Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2012

We attended the Marine Corps ball on Nov 10th at the Marriott in Crystal City. It was Felipe's last ball in uniform and we decided to make a night of it. We got a room at the hotel and we enjoyed the ball until it ended at 1am in the morning! It was a blast celebrating, dancing and hanging out with all of Felipe's fellow Marines for the evening.

The next morning we enjoyed an amazing breakfast in Georgetown at an all organic pastry and breakfast cafe then we headed over to the famous Georgetown Cupcakes which is featured on TLC's D.C. Cupcakes. We brought home cupcakes for the kids and it was a great ending to a great trip!

NYC Bound Baby!

Reyna has been given an amazing opportunity to travel with the Company Dance Team to NYC to dance with the Rockettes in a 4 hour workshop which covers several dance techniques as well as be a part of a photo op and attend the Rockette Holiday Show at Radio City Music Hall on Dec 3rd!

She has worked so hard this year in all 5 of her dance classes preparing for dance team tryouts this summer. She has progressed so well that when one spot opened up for the workshop, she was the dancer that the studio owner invited. It is a team event but she was asked to attend even though she is not yet on the team.

She was thrilled about the news and because Dec 3rd is my birthday I thought what is a better way to spend my birthday than supporting my daughter in NYC for the day:)

We look forward to the trip amd can't wait to take photos to share with everyone!

reyna Dances in the Pre-Game show for the Forest Park High School Football Team!

Reyna was a Junior FPHS Dancer for the pre-game show to their Friday night home game a few weeks ago. She loved it and it was a really great performance. They had two rehearsals and they all did awesome!

Master Sgt. Felipe Perez says Farewell to the Marine Corps

After 24 years of honorable service to our country and the Marine Corps Felipe has decided to retire. This was a tough decision but ultimately it was made with confidence and we are ready for our next chapter in life. The Marine Corps has given us so much and Felipe will ALWAYS be a Marine at heart through and through.

We are looking forward to family and friends coming out in January to attend his retirement ceremony. It will be a very happy but emotional day for all.

I added 2 photos to this post one of him when he was a young Corporal and a recent photo of him. He has accomplished so much and has done it well! We are all so proud of him!

Virgina Walk For Autism 2012

In honor of Felipe Andres and so many other children we did the Virginia Walk For Autism this year. It was a really great event and we met some awesome people. The principle of the kids elementary school along with many other faculty and staff attended the event to represent our school. The kids loved the experience and they did a great job on the 5k walk. We were not sure if we were going to be able to make it to the event but ended up signing up 2 days before the event date and in only 2 days raised $230.00 for the cause via the donation page that we set up.

Thank you so much to those that made a donation in support of our walk!

So much happening in The Perez House!

We have had a very busy and exciting past couple of months around here! So much has happened in such a short period of time. Some has been wonderful and some things challenging.

In the next few posts I will share with you all of our news. Everything from our Walk For Autism, Felipe putting in for retirement, Reyna being invited to jion the Company Dance Team in NYC to dance with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, the boys getting their yellow belts, our last Marine Corps Ball and a possible upcoming move for us!

To be continued...

Ashland Elementary Fun Run

The kids did the Fun Run last year and loved it so we signed them up for it again this year! It is a great event and promotes health and fitness to the kids. Nico of course was very stoked about it and even ended up running 2 of the races and finished in the top 10 of one of them! Felipe ran with them and it was a really good experience for each of them! I took some really good pictures! ENJOY:)

Happy Birthday Reyna

Reyna as most of you already know turned 9 yrs old on October 8th! We decided not to do a party this year and did some special things instead. On the weekend of her birthday we went shopping at Heather's Dance Boutique where she spent her birthday money from her Nana and then on that Sunday we went to Cox Farms for the day where the kids enjoyed a hayride among many other things! It was a blast! We had her birthday dinner at Cheeseburger In Paradise, which Reyna loves! It was very eventful but fun weekend.

This weekend we attended the ballet which was her birthday gift from me and her dad. It was amazing! I left my good camera in the car by accident so the photos I have are from my phone camera. The pics are not great quality but Reyna had a great time. We had 3rd row seats right up front. Her eyes lit up when the curtains raised and all of the dancers in their jewel incrusted tutus stepped out! Her eyes were glued to each performance. There was a meet and greet after the ballet where she was able to get autographs and then we visited the gift shop where she was able to get an autographed ballet shoe that had belonged to one of the dancers! She said it was the "best day she ever had in her 9 year life." LOL

I have attached several photos from our trip to Cox Farms and a few photos from the ballet as well as some photos from the ballet advertisements in order to see a little of what we got to see:)

Update on The Perez Kids!

We have completed a month of school and are rolling on into the fall! The kids are doing awesome and are loving their extracurricular activities but not loving all of the homework they have this year...lol Of course Pito has the biggest work load of homework and is doing his best with the multiple pages of Algebra several nights per week. Reyna has struggled with her transition to 3rd grade but is finally finding her groove. Initially it was hard for her to adjust to a teacher with such a different teaching style than what she was use to with her 2nd grade teacher. We had a small bully issue as well in the first couple of weeks but we have gotten that resolved as well and she is feeling better about 3rd grade now. Of course her grades are good as always and her teacher has given us nothing but rave reviews concerning Reyna's classroom performance! Nico likes his new 2nd grade teacher and can be quoted as saying "I love her golden hair!". He cracks us up with his description of blonde hair! He is doing really well so far this year. His teacher says that she doesn't see many of the challenges that his teacher saw with him in class last year. This is wonderful news and tells us that all of the hard work and effort that we have put into changing his diet and routine has made a difference!

