Summertime in Northern Michigan

This summer, we traveled to Canadian Lakes Michigan to celebrate the wedding of Meghan and Brandon Teenier. We were excited to make a vacation out of it and rented a great home on the lake. The wedding festivities were a blast and we enjoyed great time with family. The weekend kicked off with a welcome barbecue. Canyon and Presley enjoyed several sleepovers and fishing with Aunt Kasie. We hosted the "boys" for late night gatherings and pong. And we enjoyed BBQs with the family and afternoon cards with Great Granny. It was a wonderful home and a wonderful vacation.






Meghan and Brandon's wedding was a beautiful and fun event. The decorations were beautiful, Meghan was gorgeous, the kids dressed up adorably, and we had a blast dancing late into the night. Congratulations to Meghan and Brandon!







After a fun wedding weekend, we were excited to host Grandma Harriet and Cousins Bob & Yvette and the girls. Our days were filled with fishing, paddle boating, playing games, and full relaxation. The Kleeves brought the Titanic over for several boat rides. And strong Natasha and Alex were able to pull the Titanic in when it got stranded in the middle of the lake. Way to go girls.






An absolutely amazing week at the cottage was capped off with a fish fry with fresh fish we caught that day and a trip to the famous King's where the "baby" scoop is literally as big as your head. Mmmm..... Good!






En route from Michigan to Chicago, we made a stop to see Brandon's new community garden. The garden was in full swing and was inspiration for him to make plans to travel to Argentina in the fall. We ate his first strawberries and enjoyed a late lunch with Brandon in his neighborhood,


Our trip ended with a couple of days in Chicago with friends and family. The kids absolutely loved playing in the waves and sand at Oak Street Beach on Lake Michigan with Grammie and Aunt Kimmy. And Mom and Dad loved checking out Lake Michigan with evening cocktails and fireworks with some of our Chicago pals.

Summer Solstice 2011

Pergandes hosted our 3rd annual Summer Solstice to celebrate the longest day of the year! This year Mother Nature tested our strength with rain. We didn't let it deter us. We set up the DJ and the bartenders in the garage. And when she knew we wouldn't give up, she gave up and the night turned out beautiful with a great sunset, great friends, bonfires and late night acoustic jams. Summer Stanley was the featured cocktail in honor of Summer and Stanley our cat who turned 20 this month. It was our biggest event yet, with over 100 friends helping us celebrate. Here's to 2011!

Presley & Dad's Soccer Season

Presley and Dad had a great soccer season with a fun soccer team. Dad was the coach of Team USA. He brought out the USA flag to every game and had a host of fans with their flags and decorations each and every game. Presley plays a mean defense but also had some great goals this season as well. Fun season!

Summer Baseball

The women are enjoying summer baseball. Presley is on a baseball team, made up with mostly boys. Although she and 2 other girls are real sluggers on the team. Mom also gets in on the baseball fun by enjoying a Women, Wine, and Baseball fundraiser with some neighbor friends. Fun baseball season!

Last Day of School

Wow our kids our growing up fast. Their last day of school was June 9th. Mom and Dad greeted them at the bus stop on their last day. It's very bittersweet as our kids move into 4th and 2nd grade. Our neighborhood celebrates the end of school with a party for the kids, where they get a certificate and a new book. Not only are our kids getting older, the whole neighborhood's kids are getting older!

Memorial Day Camping Trip

This Memorial Day, we went camping with our pals the Holjes in Taylors Falls, MN along the St. Croix River. We were afraid the trip would be a wash out with rain. We did get rain the first night but the rest of the weekend was quite enjoyable. We had a great time hanging at our campground, playing catch, cooking smores, and even going miniature golfing. We also enjoyed fishing and checking out Wild Mountain where we went Alpine Sliding and Go Kart racing, It was Canyon's first time as a driver! And yes, he did crash. We also really, really enjoyed hiking around in Interstate State Park. The park is filled with great boulders and meanders along the St. Croix river. A beautiful park that we plan to return to again next year!