Roadtrip to Aspen

Pergandes decided to take a road trip to Aspen over the 4th of July to visit the Colorado Pergandes. We hadn't met our newest nephew Jonathan and we also wanted to kick-off Ron's year of "50" and have some celebrations with family. It was a "LONG" drive but we had a blast of a weekend. Here are some of the highlights...

The long 17 hour journey begins...




Arrival in Aspen. Cousins, nephews, nieces, brothers reunite....





Day 1 - Visit to Maroon Bells, Swimming at Recreation Center, Hikes Up Highland for the Sunset







Day 2 - Drive up to Independence Pass. Includes hike to Weller Lake, visit to Ice Caves and Grotto, and arrival at Continental Divide.






Day 3 - Great hometown 4th of July celebration includes great parade, lunch at the firehouse, frisbee in the park, and a classical concert in the meadows. We end our day with some great family time playing dominoes at home. Thanks CO Pergandes for an amaazing visit!

June Highlights

We have had a lot of baseball and soccer in June. Canyon's team took 2nd at the Lakeville Tournament, giving them a bid to the state tournament in July. Here are a couple of pics from the weekend, including a pic with Canyon with his medal and Ron on Father's Day.




Presley and Mom are now involved with National Charity League, an organization dedicated to building mother/daughter relationships through service and leadership. This pictures is from Presley's first kickoff event with her class of 2022 cohorts.



Pergandes were in Red Wing with the cousins and granny when Aunt Colleen came to town. Here's Presley with her cute 2nd cousin Bear.

Canyon Heads to Washington DC

Canyon and 179 of his 8th grade classmates traveled to Washington DC for four days with their Social Studies teachers with World Strides for what sounds like an amazing trip. Their schedule was packed with museums, monuments, a Washington Nationals baseball game, and a cruise along the Potomac River. Canyon was "out of data" but his friends were nice enough to send me some pictures during the trip. He roomed with buddies Jack, Brock and Cooper. I think the boys really enjoyed their independence. When Canyon arrived home, he took time to walk us through all of his photos. I was pleasantly surprised with all that he had absorbed. Here are a couple of pictures from his trip.

Iwo Jima Memorial dedicated to all U.S. Marine Corps who have died in defense of the US. The memorial was inspired by the image of six Marines raising a U.S. flag during the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.



At the United States Air Force Memorial



At the White House



With Minnestoa Representative Erik Paulsen at the House of Representatives

End of School Year Highlights

The 2016-17 school year has come to an end for Canyon and Presley. Canyon will be moving on to high school in the fall and Presley will be moving on to middle school. I blinked and they grew up. I truly appreciate every moment that I have with these very special kids. Ron and I felt very fortunate to be at Presley's 6th grade celebration where they walked from the school to Staring Lake Park. It was a beautiful day and fun to watch Presley with her friends (and their "ENOs"). This will be the last year of her Spanish Immersion experience. Next year, her class will join the 5 other elementary schools at Central Middle School





Canyon's school had an end of year 8th grade awards ceremony to honor of the special achievements of students. Canyon was recognized for the President's Education Award for great grades for both 7th and 8th grade and high scores on national tests. The principal read a nice letter from President Obama. Was fun to see Canyon share this award with several of his 14AAA baseball teammates.



A couple of other end of year highlights included Canyon hitting his 3rd home run of the season at the Wayzata baseball tournament and the Pergande first trip to Eden Prairie Schooner days where Presley and Mom experienced a cultural phenomenon in the bingo tent!

Memorial Day Camping - Lac Qui Parle State Park

We continued our annual tradition of camping over Memorial Day weekend with our pals, the Holjes. This year we headed to Lac Qui Parle State Park on the west side of the state. We also upgraded to cabins after last year's non stop rain and tick infestation. It was a great upgrade that we truly appreciated this weekend, which also started off with rain but ended with amazing weather. This weekend was full of adventures and fun firsts.

The Pergandes look a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies with our overloaded truck heading out of town...



Ron and Craig toasting our glorious new digs...



Thank you Matthew to finding our lost car keys! Phew!



Unusual finds along our river hike to the historic Fort Renville site...



A stop by the very first church in Minnesota...



Parents only hike and climbing adventure...



Another year of "fishing" but never catching a single fish...



Glorious sunsets from our campsite...




The family picture...



Finding and touching the state's largest cottonwood tree...



Finding and touching one of the world's oldest rock, this one dated over 3,800,000,000 years old...

End of School Year Highlights

This is a big year for both Canyon and Presley. Presley is finishing up elementary school and heading to middle school next year and Canyon is heading from middle school to high school. Both kids have decided to take a pause from band as they move to the next phase, which made their end of school band concerts that more momentous. Below are photos from each of their last concerts.





Presley has a beautiful new smile after getting her braces off after only a year and a half.



The kids' spring seasons are off to a great start. Presley's soccer team swept the competition at the Eden Prairie Spring Kick-off tournament and Canyon's baseball team upset the defending state champs at the St. Louis Park baseball tournament.




Presley has joined her brother in the working ranks. She has been trained and certified as a youth soccer referee. She and her friend Elle are enjoying their new authority (and new cash)!

Proud Mom Moments

Have always been proud of Canyon but a couple of spotlights this past couple of weeks reinforced this. During April, Canyon was invited to participated in the CCM High Performance Festival in Duluth MN for 14 year olds. This festival brings together the top 2002 hockey players in the state to play against each other. The kids that make it to this stage had to first be recommended by their coach and then participate in 2 separate stages of tryouts to make it to the festival. It was a fun weekend and we also got to spend time hanging out and playing against some of his 2002 Icemen teammates. Below are a couple of pics from the weekend. I am also proud for Canyon for getting up every Tuesday morning for the last two years to arrive at school by 6:45 am to participate in the Jazz Band Ensemble (especially because he is not an early riser). This is his last year in band. To finish off with a bang, he had a solo performance in the final concert of the year in front of his peers and parents. No pictures because I didn't want to embarrass him but I have the memories etched in my brain :). Way to go Canyon!