Last night when I got done with work, Peter, Ben and I went to the mall and ate supper in the food court and then went to visit Santa Clause. Peter didn't get scared like we thought he would...he just sat on Santa's lap and looked unimpressed as you can see from the photo. He had the look of a "real" Santa but we were kind of disappointed that he didn't have his big red suit on. Ben said, "It looks like Santa just got out of bed". Anyways, we had a nice evening together since we don't get many evenings together. We kept calling it "Happy Family Bonding Night". Ben works at Menards tonight and I'll be packing us up because we hope to leave tomorrow night at 4:30 after work to head up to EGF (weather permitting). We are very much looking forward to going up there and having no responsibility for awhile, relaxing and enjoying our time together and with my family. We won't be posting until after the first of the year when we get back to Mankato. We wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. All Our Love, The Gergens
This past weekend we went to Ben's parents farm in Randolph, MN to have a "mini" and early Christmas gathering as we will be up in East Grand Forks from December 23rd-January 1st. Ben's dad's birthday is December 16th and his mom's birthday is January 4th so we celebrated that as well! Ben and I had plans to cook lunch on Saturday for everyone, but it ended up being me and Ben's sister Rebecca doing the cooking. Ben did make dessert. :) We had Taco Pie and Taco Dip for lunch (not very Christmasy, I know) and an Apple/Pumpkin creation for dessert. I found the recipes online and they were quick and easy, that's why I chose them. I'm not a very good cook. After lunch we opened some gifts. Ed and Paula got Peter a really great toy. It's a box-like toy with 5 sides of learning activities. You can see it in the pictures. Peter wasn't all that thrilled about unwrapping his gift because I don't think he understood what he was supposed to do. So Ben helped quite a bit (you can see his excitement!). Once it was all put together, Peter fell in love with it! Rebecca bought us all a pair of slippers. We took a picture of our feet, as you can see. Can you guess who's feet are who's? :) Yesterday evening, there was a Christmas party at Peter's daycare. Each of the kids exchanged a book for their gift. Peter got a touch and feel farm book. It's really great! His daycare provider, Kevin, helped him open it. Then Kevin and his wife Jean gave all of the kids a gift (which they shouldn't have done!). Peter got a House Shape Sorter. It's really cute and will be great for his development! I helped Peter open that and as you can see, the photo portrays my excitement! We had a great weekend and Peter is a very blessed little boy to have such wonderful and generous people in his life. We hope all of your Christmas preparations are going well. Ben is done with school and I work until Friday and then we'll have a busy, yet relaxing 10 days off! We are looking forward to our vacation up north. Come again soon as I'd like to post again before the end of the week. God Bless.
I just realized that a majority of the pictures of Peter on this blog are of him eating or holding food. I guess that's when he's at his cutest. :)
Hey everyone! We have been so busy with nothing very exciting so I haven't posted in awhile. Ben has been going to school, working & tutoring like 60 hours every week! I have been working full time as well and we've both been juggling Peter, lovingly of course. :) Grandpa Punky & Grandma Berta are coming to town on Wednesday & they are staying until Monday morning. We are very excited to see them, but I think they are even more excited to see Peter! On Thursday morning, the 5 of us are traveling to Randolph to spend the day with Grandpa Ed & Grandma Paula & Peter's 2 aunts, Karla & Rebecca (Ben's sisters). The rest of Ben's family will be elsewhere for Thanksgiving. Ben works most of Thanksgiving weekend at Menards, so Berta & I will be doing projects at our house. We're going to put the Christmas decorations up, hem some of my clothes (I've lost 30 pounds), wrap presents for the holidays, etc. Other than that, we don't have much else to share...Oh, Ben found out that he will be doing his student teaching next semester in Nicollet, MN. That is 10 miles west of North Mankato. It'll take him less time to drive there every morning, then it would be to drive across town to one of the high schools here. He will be teaching two 11th grade classes & one 8th grade class. He is looking forward to it very much! We hope you all have a fun & safe Thanksgiving holiday. Hopefully we'll take some pictures soon so that we can post them here. Come back again next week!
