Fun in the Sun

Good morning everyone. Normally, I would have wrote last night, but after the 8+ hours of busting tail for our cleaning inspection, I got home late and had no energy. It was a busy week and it feels like April is almost over already. Wednesday after school, Mia and her BFF Olivia made plans to go to the zoo. The weather wasn't the best, but the girls had a lot of fun and there was just about 10 people there so they had the whole place to run. I've never been to the zoo where there was so little people there. The girls especially enjoyed the gorillas and bonobos. They were sort of interacting with the kids. It was pretty cute.

The weather gradually improved throughout the week and by Friday, Mia was able to play all morning before I had to go to work. She experimented with spray chalk (which she absolutely loved), cruised in her Mustang and picked flowers. Later, I made some modifications to the Torrent Tom. I knew that I needed a marching strap to be more mobile at the games but I didn't want to shell out the cash for one (they're about $20) so I got creative and used two duffel bag straps and you know what? It totally works. After I went to work, Mia spent the rest of the day outside with Grandma and Grandpa.

Saturday, she got up excited for her longtime good friend Hannah's birthday party. Every day that week, she was hoping was the party date. "No sweetie, it's only Tuesday". Such painful words to udder to a small child...or an adult. Anyways, She picked out a dress to wear, and later in the morning, she went to Hannah's house for the party. About 12-13 kids total, PLUS they had a familiar magician entertain the kids. We saw him at the Hales Corner library last summer and she loved it. He did an amazing job and was very impressive. Mia got a lion balloon he made for her as well. Hannah was adorable as his little assistant for some of the tricks. Mia enjoyed the cupcakes and pizza and soon we were on our way home. My old pal Steve was at our house installing a door he started about 3 years ago. It was a long time coming, but it turned out gorgeous. I can't thank him enough.

While we were gone, Jill went to the early Just Between Friends sale in search of shorts for Mia. She ended up with some shorts, skirts and a gymnast outfit. Looks like we're signing up the diva for gymnastics this summer. Mia's really excited. Later, we made the most amazing barbecue chicken tacos for dinner. Absolutely tasty. While at the party, I missed the Chelsea vs Man City game. Luckily I did miss it because they blew yet, another game 0-3.

Sunday, we spent the morning outside again enjoying every bit of nice weather before I had to go to work. Mia played with the neighbor boy the entire time. Later, I heard she went to the beach and played in the sand.

This week, I'm super busy. I'm off today, but will be in Milwaukee later photographing and videoing the Torrent's first training session. That means I've got a lot of editing to do tonight after. I need to start the salon logo as well. Mia's got a field trip Thursday with Jill's Dad to Sendiks and Texas Roadhouse.  Saturday is the first Torrent game I'll get to attend. Thursday is their VERY first game but I can't make it. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Daddy-Daughter Weekend

Good Morning. Hope everyone had a great weekend and got to enjoy the beautiful weather. Lots of things to talk about today. Tuesday, Mia wanted to drop off a Mother's Day card for her teacher so we stopped over. Wednesday we went to the park with her friend Hannah. I had high hopes it would warm up, but no, it was pretty cold but the girls didn't seem to mind at all. Later, we had to take my car in to get it looked at (surprisingly, nothing was technically wrong) so we sat there a bit and suffered watching Sponge Bob. Ugh...Friday she had school. They learned about frogs, tadpoles and practiced their songs for the end-of-the-year graduation. I was also told that she could go on a field trip to the Green Meadows petting farm. Mia of course wants to do it, and they need chaperons so it looks like we BOTH are going this Wednesday. I'm not sure what Mia's more stoked for: The petting farm, or riding a school bus for the first time. Either way, she's really excited to go. We went there last Summer so this should be a lot of fun.

I took off Friday night from work so Jill could spend the weekend in Lake Geneva with her friends that came up from Illinois and Indiana. This would be the very first time Jill would be without Mia. It was actually a really nice weekend with the diva. I told her we could get pizza and a movie Friday night. We went to Pizza Hut to pick up our Cheese/Alfredo pizza and were going to watch The Boxtrolls on Netflix but for some reason it wasn't on there anymore. So, we ran over to Pick N Save and got Big Hero 6. That was another movie she's been really wanting to see. It was real good, and she loved it too. She was a bit bummed Saturday when we had to return it. She was really missing Jill Friday night, but eventually fell asleep. Phew...Saturday, she had soccer. My Mom came to her practice. I didn't dress her in her full Chelsea kit so she picked out a pair of purple shorts and tank top with matching long socks (which for some reason, she wears ALL day after practice) She did really good. She totally gets the "little touches" when she's dribbling and was shooting really well. She still has problems here and there with the cones. She participated in all of the games (Red Light, Green Light) so I was happy. She doesn't have practice this weekend for Memorial Day weekend, and the following weekend we're in Steven's Point for a wedding so her LAST week of soccer, is their one and only game. I think it actually may be outside because a parent brought it up to the coach that "why don't the kids play outside?" "Oh, I thought you guys would rather be indoors". On a sunny Saturday? I don't think so. 

