Presley's 8th Birthday Celebration

In 2011, Presley missed her birthday party because she was sick. This year she was healthy and had a great birthday. She invited 4 friends for an afternoon and evening of fun. We picked Presley and her pals up from school and headed to the bowling alley for some bowling, pizza, and cake. And then we headed to the movie theater to see Big Miracle, the true story about whales rescued in Alaska. We dropped off the boys and Presley finished off her birthday with a sleepover with her friends Taylor and Alex. Presley was super thoughtful and encouraged her friends to give gifts for the kids in the hospital instead of her. We recently dropped off the presents for the kids in the hospital. It was a great experience. Happy 8th Birthday Presley!

Presley's 1st Ski Race - Team Gilboa

Presley has joined a ski team this year. Team Gilboa. She skis every Monday and Wednesday at a local hill. And then on 4 separate Sundays, she races against her peers through the ski gates (just like Lindsay Von :)). She is having an absolute blast. Her first race day was a bit icy but she made all the gates and came in 6th (out of 16) for her age group. And she had a blast! Check out the video at the end (ignore Mom's commentary). The team has fun dress up nights too. Below is her crazy super hero outfit!
Fun season so far!

Lutsen Mountain 2011

The Pergandes took our first trip to Lutsen between Christmas and New Years. Lutsen really surprised us with how big it was, not too shabby for the Midwest. It was really the first trip where all the Pergandes were able to ski/snowboard together. Our days were full, making the most of every run. And our evenings we stayed on the mountain enjoying dinner and music at the local Papa Charlies. The kids' highlight may have not been the skiing but the ability to swim inside and outside in a heated pool. Mom enjoyed the hot tub more! Fun trip that we will have to make it back to again in the near future!

Christmas 2011

Christmas Eve started early with Grandma Harriet making lots and lots and lots of gingerbread cookies with the kids. We all went to church where the kids sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. And Christmas Eve dinner was a nice night that brought the Reep cousins and their families together for a night of dinner, celebration, and guitar playing. Merry Christmas Eve 2011!







While it wasn't a white christmas, Christmas morning was very special none the less. Grandma Harriet made new Christmas shirts for the kids and Gramme made one for Auntie. It was a generous Christmas for everyone this year. And both Canyon and Presley were super excited about their gifts from Santa -- a real live fish "Razorblade" for Presley and Just Dance 3 for Canyon. Santa works in mysterious ways for sure. Canyon kicked our butt in Just Dance but we had fun dancing up a storm. The morning was filled with present opening, fresh coffee, and warm sticky buns. The afternoon was filled with game playing, puzzle making, and White Turkey chili. We were sad to say goodbye to Aunt Kimmy and Grammie at the end of the day. Merry Christmas 2011!

Pre Christmas Week Memories

Our pre-Christmas week was extra special this year because Uncle Don and Grandma Harriet were here for an entire week together. The boys and their Mom enjoyed a very special week of bonding. They went on hikes, they had morning fires, and they went to the gym (every day), where Uncle Don got ron on track for the new year. We also got to enjoy some of the kids activities, like watching Presley on her ski team, watching some of Canyon's hockey games, and even getting up early for one of his breakfast club practices. Grandma Harriet was excited to be the mystery reader in Presley's class this year. Both Presley and Grandma Harriet were very proud. Canyon also had a fun birthday tubing party.

The week was also filled with some of our traditional activities like putting Santa on the top of the tree (it was Presley's turn this year), our pizza making party (thanks Auntie for the doughs and sauces), and bowling. This year Auntie made it in town and was able to experience our bowling extravaganza where Grandma Harriet kicked butt and the kids spent over an hour turning in their "tickets" for a special prize. A great christmas week!

Ronnie Turns 45!

Ronnie's birthday celebration was a fun celebration. He started the day by sleeping in until 10 AM. We greeted him with balloons around the house and pull apart cinnamon rolls. We opened presents and he enjoyed an afternoon of skating with the kids in our backyard. Our evening started with Canyon's hockey game (and watching him score 2 goals) followed by live music at Gluek's with about 25 friends who showed up to celebrate with Ronnie. He was happy! Happy Birthday Ronnie!

Winter Sports 2011

We are officially in winter and winter sport season has begun. Canyon is now a Squirt in Hockey. He made the Squirt Red B Team. His team is off to great start from a social perspective and a team perspective. We kicked off the season with a great team parent party. And the kids kicked off the season with a great fundraiser, raising over 800 lbs. of food for PROP, a local food shelf. The picture below includes just the bags of food that Canyon collected from our very generous neighbors. Presley is currently on hiatus from hockey and has joined Team Gilboa, a local ski team. She and Canyon are having a blast. Not much more we can ask for.