Peewee AA Spirit of Duluth Tournament - December 6-8

Canyon had his first out of town tournament with his Peewee AA team in Duluth. It was a frigid weekend with temps as low as -17 degrees. Presley stayed in Eden Prairie with some friends because she also had hockey games and Dad flew up on Saturday after a trip to see Pearl Jam in WA. So the weekend started with Mom and Canyon driving up together in a white knuckle 4.5 hour drive. The morning of our first game, the steam was coming up off of Lake Superior. It was a beautiful but cold morning and the boys started off strong with a win against Elk River. However, they ended the weekend with a 1-2-1 record. While not a winning weekend, it was a fun bonding weekend with our new team.





On Friday night, each of the boys had to give speeches on a famous hockey player. Canyon did an awesome job on Nicklas Lidstrom from the Detroit Redwings. Good experience and great practice for these young boys.



And while we were away, Presley got some crazy hair with her friend Taylor! Thanks to our pals to supporting us while we were out of town.

Thanksgiving in Minnesota

For the first time in several years, we spent Thanksgiving in Minneseota. We were sad to not be with our good pals in California this year but we had a very special holiday with Great Granny, Grandpa and Grammie Liz, and Kasie. We also enjoyed hockey tournaments for both Canyon and Presley.

Pajama Parties with Great Granny Kohls


Thanksgiving Day Preparation and Toasts






Hockey Games with the Family

Halloween 2012

Mom kicked off the Halloween season with a Monster Dash run with some pals. We had a blast running as green M&Ms. And it got Mom energized about getting back into a regular exercise routine.



Halloween is always a highlight for the kids. We hold the kids back until 6 PM and then the race begins. We start off the "trick or treating" on Jasper lane. After the Pergandes start, the rest of the neighborhood knows it's okay to start. This year, the kids had some pals over to enjoy the run with. Presley had two costumes. She started as an alien. And then when she got sick of the mask, she became a Blues Brother. Canyon also had two costumes. He started as a scary clown. And then we he got sick of his mask, he became a friendly clown. We also switched up the night with Mom walking the neighborhood with the kids and Dad entertaining the trick or treaters! Fun night!

MEA Weekend in Red Wing, MN

MEA weekend is a weekend where the kids have off Thursday and Friday from school. We decided this year to go to Red Wing, MN to enjoy the fall colors and spend some quality time with Great Granny, who is now living in MN. The Kadows invited us to spend time at their cabin on their nearby land where they are building a home, have a beautiful garden, and are down the road from the Trannels. It's an absolutely beautiful property with gorgeous surroundings. Thank you so much for sharing their space with us.



On our first day in town, the kids and Mom started their day in downtown Maiden Rock at the famous Pelican Bake Shop. Yum, yum! We enjoyed pumpkin pie, garden quiche, and a chocolate peanut butter cookie!



We then headed into Red Wing and Welch Village to enjoy a 13 mile bike ride on the Cannon Valley bike trail, a beautiful trail that runs along the Cannon river. The kids did awesome -- their longest bike ride ever! And the fall colors were absolutely gorgeous!





After our amazing bike ride, we stopped in Red Wing and visited the famous Uffda shop, where we bought some fun Xmas presents for family. Dad met us at the Smokin' Oak for dinner and then we headed "home" to enjoy bonfires and game playing at the cabin!




On Saturday, we started our day by visiting the neighbor's farm. Presley fed the horses and the chickens. We spent the afternoon at Robyn and Ryan's super cool new home, a converted barn that they are renovating. We enjoyed a nice afternoon with Granny before heading back to the Kadow land to enjoy some hikes on their property, more bonfires, and more games! Fun, fun weekend for the Pergande crew!

Auntie Comes to Town

We enjoyed having Auntie coming visit to Minneapolis. Her trip included our usual visits to the kids games. This year she enjoyed Presley playing and scoring in soccer. And she took pictures with our growing 6th grade football player. We also had some great fun at the Sever's Corn Maze. We enjoyed kettle corn and corn dogs, jumping in the corn pit, adventuring through the corn maze, pumpkin shooting, and our highlight -- the pig racing! Fun event and fun visit with Auntie.

Presley's First Concert - Taylor Swift

We were very excited to find out that Mom and Presley were going to the Taylor Swift concert. Mom bought tickets from a friend to take Presley on Sunday night (yes - a school night). Mom's favorite quote of the night was driving to the concert when Presley said, "Mom I am so excited and nervous, I have butterflies in my stomach". It was a very special night. Taylor Swift rocked it along with Ed Sheeran and Casey James. Our tickets were on the first level near the back stage (fun to see Taylor at the back stage for 4-5 songs). Presley also got her first concert T-shirt and her first glow stick to match the crowd. Super fun night. Presley screamed for excitement but then pooped out at the end. Like mother, like daughter! Special night, special memories!

First Day of School - 6th and 4th Grade

It's back to school time. This is a very big year. This will be the last year that Canyon and Presley will be in the same school until they are in high school. Canyon's teacher is Sra. Chepokas and Presley's teacher is Sra. Holland. Wow does time fly.

The Minnesota Great Get Together

Every year, one of our highlights is visiting the MN State Fair. We love the food, the rides, the people watching, the special attraction, and the animals. Every year we try to check out some of the old and some of the new. This year we definitely got lots of new. For food, we enjoyed our old standbys like the cheese curds, french fries, nitro ice cream, corn on the cob, and all you can drink milk. One of our new favorites was the Turkey sandwich. We will take a pass in the future on the flavored corn dogs and the nitro popcorn.

Some of our new activities included the butterfly house, the very first state fair ride (Ye Old Mill), trailer horse races, the Newspaper museum, the ShenaniGuns Comedy Wild West Show, and the Luminarium Exxpolis! We also visited our old standbys like music at the Heritage Square and Leine's Stages as well as all the fun carnival rides!



Catching butterflies at the Butterfly House


Mom doing the chicken dance at the Wild West show


Checking out the cool new luminaries




The ride selection at the state fair are getting scarier and scarier


After the state fair, we were also fortunate to check out Canyon's saxophone teacher with this band, Prior Avenue, at a cool Blues House in St. Paul. A cool show and great inspiration for a young musician!

Summer is Flying By But We Are Enjoying It

We have definitely been making the most of the summer. Presley and Mom are on a mission to ride all the trails in Eden Prairie and beyond. This picture is from a 8 mile bike ride we enjoyed at Elm Creek Park Reserve. That day, we also enjoyed playing games at the Pierre Bottineau house in the park.



Mom just launched one of her first big projects, Pillsbury Pancake Batter, out of General Mills. We were out supporting the launch at a sampling event at the St. Paul Saints event. Fun game with the doughboy!



We are also enjoying other fun activities like Movies in the Park. Presley and her friend Paige, were enjoying some time at the park before the movie started.



Canyon was invited to a friends house for some fun and crazy tubing.



We also were honored to witness one of Presley's favorite teachers get married at the beautiful Basillica Church of St. Mary's in downtown Minneapolis. It was a beautiful wedding and it was fun to see the other kids that came out to witness the wedding. Senorita Koch is a very special teacher and we are so sad to hear that she is moving. We will miss you!