The St. Vincent De Paul Society Walk for the Poor

Today #TeamSlap (minus Junie and Lisa) took on The St. Vincent De Paul Society Walk for the Poor along the Oak Leaf Trail on Milwaukee's lakefront.

Despite stopping for some pictures (and to move a caterpillar out of harms way) we finished the 3 mile course in just over 45 minutes! A fine pace! Smiley, in fact would often run ahead as much as a quarter mile, then double back to us, so he probably did the equivalent of a 4 mile route. 

They ran short of t-shirts and had only one left, and Lu won an epic rock-paper-scissors battle to claim it. The organizers asked for a picture of us at the "summit" of the walk so look for that in future ads for the annual walk. 

Way to go Smiley, LuLu, and YaYa! I'm so proud of you!

LOL

I was driving with YaYa the other day when some water fell from an overpass and splashed on the windshield.

"Aw, it's raining!" she said. 

I tsked dismissively. "That's not rain," I said. "It's eagle pee"

"Nuh-uh," she said. 

It was quiet for a minute. 

"It's not, is it?" she said.

School Picture Day

Lisa and I are trying to get out of here and get to an appointment, but today is school picture day and Lisa is trying to get the girls' hair ready.

Unfortunately, Lu washed out a nights worth of curls and wasted an hour of Lisa's time, so for the first time in years I've tried to step up and do one of their hair. In the end Lu is going to have to wear her hair down, and there are already tears, plus Junie is whining about her (beautiful) 'do . . . sigh. Meanwhile Smiley is chilling on the couch watching the Thrilla in Manilla, which I'd put on before they got up. Lucky him.

Junie's take on Adam and Eve

Just got home from taking Junie to her first "Sunday School" class in preparation for First Communion next year. Her verdict? 

"If I was them [Adam and Eve] I wouldn't've listened to a talking snake. Snakes don't talk. I woulda said 'I'm dreaming or you're the devil'. It was a talking *snake*! Animals don't talk, 'cept parrots. I think they were pretty stupid."

Momma was annoyed

Lisa was irked at yesterday's video (the one where the kids cross the road halfway down the block  due to construction on the nearest corner.). This morning when they tried to do the same thing she came out on the porch and yelled at them. "You want to cross the road, you go a block *that* way and do it," she said, pointing  the other way. "You know why? Because if you're butts get run over crossing here we get nothing. If you get killed in the crosswalk your Dad and I will get millions. Don't be selfish."

Just saying... I was laughing when I said it but there is a grain of truth in it. - Lisa

A Great Tip

To date, the most valuable lesson I have taken away from law school - and I'm not being facetious here - is the importance of giving your electronic files detailed names. I've been prone to saving documents under whatever suits my fancy (a recipe for disaster) and I've learned that even "accurate" file names fail over time. For instance, a .doc file entitled "Lisalettertodoctor" sounds swell, but give it a year or two and you'll see it and wonder "What doctor? About what? WTH?". Nowadays I go all out. My latest assignment? "Rule Synthesis Draft 1 Memo 1 LegalWriting Fall 2014" Pay attention Team Slap. 

75 Years Ago

On this day, 75 years ago, the Soviet Union, allied with Nazi Germany, invaded Poland from the East, forcing the Poles into a hopeless two front war.

Pizza

@ Classic Slice with Lisa

The Neighborhood Kitty

This is a neighborhood kitty that was on my porch just now. I enjoyed a swell ten minutes playing with him. He at up a saucer of milk and has lost his collar since the last time we saw him, but some house in this neighborhood has claim to him.

The Eddie Vedder Coat

I bought this Vedder-esque coat for YaYa, thinking it fit perfectly with her neo-grunge style. She disagrees, mainly because I'm the one who found it, but it looks good on her.

Yesterday was Productive

Yesterday was one of the most productive days off ever. 

*walked the kids to school

* took that online pre-test

*signed LK up for catechism class

*Lisa made a dr appt

*arranged for an estimate on our skylight repair

* picked up YaYa's glasses

*took Lisa to lunch

*paid the mortgage

*ordered our TEAM SLAP shirts

*bought a dryer vent cap, removed the one old one and replaced

* got our entry light rewired

* walked the kids home from school

* Lisa took YaYa to Plato's Closet and to get her ears pierced again

* fine tuned my writing assignment

*watched DWTS

* some more stuff I've forgotten

A Second Piercing

YaYa took her babysitting money and got a second set of ear piercings - something I had promised her, years and years ago, that she could do at this age, [Note that I thought she'd just forget over time. Oops]. Unfortunately, the lady screwed up and pierced her *below* the first one. Because of this error, they had to give her a third set of piercings. So . . . yeah.

