23 December 2007

merry merry love the perrys


hope you all have a merry christmas! we have our first christmas celebration tonight with cookie and the uncles and aunt emily. well...we had our first celebration this morning when everyone came to christ the king with us and then a fun cajun lunch at ragin cajun. fun, fun! we're cooking, cleaning, wrapping and trying to find time to get to the mall to visit santa before tuesday... i'm thinking tomorrow morning...early will be the best time. who knows...i'm sure we'll be met with crazy late minute shoppers - or not so crazy i heard stores are running sales tomorrow. i'll stay away from the stores...we'll just visit santa. thankfully, i got everything done 3 days ago. i really can't wrap gifts and leave them under the tree because annie doesn't understand that she can't open them until christmas. when i tell her to stop opening them she gets her feelings hurt and it's just a sad situation after that. so..we have zero gifts under our wilting tree. it's full of water but for some reason has already started to droop. it looks somewhat vintage?? [trying to put a positive spin on our dying tree].

i have many updates to do - jackson's basketball adventures, jackson's pj christmas party at school, another wedding we shot, christmas party in the country, all the shots that didn't make it to the christmas card, annie's new words, annie being a sweet angel...as always, the things that come out of jackson's mouth, fred, and more....maybe one of my new years resolutions should be to update this more.

07 December 2007

eighteen - a smokin' hot age

my only cousin on my mom's side turns 18 today! i'm super mad because i forgot to call him - so i'm up late and decided to write this post about him.

i remember the exact moment when i found out that i was going to have a cousin. i was 13 - a spoiled little princess - i was an only child and the only grandchild. gary and robin adopted colton when i was in 8th grade he was days old. truly i didn't know how to handle the fact that i was now going to have to share my grandparents - i think that was my first thought. oh how i wish i could tell you how i was wise beyond my years in 8th grade and overflowed with joy of the fact that i was blessed to have a cousin. now i have enough excitement that i have a cousin like colton to last a lifetime. the joy started the moment i meet him for the first time. i've always been good with kiddos and have always loved babies - so when we had a little one in the family and i got to spend lots of time with him before they moved to nacogdoches, texas then new iberia, la and then edina, mn but they are moving back soon!

18 things i love about colton:

1. he's my favorite cousin - i'm the closest to colton and have more of a connection with him because we are both laid back, relaxed and easy going people.

2. his sense of humor - he has a great sense of humor that i love to be around. he can do great imitations and he likes the same comedies and same dry sense of humor that i do.

3. he has a huge smile

4. likes to laugh. here's a specific memory...when he was a little guy in louisiana i remember making him laugh at the hospital during easter [i think i was in high school]. he was in his "barn" and cut his arm open on a nail and had to go get stitches. i wanted to go with him and i remember finding medical supplies in the room...maybe tape... and taping up my nose and eyes to make him laugh. anyways, he's always quick to laugh.

5. he is a talented, talented, talented musician. i love to watch him play his guitar.

6. he can sing. he has a deep, dry, melodious voice which i think is great as a singer-songwriter musician or for singing ballads. my musical talent stopped at the recorder in 5th grade so don't think this comment has any musical intellect. i do like to listen to him sing.

7. he gives good hugs

8. he talks to me when i ask him questions about his life and doesn't roll his eyes at my questions. rolling eyes is definitely a thing teenagers pick up so i know he does it but just not to me. his answers are honest. i specifically recall driving with him to a dinner that our granny and papa wanted to treat us to and i asked some personal questions and he never hesitated with the truth.

9. his cool sense of style - gotta love the checkered board shoes with holes - especially if they are your most comfortable pair of shoes! i like them - they are black and white - what other colors are there to wear?

10. he has some awesome hair! long or short it's a great head of hair.

11. i like our sing-a-longs at the ranch. whether it's gary singing some old country song or papa singing in czech to colton strumming his guitar - it's fun, entertaining and relaxing. i'll even sing with my horrible voice. i truly wish i had a great voice where i could belt out some songs while colton plays his guitar. i don't have a chance.

12. i never would have listened to the music he listens to on my own. he has a great classic taste for "old rock and roll" [again music intellect = low to nil]. but he doesn't like the music of today - rap and everything else that i'm sure he doesn't consider music. so he has opened my eyes up to what is good in music. i know he wouldn't like my work out tunes: shoop by salt and pepa, it's getting hot in here, moulin rouge, yeah, in da club, hey ya, etc - songs that increase my rate on the elliptical machine is what i look for.

