Monday, September 17, 2007

Dear Karen:

How are you!

I received your letter and Flat Emily. It’s very excited that you can visit other places by a mail. We took Emily with us to two places last weekend.

On Saturday 9/15/07, it’s 2007 Great Forest Park Balloon Race.  Emily and our family watched the hot air balloon race at Forest Park. There were lots of hot-air balloons. It took off one by one from noon to about 5:00 pm.  It’s very beautiful to see lots of different colors and sizes balloons drifting in the sky.

On Sunday 9/16/07, we took Emily with us to watch our elder son – Alex to play baseball at Ellisville Athletic Association Ballpark.  Alex played 3^rd baseman and got a great double to score a run. His team - Eagles won at 10 to 4 in the end. It’s a great game!

I wish that I have more time to bring Emily with us to see more places and events. St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east. The city has several nicknames, including the "Gateway City", "Gateway to the West", and "Mound City". It is called "Gateway to the West" because many people moved west through St. Louis via the Missouri River and other wagon trails. The "Mound City" name was originated with the Native American burial mounds that once were common in the city. These were largely destroyed as the city  grew. The city is also sometimes called "St. Louie", "River City", or "The Lou". A popular abbreviation for St. Louis is "STL" in reference to the airport code and the long-standing use of an interlocked S, T, and L by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

The City of St. Louis lies at the center of Greater St. Louis, which includes counties in the state of Missouri and Illinois. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with 2,801,033 as of the 2007 US Census.

We’ve been lived in St. Louis for nine years now. We hope that you and Karen’s family can come visit us in St. Louis.

Thanks

Mary