With spring weather finally upon us, kids and adults alike are anxious to experience the great outdoors. Lucky for us, St. Louis abounds with family-friendly ways to enjoy natural beauty.

CITY ACADEMY received a $1 million gift from the Crawford Taylor Foundation for endowment. The gift supports the school’s efforts to offer an expanded Early Childhood Program. With the help of this grant, plans to expand to a total of 175 students by 2014 are in place. Pictured: D’Niya Ammons, Chantell Johnson and Chontell Johnson of City Academy's new Early Childhood Program.

Shortly after marrying, John and Linda Armbruster built their first home in Wildwood, attracted to the area by the affordability and relative closeness to their new combined families. Almost 15 years later, that appeal has grown stronger as their family has grown, with three young girls: Julia, 9; Laura, 7; and Amanda, 6. John, a computer programmer, and Linda, a teacher at Conway School in Ladue, appreciate the family-oriented community and proximity to everything they need. We asked Linda to detail some of her family’s favorite things about Wildwood.

In today’s economy, the success of a business is far from guaranteed. We honor local companies and institutions who are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2012.

It's hard to believe, but the golf season has run its course for another year. Doesn't the time go by much too fast? Still, there has been plenty of news.

The Details

Labor Day is just around the corner, which means one last round of pool parties and grill-outs. While we would like to think these get-togethers are all fun and games, sometimes people get injured. And when that happens, can the host be held responsible?

The Tibetans celebrate the elements of the earth in colors: white for clouds, blue for sky or space, yellow for soil, red for fire, and green for water. Balancing these elements leads to harmony both in the external environment and the internal sense of well-being. I was puzzled by the choice of green for water before I visited Tibet. In our Western thinking, we use green for plants and blue for water. It wasn’t until I saw the glacial melt streams flowing briskly into rapid rivers in the high elevations of the Himalayas that it became clear. Glacial milk and rock flour are two names for the finely powdered stone churned out by a moving glacier. It gives the melt water a unique opacity and lovely celadon green hue.

A TWO-STORY HOME IN THE WILDWOOD WITH 12 ROOMS, 5 BEDROOMS AND 5 BATHS IS LISTED FOR $699,000.

Actor WILLIAM HOLDEN is the latest star to be inducted in the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Holden, a native of O’Fallon, Ill., made his mark in 1939’s Golden Boy—and the film’s title stuck as Holden’s nickname. Considered one of the greatest movie stars of the 20th century, Holden earned Academy Award nominations for his roles in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Network (1976); and won the Best Actor Oscar for 1953’s Stalag 17. Other classic starring roles include Sabrina, Picnic, The Bridge on the River Kwai and The Wild Bunch.

Dr. and Mrs. Michael Boland of Wildwood are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Margaret Boland, to Ryan William Hormberg, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Lore Hormberg of Crestwood.

It doesn’t matter if you live in the heart of the city or the far reaches of suburbia—horses are a part of our town’s history and heritage. In the early part of the20th century, many people still used horses as their primary source of personal transportation. The horse-andbuggy days are long gone, but the love and fascination of horses remain strong.

If the spring blooms are already a couple of months ahead of schedule, what does that mean for the St. Louis pool season? One can dream—and why not dream big, with some recent area projects for inspiration?

While a return to the boom days of the real estate market might still be a long way off, local agents are coming up with a lot of creative ways to make it work. These are the top agents from area agencies for 2011.

Lauren Ashley Zacheis and Scott William Zehnder were married June 11 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in a ceremony officiated by the Rev. John Shamleffer. A reception followed at Lumen Private Events in St. Louis.

Both Daneen and C.J. Herbert are from small towns. So when it came time to find a place to raise their family (with Gunnar and Annika, now ages 12 and 9, respectively), they found that Wildwood met their requirements, and then some.

These eight homes are stunning examples of luxury homes that were listed or sold in 2011:

DR. JAY PEPOSE (1) and DR. NANCY HOLEKAMP have been named to the U.S. News Top Doctors.