13. he is creative [obviously - have you been reading]

14. he's good with our kiddos...especially jackson. he's patient with jackson and he'll take him on the gator at the ranch, ask him questions [sometimes just to hear jackson's funny answers] and he never seems as if he has something better to do than spend time with jackson. thankfully with jackson's energy you won't get tired of doing one activity with him because he's off to a new activity after a couple of minutes so colton gets jackson in a couple minutes here and there.

15. our fun trip from minnesota to texas in 1999 in a car. lots of memories - but he was shorter than me at that time - he towers over me today. he was super young and super fun. i'm sure if we had that trip to do again this year it would be more fulfilling and more quality - 8 years makes a huge difference from 10 years old to 18 years old.

16. he has a heart that likes to help. a couple of summers ago he went to mexico for a missions trip and really enjoyed doing that. it was wonderful to see him enjoying that. i hope my kiddos enjoy that when they are his age.

17. although we are 13 years apart...i feel as if it's not a huge difference in age and that it's more like 3 years apart. i can spend time with him, talk to him, hang out and relax with him. age doesn't seem to be a big factor in our relationship. he's also pretty mature for his age, in my eyes.

18. he's moving back to texas [well...his family is and he's graduating high school in minnesota in the spring...hopefully he comes back here also...i'm 99% sure that's the plan]

too tired to post pictures...i'll do that tomorrow.

05 December 2007

we gobbled until we wobbled

my sweet friend hilary asked for an update.

so here we go...i have alot of posts to do...so i'll start with thanksgiving - part one.

i think the kiddos had the best time at the farm! it is truly a great place for family - everytime we leave we are excited to return. it reminds me of what my papa always says, "take time going, but hurry back." so we are ready to hurry back anytime. well, it's just not the place it is the sweet, laid back, comfortable hosting from aunt trish! she's amazing. whether it's 25 or 15 [usual range of number of guests for thankgiving] trish creates this great thanksgiving spread - everything is warm and yummy! i can't forget to add that aunt jane also is in on the coordination also. but more importantly to our family [mostly to jack and jackson] aunt jane's turkey spread is the best!!!!

why the kiddos are so thankful of the farm:
1. there is a minature house just for the little people - complete with a kitchen, a living room, a play room and a bedroom loft
2. lots of grass to run, play football, play horseshoes or just explore
3. a trampoline
4. a swing set
5. a pool [not during thanksgiving]
6. turkey spread
7. a fire pit [not too sure if that's the right term]
8. lots of cousins mommy and daddys age who love them & who mommy and daddy get to talk to.
9. lots of aunts poppy and kk's age who love them & who mommy and daddy get to talk to.
10. all the fun, love and laughter.
11. beer [or bloody marys this time around][not for jackson and annie]

here is a collection of pictures from the day. we usually don't have anyone taking pictures at the farm so when i pulled out our honker of a camera i think everyone thought it was funny that i had brought it to the farm. oh well...we got some fun pictures. i put some effects on the pictures for you to see. enjoy...

boy cousins...
boy cousins + mary
[and for anyone who doesn't know there are 3 more boys...mary is the only girl]mary + chuckers
poppy [straight from ireland...not really] + kkuncle pootz + future aunt emily
[i think she'll be called auntie em - i'm know she will fill the shoes well of jack's auntie m - heard they are big shoes to fill]
here come the kiddos....
this pic looks like it's from the 1920s. there are always almost the same number of dogs at the farm as people.
my girlie-girl
having fun on the trampoline....
jackson thought this was the most fun. uncle holden, uncle pootz and daddy would chase jackson with the football and then pretend to tackle him by diving for him and missing. jackson laughed and laughed.
uncle holden almost got him with ali in the background
[ali is uncle holden's daughter]
uncle holden recovering from trying to tackle jackson and daddy trying to get him.
[daddy looks like his balding in this picture]

uncle pootz looking on as daddy misses again. jackson loves it. frank is with uncle pootz. frank took up the entire back of our pilot going to the farm. we had a packed car. emily and julie were in the front, daddy between the 2 kiddos in the back and then frank taking up the entire back. it was fun. i think frank licked jack's ear a couple of times.here come the well-dressed dogs...first is chelsea with aunt jane.
chelsea is the cutest dog of the bunch.
this picture is hilarious. first, poppy was wearing so many colors that day. secondly, poppy got a new phone...an iphone and was trying to get a picture of coco. poppy ADORES coco! coco did have on a little hoodie. i think it got ruined when coco jumped into the pool. the hoodie looked like it was juicy couture. so funny!
finally...saving the best for last...
here's a picture of me [the photographer] with mimi and annie.
[the best referring to mimi]
thanksgiving part two - the crowes nest is coming

