A Snowy Christmas in a Galaxy Far Far Away

Greetings and Happy Holidays everyone. Man, was it a busy week but the holidays are over and we're almost complete with the year, but not before a busy last week of school before Mia's break. We did some cookie baking with some friends on Wednesday. Great time and a possibly new holiday tradition. Mia had a Pajama Day Thursday and a holiday party Friday at school before she was done for the year till January. It'll be a nice break from the schedule and we'll take full advantage of the time to relax and hang with friends. Saturday, Jill made the trek down to Illinois to visit her friends Kara and Sammi while I watched the Chelsea vs Everton match. It was quite the disappointing draw and we really need to stop losing or drawing to these teams that we should be defeating. I missed most of the League Cup match against Boro because A-My half bro Todd came for a surprise visit (which was fantastic) and B-I made a haircut appointment at a barber. Great place that I may return to in the future. CFC won and will be in the semi-finals.

After the Chelsea vs Everton match, Mia and I ran to a few stores (bad idea) to get our candy and Izzy before The Last Jedi. She was super excited to see her first Star Wars movie in theaters (as was I). Despite my sister telling me a pivotal moment in the plot, we enjoyed it and Mia lasted the 2 1/2 hours. She of course loved the Porgs and and crystal foxes. The movie has had some serious backlash with parts that could have been omitted or edited, but no movie is perfect and overall, we both liked it. We went home and met up with Jill before heading over to her parents house for a Christmas eve eve dinner. Great time playing the dice game and spending time with family. Mia even tried crab legs and loved them. At Heather's house she tried peanuts and surprise surprise, loved them.

Sunday morning, we got up early and went down to Illinois to skate with Jill's friends Leanne, Jacqui and Rick plus Caleb. Jill somehow got through the crappy snow and we made it. She took pictures of us. It was Mia's 1st time on single-blade skates and Caleb's first time ever skating. Both kids did great and had a lot of fun. We met up with Nicole and Jason after and had lunch before make the trek back to Wisconsin to meet up with my family for Christmas Eve. The drive wasn't as bad going back. Mia got all kinds of great gifts and myself some money towards our big trip. She had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and it is ever so evident that Easton totally looks up to Mia. He wouldn't leave without a hug from her and luckily Mia was cool about it. We drove home, watched a few episodes of Fuller House and Mia crashed for the night. We were all exhausted after the traveling back and forth. I did some final touches on the book before going to bed. Today, Mia got up around 9:00am, remembered we got snow just in time for Christmas, and made her way dow the stairs to check out the loot.

She immediately gave us our gifts she picked out before getting too much into her own. She did the sweet gesture last year as well. As much as she loves to get presents, she equally likes to give. Whether its hand-made gifts or things she picked out with a parent, she's always stoked to give. She LOVED her new Adventures of Mia and Red Panda book that she read before we went to The Ridenours. She got plenty of Shopkins stuff, some Hatchamal toys (ugh) and LOL Dolls (double ugh..) We had breakfast and relaxed before going to the inlaws. Mia opened more gifts as well as Jill and I did. I got an Everything Sucks Descendents record, a cool pocket drone, TLA live dvd, A GoPro stick for our trip, the new Pirates movie, a CFC street sign, A Bob Ross Pop vinyl,  plus plenty more. Jill and Mia both got flippers and snorkels for the trip as well as a crucial inversion table for Jill. Hopefully she can better her body overall with it (as its been recommended a dozen times to her from various people in the medical field) I'm hoping it helps. My parents came over later and we had a delicious dinner, played another few rounds of the dice game before they left. We left soon after. It was a busy weekend and we're off and running with Mia's Winter Break. As far as plans for the week, we have nothing planned. I have work tomorrow again and we may hang out with Mia's friend Olivia. Possibly go sledding? Who knows. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

A Concert And a Sleepover

Good evening everyone! Quite a busy week, and with only a week before Christmas, it's going to get even more intense. Wednesday after school, we raced through the snow to Jill's studio for Mia to have her picture taken with Santa. Like normal, she was pretty shy, but excited to see the big man and tell him what she wants. The reason why we "raced" is that Mia had a holiday concert that night as well, so we had to make sure we were back in time to feed the diva and get her to the school. The snow may have been a bit sketchy, but we made it as well as both her Grandparents and even Uncle Tommy made the trek from Madison. Despite the fact that the songs were a bit silly being related to farms and farm animals and not remotely close to anything holiday-themed, it was pretty adorable and the kids did great. Like always, Mia was stoked everyone could make it. We had a rough angle to watch Mia sing (as you can see on the picture) because one of her classmates stood sorta in front of her most of the concert. Ugh.

