It was fun to look for summer's best photos as the cool fall winds are beginning to blow. This summer Humboldt took his first trip up the Gateway Arch with cousin Lily and Great-Aunt Marilyn. She was in town to help celebrate Ralph and Brenda's 50th Wedding Anniversary. We got to see the Cardinals beat the Fish (aka Florida Marlins) at Busch Stadium.
I had some help hanging up this skateboard swing in the woods at Cross Land. I missed the old tire swing and wanted to give that oak branch a purpose. I love hearing owls in the woods, and this summer I actually got to see an owl at dusk, sitting on a hickory branch.
No trip to St. Louis is complete without a visit to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. This summer we took the tram ride with Humboldt's big cousins, Isabella and Wolf, who are now in college.
Summer in St. Louis is made for swimming. Humboldt had so much fun in Grandma and Grandpa's pool. Here's a photo with my cousin's kids, Charlie, Samantha, and Addison.
After our visit to St. Louis, we were lucky enough to get a visit from my sister, Julie. Humboldt requested an underwater treasure with a sunken ship and an eel with a jewel in its mouth, and he got four walls of amazing ocean mural art. The grey whales and fish and coral, etc. etc. are gorgeous.
Anyone visiting northern California has to go see Babe the Blue Ox and his buddy, Paul Bunyan, at Trees of Mystery - complete with gondola ride through the redwoods. I couldn't publish the photo of Julie with Babe, so here's Humboldt and friend, Cora.
We finally took Buster, the puppy (see last blog post for photos of the dogs), on his first camping trip to Lava Beds National Monument. The cool activity at this park in northeastern California is adventuring through underground lava tubes, which are caves created by volcanic activity.
Lucky for us, Humboldt was happy to start first grade and is enjoying it so far! Here he is on the first day of school. His class of seventeen kids at Union Street Charter School is the same as last year. I am volunteering in the classroom during reading and art, and especially love watching them be creative.
Fred got Humboldt a new basketball, and he's been really into dribbling. We go to an elementary school on the weekends, where all the goals are short (around 7 feet high), and shoot lots of baskets.
Last photo of summer - we went to a lovely wedding on one of the many amazing, sunny September days that feel like real summer here on the coast. It was a beautiful event, featuring Reka and Dan tying the knot, and I will always remember the chocolate cheese cake made by the bride.
