Valley Scare!!!

Each fall, Valley Fair converts it's entire amusement park into a themed Halloween park, filled with ghosts, goblins, haunted houses, scary mazes, and great shows. Our kids LOVE going. This year, we brought Canyon's friend Jack. We hit every single haunted house and maze and most of the scary rides. Super cool fun and super brave little kids. Mom and Dave were scared to death!!

Fun with the Eagle Heights Interns

We are super excited to be experiencing new cultures through the eyes our interns from Spain and Columbia. To kick off the experience, all the interns made dinner for their host families. Our friends, the Holjes, hosted the event at their house. We enjoyed great Sangria, Paella, and many other taps. So fun to see the kids enjoy the interns and the interns enjoy each other.









We also recently took Cristina and Marta to PinStripes, an upscale bowling alley for dinner and fun. Fun dinner, fun bowling, fun hanging out. Night ended with some singing and dancing at our house.

Fall Sports Keep Us Busy

Fall and Spring are probably our busiest season for sports because of the ending of one season the beginning of another. This fall, Presley is playing Soccer and Volleyball. Canyon is playing Baseball and Football.

For Canyon's Fall Baseball team, we hosted a kick-off party at our house for the families. Parent's hung out by the house and the kids make use of the full space at Homeward Hills park.







Presley absolutely loves her Soccer team, the Flaming Pink Lightning. She had the opportunity to do travel soccer but chose to stay with her team for one more season. She always wants to get to her practice and games early and she works hard for her team.





And while Mom is luke warm on Football, Canyon absolutely loves football and loves his team. This year he is playing quarterback again as well as many different positions on the defense. Just wish, it wasn't such a physical sport....

First Day of School 2012

Canyon and Presley are starting 5th grade and 3rd grade, respectively this year. On our first day of school, e continued our annual tradition of the kids choosing breakfast (Eggs Maxie) and pictures by the front yard tree. This year was also a big year because Canyon is now wearing contacts and this was his first day putting in contacts for school. It was also a very special day because we are hosting Cristina and this was her first day on a school bus! Super fun kick off to this new year!

Last Days of Summer

The last days of summer before school were filled with great weather and great fun. Our pals, the Koeppls, hosted an end of summer party with a blow up slide for all the kids (and Ronnie) on the Sunday before Labor Day! We finished the night with a frisbee golf outing and a sleepover with one of Canyon's pals!







On Labor Day, we hosted a welcome party for Cristina to meet her buddy families, the Hedlunds and the Allemans. The kids had fun playing on the slipping slide and in the hammock. The adults had fun connecting and ending with a dance off with Just Dance! Here comes school!!

State Fair Visit #2

The Pergandes LOVE the Minnesota State Fair. We ventured for a second time to try new experiences and also bring two visitors from Spain. On this visit, we checked out the dairy queens carved in butter, the Haunted House, the extreme trampoline show, and lots of crazy rides. The food experience was also a hit and included french fries, cheese curds, great balls of fire, and malts from the dairy barn! A full day with great memories!

Canoeing Under the Full Moon

The full moon has arrived and we ventured to go canoeing under the full moon at Bryant Lake Regional park. It was a beautiful night with clear skies and great weather. It was Cristina's first time canoeing ever and our first time canoeing in the dark. We all had our glow sticks on to see each other. A fun adventure!

Cristina Arrives from Espana!!

As part of the immersion school that Presley and Canyon attend, we have the opportunity to host teaching interns from another country at our home. This is the year! The kids are so excited to host an intern. Cristina arrived on Monday, August 27th and will be staying with us and teaching at the kids' school. Presley prepared for her arrival by making a sign to welcome Cristina at the airport. It was so amazing to watch the kids just start talking with Cristina right away in Spanish when she landed. I guess they really are learning Spanish! She says their Spanish is very good! Welcome Cristina to Minnesota!