First Day of School 2015

Canyon and Presley are back to school as 8th graders and 6th graders. I have really enjoyed watching these "little" kids grow up. We are truly blessed.

Canyon's school starts early. Still dusk at bus pick up time...


Presley is now the big kid at the bus stop. Hard to believe she was this little once...

State Fair 2015

We absolutely love the MN State Fair, which is always a highlight of our summer. This year Mom and Presley went an extra day for a girls' date and then we went again as a family. We tried new things like breakfast corn dogs and pretzel curds and explored new things like the pig judging contest, the state fair sky tower, and the best of Texas. We also continued with the things we loved like the giant slide, the midway, live music at Leine's lodge, regular cheese curds and kettle corn. One of these years, we are going to make it to the fair every single day!

Last Days of Summer

We came home from Beach Camp and tried to make the last days of summer action packed all while trying to get ready for the new school year. Last days of summer included...

School open houses (I don't think Canyon was this much taller than me last year)


At the lake days with friends..


At the Twins game with family...


At the Saints game with friends...


Footgolf at local golf course...

Fun Times in Seattle with Friends

After Lopez Island, Ron and Trisha headed to spend a couple of days in Seattle. First stop - The Kellerans who hosted us at their new home. We had a great dinner with their family the first night. The next day, we headed downtown with Dori and the boys for a nice stroll through Olympic Statue Park and lunch on the wharf.





Second stop - Capital Hill and dinner with the Frossards. On our second night, we went into town for dinner with our good pals, Ann and Chris. We had an amazing dinner on the rooftop at Terra Plata. And then we enjoyed a coffee tasting at the new Starbucks Roastery -- which is like Wille Wonka factory for coffee. A blast of a night!





Last stop -- On our way back to Beach Camp, Ron and Trisha took a detour through Woodinville. We enjoy wine tastings at Columbia and Chateau St. Michelle. And then had an awesome lunch at the Red Hook Brewery. We didn't even scratch the surface here and need to make sure we stop here again on our next visit to Seattle.

Lopez Island

We were very fortunate to be able to go out to Terry's parents' place on Lopez Island (part of San Juan Islands) with Terry and Grandma Harriet for a couple of days. We were excited to relax without any agenda. Terry's parents have a great home on a beautiful cove. Terry took us to some of his favorite look out points near his home, which gave us great views from the Island. He also showed us around town to enjoy the water and some great food.

Day 1 - Mom and son enjoying a happy hour cocktail overlooking the cove..


Day 1 - Great views from the first walk to the bluff near his home...




Day 2- Walk to his favorite "camping spot"...


Day 2 - Happy hour in town near the marina...


Day 3 - Low tide in the cove at Terry's parents' home...


Day 3 - Great walk out to the Shark Sanctuary...


Day 3 - Just barely making the ferry back to the mainland...

Beach Camp 2015

The Pergandes were excited to head out to Beach Camp at Sunset Bay with Auntie Annie for another year. Last year the kids had a blast. So much fun that they decided to bring their friends Jack and Elle this year. We were also excited to spend some time with Grandma Harriet, Uncle Don, and Cousin Laila. This year didn't disappoint. The kids had an amazing trip with a full week of ocean sport activities, team and leadership building, and meeting new friends! While the kids were at camp, Ron and Trisha headed out to Lopez Island with Uncle Terry and Grandma Harriet. And then came back to spend a couple of days win Seattle with friends. We also got the unexpected excitement of a big storm that almost trapped us at Beach Camp for a couple of more days.... Never a dull moment.

Pals Jack, Elle, Presley, and Canyon...


Icebreakers to Meet New Friends...


Examples of Some of the Ocean Sport Activities -

Day Snorkeling..


Night Snorkeling (and bioluminescence)...


Beach Hike at Low Tide to a Local Park...


Sea Kayaking...


Flying Trapeze...


Beach Biking...


Surfing...


Jumping off the High Dive... (this is Ron)


Beach Bonfires...


Camp Talent Shows...


Boating Activities (like tubing and wakeboarding)...


And Some Great Family Time...




And then finally a crazy storm that knocked out our power. With a great team, we locked down the dock and had fun, including the adventure of taking Don, Laila, and Grandma Harriet to the airport via the train tracks. Always exciting at Beach Camp!