Summer Redux

It's hard to believe the summer is already drawing to a close. I'm sitting on my front porch in a nice breeze, just enjoying the rare St. Louis summer day that can be fully enjoyed out of doors. It's been a great summer. We did a lot of stuff, and we had a lot of lazy days. A really good balance, I must say.

I was so thrilled that Shakespeare in the Park was back. The production of King Lear was beautifully done and the actors were amazing. It was one I won't soon forget!

Sophia and I spent some nice afternoons at the pool. Playing and playing. It's always a good time!

We also had lots of fun at Six Flags a few times. I did my best to ride as many rides as my middle aged body would allow. For the most part, I think it was satisfactory.

Kayaking is truly one of my favorite activities. We were lucky to have some weekends that allowed us to not be overheated in the sun. This was a new to us little lake in Illinois. Very lovely.

The summer also allowed us to get out a little more since Sophia was also vaccinated. 

 The summer isn't quite over, but just wanted to give an overview of what kinds of things kept us busy this year. I am so incredibly grateful for the fact that I can enjoy these summer days with Sophia.

Minnesota Moments

Our original 2020 vacation was across the pond. As we're not welcome there right now, we had to think again. So, we packed up our inflatable kayaks and our dog and headed north. A few days in Grand Marais, and a few days in Duluth. It was quite pleasant. I especially loved our time in Grand Marais. 

We are the people who let our dog sit at the table with us. He's such a good guy to have around. He rarely embarrasses us. Now that we're back home, he's disappointed that he no longer gets to sit around the table with us. 

We didn't kayak as much as we thought we would, but we did get out on Two Islands Lake, and it was lovely! A really pleasant time.

We got multiple great hikes. This one was inland, and the mosquitoes were THICK. We came away with very few bites, but we were just wiping them off our necks as they settled. 

We had a couple of rainy days. On one of them, we still got out for some hikes, and Leo was less than thrilled with that particular adventure.

My favorite spot in all of Grand Marais is Artist's Point. It's beautiful and peaceful and takes some intention to get out there. I really enjoyed the scramble over the rocks to get there.

Our hotel was right on the beach of Lake Superior. The water was cold, but it still made for a lovely setting. And of course Sophia got in it.

Something I didn't know that I wanted to do was swim under a waterfall. True that this isn't the biggest waterfall we saw by a long stretch, but it made for such a nice natural freshwater swimming hole that we really enjoyed swimming here even though we had a pool back at the hotel in Duluth.

This was in Duluth on our last night of vacation. The whole trip was as relaxed as I think we're capable of being right now. Masks in public places. Washing hands and not eating inside, etc. It was much needed in terms of a change of scenery and a restart to our routine. Hoping now we have the steam to make it to the start of (online) school. 

Farewell, Summer!

School starts for Sophia on Tuesday. It's so hard to believe that another summer has come and gone. I love summer. That's an understatement. This summer, especially, has been one to remember.

I haven't had PTO work, and I decided at the beginning that I was going to wait until school actually starts up to pursue the next phase of whatever life will bring me. So, Sophia and I have been living completely and totally in the moment together.

Our huge list of things we wanted to do this summer is almost entirely checked off. We got more accomplished than we have in several summers. We've also had more time just hanging out at home - playing video games and watching TV, yes, but also lots of outdoor time and creative play. I have fully enjoyed this summer with Sophia. She turns 10 in September, and I just don't know how much longer she is going to want to spend her summer with her mom. I also don't know how much time there will be to spend together next summer.

Anyway, it's been the best summer I can remember, honestly. I am sad to see it go.

Here are a few highlights.


Tea for the ladies

Flo Rida and fireworks!

Feeding birds at Grant's Farm. (I was outside the cage because I do not like birds.)

Ah, the Circus!

Lots of fun with the Boysies, too!

And an adventure at City Museum.

This is just a slice of the fun we've had this summer, but it'll have to do.

The Vacation Post

I truly intend to post more than once a month, but the summer has been so full and fun, partially full of couch laying and snuggling, that a blog post seems like way too much work. This does not bode well for my or Sophia's productivity in a few weeks, but I guess we'll deal with that when it comes.

We have been back for almost a week from our vacation to Portland and Seattle. That was one of the best trips we've had yet, and we've had a bunch of good ones.

We had a couple great beach days in Seattle. Erick and I got a little sunburnt. I always forget that the Seattle sun packs a little extra punch. It was worth it, though. I had my face sunscreened up, but my arms were sorely lacking. So at least I hope I didn't add any new cancer cells to my face. Downer.

