Field Trips and Nature Walks

Good morning everyone. Busy week per the usual, so lets get to it. Mid week, I chaperoned a field trip to the Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove, a short little bus ride from New Berlin. The kids went to see The Little Red Hen. Before we departed her class, I hung out with some of the other parents watching our kids do their morning routine which consists of singing, sign language, then some Spanish, and Pledge of Allegiance. They were absolutely amazing to watch do all these things, and to think they do it every day. They listened quietly as she read two different versions of the Little Red Hen and watched to see if the kids could tell the different parts of it. When the bus arrived the kids got all excited and immediately tried to figure out who would sit with who. Two of Mia's friends wanted to sit with me. "Um, I need to sit with you because I need you in my life" said Olivia...then Irianna".

On the ride there, I sat by myself with Mia, Nakkita and Audrey in the seat directly across from me. Audrey and Mia planned it out early that they would sit together. Originally, they wanted me with them, but when I saw Nakkita sitting solo, I asked if the girls would like her to sit with them and they said "yes". Great. They started a craft before the play started. I helped the kids put together a hen with a paper plate, eyeballs and construction paper. Audrey claimed "yours won't look as good as mine" but when I completed it, she retracted her comment and said "yeah...it's pretty awesome". 

I sat with Alexa's Mom in the back and we watched the kids sit real nice and watch the play. They had a great time, and loved it. I think I heard from someone that they were the quietest and most well-behaved class there. Always nice to hear. :) On the way home, I sat with Olivia while Mia sat with Audrey again. We had a lot of fun on my very last field trip with her class. They've got one at the end of the month at the zoo, but my Mom will be attending this one. She's been holding out for a hopeful trip to the zoo and is very excited. 

Later, we went to my parents house after some grocery shopping and watched Chelsea take on Liverpool. It ended in a 1-1 draw which sums up the season for us. Thursday, Mia went to school for about an hour to check out a guy who brought animals, puppets and instruments to class. All of the classes were in the gym and from what she said, everyone had a great time. She was too shy and scared to touch the animals, but laughed as she told me a frog peed on the guys head. When I went to pick her up, her class came out of the main doors and were going to go on a nature walk. I was invited. Sure why not. Irianna attached herself to my leg before I had to get her off as we hiked down to the old site of Smarty Pants. Behind there, is a pond where the kids could hear croaking. Fun time. Friday, Mia and BFF Olivia went to Wildcard Gymnastics. THIS time, Mia had a lot of fun because her friend went with. The gym had more kids in it this time. The girls played and jumped and were silly for a few hours. It's always enjoyable watching these two interact. They're such sisters. 

Saturday, we got up and went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. We haven't been there since Mia was about 4 months old. Much more enjoyable as a 5 year old. She loved all of the art. She made a weathervane in this little studio. The detail Mia puts into every project she does, is incredible and both of us were very proud of her. We had a late lunch in their cafe before heading home for the day. I missed the Torrent's last friendly game due to the obnoxiously cold temperatures but the resulted in a tie. 

Sunday, I got up nice and early for the final Chelsea game of the season where they took on the BPL champions Leicester City. It ended in a 1-1 draw as well. We had a pretty frustrating season losing one of the best managers, suffered a handful of injuries and worst of all, witnessing players that shined last season fade out the majority of this season. Didn't want to end the season with a draw, but the main focus, was on if JT would be around for the 16/17 season. He was originally not offered a deal a few months back, and when he was rumored to be looking around for a new club, Chelsea quickly stated a contract extension was indeed offered, we're still unclear what will happen. I hope the skipper can stick around. He's the anchor to the West London ship and he's always been with the team no matter if they're winning or losing. 18 years with one team is very impressive. Hopefully he sticks around. No clue yet if I'm going to watch their friendly game in MN. Waiting for a confirmation from my brother and Dad that there down to do it. 

