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:)