Please (Don't) Cut My Hair!

By the end of the summer, Charles was ready.  Rather, his hair was ready. 

He was not.

The red sucker made everything better

The Ranch

We always like going with Joshua's extended family to the Ranch. This is a picture of Vicky, who  was Grandma Mary Lois' angel caretaker. 

Charles, his aunt Alissa, and friend Megan.

Charles and his cowboy dad and grandpa

Joshua and Grandpa Jack

Charles and Uncle Garrett

Playing

Being carried is nice when you are tired

This is probably the only time in his life when his hair was parted.

Family photo

Hello, horse.

Hi, Charles

Travel by backpack

Do you think he actually jumped in?

Drinking from the spring through a straw

At least the dirt is cleaner out there

Aunt Alissa loves horses

Outdoor bathing

This may have been a pine cone. 

We had a great game of whiffle ball.  Into the trees on the other side of the dirt road was an automatic home run.

Charles loved petting the horses, though sometimes they frightened him.

From St Louis to Utah

Wyoming windmills.  Or were they in Kansas?  Nebraska?  Iowa?  Somewhere on the Great Plains, there is a massive windmill farm that is visible from an Interstate highway.

Close-up

Thank good ness for play pens.

This is where he first learned to climb up on things--and this where he first started falling off them

It's more fun when Mom crawls up there with you.

Pic would have been better if one of us were standing next to it.  Munchkin door is only about three feet high.

Beautiful old Catholic church in a tiny little town.  We saw from the highway and took the exit so we could get a closer look.

Cornfield (I assume)

Pretty view somewhere in Colorado

Driving through the Colorado mountains was very scenic (first time we had taken that route). 

Back in Utah

TEEPEE

At the end of the summer, we had to move away from St. Louis.  We had enjoyed it (my internship went really great, Erica liked that I got home at 5:15 every day, we went to great concerts and free zoos and parks, Charles grew a mop-top apparently...)

It had been awhile since we'd visited statues of bison.  Turns out we had just needed to go back to Kansas.

A regular range rider.

Wrong end of the beast.  Good thing it's made of stone and can't kick.

Museum (of what? we're not sure) across the street from Salina KOA.  We'd have visited it if we had had more time.

More fun with bison at the Salina KOA.

Pulling out (or pulling in?) from/to the Salina KOA

Odds and ends from that museum.

Our little indian, looking out from his teepee.

At the Salina, Kansas KOA you can rent a teepee instead of a cabin!  It's really cool!  (cool as in neat, not as in comfortably during the dog days of August)  We thought it was a great way to travel across the country, going to see the family in Utah after a great summer in St. Louis.