Throughout the week, I worked on some snapback hat designs for the Torrent and it's being decided which design will end up being the one that goes in production. I myself, do not sport the latest hat trend, but apparently a lot of people have been looking for a Torrent lid for their head so hopefully they sell. Mia's got a birthday party to attend this Saturday. Trey's turning 5 so she's super excited to attend. I've got some design work to do, and hope to start some traditional art stuff as well. That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

Word To Your Mother

Good morning everyone. Busy week per the usual with less than a month to go before Mia graduates 4K. The weather was surprisingly decent most of the time. Monday Chelsea took on the Spurs which I sadly missed one of the more entertaining and ugly games of the season. They successfully tied them, giving LCFC their first premier league title. The 5000-1 odds that Leicester would lose wasn't enough to keep the underdogs from taking the title. Big congrats to them. Mia and I worked on some special Mother's Day tissue flowers on Thursday, which took way too long to figure out. I don't have the patience for intricate and delicate projects such as that. Give me something to draw or paint and I'll do it. Flowers are too each to tear or rip. Mia really liked doing the project and did a great job.

Friday, Mia went to open gymnastics at Wild Card in Elm Grove. Very nice gym. Clean with lots of fun equipment for the diva to try. She seems to really enjoy balance beams and after a few tries holding my hand, she could do it every time by herself. They had a trampoline thing that when you'd ran or bounce across it, you'd land on a crash pad. She enjoyed that too. A boy was there front somersaulting into it. I tried to get Mia to try that but she can't do them at high speeds. I'm still uncertain she'd want to do a class throughout the summer, but the open gym times are nice and for $5, you can't go wrong. Next time, we'll get a friend to come along.

Saturday, I missed the disappointing Chelsea vs Sunderland match but had an amazing brunch with Jill and her family at this cafe called First Watch. Cheesecake stuffed french toast was incredible. Later, we spent some much needed time outside, did some yard work and burned some brush that was under the pine trees. Mia was a big big help with it. She gave Jill her gives she made from school and the flowers we made and she absolutely loved them. Later, we met up with my parents for dinner at Blaze Pizza. SO much better than anything that comes out of Pizza Hut with the exception of stuffed crust. Blaze's pizzas are so nice and fresh. After they left, we finished watching the Pens vs Caps game. Another disappointing game. On to game 6. The Torrent won, luckily their friendly Saturday 4-3. I'm hoping to go to their upcoming friendly at the same place on Saturday.

Sunday, Mia insisted we do breakfast in bed for Jill. We made Cheerios, a bowl of grapes and some tea for her. Jill loved the thought and Mia's love for her. They went to the zoo yesterday with Jill's parents while I worked.

This week, field trip on Wednesday with Mia's class. I'm hoping the weather continues to stay nice so I can play some soccer at the park, and work on my free kicks. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Light You Up

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

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

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

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

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Save the Earth For the Diva!

Good evening everyone. MY was it a busy week (again). Monday, I had taken the day off so that at night, I could attend the Milwaukee Torrent's first soccer practice as a team. Mia had school per the usual and learned about Earth and how to protect it. She spent the gorgeous 83 degree day PICKING UP GARBAGE AND BOTTLES at the park with me...She could have went on the playground but decided that the planet needs help. "Dadda, people just do NOT care about the planet, we need to recycle". She was pretty obsessed with picking up garbage and making sure recyclable material goes where it belongs. It was both cute and smart of the diva. Later, I drove out to Glendale for the practice. Man, did the temp change from 80's to a very windy and cold upper 40's. At least the power was working and it wasn't raining unlike the last time I was there.

I stayed the entire practice videoing and photographing for both the social media sites, and Torrent TV. Torrent TV came from an idea of mine to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at what the players do to prepare themselves for game time, some fan interactions at matches and interviews with players and staff. The wind made it difficult at times, but I got what I needed. The interviews weren't easy dealing with the wind, but I learned for next time, a setting that helps cut the wind. I spent the next few days editing the footage for my first segment which went over real well. Wednesday, Mia skipped school because she was attending a field trip Thursday with Grandpa Chicago and the class to Texas Roadhouse and Sendiks, so we had the day to ourselves. We met up with some friends in the afternoon at the park. The kids had so much fun together and we even brought Remi. At one point I took Remi for a little walk, and all the girls came with me. It was myself, Mia, Olivia, Kaylee and her sister Maya. The girls were adorable playing hopscotch. We headed back and the kids played some more before we went home.