Remi's paw has still been a problem. Just when I thought he was improving, I came home tonight and discovered its as rough as ever. The spray and balm I got for it haven't been working much so I dunno what to do. Friday was an exciting day for Mia. She was going to a big sleepover at her friend Noelle's house. Charlie, Cecilia, Noelle, Ellahrose and Katelyn were all spending the night together, watching movies and doing crafts. I came home from work at 10:30 and discovered a pretty cute picture of all of them on the living room floor watching The Santa Clause. Apparently, they were still awake at 11:30 with some wanting to sleep, and others chattering away and giggling. Mia and Katelyn fell asleep first. I spent my Friday evening post-work working on the book.

Saturday morning I got up to watch Chelsea take on Southampton. I got a message from Noelle's Mom that the girls all woke up around 5:00am! WHY kids!? They watched some a Descendants movie and lay around before working on crafts. I picked up Mia at halftime during the game. She had the best time and had so much fun. I thought she'd still want to play with her friends, but she was exhausted and wanted to head home. We went home, watched Chelsea beat the Saints before turning on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. First of all, great movie. Really fun and Mia would explain every single scene to me whether I wanted her to or not. Really enjoyed it. We didn't finish it till Sunday morning because when Jill got home from some photo sessions at the studio, we packed up some baking supplies and went to my parent's for the traditional cookie baking extravaganza. The ladies had fun making all kinds of tasty treats my Dad and I sampled. Mia's severe lack of sleep started to show its ugly colors and she became more and more crabby. We split and went home. She passed out on the way home but awoken when we got in. Watched a bit of My Little Pony before calling it a night...at 8:30pm. Way early for the kid, but she needed to catch up on sleep. I worked on some drawing and an Ian Bennett photo edit before sleeping.

Sunday, she woke up happy and conquered her homework. We finished HP and a bit later, I went to work. This week I need to finish the book and we're baking cookies with some friends of Jill's as well. Saturday, she's doing a day trip to Chicago to meet up with friends while I take Mia to see Star Wars. That's all for now thanks for reading!

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

Good evening everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the week and what feels like the proper start to Fall. It was a busy week, with an even busier weekend but we'll get to that part soon. Wednesday, we had a mostly successful practice. The girls learned how to do "fake-outs", some first-touch shooting and played a game of "sharks vs minnows". All in all, fun time and they were prepared for their upcoming match. Friday, Mia begged me to join her for lunch/recess so I did. When her class came down the hall, her face lit up like a light bulb. She was so stoked that I remembered to come. We had lunch wit her and her crazy friends that were all telling me stories at once. It was intense. I felt like a cat trying to follow a moving flash light spot on a wall. Mia said when we sat down "Oh, you have GOT to come to recess, okay?" Sure why not. Before lunch was over, her friend and fellow teammate Cecilia asked me a couple times "CAN I PLAY STRIKER SATURDAY!!??" Yes, oh sweet pint-sized one.

Recess was crazy. The girls threw around a football a bit before playing duck-duck-goose. It was a beautiful day and she truly appreciated that I could join her. Saturday was a busy day, that she was looking forward to all week. Not just her soccer game, but Family Sci-Fi day AND Auntie Leanne was coming to town. First, we had to get her to team picture day with her team. One by one, the girls arrived at the venue ready for their pictures. We were only missing one kid, but we'll do another team photo at the last game with their medals. The kids did well and listened and after, we met at the field for warm ups. I had our goal scorer Kylee do some passing to her teammates to get them to shoot.
Then, it was game time.

My starting line up was a bit different. I started Cecilia as striker instead of Mia so she could get a good idea on how things should go up front. Kylee and Cecilia worked well together and Kylee started tallying up some goals. Defense played well, holding their positions and clearing out the ball. One almost got a goal when she took a turn up front. Half time, I had Kylee in the back while some of the younger less-experienced players take a stab at strikers. Some did well, others were lost at times, but in the end, all had a great time and we won 4-3. Everyone played well and are looking forward to their next game. Wednesday is practice, but I have to keep an eye on the weather because I heard there are possible storms coming.