09 November 2007

11.03.2007 - details, children and lovely bride + groom

we had such a fun time on saturday shooting jessica + chris' wedding. she put lots of energy into every detail. i loved it! she is super cute loves to have pictures taken of her. i loved it! they had the cutest flowergirl + ring bearer. I loved it!

enjoy some of our pics from the night: let me know what you think of our pictures!

letters on the church doors
her pretty bouquet - including a beautiful broach. each bridesmaid's bouquet had one also. when everyone was getting ready the bridesmaids each had a shirt on that said "the maids". just to add to the detail of the wedding.i love this picture of her shoes. i couldn't find any other pretty place to take this picture. this is on a desk of the priest. i had to clear off all of his papers. i like the way it turned out!this cutie got me super excited to see annie as a sweet flowergirl in february!here comes the bride - she looked amazing! the newly newlyweds!
nice ring!
they had a guy rolling cigars - this was pretty cool to watch! he even made a cigar to fit their rings so i could take a picture. i guess they were good by the amount of guests outside smoking them. the smell reminded me of my grandfather when he used to smoke pipes. i never see pipes anymore!jack decided to have some fun and smoke and dance...and we caught him.thanks jessica + chris! what a fun couple to get to know!

01 November 2007

lady BUGERS & tiGERMS

i didn't take our nice camera trick or treatin' - thought that it would have been too much of a hassle running after jackson and making sure annie was close behind. so there is a huge difference in the quality of these pictures of the kiddos in their outfits! who cares, right?the words GERMS + BUGERS or BOOGERS have been well represented this past week. but, the kids wouldn't let some little colds stand in their way of getting some chocolate! daddy lost his battle and had to stay home and get better.

we had fun at aunt emily's parents house celebrating uncle pootz #2's birthday and halloween. ironically emily has a brother named will and jackson has warmly named him uncle pootz #2 [obviously will perry is uncle pootz #1]
this is the sweetest picture of annie + holden - including holden's bright blue cup. what's in that cup?
we had a group shot that sarah took and it looks so good...but we are all blurry. so we have no pictures of the fun girls - emily and sarah - that went trick or treating with us.

here's jackson eating his first piece of candy he got from joe - our neighbor. i don't think we'd know our neighbors as well as we do if it wasn't for our overly outgoing son. he makes regular trips to lynn's house and joe's house just to say hi. we have great neighbors and don't mind the visits...hopefully they feel the same way.i think we've reached the age now that jackson can safely eat any candy and "i want that" is a common phrase in any store [regarding candy or toys]. and any commercial that comes on - we don't watch any kid tv station that has commercials of toys - unfortunately our neighbors haven't done the same. it's really powerful to hear and witness the brain wash of kids toys. but, i think jackson has realized that most of his toys come from a four letter lady...mimi. we even have this conversation sometimes:
jackson: can we go visit mimi?
julie: no, mimi's working right now.
jackson: mimi works so she can make money to buy me some toys. she told me that.

we sure do have a fun time with our kiddos.

03 October 2007

the official school picture day



i have no idea why i get worked up over school pictures. i frantically try to find just the right outfit & plan what we'll do in the morning before we leave. for example...annie will eat b.fast without her clothes on and then i'll put on annie's clothes after she eats. there was a plan for school picture morning. i guess because it's like a free sitting fee...but don't we do that everyday?

this year i'm happy that the pictures will be with a white background & white floor. great sharp looking pictures are taken this way. we actually have one of these backdrops but just don't have the space to set it up. anyways, i think today was the first time i've ever wet jackson's hair to put it in place [usually he sports a nice, thick bed head] and i even IRONED outfits for school. jack even tried to tease me with giving me bug spray instead of starch. i probably would have used it if he didn't stand around and watch me to see if i was going to use it which made me think something was up. anyways, got some good pictures outside in case the school pics don't turn out. i even put a sign on annie's back that said "take off my shoes for my picture". i wanted to put one on jackson's back that said, "tuck in my shirt please." hopefully the photographer + teacher know to do that.

we'll have to wait and see if annie has 2 bows in her hair....

what a difference a year makes...this was picture day last year / this year:

01 October 2007

Jack runs first triathlon - Cinco Ranch Sprint Triathalon September 30, 2007

Decent athlete. What a photographer! (Thanks, Ju!)


just crossed the finished line. Ahh...