Saturday afternoon, I was able to cut all of the grass while Mia and my Mom hung out outside. Later, we went to the park. Mia's newest favorite thing to do is basically, make a new friend. She no longer wants us to exclusively play with her. Same thing yesterday when she was was Jill at the park. "I wanna go and make new friends". I love it. Anyways, she played really nice with this one girl who was older then her. They went down the slides together and did chalk drawings before we left. Later, we ate real quick and went to my brother Andy's hockey game. They won 4-3 ( I believe the score was) Mia had fun playing on the bleachers with her dolls and yelling to Andy "If you want one of my cookies, you better get a goal!" When we got home, we watched Ratatouille before FaceTiming with Jill. Mia wasn't upset this time talking to her because we told Mia that when she woke up Sunday morning, Mommy WILL be there. So, Mia quickly wanted to go to sleep so she could wake up and see her. All in all, it was a real nice weekend. It was kind of nice having a "just the two of us" Friday and Saturday. We didn't have any arguments and she listened real well. This week is SUPER busy. Dentist appointment today, parent-teacher conference tomorrow evening, Wednesday the field trip, Thursday, nothing and Friday school. Plus, we're leaving town Saturday for the holiday weekend.  Today, Chelsea plays their LAST away game against West Brom. So close to finishing the season! :) 

Thanks for reading!! 

"Fabregas is magic, he wears a magic hat..."

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! Good grief has it been a busy week with all kinds of things to discuss. So it turns out, I had the date wrong on Mia's parent/teacher conference and it's not for a few weeks. Dammit. Oh well. Early in the week, I completed the 2nd kit (also known as the "away kit") for the Milwaukee Torrent.  This turned out really great.  I'm really proud how it came together. I was surprised a few days ago, I saw the Slinger Soccer Facebook page had saw it, and shared it reading "Sweet Uniform design for our future pro team in Milwaukee" I was stoked the concept was circling around because I really like the clean design I came up and truly hope they chose at least one of the kits I've come up with. It's been really fun getting creative and coming up with different ideas that the community likes. I started the 3rd kit on Friday and have a lot of work to do. My goal is to come up with three completely different kit designs and hope they all turn out well.

Mia got to hang at the park Wednesday with her pal Hannah. The weather was nice and it's always fun when the two get together to play. It was real cute, at one point Mia was at the stop of the slide lending out her hand to pull Hannah up. Later, Hannah left and Mia and I hung out a bit to kick the ball around. When she had her ball, I could hear her talking to herself saying "okay, he's got the magic in his feet and is about..to take a SHOT". Couldn't stop laughing at that one. Later, we watched Chelsea take on Leicester . Great win for the team. 3-1 FT. Awesome to see Drogba get the equalizer and that strike from Ramires was absolutely perfection. Easily, a goal to watch again and again. It was a struggle at first, but the 2nd half secured the win setting the stage for Sunday, but we'll get to that later.

Mia and I went home shortly after. She drove her Mustang around the cul de sac waiting for her "boyfriend" Max to come out and play. She even was doing donuts while driving BACKWARDS! He never came out. Bummer. Later, Jill, myself and Mia went to StoneFire Pizza for dinner. It was weird because we haven't been there in quite a while, and upon arriving, we learned that they have a Wednesday $5/buffet and $5 for a $10 game card! Good deal! Mia had a blast playing games. Needs to work on her racing, but had a lot of fun. She really enjoyed the bounce house. I can't even remember how long she stayed in there, but she had a total blast. Friday. she had school. She learned all about bees and how they help the Nature. As I was dropping her off, she could NOT get rid of me faster. "OKAY DAD, LOVE YOU SEE YOU LATER" When I went to pick her up, her teacher immediately told me how she is absolutely impressed with Mia's art skills. "Mia is so interesting to watch do art. She made a bee today, and carefully lined up the stinger on the bee and made she each stripe fit perfectly on the body" as she showed me the finished bee. It was really great. I'm glad Mia enjoys art as much as I do. Jill and I used to talk about how our kid will love music and art because we do so much. Mia has always enjoyed being creative and has really developed a great style.

