If Alyssa Won't I Will

So here is Carter playing the roll of, in his words, "Ms. Audrey", and he is handing out m&ms at church. Before this shot he rolled up in his blue car and said, "I'm...I'm...Glen, I'm going to work. I go this way then that way. Amon...Amin...Amon...Amen...Amen." I used my father linguistic interpretive skill set and figured he went to church and then sang the doxology, as Glen of course.



It is now fall, and Carter if ready to get off the bench and into the game:



-Dan

Balloon Glow

This event has become a favorite of ours here in St. Louis. This year is the 37th anniversary of The Great Forest Park Balloon Race. We've never actually watched the race... but I'm sure it's just as amazing as the balloon glow the night before (here's my post from last year).

We met up with the Lindman family (and then the Tanner fam. a little later) for a picnic dinner at the glow before it got dark and then walked through the balloons. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the night...

Carter giving two of his favorite girls a ride...

It's amazing how one wagon can entertain three kiddos for so long!!











We had some of the best seats (same as last year... away from the big crowds)!! It was amazing as it began to get dark... the balloons started to pop up in the middle of all the crowds. I think I read that there are 70 balloons!!! Here we are watching the balloons rise up.



Our view from near our seats...



Heading into the bunch of balloons...



Getting a little comfort from Dan's mom... it took him a little while to warm up. It's really loud (and hot) when they fire up the burners.









It's really amazing how many there are!



The energizer bunny (celebrating 20 years) will lead the race this afternoon.



Fireworks behind the trees on our way out. Such a fun night! I do have to mention Dan... he led us out of Forest Park without having to sit in any of the traffic that the hundreds of other cars were waiting in. Thanks, Dan!!

Waiting for the Balloon Glow

Feeding the Goats

These little moments....

make me smile. I have a lot to update from our busy week... but I couldn't resist putting up this picture I was able to snap this morning after breakfast. It's just one of the many reasons we are so glad Carter is growing up here...

Our College Boys!!

Wow!! I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted! We've kind of had a lot going on... but kind of not. This year has been so different than any other since we started Joe's Place. So calm! Although I think anything would feel calm after graduating 3 seniors! I haven't mentioned our newest resident yet... but he's great! He's been with us for 3 weeks now and has been a great addition to the house. It seems that there is always one personality that really sets the tone for the house... whether it's positive or negative... that one person can make a huge difference. Our newest guy (A) is really quiet... and has a great attitude... and that's really helped with the calmness. One of the very cool things about living here as long as we have is the history that we've established at the house... and the history that Dan has with kids at school. Dan had A in the middle school for two years... so he wasn't moving in with complete strangers... just his teacher. :)

Our college guys are doing awesome!! We actually saw all the 3 of them at different times on Friday!! I love that they stop by and walk in without knocking! Fred is in town for the 3 day weekend... so we had the chance to have dinner with him yesterday as well. I still can't believe how much they've all changed since we first met them! I made them each stand in for a quick picture...

A little plug for Fred... he's been invited home next weekend to take part in a Family Fun Run/Walk for Mosaic Services. He'll start the race as our local celebrity and lead the children's races. Mosaic Services is a non profit organization that works with at-risk kids in our school district. You can click here to read more about it... or here to sign up for the run/walk (there are stay at home passes you can purchase :))!!

Happy Birthday, Glen!!!

There's nothing like ending the week with some of our favorite people... especially when we're celebrating Glen's birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Glen... we love you!!