Julie and I got up around 5am. Well, I got up at 5pm to get my digestive system going before the big race. Julie woke up around 5:45am. Annie was already up smiling and laughing somehow. I guess she heard me get up. Julie got the kids dressed. I loaded the tri-gear into the car, and we were off on time around 6pm. We got there around 6:30. It was pitch black with hundreds of tri-athletes parking their cars and getting their bikes ready for the competition. Pretty cool to see such a large group of adult athletes dedicated to pushing themselves in an event like that. There were about 800 participants.

Julie left with the kiddos to take them to Katy at Mimi's house. I rode my bike into the transition area. Got my gear ready for the swim. Then, oh ya, headed to the port-o-potties to join the other 200+ people in line for 15 potties. I was in a bit of discomfort. I'll stop here :)

Went to get my chip for my ankle. They have these chips that log your time when you cross each transition. Very cool technology. It allows them to spit out the results of the races almost instantly.

I'm pretty nervous here at this point. My stomach is in knots. I'm anxious to get going. The time is about 7:15. The race starts at 7:30. I bumped into a friend John Cordes, a former classmate of Julie from Katy High. I joined him on the walk to the swim start.

They had some announcements, pledge of allegiance, and then the groups started. I was in the 30-34 age group. We were the 3rd to start. We waded in the water for a bit before starting. Not to trivialize war, because I have no idea what that feels like. But competitions like this are as close as a civilian will get. Nonetheless, it felt like D-day invasion. All of these men sitting there in the water. Very focused. Nervous. Then they sounded the gun. We were off!




I was at the front of the group, so I had a bit of a head start. Still, I was getting kicked and bumped into by all of these bodies. There were 62 in our group. Since it was an open water swim that weaved around bouys (sp?), this swim was much more challenging. Instead of focusing on the fundamentals of head down, arms extended, keep kicking, you were forced to have your head up alot to avoid going the wrong way or bumping into others.

400 meters later I was #20 out of 62 dudes!!! Alright! I felt disoriented. Dizzy. The picture says it all.








Unlucky for me, the swim is the shortest part. The bike, my weakest leg, is the longest. Races usually are won or lost here. Biking is cool. Just kinda boring to me. Lots of doing the same thing. Alot. 19 miles later, I had been passed up a bit, and I dropped to like 40th place.






On to the run. I like-a-the-run! I took it easy and paced myself for the first 2 miles. Then sped up for the last mile. Or maybe it was when I got passed up by that hot female triathlete who ended up winning her female class. Maybe that was motivation to run faster ;) There were quite a few hard bodies out there. Cool to see how normal folks take such good care of there body. Very motivating!




The last 100 yards, I sprinted in. I had the energy to kick it way up, so I did. You can see here that I was giving it 110%.




When I finished, I was dehydrated, dizzy, felt like puking, had headache, and FELT LIKE A COOL DUDE FOR FINISHING! What a mix of emotions!

I loved seeing Julie at the end. What is a race if you have noone there to cheer you in? I gave her a big kiss and we headed to get electrolytes, water, and pasta.


For the first 40 minutes, I felt physically worse than I have in recent adult memory. Maybe 2-a-day football practice or basketball practice comes close. I really pushed my body. I had to lie down in the shade. Slowly, I got rid of my puking sensation and headache. That was good.

From then, we just enjoyed each other and the scenery. After about 1.5 hr of laying around, eating pasta, and drinking water. We left to go pick up the kiddos in Katy.

This was my first experience at organized athletics like running or biking or swimming. It was a great experience. I'm very pumped about the next one!



If you've read this far, you either like my prose, are a cool friend, or are bored. In any case, thanks for reading about this cool experience. As you can tell, I had a great time.

-Jack