After wards, we jetted home, quickly changed into our Star Wars costumes and went to the Family Sci-Fi Day at Discovery World. We had an absolute blast. There were a pair of stormtroopers greeting guests outside so we quickly snapped a picture with them. Mia ran into school friend Ryan and her family, so we hung out with them. It was nice that she got to spend time with a friend at the event. The kids got as many pictures with the different characters as possible including Kylo Ren (who stabbed me after I took the picture), some sort of snow bounty hunter, Darth Vader, R2D2, Luke Skywalker and more. They checked out the different weapons and played with the wide variety of scientific things. They loved all the Legos and before we left, we went to a lightsaber bat lit talk about which weapon is cooler. They didn't care for that as much and were bummed they missed the Lightsaber 101 class due to their earlier soccer games. All in all, they had some much fun. I sincerely wish I could get some trooper armor and participate in the charity work they do. I imagined how fun it'd be to direct traffic at Mia's school since the drivers rarely see kids trying to cross, or playing wit the kids at recess as a trooper. We stopped over to say hi to R2 again before meeting up with Jill, Tommy and Leanne. A quick visit to the beach and we headed home.

Later, we went to the China Lights for a 2nd year. Great lights, super crowded and very cold but overall, fun time. Sunday, Jill, Leanne and Mia went pumpkin/apple picking while I went to work.

This week, hopefully a practice and Mia's got an 11:30 match. 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! :)

The Quest For The Enchanted Fashion Boots

Good evening everyone. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. The week started off a bit rough with Mia staying home from school due to a lingering fever. She got through it and made it to school the next day. We were a bit worried she'd still be ill but not say anything to her teacher. I texted my father in law from work on my break and he said she was feeling better when he picked her up. Phew.
Wednesday after school, I took Mia shopping for the coveted black fashion boots. We have looked EVERYWHERE! Payless, Target, Kohls, a kids resale place etc. Nothing. I was getting more and more discouraged.So was Mia.

 All hope was crumbing...but we had one more idea..One more thought that just maybe they'll have some boots at Justice at the mall. Justice is another kids store that focuses on girls her age and older. Lots of bright pinks and blues splattered all over the clothing. In other words, a perfect place for her. We looked through their very small selection of footwear and just about when I thought they didn't have anything for her, we found one pair in her size in the style she liked. She quickly tried them on. BOOM. Fit perfectly. She was so incredibly happy that she found the shoes she wanted. They were on sale too. Bonus. As we walked out, she was smiling so much it made my heart happy. I know they're shoes which shouldn't be a big deal, but to see her that happy about something she's going to wear till she can't fit in them anymore is fantastic. One of the main reasons why she wanted a pair, was to attempt to match Jill's boots. Jill is her role model and she aspires to be and look like her all the time, while at the same time, can create her own look that gives her confidence.

She immediately tried them on when we got home again. Perfect. She couldn't wait to show Jill.
Thursday, I had left a lunch note that in my opinion, was one of the best drawings I've done. I spent the majority of my Wednesday drawing a picture of Rey from Star Wars-The Force Awakens for Mia. She's the reason why Mia is liking the franchise and Mia really likes her. I was curious if she knew who the drawing was of when she opened her lunch. She didn't know at first, but when her friend Ryan told her it was Rey (who coincidentally dressed as Rey for Halloween) Mia said "Oh yeah, I knew that". Drawing-wise, I'm getting way more confident with everything I've been drawing the last week or so. Some, I haven't put a lot of effort in, but the ones that I really put a lot of work into turn out fantastic. This was something different for me to attempt and I'm very happy with the final result. For tomorrow, I drew a pretty rad Ursula.

Saturday, she had dance class and I missed Chelsea's win in the FA Cup match. 4-0. Easy peasy. Missing tomorrow's big match against Liverpool but I'll be damned if I miss the early 6:30am game against Arsenal on Saturday. After dance, we drove to my brother's house for his kiddo's 4th birthday party. Mia had a lot of fun playing with the cousins.  Sunday, we didn't do a lot. Mia drew some beautiful portraits of Jill and I before I went to work.

This week, not a lot going on except dance on Saturday and the match. I've got some soccer stuff to design up and an oil chance Wednesday.

Have a great week and thanks for reading!