Our Star of the Stage

P's 1st words this morning were, "Today is the most important day of my life!"

Birthdays, vacations, 1st day of school... it all really just pales in comparison to the performance he was about to give. Obviously, he was quite excited about his play today!

It was really amazing what they were able to accomplish with these kids in just 5 days (and only 1/2 days at that). There were about 45 kids involved in the camp this week, and they put on 3 short plays today. The kids not only learned their parts, but they also painted the sets. It was all very cute!

Before the plays began, they all came out for an opening number, a funny song about drama camp.

Perry's favorite part was the kick line at the end of the song.

Here's a little video clip of his part in the play. He's the one in red -- he was the "2nd counselor" and the "Master of Swords." You can tell he was a bit nervous, but we thought he did a fantastic job. And check out his little "celebration" after he says his first part.

"More Than a Match" from Lisa Nadreau on Vimeo.

Taking a bow...

After the show...

He loved the whole experience and already asked if he could do it again next year.

On another note, here's the current status of the floor.

OK, so it's not exactly an "after" picture. It's more like a "during" picture. It's about 75% done, though.

As it turns out, pulling up carpet by yourself yields some sore muscles and makes you a slow worker the next day. : )

That after picture is coming soon...

Ty Pennington, Bob Villa, and Me

Look what I did while P was at camp this morning.

This is our basement, and as of about 10:00 this morning, there was carpet there. A lovely berber, circa 1996. By noon, it was no more.

And I did it. All by myself.

Don't worry, we're not leaving it that way. Hopefully by tomorrow evening, I'll have some "after" pictures for you. Now that the hubby is home, we are hauling all the carpet away and prepping for tomorrow's project -- laying down the new flooring.

After my very productive morning, P and I met my friend Kim and her son at a lovely indoor playground for some air-conditioned fun! The boys ran wild, and we enjoyed some adult conversation.

Sorry, no pictures of the adult conversation... only the wild boys.

And LOOK -- Perry is wearing his very first autographed t-shirt. Oh, remember those? That Sharpie-smelling t-shirt really took me back.

This one is a souvenir from the drama camp he attended this week. Tomorrow is their big show. P has 4 lines. His teacher actually offered him one of the lead parts, the king -- with 15 LINES -- after he did such a great job memorizing his 1st line.

He decided he did not want that kind of responsibility, though. Either that, or he didn't want to give up his warrior sword.

Day Trippin'

Yesterday the family and I took a little trip with Grammy over to Birmingham where P's cousin Hannah was playing in a softball tournament.

Grammy suggested that we go over there and surprise her -- and boy was she surprised!

Of course, P LOVED watching her play. She played a great game, and we got to visit a little afterward. We took our new addition, Samson, along for the ride. He got lots of attention. Teenage girls love a cute little doggie!

After the game, we took Hannah for a bite to eat before we hit the road for home.

When I saw P's meal, I just had to document it. Try to contain your amazement at the nutritional value contained in this kid's meal. It will be hard, I know.

Do you see that there are nachos and cheese, Cheetos, and Teddy Grams in front of him? Yes, that was it. I promise it was not specially ordered that way, either. He chose the kid's nachos from the menu (nachos have been a recent fascination), and that's how it came.

Please notice that he is drinking milk, though. Thank you.

You know, we ate at this really great deli, and all of us had yummy salads or wraps with some fruit or potato salad or some such thing. The kids, though? Load them up with carbs!!! Who is driving our economy? To whom do restaurants/stores, etc. cater? Don't be fooled, people, it's all about the kids.

And carbs, they do make a kid happy.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We spent Thursday evening at the Braves' game.


You may be wondering why the boys are wearing Cubs gear to a Braves' game. Good question. Here's why...
It was "Braves' Night Out" for Perry's baseball league. They got to parade around the field before the game, dressed in their uniforms. A couple of the teams got to play a short exhibition on the field, too. It was quite exciting seeing those little guys walking around that big field. We even saw many of their sweet faces on the big screen.

It was totally worth standing out in the blazing sun for over an hour to see it!

Here are a couple more shots from the game.

Some of our good friends came along for the fun!

We had a fantastic time. P's love for baseball and his understanding of the game is really unbelievable at times. He followed every play so closely, with rapt attention, and talked about them with such excitement. It was really fun to watch.

And we were there when Chipper Jones hit his 400th homerun (we were actually walking through the stadium and didn't see it live, but, hey, we were there)! When P saw that on Sports Center the next day, he couldn't believe it. Now he tells everyone about it -- not just about the homerun, but about them showing it on Sports Center, too. That's the best part, right? : )

Another Day Full O' Fun

In the category of things boys love are knights, swords, and all the grandeur and majesty that was the Renaissance.

We spent this past Sat. at the Renaissance Festival, and although it was a SCORCHER, as they say, we still had a great time.

Perry's favorite, of course, was the joust. We watched it twice! He was thrilled that I took some pictures of it for him. Here's his favorite knight... the good guy, of course.


We've been to the Festival before, but this year he and Daddy got to sword fight! Here they are all suited up and ready.

En garde! The battle begins! Perry has gotten some fencing practice on the Wii, but the real thing was quite a bit different, as he soon found out.

And Daddy showed no mercy. Look at this! He almost knocked the kid down!

Perry was declared the winner in the end, though. It was a tough battle, but he got his 5 jabs in first.

All P talked about the whole way there was this eagle ride. He did it last year and couldn't wait to get on it again!

This barrel ride was really neat -- completely man-powered. That one guy pushes and spins the barrel. Quite the Renaissance workout!

Wow! That's one big dragon!

Our New Addition

We have had another eventful week, so I am going to do several posts with pictures in the next few days. Hope you enjoy getting caught up! : )

First, we have a new addition to our family! He's been with us for a week now, and we are really enjoying him. Some of you know that I've been wanting a small dog for quite some time now. So finally -- here's Samson

He's a long-haired chihuahua -- 7 months old. He's been a lot of fun so far, and he is adjusting well to life at our house. You'll notice he's representin' for PetsMart.

Perry really loves him, and they get along great.

Perry even asked to leave the pool 2 days in a row because he wanted to go home and play with Samson. This could possibly be even better than a little brother or sister! : )

Living in a Man's World

It all started a couple of months back. Perry and I were riding along in the car, and he says, "Mommy, ya know what I saw when I was watching Sports Center the other day?"

He's 5 years old, y'all, and already he's turning into his father.

For those who don't know, my husband is some sort of phenomena when it comes to sports facts and trivia. He knows the stats of sports teams from colleges that I didn't even know existed.

In the car the other day we were riding along listening to our standard tunes of choice -- some rockin' worship music, and the kid pipes up with, "Can we listen to sports radio, Mommy?"

Ummmm... NO! You can listen to that in Daddy's car, kiddo.

Today, after a very busy morning and afternoon, we came home for some relaxation time, which usually involves some cartoons for him and a good book for me (or, more likely, some laundry or cleaning products). Anyway, he sits down on the couch and turns on, you guessed it, Sports Center.

ESPN now ranks among the top 3 channels my 5-year-old watches. He always checks Nick, Disney, and ESPN.

And this morning as I'm making breakfast and he was watching some morning TV, he yells to me, "Mommy, come quick! They're showing Big Papi on TV!" (For the ladies/non-sports fans -- Big Papi is David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox)

I was very excited.

His daddy, however, is quite proud.