Anoka car show

The Saturday of Mary's moving sale Noah and I went up to a car show with Dave and Lynae that evening. Perfect weather and tons of cool classic cars parked in town to snoop at and some fun snacks too.

A day at the zoo

In September we hit the MN Zoo to see the dolphins one last time since they were going to be relocating Allie and Semo to other facilities (just found out Semo is now in CA and Allie is back in IL) to repair/revamp the aquarium area to a new exhibit. We hadn't been there in ages, so it all felt new to us again since it had been so long. Noah hadn't ever done the monorail tour overhead of the outside trails so we did that too. Perfect weather day to hike around.

Back to school! 5th Grade

This is Noah's last year in elementary school! Hard to believe how fast it all goes. It will be a great year of being the big kids in the school at long last.

Branson!

Catching up...towards the end of summer we took a road trip to Branson MO for a week in a timeshare resort. We didn't totally know what to expect since we weren't super into the shows but found it very family friendly there and we loved the resort (Palaceview by Spinnaker) with its many pools and friendly staff. We also liked the old historical downtown area and Branson Landing. We all said we would totally go back someday. Noah also got a special treat when we went to visit Stoops Manufacturing for service supplies since it was fairly close. He got to buy a one-of-a-kind prototype youth service bag. A fun memory!
Nice end to our summer!

Catching up...winding up summer...with a Twins game

Realized I have ignored the blog though we still had much fun at end of summer and now into
fall already. Noah got a fun treat in August to come downtown with us one day on the bus and attend a Twins game with Brent and his work group. An unexpected surprise was that Leslie's were there at that game too in the very next section. They had a couple of open seats near them so the boys all got to sit together. That made it extra fun for Noah to have friends there his own age. Fun day at the ball park!!

A day of fun!

Today we had a fun day planned. Noah and I had plans with Jen Malm and Sam to go out in service in the morning and then go to hang out at a friends pool in the afternoon. Kim joined us in service for our group. Jen and I had plans to go on a study and Kim opted to keep the boys with her and then Noah ended up calling a neighbor he has been studying the Bible Story book with and the 3 of them went over there for a few minutes to study. So dual studies for the morning!

Quick change after service and drive thru lunch and headed for the pool for an afternoon of fun in the sun!

I only had a few pics on my phone, will have to get the others of the group from Jen. Thanks to Dez for the hospitality of sharing their community pool.

Good day, good friends, good times!

They're off!

Today was another milestone in Noah's young life. His braces got taken off! He has had "phase 1" of braces on for just a little over a year. Last visit they said there was a possibility they would take them off today but per X-rays taken they maybe would try to add more space to make room for some more incoming teeth. After reviewing the films they decided the teeth still have quite a ways to come down which gives his jaw more growth time. Today was the day! Of course there was some discomfort in removing things but well worth it when he had smooth braceless teeth!! He has one week of total freedom and next week he will get retainers to keep his jaw and teeth in alignment while he grows.

It has been a journey, but it is nice to see the good results that they have had!!

We celebrated by going out to breakfast with Grandma Kathy and Noah bought 2 huge gum balls out of the machine at Perkins since he hadnt had one in a year Then Noah and I had a fun round of mini golf on a beautiful summer day.

Pics are out of order due to blogger ap...sorry.

 Straight Teeth!!!