One evening, we left our totally responsible and always surprisingly older kids (15, 12 and 9) at home to play video games while we headed out for some live music with our friends. Oh, did I mention that for our week in Seattle, we were staying in our friends' home? Because we did. And we still didn't tire of one another. Always amazing. But look at these faces! How could you lose?

Before we did Seattle, we did a bit of Oregon, and we loved it. In this picture, Sophia is actually quite congested, but she was a good sport. The higher we went (up Mt. Hood in the background), the more stuffy she got. But it was so beautiful!

This was a really strange landscape and riverbed called the White River. It's so interesting because the rocks here are different than they are anywhere nearby. We were fascinated. And Mt. Hood is hidden in the cloud behind us. Tricky guy.

All along the drive, we stopped at many picturesque locations just to see what they were all about. Water is always Sophia's favorite, and she can probably tell you about each water source we found and compare the temperature and speed to all the others. We saw all three of these and many more in our one drive through Oregon. There is so much exploring to do out there!

And now we're home and getting ready to start getting ready to start getting school supplies. Sophia is not looking forward to going back. This is the typical dread that settles in and dissipates on the first morning of school, kind of like the cloud over Mount Hood. That morning, she'll remember at the last moment to look back and say, "See ya!" 

The Music Man and more

Our summer is more than half way over. That's so crazy to say out loud. For Sophia and I, this has been the best summer ever. I've not had PTO or anything else to worry about. She and I have gone and done almost everything on our very long list of summer things to do. Just generally, we've gotten along marvelously and had fun together. This age is just about ideal, I think. Sophia is hilarious and thoughtful and a great listener. She's always been all these things, I suppose, but now she can make her own snacks!

It sounds lazy for me to say that, but often when she asks for something, I'll get up at the same time just to prove it's not laziness that is making me say no. "No, I won't fill your water, but I'll get up when you do just to prove the point that I'm doing it so you learn to take care of yourself." That's probably much more about my own self-consciousness, but the fact remains that she does give me an eyeball if I seem to just be taking the easy way out.

Anyway, in the picture here, we are all headed to see The Music Man at The Muny. We all three love that musical, and we all three love The Muny. This wasn't our favorite version we've ever seen, but it was still just great. Marian and Harold are one of my favorite couples. Their song "Till There Was You" is so incredibly sweet and descriptive of new love.

In just over a week, the three of us will fly out to the Pacific Northwest to see some of our very bestest friends. Erick also has a full list of things he wants to do, particularly in Portland, so we're excited about that.

Meanwhile, Sophia's in advanced horseback riding camp. She's loving it, and she's mostly happy to be one of the youngest kids there, though I think she wishes she were farther along with all her skills.

And the summer begins to wane. I plan to squeeze every ounce of fun out of it that I possibly can. I hope you're doing the same!

Sweating in the Garden

Yesterday was a lot like today: hot. Very hot. Missouri mid-summer hot. Yet, we're not in mid-summer. Oh well.

Our goal for the summer is to live in the moment and stay busy. To that end, Sophia and I have tried to get out and do stuff every day. Yesterday morning, we were tired and dreading the heat. However, the MO Botanical Gardens are free to residents on Wednesday mornings, so...

We had the best time in the Garden. We walked around to all the areas that we miss when we go for the summer concerts. The Japanese garden is my favorite and Sophia's too. I was taking a picture of that particular garden when Sophia photo bombed it. The result is very cute.

Here we are glistening as we walk. I'm not sure how much water we drank because we refilled our water bottle at each water fountain. The shade was so lovely, though. The breeze cooled us just enough to feel like we could make it all the way.

Another place we don't normally go is the house of the garden's benefactor, Henry Shaw. This time, however, we went in and did the whole tour. Sophia loved it! She said how great it would be to live in a house like this some day. It is a great house. They have a great deal of original furniture and such, too, which makes it all the more interesting and, according to Sophia, a little creepy.

We made it all the way through the garden, with the final stop at the Children's Garden splash park. It was a lovely way to pass a morning with my girl. This summer is turning out to be quite lovely, in spite of the heat.

Staycation - Boating

We used Forest Park several times during our staycation. Why not? There are many, many things I love doing in the park, but the more I think about it, my favorite may very well be hanging out at the Boathouse and then doing paddle boats.

One of the staycation days we had was marvelously overcast. Just a nice little breeze.

We started by waiting for our table. In preparation for our time at the Boathouse, I've been keeping all the heals and crusts of our bread. Sophia loves to feed the ducks. I love to watch them. She used a few pieces here, but saved most for our boat ride.

