Perry's Race for the Cure

We recently participated in the Race for the Cure with my parents in Charlotte. We have done this race several times and this year, my Mom is celebrating 18 years since having breast cancer. She has been healthy and cancer free and we are constantly grateful for that.

The boys enjoyed all of the free goodies at the pavilion and the kids bounce house. They both ran in the kids 50-yard dash too. But my favorite part is always when they honor the survivors by giving each woman a balloon for every year that she has been cancer free. Jake and Dylan helped their Grandma hold her 18 pink balloons this year and then release them all into the sky. It was very memorable!

Brian and Lisa go to Vegas Baby!

Well...we finally made it to Las Vegas and we had such a wonderful time. We've heard so many people talk about being there, but you truly do need to see it to believe it! We stayed at the Excalibur, mainly so we could be on the Strip and it made getting around very easy. We spent several night at Mandalay Bay since it was close, even going up top to Mix nightclub one night and looking out over the Strip :)

I even had some Lady Luck, winning several times at roulette. It was my first time, but I had a system (playing birthdays, anniversaries and old sports jersey numbers) and we ended up winning. It was nice to get a free margarita or glass of wine while we played too!

We spent most of our time checking out the amazing hotels with Bellagio and MGM being our favorites...we did not see a show, but did see lots of the free entertainment and had some great meals. We were shocked, though when we went to a nightclub on a Wednesday night, ordered two drinks that cost $23 and then when we hit the dance floor, they turned on the lights and said "We're closing!" I thought Vegas was the city that never sleeps :)

Lisa's Brother Inducted into the BHS Hall of Fame

My brother, Jeff, was recently honored by the Boardman High School Booster Association and inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. My entire family is so proud of him, as he was an excellent baseball and football player while in high school. Even though I was not able to make it to the banquet, my parents recorded the speech he gave at the banquet. Those of you who know Jeff, know that public speaking is not his favorite thing in the world to do, but he literally had the best speech of the evening, very humbly recalling our families' experience with BHS sports and his gratitude to my parents for all that they have done for us.

Jeff and my parents also quite shamelessly were lobbying for my induction into the Hall of Fame, but apparently the "Spartan Spirit" award that I received in high school didn't impress people much!

See pics from earlier months

Blogger stores the stories by month, so be sure to look to the left for pics from earlier months. You can also click on any picture to see it larger.

- Lisa

Dylan Starts Preschool

Dylan started preschool this week and could not have been more excited! We were very glad to have a very smooth drop off after he cried most mornings last year. We think he is excited since he has been watching Jake go to school every day for the last week. He says he really likes his class and all his friends and especially making a placemat with stickers that they are going to use for their lunch everyday.

Camping Trip to Cherokee Full of Family Fun!

We had a wonderful time this past Labor Day weekend camping at the Cherokee KOA with 5 other families. Everyone has 2 or 3 kids each and there are several in each age range, so everyone had someone to play with. We think there even may be a few budding romances!

The kids had a blast together, playing in the creek and river, hiking and making cool tye dye shirts. They even had dance parties on the cabin stage in the evenings! But the highlight of the day always seemed to be the nightly flashlight tag...that brought back some memories!!

Dodger was also the hit of the campground and he was really good...even slept through the late night campfire giggles :) He and Dylan both became pretty brave on our hike to a waterfall...enjoying splashing around in the water and climbing over all the rocks. Jake was the real dare devil though, hiking with his Dad as far as they could up the waterfall! We were so proud of him! Unfortunately we need to get him some water shoes because his feet were pretty beat up after all the activity of the weekend!

The grown ups had a really great time too. We're lucky to have a great group of friends to hang out with! Dylan is already talking about the next time he go back to see all of his friends!

First Day of School

We have survived another "First Day" of school...well at least the trip to the bus stop. I made sure to get to know some of the other kids and asked the 4th and 5th graders to look out for Jake and Maddie (his friend from across the street). They were so sweet...and Jake hasn't realized enough to be embarrassed of me yet! He even let me snap pictures of him all along the way! His eyes were as big as saucers when he saw the bus coming...it was truly priceless to see his excitement!

He was so excited today, even though his alarm rang at 6 am. He was very anxious to meet his new classmates. After a very hectic parking lot visit during Open House, we decided to break down and let him ride the bus. Brian has been in favor of riding the bus all along, but I have hesitated because you hear all kind of horror stories about what happens "in the back of the bus". I had my eye on those 5th graders and made sure to ask the bus driver to take good care of them!! She laughed at me of course :)

I hope those of you with school age kids are having a great beginning of the school year as well!!

