Cass Lake, 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.

It Has Been Sooo Long!

Hello Everyone! I would like to apologize for not posting anything for such a long time! This past month has been very chaotic for us...I was in the hospital with some digestion problems, Ben got the flu, Peter had a double ear infection with strep throat and between doctor visits all we have done is eat, sleep and work! All seems to be improving so I'm posting some fun pics for all of you to see...
The top picture is of Ben, Peter and I at the Minnesota Reception for the wedding that we were in out in Washington in June.
The next two pictures are of Peter and Charlie being very mischievious in the cupboard before we put our child-proof clasps on the doors! "Hi Mom! Am I doing anything wrong?"
Next is Peter eating sweet corn...He now refuses to put his milk down while eating so he struggles to eat and drink at the same time. :)
The last picture is of Ben and I prior to going to lunch and a movie on our 2 year wedding anniversary this past Sunday. A friend of ours baby-sat and we had a very enjoyable time away from the house just being together (without it being grocery shopping).
This coming weekend (Thursday-Sunday) we will be at Cass Lake, MN near Bemidji at my aunt and uncle's lake cabin with my parents and Ben's brother and his wife and four kids. We are looking forward to a mini-vacation relaxing and being outdoors.
Oh and one more thing...Ben got a coaching job in Lake Crystal, MN (7 miles from Mankato). He will be taking a leave of absence from Menards and coaching junior-high football. He is looking forward to it and so am I. He will get some good experience for his teaching career and he'll be home every night by 6pm! Yay!

Trip to WA

Hello again everyone! It has been a very busy and adventurous couple of weeks for the Gergens of North Mankato! Ben and I flew to Washington to be in a wedding while Peter spent 10 days with Grandpa Punky and Grandma Berta. The trip was amazing and we really enjoyed our freedom, although we did miss Peter quite a bit. The good news is that we got a lot of really great photos, but the bad news is that our camera died half way through the trip. We had to buy a new one while we were out there. We have pictures of the first 2 days but then it died right before the rehearsal so we don't have any pictures of the rehearsal meal, rehearsal, day at the beach or the actual wedding, but we have pictures of all the sight seeing!! Hopefully some friends will give us pics of the days we missed. The weather out there was beautiful. We had sunny skies and 80 + degree weather the whole time with very little humidity. Peter was an angel for Grandma and Grandpa (of course because he IS an angel). They went everywhere and saw everyone in East Grand Forks. Punky and Berta enjoyed showing their grandson off to anyone they could get a hold of! Peter spent a lot of time bonding with his Cousin Bella, Uncle Brad, Aunt Amy and his Great Grandparents. They were all pretty sad to see him go, especially Cousin Bella who called him by name, "Peetah, Peetah!" Here's a brief description of the photos: Ben eating cake before we left town as we were gone over his 24th birthday, Ben, Me, Katy (groom's brother's fiancee), Brittany (bride), Rick (groom) and Jeremiah (groom's brother) enjoying a beverage at Applebee's in Vancouver celebrating Brittany's 21st birthday on her Golden Birthday of June 21st, Space Needle from the ground, Ben and I eating at Sky City (Space Needle restaurant that revolves and costs a lot of money), Ben and I on the observation deck of the Needle, Me pretending to be an octopus at the Seattle Aquarium, Ben and I on our last day in Seattle eating lunch at an Irish Pub called Fido, Peter playing in his pool on July 3rd, Peter wrapped up so cute, and Mommy with Peter showing off our shades while sitting in a park on the 4th of July listening to a rock band. Oofta! That was a lot! Anyways, we hope all is well with all of you and we hope to publish again soon although it probably won't be as exciting as this entry. :) Bye!