Saturday, was Mia's FIRST soccer practice. She's been amped about it all week. When we got to the field, she was complete with cleats/socks and matching Chelsea jersey/shorts. But there were NO kids there. WHAT THE...I ran inside. Every kid was in the gym playing. Are you KIDDING ME?? Why is the practice in a damn gym? It's gorgeous out! So I told a parent that we'll run right home to grab sneakers since running in cleats on a gym floor would most likely lead to her falling straight on her face and I would hate to see that happen.  So, we came back and slipped the shoes on. Mia was a bit nervous at first, but got into it. She learned how to dribble around cones and pass/stop the ball. It was real difficult for the kids to dribble around the cones, because MOST kids play on grass. Hopefully next week's practice is on an actual field. At least she had fun, and throughout the ENTIRE day, she didn't want to take off her jersey/shorts. Later, we went to the park. There was a big group of people playing, flying kites and playing baseball. Mia ended up meeting a little girl named Abby and they played "hide the pixie dust from pirate-Daddy" It went from two kids hiding from me, to three, then  4 and ultimately 6 kids were running around playing the same game. Mia had SO much fun with the kids and talked about the day as soon as Jill got home from work.  When it was tome to get ready for bed for Mia, she STILL was wearing her jersey and shorts. Why "Because they are so comfortable Dad, can I still wear them??"

Sunday was the big game. Chelsea vs Crystal Palace. And WHAT a victory it was! A PK for Hazard (which he got the rebound on and headed it in) secured the only goal scored and the clinched us the title. FIRST title in 5 years, and fourth title to date. What a sweet sweet victory. It was a fantastic season, and fitting for Drogba to rejoin his Chelsea family.  4th title for King Drogba. Even with the injuries and suspensions throughout the season. Even with Costa, the man who got 19 goals was out, we kept going and stayed on top of the table. Couldn't have been more proud of the Blues. Hazard has been a real benefit for the club and is easily the best in the league. Fabregas had a great first season with the club and became absolutely vital throughout the title race.  I look forward to watching them lift the trophy at the end of the season. The cherry on top, was Terry, giving his condolences to Rio Ferdinand's family after the death of his wife. Talk about total class act. It was a rare moment, going into work happy (despite all the work I had to do) but thinking about the positive season, the goals and how amazing we played sure made the evening better.

Mother's Day this weekend. Jill's family is coming up. Plus, Mia's got soccer, so we've got all kinds of stuff going on this weekend. Thanks for reading!

Call Mr. Plow, that's the name..

Good Evening. Hope everyone had a great weekend. The last time I posted in the blog, we were lacking some power/Internet in the house, but alas, everything is back to normal, and we even have a no light fixture installed in the kitchen (to replace the one that shorted out). Friday, Mia had school. After I gave her a hug and kiss goodbye, I registered for 4K, so she'll be staying at Smarty Pants in the Fall, and going to Orchard Elementary for kindergarten in 2016 (which is across the street from us). It was a sort of conundrum for us at first. Smarty Pants can be pricy, but the class size is smaller and the teaching staff is really nice. Mia of course, loves it there anyways. She painted me a picture of myself in blue.

Saturday, Jill had to work the Pet Expo in West Allis most of the day, so Mia and I watched the Chelsea vs Man City game. Man, was I hoping we could get a bigger gap and win that one. Rey's goal was great off a nice pass from Hazard. Mia went nuts when he scored, but quickly before the end of the first half, Silva snuck one in when Courtois was vulnerable. Ugh. We finished with a draw at 1-1. I had a feeling it would end like that. It was nice that some of the crowd at Stamford Bridge was nice to Lamps when he came on in the 77' minute. So, we're still ahead on the table. Hopefully can get 3 more points this weekend at Aston Villa. I saw today they made it official that Andres Schurrle is going back to the German league at Wolfsburg. He had some good moments in his career at Chelsea, so hopefully he can get back to form in a more familiar league. Mohammed Sallah is also departing for Fiorentina. Another guy who rarely got on the pitch. Good luck guys.

After the game, Mia and I went to the Pet Expo. Met all kinds of different dogs. She enjoyed watching the agility test for some of the dogs. They raced some fire fighters. One even beat one of the guys. Mia liked the K-9 police dog demo as well. We loved this super soft husky named Sven. Mia and I went to my bro's hockey game later. They won in a real close game. We saw him net the final goal when they pulled their goalie. Nice to see his team win every once in a while :P Last few games we went to, they weren't so lucky.

Sunday, I worked, and spent a lot of time snow blowing between last night and this morning. The drive home was insane. The freeway was fine, but the exit ramp was super sketchy. So lucky I made it home after dropping a coworker off at her house since her call literally, fell completely apart.

Other then that, that's about it. Need to get some art accomplished soon. We also have a lot of different things coming up. Our Florida trip is in June, so I need to look for some flights as well as book some things. We're only spending a day at Disney and need to make the most of it. That's all for now. Thanks for reading :)