Jake Meets His First Grade Teacher

Jake is all set to start a new year of school at a brand new school! He'll be starting First Grade at Furr Elementary on Monday! We had open house and met his teacher, Ms. Pergola, this week. She is originally from New Jersey and I hear she runs a tight ship, but is a great teacher. I really liked her and am looking forward to the new year. There are several kids in his class from last year and I'm sure he'll make lots of new friends too.

Taylor Visits from England

Jake was very excited to see his good friend Taylor Case this week, as she and her family are spending a couple of weeks visiting the US. Their family (our friends Charlotte and Scott and Dylan's buddy Aidan) moved to England last summer with Bank of America for a 2-year work opportunity. Unfortunately for us, it has been extended a year and they won't be home until 2009! However, Brian and I are going to England and Ireland to visit for 10 days in May 2008 to celebrate our 15th anniversary, so we are looking forward to that!

Taylor and Jake were in the same class every year of pre-school (since they were one) and it is hard to believe they have both finished kindergarten already!

Dodger's First Training Session

Dodger is really adjusting well to the Perry family life, except for the 3am wake ups to go out and potty! I feel like I have a newborn :)

My good friend Leigh, who trains seeing eye dogs for the blind, came today to give us a Puppy Training 101 Class. She did a really great job of gently telling us what we were doing wrong and some great ideas to teach Dodger to be a great family pet. Jake was especially interested and is already getting Dodger to sit.

We spend a lot of time taking him for walks and playing in the backyard. He loves to chase the soccer ball and can even dribble it a little by nudging it with his nose...amazing!!

Dylan Shares His New Dance Moves

Click here to see a video of Dylan's hot new dance moves!

Monster Truck Bash

MONSTER! MONSTER! MONSTER!
The Monster Trucks were out in all their glory as we ventured to the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway. We were able to get in early and get some photos of the monster trucks and to climb up on the wheels. The Raminator, Bigfoot, Hot Tamale, and Samson were our favorites.

We got to see Crash Car racing, where bumping into each other is encouraged during the race. These same cars later ran another race with trailers hitched onto the back of each car. The trailers were hauling everything from boats to porta-johns!

One of the highlights of the eveing was witnessing a tow truck with a jet engine melt six cars stacked in a pyramid (such an eco-friendly activity)! Everybody had a great time as Jake said "This is the best day of my life".

We think we've really become Southerners when we all found this event very entertaining! Check out the video from the show.

Jake is Drafted by the 49ers!

The 49ers selected Jake Perry (3'11, 49 lbs) as their first round draft pick in this year's annual Youth NFL (YMCA) flag football draft. Known for his ferocious tenacity on defense, Perry was the most penalized player in the league for illegal tackles as a Viking last year (after all, this is flag football). He hopes to improve his offensive skills that began to shine late last season. Asked how he felt about being the 49ers top pick, he responded, "Fun." He also added that he looked forward to "rocking the house" this season. Keep an eye out for this phenomenal athlete as he enters his sophomore season.

Kiva...Invest in Your World

Meet Gregorio Castillo! We were introduced to him through an exciting web site that lets you "sponsor a business" in an effort to reduce poverty in our world. Along with 12 other Kiva supporters, Gregorio will be able to buy a cow to restart his dairy and fuel his business as a farmer.

The interesting thing about Kiva is that the loans are paid back over time...so you actually get your money back...it is not a hand out, but a leg up. Gregorio is set to pay his loan back in 12 months. What we found appealing about him was that our $25 loan was the last bit of money he needed to start the process. We can even check back in on Kiva.org to see how he is doing.

As small business owners ourselves, this really intrigued us because it is not a donation or a handout, but a loan to a fellow entrepreneur. Click on the loan cycle image below to see how it works.

• See a cool video about Kiva, "D.I.Y. Foreign Aid" on nytimes.com
• Learn more about Kiva on Treehugger.com
  
• Visit the Kiva Web Site for yourself

Welcome to the Family Dodger!