Hard to say what's so funny. She's eight, so I'm guessing it was not table talk.

She's in another phase of looking just like her daddy, isn't she?

The resemblance is uncanny. And goofy.

Here's why she likes to save bread for the ride. I think she feels like the Pied Piper or some sort of duck whisperer. Regardless, she's always sad when the bread runs out and they glide away.

Forest Park has a surprising amount of wildlife. They're not usually out and about during the day, though, so we were surprised to see this little guy digging around for crawfish.

My favorite spot. Or top five.

Sophia took the camera for a while. I'm lucky she didn't drop it in, but she was pleased with the hundreds of pictures she took. Here's one.

Paddleboating is hard work. My butt hurts just thinking about it. It's worth it, though. It was a lovely day to make memories.

Being Flexible

We stayed for vacation this year. I won't lie. It's not as fun as going. It was still pretty great. Lucky for us, we have a good time no matter where we are.

One of our big plans involved camping. Erick and I used to camp before Sophia, but she has not spent one night in a tent in her whole life. I don't know whether I should be proud or embarrassed of that fact. Neither, really. It just hasn't happened. Anyway, this was the time we were going to change all of that. The weather early last week was cool and overcast - perfect for camping. Sadly, we weren't going to camp until Wednesday or Thursday, when the heaven decided to empty all that moisture. We decided to forgo the pleasure of leaky and gross. We did, however, get to enjoy the best part of camping. We got a very hot fire going in our fire pit, so even the rain couldn't put it out. The rain was on and off. We were damp, but the trees kept us from being soaked.

 

 And we cooked hot dogs and s'mores and huddled around the fire and pretended we were in the northwest. Sophia loves to climb our redbud. She spent a lot of time in the tree and some time painting in the basement.

The three of us didn't mind the rain so much, but Leo is not okay with it. He hates being wet and will often try to stop and do his business under the overhang on the porch to avoid getting wet. Sophia kept calling him a city dog, but he didn't seem to take offense.

All in all, it was a fun time and a good memory to be made on our staycation. Probably not as good a story as camping in the rain, but there are limits to what I'll do for a good story.

Sundries

Summer has been full so far. Sophia and I have spent a lot of time at the pool, particularly given the persistent rain we've gotten in Missouri.

We've been watching a lot of soccer. Most of it on TV, but some in person as displayed here by our soccer fan.

Like I said, lots of rain. Some Creaches are more excited about this than others. Leo would be the less excited one in this picture...

We've had visits with family. I didn't take any pictures when my dad, Erick, Sophia and I were soaked on the bumper boats in Branson. I also didn't take a picture of Sophia and the St. Louis cousins playing video games. Some family moments slip by without being recorded forever. I did, however, capture a nice picture with these boys.

We've also had lots of time with friends over the summer. It's fun to sneak in some unexpected friend time at the pool. That does occasionally happen. That makes for a very happy summer.

Best of Busyness

Since we got back from vacation, we've been busy. We have spent a lot of time at the zoo, as we tend to do in the summer.

Once with these guys:

Once with these Seattle guys:

And we're never very far from Forest Park, especially when the weather is going to insist on being so lovely.

We've also had fun of our own. Just packing it all in before summer comes to an end.

A Few Questions

Why does California have to be so far from St. Louis?

Why did our families settle in the Midwest?

How is California so stinkin' awesome?

These questions were all raised by our recent adventure (vacation does not describe it) to Central/North Coast of California.

Sophia's joy below is her response to our first steps into the Pacific this time around.

It had been a few years since our last trip, and we were very excited to catch up again with the Creaches on the coast. Sophia loves hanging out with those cousins. They always pick up right where they left off. I'm hopeful it won't be another three years.

And the beach. Oh, the beach. After a couple days near San Francisco with the Creaches, we headed south between Santa Cruz and Monterey to a very out of the way condo complex between two state beaches. The rest of our week was spent primarily right there: building in the sand, running in the waves and watching the ocean change while it stayed the same.

A highlight for me was the fulfillment of a dream that many, many people share. Riding horses on the beach. This particular dream had the added bonus of whale and dolphin sightings. I could not stop smiling. Sophia was impressed, of course, but did not love the ride as much as she loved using her own two legs to get into the water.

The sun wasn't our constant companion, but it came out now and again. We didn't mind the clouds. Apparently, the sun makes people crazy...

On our last day in California, we packed a lot in. More beach, the redwoods and more pier fun in San Francisco.

Vacation was lovely. Restful, fun, adventurous, memorable. Happy to be home, but I think I'd be happier with just another couple weeks on the beach. Maybe a month.