The Real Balloon Boy

Watch out reality tv . . .

Note from Little Brother

I opened Miss Blake's year book yesterday and on the first page this is what I found. I broke down and cried. I am so blessed to have such fantastic kiddos who truly love and feel loved. Evan, you rock!
It reads: Blake, I love you so much and I am so happy that I got to spend most of my life with you. I will love you forever and keep on giving everything your best effort. Love, Evan Perry P.S. OU is still better. xo

Graduation Class of 2011

I made it through the weekend, but the fact that my first born has graduated from high school is now settling in and I am not quite sure how I feel about that. I do know that I am a super proud mama. Miss Blake graduated with honors on Friday night. We had our backyard party on Sunday. So many people from so many places came to celebrate with us. I was overwhelmed by the support, love, and well wishes. It was great to see how many groups of people have been apart of our family. We had several kids from Rocky Mountain High School visit. These were friends from when we lived on the other side of town. We had several kids from Fossil Rigde High School visit. We had several friends travel from Denver that were from our cheer family. We had relatives from Canon City, Westcliffe, Colorado Springs, Buena Vista, Salida, and of course, Wynnewood, Oklahoma, visit. Our neighbors visited. Our co-workers visited. Our dear friends from high school also came to celebrate! What a fantastic day it was!

NTHS Ceremony

We attended the National Technical Honor Society Award Recognition Ceremony last night. Miss Blake earned her purple and white cords for her outstanding academic career and membership in the business courses and clubs at Fossil Ridge High School. The graduation assemblies and parties have begun . . .

We love Stillwater!

I have been very nervous about sending my girl away to college so far away. After visiting Stillwater over the past weekend, my anxieties have lessened considerably! What a great city! What great people! What a spirited college town! You cannot go anywhere in this town without seeing someone decked out in orange! When they say "we bleed orange!" they are not kidding. And I like it! I am excited for Blake to enjoy her college life in such a great place!

Aunt Joanne's Cabin on the Lake

OSU graduation was also this past weekend, so hotel rooms were non-existent! Fortunately, Pat's Aunt Joanne has a cabin on the lake in Stillwater that they generously offered to our family for the weekend. What a slice of heaven! Evan enjoyed fishing all day long just outside the back door. Clay patiently tied and re-tied the broken, tangled fishing lines again and again for him. We felt so welcome and comfortable! Thanks Joanne and Vic!

She made it!

We traveled to Stillwater over the weekend for OSU cheer tryouts. The talent was cRaZy! Friday afternoon, there was a four hour clinic in which cuts were made after the first day. Saturday started at 9 a.m. and cuts were made before lunch. The afternoon went 'til 5 when more cuts were made. Mackenzie proved herself and her talent to make it to formal tryouts on Sunday. There are two spirit squads at OSU, one being large-coed who cheer competitively and on the sidelines. The second team, the small coed squad, cheers competitively also and will participate in the new college competition known as "Stunts". This is exciting because if "Stunts" becomes recognized as a sport, athletic scholarships may be awarded.
Mackenzie was amazing! She made the small coed team and we are so very proud to have her part of such a fantastic organization. The talent on both teams is tremendous, including several World Champion athletes! Mackenzie is excited to start her freshman year so far away from home with an instant family. Go Pokes!

Mock Senior Prom

Well, Blake missed her senior prom to go to the World Championships. That was a bummer, but she dealt with it beautifully! She did get to walk in the Spring Prom Fashion Show put together by the DECA club. Dresses, make up and hair were all donated by local businesses. She had a great time and she looked adorable! You go girl! xo

Sprained Knee

Evan's spring football camp ended on a sour note, he sprained his knee two practices from the end of the season. At first, he thought it was pretty cool. He had crutches and got to use the elevator at school. By the end of the first day, he was over it!!!! The picture is him with his imobilizing brace. The kid is almost 6 feet tall, it's tough to fit in my Volvo with a straight leg. ;o)

Cheerleading Worlds 2011 Cheer Central Suns SC5

We flew to Orlando for our fourth consecutive trip to the World Cheerleading Championships. We had a great time. Blake's team competed Saturday at noon in the preliminary competition and finished 3rd in 43 teams!!! They hit a flawless routine and were the talk of the arena. WOW! We were excited!

That knocked out 20 of the 43 teams competing. Later that evening, we competed in the semi-finals and didn't execute perfectly ending our chances to go into finals. It's Worlds, baby. One chance, no mistakes.

Graduation Video

Enjoy!

More Progress. . .

Gosh, we worked hard all weekend!!! It was a gorgeous sunny day on Saturday. Sunday was windy and cold. We worked hard both days and finished decking the deck. Next step is skirting the deck, adding stairs, benches and planters and then the fire pit! Whew! Here is an updated picture from this morning. Oh yea, it's snowing! Springtime in Colorado - gotta love it!
What a difference an hour makes.

Crystal Fire in Larimer County

After an absolutely gorgeous day in Fort Collins, the wind picked up and late in the evening a forest fire broke out in the foothills west of Fort Collins. The site from town was amazing.

Unfortunately, we heard news today that Clay's good friend and co-worker, Drew Santillanez and his family were evacuated from their home and returned to total devastation. Nothing was left.

They said they had less than 10 minutes to grab all of their pets and a few items of clothing and get out of the area. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

This link will take you to a 9 news video with Drew's daughter, Desa. She's a brave girl who loves her horses. xo

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Spring Football Scrimmage!!

What a gorgeous day today in Colorado!!! 79 degrees and sunny! Evan played some ball this afternoon and it couldn't have been a better day!! Preston Pumas scrimmaged the Kinard Mustangs at the Loveland Sports Park. Evan played both offense and defense and Clay and I were IMPRESSED!!! There was one play where Evan came off the line so quick and went after the QB, that Clay and I both said, "Who was that?" Wow, Evan!! All of your hard work is really paying off. Proud mama!

Cheer Photo Shoot!

Blake's team mom, Mary Grace, put together a photo shoot for the Small Senior Limited Co-ed team. There are 6 seniors leaving this year with Blake being one of them. Here are some great shots of her and her team. Thanks Mary Grace! You ARE the BEST!!! xo

We have been so blessed to be coached by such an amazing group. Coach Sybil, Coach Aaron and Coach Kyle have coached Blake for four years now. They have instilled the belief that anything IS possible and WE believe!!!

A work in progress . . .

The sun is out in Colorado and we are finally on track again building our deck. Rob and Clay finished the structure of the deck today. And now on to the decking... We will top the deck off with a fireproof Trex and have a fire pit in the center. I am excited to see the finished project. Oh please, Oh please be done by graduation.

Beer in Chicago

So, yes, traveling for cheer isn't all about cheer. I occasionally get to step out and see some local sites. There was a tavern across the street from our hotel that my roomie and I frequented. We were impressed that certain booths had beer taps AT THE TABLE!!! Now that's convenient!!! It's self serve and the computer screen on the table tallies the ounces poured. Genius, I say!!
I had a fun night with my roommate, Tracy, and Tracy (aka Daddy Sloan) drinking beer in Chicago...and made it home safe...an easy walk across the street.
The photo wasn't so blurry when we took it. ;o)

. . . "I like pizza, Steve!" . . .

;o) te he he he he.