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.

Congrats To Reyna!

As many of you already know Reyna has been in dance for the past 2 yrs and she has loved it. Although we knew she enjoyed it we never saw it as anything more than a fun extracurricular activity for her on the weekends. Things have changed drastically this summer to say the least! I am not sure what happened this summer but Reyna has really come out of her shell and has become quite the little dancer. Not only that but her love for music has become her favorite thing. She has made up her own dance routines and continues to impress us with her rhythm and moves!

With her new passion for music and dance I took her into the dance studio and we met with the director to figure out what CLASS may be the best for her to take this year. (note I said CLASS not classes) A class was agreed on until the director began asking Reyna questions and asking Reyna to show her different moves etc. Reyna proceeded to bust out into song to Starstruck By Lady Gaga and did a dance to it. My mouth dropped as I watched her. She was awesome! The director then expressed interest in Reyna being part of the Company Dance Team. I was shocked and excited all in one. Tryouts for this yr has already passed but she suggested preparing Reyna for next years tryouts. The short of it is that we left registered for FOUR classes, 3 of which are 2nd level classes and 1 is a 9-12 yr old class. The director seemed more than confident that Reyna would thrive in these classes so we are going to give it a go!

She starts her first classes the week Sept 5th! Wish her luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Texas

The kids are currently spending some time in Texas with their grandparents. Reyna's Nana took her shopping and bought her colored hair clip ins and Reyna absolutely loves them, of course the pink is her favorite! My long time friend came to visit while I was still there with her little girl and it was great to see her after not seeing each other for over 8 yrs now. The kids are loving spending time with my stepsister Emily as well. They come back to Virginia on the 21st.

The Kids Get Their Swim On!

All three of the kids are on the Ashland Stingrays Swim Team. They love it and are doing so well. Nico is a natural and seems to do really good with dives and he has good speed in the water as well. Who knows he just might be the next Michael Phelps;) Reyna has come really far this year with her swimming and she has worked hard to overcome her fears of being in deep water! We are really proud of Pito for working hard to strengthen his swimming skills after missing out on swim last summer due to his foot surgery.

Reyna & Nico's Dance Recital

Reyna and Nico have been taking Hip-Hop all school year and they had their year end dance recital recently. It was a blast and they had so much fun.

Long Overdue Post....

We have not kept up the posts on here and we will be making sure to do so from now on! SOOO much has happened since our last post. We have now been living in Virginia for 2 yrs and it looks like we will be here for at the most 2 more years. Felipe is still stationed at MCB Quantico and my preschool/daycare Katy's Learning Tree is doing great! Nico goes into the 2nd grade next year, Reyna moves on to 3rd grade and Pito turned 13 this year... so we officially have a teenager in the house:) He will be in his second year of Middle School and is doing great! This summer is going well and we look forward to another great school year! More to come from The Perez Family.........

Perez Family Update

We as most of you know have made the move to Virginia from Okinawa. We are still getting settled in and yes we are unpacking! Everything is going well and the kids are loving there huge driveway and riding scooters, bikes etc. on it! We do miss Okinawa a lot but we are adjudsting to all of the change. I have photos from a photoshoot we did right before we left Okinawa with my students and the kids that I am going to post as soon as I can find the CD that they are on LOL! Hopefully I can get that done this weekend, until then hugs from all of us and take care!