Costa Rica Day 3 - A Crazy Day Along the River

The Pergandes had a great day 3 in Costa Rica. We signed up for a class II/III "family-friendly" river rafting trip. When one of the other families didn't show up, they asked us if we would be willing to try Rio Naranjo, a class V trip that is technically challenging but they were confident we could do. Pergandes are always up for an adventure. Here are our some of pictures from the trip along with some some pics from the local butterfly garden and some sunset pics from Manuel Antonio Beach later that evening.

Geared up and ready to go!



A view of the narrow canyon that the river passes through



Mom and Dad's boat with guide Kaitlin, "Left Back!!!"




Canyon's & Presleys' boat going off a cliff with guide John



Guide now lost...



Canyon searching for a life line...



Relaxing river time



Lunch in downtown Quepos with our guides from H20



A stop by the local butterfly garden supported by our hotel, Si Como No




Sibling sunset time at Playa Espadilla, the main beach in Manuel Antonio.

Day 2 Costa Rica - Animal Day

Our true first day in Costa Rica started with a day trip to Manuel Antonio National Park. Our mornings in Manuel Antonio started each day with a beautiful breakfast overlooking the ocean. En route to our first breakfast, we ran into an agouti, that was not phased by us. After breakfast we headed to Manuel Antonio, one of the smallest but most visited national parks in the country to participate in a guided adventure where we saw lots of animals including: white-tailed deer, two- and three-toed sloths, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys and crazy iguanas, all running wild. We also had a nice swim in the ocean at the park. Our adventure ended with an awesome watermelon and pineapple boat treat. Great first day followed by boogie boarding in the ocean and an early dinner at Emilio's Cafe.

Costa Rica Day 1 - Travel to Manuel Antonio

Pergandes were super excited for Spring Break. Our trip started with a nice surprise visit at the Delta Sky Club. Thank you Brenda!



We had a late night arrival in San Jose, Costa Rica. We stayed at the airport Hampton Inn and started our next day with an awesome breakfast! We then jumped on a shuttle with Costa Rica Expeditions for the 4-hour transfer ride to Manuel Antonio.



One of our favorite stops was for "aqua de pipa", which included coconut juice and then the eating of the coconut meat! Yummy!



And then we stopped for a glance at Crocodile River with the hugest crocodiles we have ever seen, all lined up end to end!



And then we arrived at Si Como No, our beautiful eco-hotel for the next 4 days.



Before settling in, we made our 1st of many trips to the beach! So warm and so beautiful!!

March Madness

March is a transition season for the Pergandes, between sports and between seasons. Here are a couple of highlights from March. The Eden Prairie Girls Highs School Hockey team won the state championship. To celebrate this big occasion, they invited all the Eden Prairie hockey girls out for a skate with the high school team. Here is a pic with the 12U girls and the high school girls.



We also took the kids out to dinner to celebrate their good grades. We had a fun night out to dinner at Dave & Buster's during March Madness and then out for some yogurt at Cherry Berry.



And we ended March with a nice Easter celebration. We had a great service at St. Andrews Church in Eden Prairie along with some great easter egg decorating with the family.

Canyon's Bantam AA Team Heads to State Tournament

For the first time since Canyon has been playing hockey, his team advanced to the state tournament where the top 8 team teams in the state (really some of the top teams in the country) compete for the top honor. The tournament is broadcast live with scouts from all over the country covering the competition. The weekend kicks off with a huge banquet dinner. Canyon's team played hard, out shooting every competitor. However, unfortunately they came up short (in two separate overtimes). It was still a great experience and a great season with some truly amazing players, parents, and coaches!

Mom Travels to Expo West with Greenhouse MN

Mom was hired by Department of Agriculture to cover Expo West, the largest food show in the United States, as part of her new business with Greenhouse MN. The trade show is in Anaheim and Mom was out there for 5 days. Before the show she got a chance to visit with Grandpa Jim, Grammie Liz, and Amanda's family. And after the show she got a quick visit in with the Gray Family, where she got to experience her first Cheer Competition with Ava. Busy week but nice to be able to friends and family during her trip.

Panama Day 5 (Final Day)

On our last day in Panama, Grammie Maggie and Trisha headed to Parque Natural Metropolitano in the morning, a tropical rain forest within the city limits. We took an Uber to the trailhead of The Mono Titi and La Cieneguita trails. The ranger at the trailhead immediately pointed out a beautiful bird and also a sloth in the trees. We were hopeful to find more wildlife along our journey but think we needed the locals to point them out for us. We did climb to an overlook of the city which was nice before heading back down.




Our last adventure for the day was to Miraflores Locks in the Panama Canal. In the locks, vessels are lifted or lowered 54 feet in two stages. In the morning, ships travel from the Pacific toward the Atlantic. In the afternoon, ships travel from the Atlantic toward the Pacific. They are currently working on an expansion to allow ships to travel in both directions. We were lucky to arrive just as a large ship was entering the locks and witness a pretty impressive operation. We also explored the visitor center and had a drink overlooking the locks.



And our Panama adventure ended with a ride from JoseAntonio (from Ancon Expeditions the day before) who offered to drive us to the airport on his way back home. Thanks JoseAntonio!