Thursday was the field trip. Mia and her Grandpa had a lot of fun. He had a handful of girls to keep an eye on and it sounded like they all had a great time. Thursday night was the first ever Torrent game against UW-Milwaukee. I couldn't attend it due to work, but I was glad to have found out later when I got home that they won their first game. I was fired up for the win and ready to go to MY first game Saturday against Marquette with my brother.

Saturday, Jill had to work an event for work while Mia and I watched the Chelsea game. They won 4-1 against Bournemouth and Hazard picked up a pair of much-deserved goals. It was great to see the good guys finally playing well despite having no titles to win at this point. Mia and I went to the park for a while playing soccer. She really likes playing goalie, and isn't too bad either. She'd want me to tell her where I was going to kick it so she could stop it. Little punk :P Later, my brother Andy and his friend picked me up and we went down to the game. Mia and Jill went later to see the Jungle Book at the theater. It was a cold evening, but the supporters had a lot of fun. I unveiled the Torrent Tom and the El Capitano mascot for the Flood. We had the flags waving and the drum pounding. It was a bit nerve-wrecking when the game was starting to just start chanting to get everyone going, but to my surprise, they were INTO IT! Parents, friends, soccer fans, etc were joining in and chanting as the team unfortunately fell to the college team 0-4. It was a tough loss, but with a busy week, a difficult game. I only hope the players saw how supportive the fans were for them and this is only the preseason, just they wait till the league game start. Milwaukee's been waiting for this team for quite some time, and it'll be nice for the soccer community to rally behind these guys. I don't know how many more preseason games I'll make it to.

Mia had a great time on her "girls night" with Jill. We enjoyed what we could of the nice weather Sunday before I went in to work.

This week, I'm going to vide edit some of my footage from Saturday's match and do some logo work for the salon. Mia's got some more school pictures tomorrow and graduation cap and gown pictures as well! Can't believe she's almost done with 4-K! Thanks for reading!

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!

Goldilocks and the 50 Guitars

Good evening everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Another busy, yet cold week over here in New Berlin. Tuesday, Jill (along with Mia) voted before school, and myself after I dropped her off. Luckily, Wisconsin voted Bernie, giving the hopeful Democrat another must-need win. I sincerely hope he can keep up the momentum. Mia was bummed the voting wasn't dropping a piece of paper into a box labeled for each candidate. Sorry kid. Trump was handed a loss by the bizarre Ted Cruz. We'll see who gets the next win this week. Wednesday after school, Mia and I bummed around a bit and visited the soccer and hockey stores. Only reason why she wanted to go there, was to see the dogs. No dogs in Hockey Haven, but Chester the corgy came out to say hi at Stefans. Later, we hit up Guitar Center. We haven't stepped foot in there in a very very long time. My buddy recently told me that have updated the drum room with e-kits everywhere, all connected to monitors so you don't need a set of headphones. 

Mia had fun testing them all out and was bit confused that she could hear them without headphones. She really liked the guitar room, especially the mandolin and ukulele's. She said she had to test every single one of them to see which one was the right one. I love that Mia's always had this interest in music and I hope as she grows older, she continues it. Earlier that day, I started painting the Torrent Tom. Sprayed a coat of paint, waited an hour, did another and let it dry the rest of the day. Friday, I taped off where I was going to paint black and did some more painting. Had to wait a full day to see the end results. 

