True Blessings in Amelia Island

We had an amazing journey to Florida the week August 5th..... in many ways. We started off the trip with a 3 day journey to Amelia island for a true vacation of relaxation with Ron's cousins, the Kesslers and their kids. We swam at the pool, played in the ocean, built sandcastles, searched for seashells, and bonded with our cousins. Amelia Island is a beautiful destination where we spotted turtles on our beach and enjoyed sunrises (or at least Ron did). But most fortunate of all was our last day. On our way out of town heading towards the second leg of our vacation at the Villages, we were struck by a small pick up truck that ran a red light. Canyon and Mom took the direct impact of the crash. However, we were so, so fortunate for side air bags, child seats, and Onstar. We escaped with only minor cuts and abrasions. Our car was totaled but Avis gave us another rental car and our cousins were nice enough to drive us to Jacksonville to take us there to pick it up. I had tears of joys for days and continue to have tears of joys for our true blessing and new appreciation for life. Thank you God! Thank you for life!

Kohls Family Reunion in MN

We headed to Bay Colony Inn in Nisswa, MN for the Kohls family reunion. The Michigan Kleeves and the California Kohls crews arrived on Wednesday. Overall, we had a great turnout with 31 attending. The weekend was filled with Euchre and Bunco tournaments, watersliding, tubing, great family dinners, late night bonfires (for some), pedicures, sunsets, and catching up. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. Mom didn't take enough pictures but here are a couple excerpts from the weekend.

Grammie Comes to Visit

Grammie came for a short but fun 48 hour visit. During her short visit we packed in kids sports activities, a trip to urgent care, a visit to the cool Treeology exhibit at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, games and puzzles, and a day on the boat. Grammie was very brave and Mommy even got to go wakeboarding this week.

Presley's Skyhawk Soccer

Presley has been looking forward all summer to her first summer soccer camp experience that went for 1 hour each day for 5 straight days. Presley was super excited for camp each day but we are still learning about what elements made her the most excited. Was it experimenting with her uniform in the field, determinedly playing goalie even though there are no goalies at her age, taking (and avoiding) pictures, wearing her favorite soccer shorts, receiving her award, hiding from another soccer kid admirer, or actually getting some good kicks and touches? It was definitely an interesting experiment and we are anxious to see how her interest in team sports progresses (or not) over the coming years.

Auntie Comes to Visit

Auntie from Ohio came for a visit to Minneapolis. During her visit, the kids got to show off their sports activities like hockey and swimming. We also continued our summer of boating, which was a big deal for Auntie who doesn't like to swim. This was one of our first trips on the boat where the water was actually calm. The kids got to do cannonballs off the side of the boat and we enjoyed nice snacks and cocktails. We finished our night with a trip for custard at Adele's. It was a fun weekend that was also filled with games, book reading, and tough puzzles!

More Summer Fun

It's been a crazy week of storms. Went to see some local music this weekend with the kids. As the kids blew bubbles at the show, the clouds started to roll in and wash us out. Also spent some fun days at the frisbee golf course and park. As usual, we finished up the weekend with a nice day on the boat with some friends. Hard to believe the summer is half way done....

Fourth of July Celebrations

Busy, busy, holiday weekend. Not sure where to start. The 4th of July kicked off with the Eden Prairie Firecracker Games. Presley and Canyon played in exhibition baseball games, where the kids got their names announced over the loudspeakers when they came up to bat --- "Announcing Presley "The Powerhouse Slammer" Pergande and Canyon "The Speedster" Pergande. We also enjoyed some festival food and jumpers.



And then it was off to Lake Minnetonka for a family only evening on the boat followed by the Excelsior Fireworks show with some friends.



Over the weekend, we also hit the Taste of Minnesota, helped set up church, went swimming at Lake Calhoun, and enjoyed a barbecue with friends. A fun, filled and exhausting weekend.