We have welcomed an adorable 8-week old border collie puppy to the family. We named him Dodger after Brian's first little league baseball team. He is so sweet and the boys are just crazy about him. Our first night was full of wining and crying and a lovely 2 am stint in the backyard to hose off the crate that he pooped all over!! Feels like having a newborn again. But he's already learning fast and everyone says they are a very smart breed, so we are hoping for a speedy potty training! As of this month, it has been 2 years since Sophie and Dookie died, so we finally realized it was time to start over again. I created a website for Dodger with some pics and videos...check it out!

We Jam at the SugarLand and Kenny Chesney Concert

For my birthday, Brian bought me tickets to go see SugarLand and Kenny Chesney in concert. People continue to ask me if Brian even likes country music...but he really likes Concert Lisa...as we like to call the funny, dancing, singing girl I turn into at a concert!!!

I was even able to wear my cowboy boots that I bought in Nashville and of course, my favorite cowboy hat! Yee Haw!! The concert was great and we had a wonderful time...although it has been a while since we went to a concert and we forgot that it takes an hour to get out of the parking lot!!!

Miller Family Visits NC

Our good friends Chad and Kathy Miller made their way to NC for a visit! Their two boys - Connor, 6 and Aidan, 4 have had several visits with Jake and Dylan when we have been to Boardman, but this was their first trip to see us. We packed in a lot of activity with Brian and Chad getting in a couple of rounds of golf and swimming at the neighborhood pool a few times.

Our trip to Nascar SpeedPark was probably the highlight for the kids (and I include Chad and Brian when I say kids!!). Everyone got to ride in different levels of race cars...Brian spun out some poor teenage boy and Chad repeatedly held off a 9-year old girl...very impressive guys! Dylan was even able to ride on his own toddler size car with his big brother and in the bumper boats with Dad! They also really enjoyed their first time playing lazer tag!

We also got to visit with my friend from college, Kristin, and her sisters, one of who lives in Charlotte. We had a great cookout at their house and get caught up! We followed the picnic with a trip to see our local Kannapolis Intimidators minor league baseball team. The boys had a great time and the fireworks show afterwards was incredible!

Girlfriends Weekend on the Virginia Creeper Trail

A wonderful group of my NC friends and fellow moms went on a weekend trip to the Virginia Creeper Trail. We rode the 17 mile downhill bike trail across bridges and creeks with lots of beautiful scenery along the way.

We stayed in a cute little cottage, Creeper Trail Cottages, with a creek out back and a screened in back porch which was the site of lots of laughs. We also found time to visit a wonderful little vineyard, Abingdon Winery, for a wine tasting and some relaxing on the winery patio.

One of the other highlights of our trip, was the tubing we did on the river. It was a little unnerving because they just kind of dumped us in the river and said they would pick us up 3 hours later!!! I actually took a spill out of my tube, lost my hat and had some trouble getting back in, but one of my friends helped me out! It was a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend a visit...especially for families!

We Head to Daytona Beach for Family Visit

We went to Daytona Beach to visit my parents and had a wonderful time! We spent several days at the ocean where Jake was anxious to try out his new boogie board! He really zipped along on the waves. Dylan enjoyed the sand more, but ventured out into the ocean with his Pap Pap after a little while. Dylan's favorite part of the trip was playing miniature golf. He was very focused and would take his time...when he finally got it in the hole, we could throw his arms in the air and cheer and wave...must be getting ready for the junior PGA tour and his many fans.

It was very hot while we were visiting, so most of our activities involved water! We spent a fun day at the Daytona Lagoon waterpark. Jake went on every single water slide in the park and loved all of them! Brian and I got to go on a bunch too while Dylan took a long nap with Grandma. I was a little nervous for Jake since some of the slides were covered and very fast, but he enjoyed in thoroughly!

We also got to visit with many of Mom and Dads friends at their multiple happy hours!! Retired life seems great...how many more years do I need to work???

Perry Family Visits Lake Lure

We recently took a wonderful overnight trip to Lake Lure in North Carolina and also went hiking in Chimney Rock Park. We had a wonderful time in Lake Lure, staying at the historic Lake Lure Inn. We also took in a scenic boat ride and playing in the lake where Jake overcame his fear of waterslides by repeating going down two of them.

We really enjoyed Chimney Rock park where there are several different trails to hike. We started with one designed just for the kids that had different stations where they could encounter statues of different animals and learn fun facts. Then we hiked to a waterfall and had lunch right at the base. Jake even spotted a snake sunning himself and we all got a little refreshed from the mist!