YaYa's New Glasses

YaYa's new glasses. Despite her intentionally glum pic, she was super happy to get them and I think they look great!

My New Specs

Here are my new glasses. I think they're swell, a little hipster, a little Buddy Holly.

Core Grammar for Lawyers

I just completed a 96 question pre-test for "Core Grammar for Lawyers" an online course mandated by Marquette. I was warned it would be brutal, and it was. I scored only 73% overall, but placed in the nineties in what I'd call some traditional areas (stuff not involving the proper phrasing and punctuation of citations, etc). Anywho, I tested out of seven subject areas, so that'll ease my load a bit as the semester progresses.

Frank Torre

My baseball strike aside, RIP to Frank Torre, age 82.

Lu has an opinion on Mayweather

LuLu came home from a sleepover this morning and told me she'd watched the Mayweather fight with her friend. That made me ecstatic - what a kid! She then mentioned that she thought Floyd "got away with a lot of stuff", echoing the bull that the announcing crew spewed. *That* made me annoyed again at their jibber-jabber. I have the good fortune to have a copy of the Ali-Wepner fight stripped of the broadcast track (it has nothing but the noise of the crowd and the fight). Oh, if that could be the case for most bouts . . .

Bay View Bash

At  Bay View Bash with Lisa and Smiley

Watching the drag queen revue at the Bash

Found!

Explorers have found one of Sr. John Franklin's lost ships, missing with all hands since being stuck in the Arctic ice in 1845.

LuLu the reader

A (once) rare sight. LuLu with her nose buried in a book (Catching Fire). She's been reading a lot more lately. 

Congrats to the Prince!

Congrats to Prince William and Kate, who have confirmed they are expecting the "spare to the heir". :)

in Which I Rant

I changed my fantasy lineup Tuesday night - Tuesday, for f*ing sure, because it was on break between classes. The new lineup displayed, changes were 'saved' and I did not return to the site until last night. . . to find that my roster changes were reversed. Gronk is on the bench, I have no K in the lineup, etc.

Way to go Yahoo. I did my job. Maybe you should do yours.

#yahoofantasyfootball

Isn't this Fun?

In a waiting room where a little 2 yr old black kid keeps yelling "Shut up n****er" to which his Mom finally replied (after a few minutes) "You want a whuppin on your birthday? You aint gonna go to Chuck E Cheese." Apparently he doesn't like pizza cuz he keeps saying it.

Two Satcho's in the making

Junie playing - well, successfully holding a note . . ish - with LuLu's new trumpet. Lu, btw, woke me up with an ear piercing blast in my ear today.

Good job lk - Grandma J

i told her keep her cheeks not all puffed out but she did not listen - Lu

Isn't that like LK hehehe - Grandma J

The 2014 Food Pantry Charity Walk

This past Saturday #TeamSlap, for the third year in a row, participated in a charity walk for the local food pantry. 

The morning of the walk the kids were not thrilled with the notion, despite looking forward to it for weeks. 

 

YaYa, now a month shy of teenagehood, refused to have her face in any picture. 

Anyhow, soon enough it was time to hit the pavement. This year, for the first time, we took the "long route", the 2.6 mile option. 

Halfway into the walk, I finally got a face pic. Sorta. Kinda. 

Right around the time this picture was taken Lauren and I discussed the possible benefits of buying a Beetle; gas mileage was my point. Hers? "If we were driving in it we could watch people punch each other" [aka "white punch buggie no punch back"]

Lisa was on 'stand-by', just in case one of the kids pooped out and we needed a pickup. It wasn't needed :)

Once we finished the walk - THE FIRST TO FINISH by the way - the food pantry offered participants a sundae bar. The kids dove in. I abstained. 

On the walk home we walked through the road construction nearby, grateful that it wasn't our street that was torn apart by the city. 

 I am disappointed in a number of friends (not just one) who RSVP'd for the various invites that were issued for it and then failed to show. Y'all missed a beautiful day and the chance to do something good for the community. That aside, kudos to the kids of #TeamSlap. I'm proud of you.