed and Jill and I watched the Cubs/Indians game. I've never seen her more into a game. Probably because the game was so close.

Last night I completed my month of spooky lunch notes for Mia. Back to normal for November. I ran out of time today to draw for her so I'll have to come up with something today. This weekend, we've got the Goosebumps play we're going to so that should be pretty fun. Other than that, that's about it. Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

The Epic Halloween Party

Good morning everyone. Still recovering from the rather insanely busy week we had. The majority of the week, we spent preparing for Mia's Halloween party on Saturday. On top of that, work has been busy for both Jill and I so the stress level was high. Drawing up signs, making treats and trying to figure out who was coming was getting to us.  By the end of the week, we were ready to go on this party. Mia would ask every morning "IS IT SATURDAY YET??" Saturday morning I got up very early to watch Chelsea take on the EPL Champs Leicester. We prevailed with a 3-0 win, but I saw NONE of it. The NBCSN site wasn't working and I couldn't watch anything. I tried everything. I eventually settled for the audio and tuned in that way, but I seriously need to figure out why it wasn't working. They play this Saturday again and this time I have to watch.

Mia had her dance class,which was a lot of fun. When she got home, we started preparing for the party. My parents and Jill's played a huge role in helping out. We couldn't have done it without them and absolutely appreciate everything they did. Mia got in her costume, Jill and I got in our vampire attire and the party was running as soon as Irianna, the first one to arrive, showed up. Roughly 25+ kids were running all over the back yard playing the wide variety of different games we had. We had kids painting pumpkins, wrapping up friends like mummies and knocking down ghost-cups before all running at once to get some tasty food. The kids lined up for the flashlight hunt. 1...2...3....GO! They took off. One by one they all packed up their goody bags and slowly started heading out. Her last couple of friends stayed till about 8 watching part of a spooky movie. Overall, the event was incredibly fun. All the kids had a blast and she got to see some old pre school pals she hasn't hung out with in a long time. We are casually thinking about doing a "girls night" where her friends can hang out, watch movies and eat treats (more like, 4-5 friends) but if we do it, it won't be for quite a while. It's fun hosting parties. This was absolutely the biggest one. We met a lot of parents. (one dropped her kid off and picked her up later) and it was awesome catching up with some of the parents from her preschool. At the end of the night, Mia said "Wow...THIS was a lot of fun guys!" It's nice being able to do something like this for her and I hope she appreciated all the hard work that went into it.

Sunday was recovery day for us. Started taking down things, putting this back and that back. Mia and Jill later went to the pumpkin patch to get a small pumpkin to carve when we get closer to Halloween. This week, I've got a lot of Torrent work to do, and my usual art for Mia's lunch notes. I've been working on some Halloween-inspired ones to keep things fun and spooky. Not sure what the weekend holds for us.

Thanks for reading!

The Art of Dance

Good evening everyone. With July almost over (already?) another busy week is in the books. Mia had her first art class Wednesday morning. What I thought was a "drop off and pick up later" class really  was, was a parent-kid story book art class. Basically, you do the craft with the kid. The art center this class was at was absolutely beautiful and there was an acting class going on down the hall. It very much intrigued Mia all the silly little exercises they were doing. Class started and there was ONLY one other kid in it! The instructor said there may be another kid the following week. So she did the class. They read stories and asked questions and finally, we did this piece together of some elephants that were made of smaller pieces of paper and some water color painting. Mia actually did enjoy the art part, but not so much the "lets get the kids to sing along" stuff. The other boy was pretty shy as well.

After class, we got home, ate some lunch quick and met up with some friends for her pal Alexa's "goodbye party" at the park. It was pretty warm and a ton of kids there but everyone had a lot of fun. Alexa has always been a great friend to Mia and I'm glad they'll keep in touch when she moves to Texas. Trey, Olivia, Kaylee, Maya, Nate they all came. Mia was super excited that her man Trey came. We unfortunately couldn't stay too long because we had to jet to our next class, dance. We somehow made it a few minutes late but the class didn't start :) This time, I dropped her of because I just needed a moment to chill. When I got home, I had some Torrent work to do so I worked on that for a while. I also got a message from Olivia's Dad Steve that Trey got injured at the park and required stitches. Mia would be devastated when I would have to tell her about it. I picked up the diva, who had an awesome day at class. I told her that her boyfriend fell and split his little chin open on the stairs at the park and got stitches. She was so worried about him that she told me to take a picture to send to her Mom of Mia holding a piece of paper that read "I LOVE YOU TREY" on it to make him feel better. Luckily, it did.

It was a busy Wednesday and I was glad the chasing was done. We relaxed as a family and watched Masterchef together. Mia was grossed out by the weird parts they were cooking. Saturday my family and Jill's came over to do an early celebration for mine and my sister's birthday. Jill made us cakes, got me an awesome shirt and I received some cash towards my last session for my tattoo as well as a gift card from my Mom. We went to Mod Pizza for late lunch/early dinner because I had planned on going to the Torrent game that evening. Well all week I have felt like utter crap. every time I'd eat, I felt like death and I wasn't sure if pizza would be great Saturday. I ate it anyways and immediately felt horrific. I was torn about sucking it up and going to the game, or sitting home and being miserable instead. I didn't go and the Torrent won, grabbed the trophy and won the conference in the rain. I should have gone but didn't feel good at all. Today, I woke up better and after breakfast took some stronger probiotics and felt great. Before my dinner at work tonight, I took the same things and felt great. I'm so glad that there is a possibility that this is out of my system because it's been a real hell-ish week for me. Nothing like the feeling of "why eat, I'll feel like crap" feeling for almost 7 days straight.