Saturday I woke up to watch the Chelsea game. The service wasn't working well, but I had found a different site that would work. It was a frustrating match and I ended up going out to breakfast with Jill and Mia. They ended up losing 0-1. Miazga made a terrible mistake costing them the game and their first league loss since December. Didn't help the midfielders weren't doing much. No reason to watch the highlights. I've got a feeling quite a few players are going to be sold when Conte takes over. Later, I watched the Pens vs Flyers game while Jill and Mia went shopping. Pens lost but it didn't matter. Saturday night, we made dinner and watched Mia's latest Monster High movie. A quiet but much-enjoyed family night.

Sunday's always go by far to fast (like Saturday's) We did some cleaning and later I worked till 10. 

This week, I need to put together the Torrent tom (turned out alright), get some photos of it and do a test video for the Flood. I've got a handful of other projects to complete as well. Mia's got a birthday party to go to on Saturday while Jill's going to go to the JBF sale. 

That's all for now, thanks for reading! 

4K Spring Break (Without the Spring)

Good evening everyone. Well, the kid has been off for a week and will be going back to school tomorrow. Sadly, the weather hasn't been all that great this week which has really bummed the diva out. "Daddy, it isn't spring break without the nice weather!" Well kid, sometimes Wisconsin doesn't get Spring for quite a while. We didn't let that stop our planned Friends Day on my typical Wednesday off. Mia, with some friends from school, met at the local park and played for a while. She was very excited, and unfortunately when we got there, she had tripped and fell on her knees and hands RIGHT before her friends started to arrive. She was in sobbing tears too embarrassed to cry in front of her friends. We ran home quick to get some bandages to treat the small scrapes she got on her kneecaps. When we came back, she didn't want me to let go of her. Still too "sore" to walk, she hung out in my arms for a while chatting with some of the parents. Later, she felt better when we let the kids bash in her piñata that she hand-made. It must have been a "miracle" because before long, she was running around with her friends and chasing Trey. She even played two new games: Ladder golf, and tennis. Well, it was basically two kids taking turns hitting a ball at each other. She got really good at the ladder golf game, which was exciting to see.

It would have been nice if the weather could have improved more. The kids didn't seem to mind most of the time, so we said our goodbyes and were on our way. Hopefully the next time, it'll be warmer. Olivia wanted to hang out more with Mia, but her brother had a doctor apt. I'm sure the kids will be excited to see each other again tomorrow morning. Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to watch the Chelsea vs Aston Villa game. The last few days, Mia insisted I wake her up for this game. "We'll watch it at sunrise but let Mommy sleep because she needs her bed rest". As much as I know she would have loved to watch the Blues destroy Villa 4-0, I did not wake the diva. It was great to see them in good form. We got to see some new blood debut including Miazga and Pato. Both played real well and Pato even got a PK goal. Yes, this team has performed terribly all season, but it was nice to have the Champions net a win, and hopefully keep winning. From what I'm told, that IF they keep winning and qualify for the Europa Cup, they'll cancel their US Tour, which means they won't be coming to MN which I had planned to watch them take on AC Milan. As bummed as I would be, it's probably for the best considering they'll be breaking in the turf of the brand new stadium built for the Vikings which would almost guarantee the ticket prices will not be cheap. I was very fortunate to have got a $99.00 ticket to the Inter/Blues game in Indy, but that was a Living Social deal. We'll see what happens, but they're advising Blues fans to wait to book rooms and tickets. Ugh...

After the game, the ladies woke up, we did some laundry and played a family game of Monster High Uno. Mia's at the age now where she can comprehend the rules of games well, plus this is a great learning game where you have to figure out which card number is the highest to play. I love it when she learns without realizing it :) We later made homemade pizzas and Jill worked on her yearly book for the kid. Since she's been 1, we've always made these beautiful books comprised of photos we've taken over the year. Today. the girls were on a quest to find some Blackhawks shirts. Jill's champion shirt is in rough shape so she wants a new one. No luck at Hockey Haven.

This week, I NEED to start painting the Torrent Tom, I have to get some ideas down in Illustrator for the Milwaukee Blues Chelsea Chapter banner and maybe start some new traditional art projects. That's all for now, thanks for reading! :)