Hello everyone...I don't have any pictures to share because we haven't taken any in awhile. Life is very busy and chaotic in the Gergen household! Ben is working 3 jobs and going to school full-time. He's coaching junior high football in Lake Crystal, MN, he's tutoring in the Math Dept. at MSU, and he still works a few hours a week at Menards. I am still working full-time at MSU as a graphic designer, of course. Peter is still loving daycare at Kevin's. But by the end of the day, his friends have him all worn out and he's ready for supper and bed by 7pm. Every weekend seems to come and go faster than the weekend before it. We're always helping out at church or doing something else that takes up our time. The weeks and months get planned and filled up so fast that we hardly have any time to just sit at home! Maybe after the holidays things will slow down again. :) This week is MSU Homecoming so my job is keeping me busy and I've been working a little overtime as well. Grandpa Punky and Grandma Berta are coming today and they will be spending the rest of the week and the weekend with us! We are very excited to see them. The Newman Center at MSU is celebrating it's 85th year over Homecoming and they are hosting a Gala on Friday night. Ben and I will be speaking at it...Saturday there is a BBQ with the Homecoming FB game and Sunday is a big mass. So Grandma and Grandpa are coming to help by watching Peter and just letting us come and go the whole week without having to worry about being parents!! Not much else is new...When we take some more pictures of Peter we'll post them here. Hope all is well with everyone...we'd love to hear from you! PS: Peter is walking like a champion!
Sorry that it has been soo long! I wanted to write this post earlier, but I had to wait until it was all out in the open before I said anything, so here goes....Ben and I went to Nashville, TN with my best friend Haley's boyfriend, Jacob over Labor Day Weekend. (14 hour drive from Mankato, MN) Upon our arrival on Saturday (which Haley knew nothing about) Jacob proposed! Ben videotaped the whole thing. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my whole life! Next to marrying Ben, having Peter and graduating from college, this was one of the best days of my life. It was amazing to be apart of the engagement of my best friend. I will be Haley's Maid of Honor, Ben will be a Groomsmen and Peter will be a Ring Bearer next July 14th. We are really excited to be included in their planning. We couldn't be happier for the love birds. :) The pictures are above... Jacob waiting for Haley pre-proposal with his guitar, Haley and Jacob after becoming engaged, Ben, me and Jacob with our tie-dyed shirts that said: CLUB WLH=We Love Haley, Ben eating the Grizzly Burger at a place called Shoney's (and yes, he felt sick afterwards), Ben and I at a VERY southern restaurant called the Loveless Cafe, and finally, Haley and I saying our good-byes before leaving to come back to MN.
Hello Everybody! This past weekend we went up north to Cass Lake, MN with Ben's brother Phil and his wife Rachael and their four kids--Austin, Belle, Carson and Danessa. We met my parents there for four days of eating and playing! Thursday night after supper and after the kids were in bed, we left and went to the Cass Lake Casino as it was too wet to have a fire. Nothing too exciting happened there but we enjoyed our time out as adults. Friday was wet again so we took the kids into Bemidji and went to the mall, arcade and the bowling alley. The high score for the day was 152, bowled by yours truly. :) The kids sure enjoyed being out and about. Ben and Phil cheated on a bunch of arcade games and won the big kids 600 tickets to spend on trinkets! I think the Brothers Gergen had more fun than the kids. :) Friday night we all bonded in the cabin. Saturday it was FINALLY sunny and warm! We brought the kids to Bemidji again in the morning to get some good pictures next to Paul Bunyan. After lunch we all played outside. The kids enjoyed the paddleboat and the sandy beach. Ben and Phil took the big kids on the jet-ski. Once again, the Brothers Gergen reverted to their childhood while playing in the lake. My sister-in-law Amy and our niece Bella joined all of us on Saturday afternoon. Peter had all 5 of his cousins in one place at the same time! Saturday was Phil and Rachael's 6th Wedding Anniversary so Ben and I took them to dinner at the Green Mill in Bemidji while Grandpa Punky, Grandma Berta and Amy wrangled all 6 kids. They said it looked like a Russian Orphanage when all 3 babies were peeking out through their cribs before bed. :) They managed alright and we had a blast out on the town. Sunday morning we ate breakfast and packed up. It was a very nice weekend, but it went by too fast! We would like to go again next year, maybe for longer in case we lose a day or two from rain! Well, our summer fun is pretty much over. Today is my first day back to full-time hours at work and Ben starts school on the 28th and coaching on the 30th. Another summer has passed us by and fall is on it's way. Hope all is well with everyone and we hope your summer's have been enjoyable. Come back soon...we'll try to publish again when something exciting happens! Pictures: Ben, Peter and I in front of Paul Bunyan (Onion according to the big kids), Peter investigating the sand and water, Daddy and Peter in between trips on the jet-ski, and all six kids lined up before departure...L to R...Peter, Carson, Bella on top of Belle, Danessa on top of Austin.
