90 Days of Summer - Week 1

This is Mom's first summer off with the kids and we are calling it our summer of adventure. Time to take on new responsibilities, time to explore some of the city's highlights that we haven't had the time to explore in the past, time to relax and play with friends, time to check out new summer camps, and time to make some memories as a family. Our first official week of summer was filled with many fun firsts...

Canyon learning how to pump gas for the first time...


Playing frisbee golf at Staring Lake and then grabbing some ice cream...


Swimming at Lifetime Fitness with friends...


Getting Valley Fair passes and actually going to Valley Fair (and trying out new rides, new food, new shows)...


Checking out local festivals, including our first, Parktacular, where Canyon's saxophone teacher was playing with his band Prior Avenue...


Spending Father's Day in the city. We tried the new miniature golf course at the Walker Art Center, went to the Stone Arch Bridge festival and got up close to the roaring falls on the Mississippi, and ended our day with some great pizza outside at Galactic Pizza...

Presley Soccer Tournament Fun

Presley is enjoying playing soccer this summer as a U10. This weekend he she had a fun (but very rainy) tournament and got to spend some time hanging out with her teammates between the games. The parents also had fun hanging out together as well!

End of School Year 2013-14

2013-14 was a big school year. Canyon graduated from Spanish Immersion Elementary school and will be heading to Central Middle School next year. A big realization for Mom and Dad at how fast the time flies by. Here are some pics from the end of school adventures.

Last Elementary Band Concert...


Last Skating Lessons with Karn Skating School...


6th grade Graduation and Reception...




Last Day of School...


End of School Parties (that Mom can now attend!)...

Memorial Day Camping Weekend - Whitewater State Park

The Pergandes continued their Memorial Day camping weekend with their pals the Holjes. This year, Presley also brought a friend and we were blessed with amazing weather (a rarity for this weekend) and awesome adventures. This year we went to Whitewater State Park, an awesome park in SE Minnesota that is known for their lack of mosquitoes.

Mom and Sara went up early on Friday to set up all the tents and get the campsite along the river ready to go! We rocked it! 3 tents and a fire in the making when the rest of the crew arrived!







Parents always having fun and the kids started off the adventure with a baseball game in the campground!





Our first full day was full of great adventures including making our own hiking sticks from buckthorn, catching frogs and swimming in the river, playing "Newcomb Volleyball", playing cards, hiking to Chimney rock, carving our initials into the sandstone wall, and ending the evening with infused dinner cocktails! A great and full first day!















Our second day started with the most amazing fresh donuts, followed by a geocaching adventure, a climb to the top of the Elba firetower, fishing along the river, and crazy skeleton finds.













We left Monday morning, luckily missing the rain. Awesome trip with an awesome crew! Can't wait until 2015!

Mom's California Adventure

Mom enjoyed five awesome days in California. She came out for her UCLA 15 year reunion but was able to extend on both sides to visit with friends and family.

Mom arrived on Thursday and spent the day with Sharon Hanson and the Gray family. It was an awesome day with Beverly Hills strolls with Sharon, Gray family adventures (doctor appointments, swim team, tumbling, dinner and wine, Barre classe, coffee, and Pasadena strolls). Thank you for both families making time for me!



The UCLA reunion was awesome. Mom shared a hotel room with Isabelle Fymat and Nancy Shultz. We enjoyed Friday night happy hour with old pals and drinks/dinner at our pals' new restaurant. On Saturday, we enjoyed a great 5 mile beach run, pool side chats, and a fun reunion dinner on the beach. Can't wait until the 20th!




On Sunday, Mom spent the day with Dad, Liz and Kasie (and her boyfriend Jake). We enjoyed a nice lunch, fun car test drives, and an awesome dinner gathering with Amanda an her family (such cute boys!). Next time, Mom will give more advance notice so she can also see Jamie and her family as well!!



Amazing trip with amazing memories!

MIscellaneous Spring Memories

The Easter bunny visited the kids in Chicago this year at the hotel. However, when we returned from Chicago, we still wanted to maintain some of our family Easter traditions. The kids enjoyed decorating some eggs on the porch this year (and then got crazy with the colors).



This spring we also experienced another broken arm. After about 3 weeks of Presley telling us that her wrist hurt, Mom finally brought her into the doctor to get it checked out. We found out that she actually had a mild growth plate fracture in her wrist that probably occurred when her and Canyon were rough housing. Presley will be in the cast for 4 weeks but now she has this fancy zipper cast that she can take off for showers. And she can still play hockey and soccer! Not so bad for a tough kid.

Canyon's Icemen Easter Tournament in Chicago

This is Canyon's 3rd year with the MN Icemen. This year the hockey team traveled to Chicago for an Easter Weekend tournament. Canyon loved the fact that we took a bus as a team and missed two days of school! Presley loved the fact that she also got to miss two days of school and enjoy the weekend with one of her good pals Paige (sister of Canyon's teammate Drew). It was a fun weekend with some tough teams but the boys did well and Ron helped to show the team some of the finest Chicago experiences like Portillo Hotdogs and Giordanno Stuffed Pizza! It was also a crazy weekend because our hotel had over 15 fire drills with one being a real fire! Luckily we all stayed safe!

The boys with our team bus...


Presley & Paige...


Parent pre game ritual hanging outside the arena...


Ron entertaining the team during one of our late night fire drills outside our hotel...


The firetrucks...


Visit with local pals Chris & Joelle (thanks also to Lumpy & Maucieri family for their visits)...


Fun times in the hotel pool...


Team olympic and karaoke time at local restaurant/bar organized by Ron...


The boys even helped celebrate Karen and Trisha's birthday with singing and cake...



Great weekend with a great team and parents!