This week, some Torrent work, my tattoo session is finally coming to an end and Mia's got her art/dance class on Wednesday. I'm absolutely going to their final inaugural game this Saturday and hopefully will bring my Dad and maybe Mia since she's been wanting to go. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Summer Fun With Cousins

Good Morning Beautiful weather today to start the week. Early in the week Mia was reunited with some old friends at the new Malone Park. These girls have been best pals since she was two and a half years old. They had a lot of fun exploring the new playground. Wednesday, we met my friend Nichole and her boy Benny (plus sister) at the zoo. The weather was pretty hot, but the kids had a lot of fun checking out all the different indoor exhibits as well as some outdoor ones.

We couldn't stay too long because Mia has her 2nd dance class. It was my first time taking her since her injury last week. She was a bit nervous going in, but I told her that I would be waiting in the lobby for her when she's done. I sat and drew her a baby Dory (which didn't turn out so well) but she had the best time. She danced, did crafts and met some nice girls. She's already looking forward to the next dance class. If she likes dance, we'll keep her in classes, but I sometimes worry her shyness in front of large groups could give her stage fright (she'll counter that with both concerts at school that she sang beautifully) so I don't know. I'm just glad she found something she enjoys.

Saturday, we did yard work before a get-together at my parents house. My 1/2 bro and his family were on a road trip and they stopped by for the afternoon. The kids had fun chasing each other around laughing and being silly. Sunday, Mia went to her friend Irianna's birthday party while I went to work. From what Jill said, she had a lot of fun. Irianna is this adorable free-spirit kid that always broke Mia out of her shy shell. At the kindergarten assessment test, she got Mia to go into the testing room and relax while she was super nervous, and on Sunday, she got Mia to come into the gym and have fun when she was shy (again). She's very fun and full of energy and I hope Mia and her can be good friends for as long as possible.

This week's gonna be very busy. Wednesday, Mia starts her art class in Brookfield 9:30am-11:30am, THEN she's got a "goodbye" party with her friend Alexa at the park, THEN she has her dance class till 3:30. This is probably the busiest Wed we've had in quite a while and I'm sure both of us will be dead exhausted after the day is over. It's crazy how fast July has gone. My birthday is next week (along with my final tattoo session) and it feels like July just started. This Saturday, the Torrent play the Chicago Mustangs home so I'm hoping for no rain and a great crowd. My Dad is supposed to come as well so it should be a good time.

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

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!

Dancing With Myself

Happy Halloween everyone. A lot of different things to talk about, so lets get right into it, okay? Over the weekend, my twin sister got married outside at a vary cold park. I photographed it for her as she stood frozen under a tree looking at her now-husband. Saturday evening, Me, Jill and Mia went to Andy's hockey game with my half-bro and his kids. They lost 4-2, but it was still a fun evening. Mia EVEN wanted someone to take her out on the large oval ice rink that surrounds the Petit ice arena (it's for speed skaters and open skating) so sure enough, her Dad takes her out. "MOMMY LOOK I'M ICE SKATING!" We could be in for some fun come winter :)

Sunday, I worked then we went trick or treating. Mia had SUCH a blast. The weather was better, a bit windy but temperature-wise not bad at all. She got lots of chocolate (oh great) candy. Halloween has always been one of my favourite holidays. As a kid, you get candy from strangers. As an adult, you get drunk in costumes with your friends. As a parent, you can get drunk in costumes and get your kid's halloween candy (because no kid really needs to eat that much candy right?) This year, like the last few, we just took our kid out. No parties. No big deal.

So Wednesday, Mia got a Halloween package from her grandparents in Illinois. She loved everything in it, including some tattoos. Now, we've tried doing temporary ink with her before and she ends up just putting them on Jill. Wednesday, she wanted them on HER. So, of course I did about 5 that she picked out. It was a great exercise in counting (passed her usual 20) She absolutely loved them and showed them to EVERYONE she could. Kept her sleeves rolled up all day. She also
started her very first dance class. Because she didn't nap all day, she was incredibly difficult. There were about 10 girls in the class, most were into it, others were defiant. Mia just was too tired and crabby to put up with some random lady telling her what to do. We'll see if she wants to do it next week. If it happens again, maybe we'll drop out of it. At home before she passed out on the couch, she was doing the basic ballet moves the instructor was showing her. The instructor seemed a bit scattered-brained, with no real flow to the class. So, we'll see what happens next week.

This weekend, we're doing some engagement photos up in Madison of Jill's old roomie and fiance'. hopefully the weather is good. Sunday, I work and we've got no plans so far. Have a great Halloween everyone!