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!

Bike Ride Pictures

Hello all! So I finallly got Peter's first bike ride photos up! You should all be sooo proud considering the fact that I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to get ready for our trip. It's crazy how I went from packing for myself to having to pack for 3 people!! Men don't seem to pack for themselves and when they do, their suitcase is usually a garbage bag of dirty laundry. I really didn't want Ben wearing a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans to the rehearsal luncheon in Vancouver, so I forged ahead like always and packed for my husband. Isn't life grand? :) Anyways, Grandpa Punky and Grandma Berta will be on the road in a few hours to come and stay over night and then take Peter in the morming. We are looking forward to our trip, but we're starting to get scared of missing Peter. But I'm sure we'll still manage to have fun. Enough rambling from me....Picture 1) Peter and Daddy revved up for the bike ride. 2) Peter watching Daddy intently as he gets strapped in. He always likes to make sure that Dad is doing it right. 3) Close-up of the cutest baby in the whole world! (Not a baby anymore being 13 months old, I suppose) 4) On your mark, get set, GO! 5) The "after" picture...he doesn't seem upset to me! 6) Peter trying to put a bucket on his head...7) and he succeeds! Bye for now and we'll be back on in a few weeks to update you and give you some awesome sights from Seattle, Vancouver and Portland!