The boys are moving right along in Tae Kwon Do and will be testing for their yellow belt next month! Pito has excelled and shows such great enthusiasm in class every week. It has helped Nico with his self-discipline and confidence. Martial Arts was definitely a great choice for the boys.

Reyna is still in 5 dance classes each week and is doing a great job with balancing school and dance. She has impressed us with her level of comittment to make good grades and attend dance. She is very determinded to make the Dance Company Team this summer! She turns 9 tomorrow and all she wants is a shopping trip to Heather's Dance Boutique! I also planned a great surprise for her and bought tickets to Suzanne Farrell's 10th Anniversary Diamonds Ballet at The Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. We got 4th row seats and will attend the show next weekend! She chose Cheeseburger In Paradise for her birthday dinner and we will go to Cox Farm on Sunday for a hayride, pumpkin patch and hay maze! Fun filled weekend for the birthday girl!

I hope you enjoy the recent pics of the kids and catching up on their past month! Stay tuned for a great birthday tribute post for Reyna tomorrow:)

Back To School

The kids had their first day back to school today! Reyna started 3rd grade and Nico started 2nd grade! They are growing so fast. Reyna said that her favorite thing today was seeing all of her friends and she really likes her new teacher. Nico says that his new teacher is pretty and very nice. He was also excited to see his friends and liked saying hi to his teacher from last year. It rained today so they were both bummed that they did not get to go play on the schools new playground but we are hoping the weather will clear up soon. They both had homework tonight already! We are trying to get back into the swing of things for the new school year because they have hit the ground running that is for sure. Busy mornings and busy evenings are an everyday thing now! We are looking forward to a great school year:)

Felipe Andres Takes on Taekwondo

Recently we enrolled our youngest in Taekwondo. It has been a very rewarding experience for him. His older brother was very enthusiastic about joining as well after participating in his brothers' first trial class. He has never been very enthusiastic about anything athletic and has always struggled in the area of physical fitness due to his Aspergers. So we were very excited to see him interested in a physical activity. Though we have found that taekwondo is so much more than that and he can benefit in multiple areas of his life from these classes. We enrolled him this weekend and his first class was Saturday. He wrote something explaining his feelings about that first class and has allowed me to post it here. For those of you who know him you will greatly appreciate his words. We are all very proud of him and look forward to further supporting him.

"My first class was amazing! I learned how I should stand, 2 new kicks, a kicking combo and got my white belt. I felt proud of myself and so amazed that I did it. Sort of like Ash Ketchum in Pokemon when he gets a badge. I can not wait to get a stripe. I like class because I feel the adrenaline, learn a new language and get stronger." ~Felipe Andres

Enjoy the pics of his first class and updates will be posted as both boys progress!

Saluting All Teachers

It is almost time for children to go back to school which means teachers everywhere are preparing lessons to teach our children. In the minutes it takes you to read this, teachers all over are using their "free time", and often investing their own money for our children's literacy, prosperity and future.

As we send our children off to school this year let's not lose sight of all that their teachers do and sacrifice for them everyday. "Thank a Teacher" as often as you can because they help mold the futures of our precious children. They accept the highs and the lows of the job, they do it with grace, honor and very little pay. They deserve our praise and unwavering support! One of my favorite quotes about teacher is, "If a doctor, lawyer or dentist had up to 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, some who didn't want to be there, some who were causing trouble and the doctor, lawyer or dentist had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months for half the pay, he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." ~Donald D. Quinn

I had teachers growing up that left lasting impacts on me and I am eternally grateful to them. Their life lessons have stayed with me always and I know that without them my life may be very different. Both of my children have been very lucky to have some remarkable teachers as well. Nico has a hard time in school and knowing that he is with someone daily who is striving to help him be the best that he can be and does it with patience & care always fills me with gratitude.

So in closing I would like to say Thank You to Mrs. Cain and Mrs. Garrison for the life lessons and wisdom that they gifted to me and to the teachers that have guided and educated my children, I thank them for all they have done and will continue to do this year!

Cha-ryeot (Attention) Nicolas!!!!!!

As we watch him snap to attention when he hears the command "Cha-ryeot" from his instructor we know that we have found something for Nico that will help him in more ways than we ever thought!

Walking into the Tiger Martial Arts Academy I was unsure about what to expect. I know my son and I know that taking things seriously is not something that he usually does or wants to do. The first word I saw etched into the floor in huge capital letters was DISCIPLINE and I thought to myself...hmmmm. The sounds I heard were loud and motivating. Kids yelling "Yes, Sir!" with all of their might and an instructor who was full of enthusiasm and passion. We waited for the current class to end and then Nico would have a "trial" class in order to see what it was like. His brother and sister were invited to join in to support Nico. Felipe and I sat amazed as we watched all 3 kids absorb every command and hang on every word. The instructor was so enthusiastic and so positive. With every mistake that they made he was there to back them up and show them they could do whatever they were struggling with. Throughout the entire 45 minutes Nico was attentive and never stopped smiling. It was such a success that ALL 3 kids came off of the mat asking could they do it too! Reyna argues that she only has dance during the week days so "I have time on Saturdays" she says. Pito says "Sign me up!" and Nico smiling bigger than ever says "When do I get to come again?" We registered Nico that day and he has been to 3 more classes this week. Reyna had to accept that she can not take 4 dance classes and Taekwondo but she still wants to do it and we are hoping to register Pito soon.

Nico earned his white belt at his first class and he earned his first stripe yesterday! During class today Master Dante talked to them about Self Esteem and about never giving up. He told them that a black belt is just a white belt that never gave up! He told them to always love themselves and to never accept nothing less than their best. It was wonderful and I knew right at that moment that we definitely made the right choice by putting him in the class.