Dylan continues to enjoy hiking from his perch on Brian's back...it's the only way to go!

Jake Finishes Coach Pitch Season

Jake finished his coach pitch baseball season and really enjoyed the experience, although it was already starting to get hot in June. The team, the Colorado Rockies, were much better than previous seasons of t-ball so it was fun to watch. Jake had lots of hits on the season, but was one of the younger kids on the team. His good friend Bryce, who is 8, was also on the team...and in one of the funnier moments of the season, actually lapped Jake while running the bases!

Jake volunteered to catch one game and got to suit up in all the equipment. He sure does look cool in this picture. However, he would forget to stand up once the batter got a hit and he was sandwiched in between his player and the runner during one play at the plate! He came out of in unscathed and even asked to stay in the game, although his Mom was horrified!

Ready to Go Swimming

The boys are very excited to start the summer break with lots of trips to the pool. Here they are sporting their new bathing suits from Aunt Carrie...don't they look so cute!!

Schools Out Trip to the Beach!

School just let out yesterday and we headed straight for the beach to celebrate a great year for Jake in kindergarten and Dylan at preschool. Jake really liked his teacher and could not have had a better school experience. He did very well and we are still shocked to see him reading short books and writing so well. Wasn't kindergarten all about playtime and naps when we went? He even had a little red-headed girlfriend who happened to be a preachers daughter! He earned the Citizenship Award at their end of year party as he was always willing to help a fellow classmate or teacher out :)

Dylan was one of the oldest 1 years olds in his class and he was quite the little nurturer to the other kids. His teacher said he was her favorite, which certainly doesn't surprise me :) He is already singing the ABC song and can recognize shapes including a pentagon and a trapezoid! Brian taught him these things...I'm not quite sure I could even recognize the trapezoid!

The beach was a lot of fun...we stayed at the Beach Cove Resort where he had gone with my parents many years before. It was still very nice...we really enjoyed playing in the sand and the waves.

End of Kindergarten for Jake!

Jake ended his first year of school with some fun activities! He was chosen to be a part of the Kindergarten Choir (2 kids from each class) to sing at the incoming K's Parents Night. To say that I was the beaming, videotaping, proud Mom would be an understatement!!! They sang two cute songs and he did a great job! He has a very nice singing voice and worked hard on his dramatic hand gestures for the performance :)

He also had a great time on field day...participating in all kinds of fun games in the field behind the school. This is certainly no small feat for the PE teacher since there were 12 K's (1300 students in grades K-5 at one school!!) at his school this year!! His favorite events were the sponge races and the tug of war against the teachers and parents...even Brian got a hand in on that! Next year he'll attend a new elementary school as Cox Mill splits, but with the growth in our area, it will probably be full again in another few years.

Dylan Celebrates Last Day of Preschool

Dylan's 1 year old class celebrated their last day with a picnic. Dylan had such a great year and we are very happy with the preschool we chose for him. Next year he will attend every morning in the 2 year old class. Dylan really enjoyed the ice cream bowls as their special end of year treat!

Jake Turns 6!

Jake celebrated his 6th birthday with a trip to Nascar Speedpark! He had a great time racing cars with his Daddy, playing mini-golf and getting wet on the bumper boats. He got some great presents for the big day including a rocket launcher and a nerf dart board. But we all agree that he enjoyed the trip to the speedpark the best. I even tried to persuade the people at the park to let him drive in the bigger cars since it was his birthday, but his feet wouldn't reach the pedals. Guess that will have to wait until his 7th birthday!

Happy Mother's Day

My boys treated me to a wonderful Mother's Day this year...camping in a cabin in Boone, NC. We were able to go with two other families with kids their age and everyone had a great time. We especially enjoyed the nights around the campfire making smores. The highlight of the camping trip for the kids was trout fishing. Jake caught a nice big fish that we were able to have skinned and take home to eat! Of course it was at a trout farm where the fish were lined up waiting to be caught, but the kids really enjoyed it and the fish was delicious!

The real treat for the Moms was on Sunday morning when we got to sit and relax while the hubbies made and served us pancakes :)
Also, on Sunday we went for a nice long hike around Price Lake which was a lot of fun. Dylan of course got to ride in style high up on Bri's back.

A few days before, Dylan's preschool treated me to a Mother's Day brunch and he made me a cute flowerpot. Jake made me a tile handprint at his school and a wonderful homemade card.