tuesday at the madhouse ~ happy birthday america

Oh man, we had such an amazing weekend! We went to a lake, and saw amazing friends, we set off Ezra's first fireworks (sparklers, pop-its), we walked to parks with Magda, rode down slides, swung on the swings, went to a bbq, chased rabbits, ran through grape vines and ate a ton of watermelon. But the best part, by far, was riding our neighborhood's historic trolley. Ezra was AMAZED. It was adorable.We started the weekend a little more than an hour west of the Cities with my dear friend Julie and her family. So, as expected, here is another photo of Ezra and Isla together. The awkwardness between these two and the camera is completely hilarious to me (like here and here).Ezra was mildly frustrated that he couldn't make bubbles out of the lake water. Oh kid, so much to learn.And I just love this photo of Isla playing on the beach. I also love her strawberry blond hair.On Sunday, we went to a bbq at a friend's house, and they have this bunny who frequents their back yard. They have named her Sharon (ha!). Anyway, Ezra had a blast stalking Sharon around the yard.They also have this amazing tunnel in their yard made out of a trellis of grape vines. It is so fantastic! And the boys just loved running through it.Much of the rest of the weekend was just the three of us, and we had a blast. First off, this is what happens when you try to exercise on the ground around our parts. Apparently, we were only meant to give rides.This is Ezra throwing the Pop-Its on the patio. Oh, that was great fun!(In case you can't remember what a Pop-It is.)This kid? Delighted.On the actual holiday, we went down to ride the trolley. We loved the actual trolley tokens we got at the station.We got on the "more modern" trolley first. It was made after WWII, and was more "modern" in an effort to attract more riders. Because at that time, more and more people were buying cars. Interesting!Ezra was a bit timid at first, but oh how he warmed up!Here we are examining historical brochures and photos.And they allow dogs on the trolleys, which was a hit as you can imagine. And here we are at the end of the line. Look at that grin!After the trolley ride, we went down to the lake to watch the ducks and eat dinner. Every time we would hear the trolley bell in the distance Ezra would turn toward the tracks, wave and whisper "Bye Bye Choo Choo..." It was adorable.After dinner, we went to the playground and then walked back to the car...But we decided on one more trolley ride before heading home. And this time, we rode the older trolley!The view from all the larger windows was fantastic.Look at that happy child.And then before heading home, there was a final wave and a "Bye Bye Choo Choo!" before we got into the car. What a kid.