We had an amazing week full of concerts and farm visits and delicious Mexican food, and so many friends. These times make us feel so blessed to have such full and fun lives! But I only brought my camera a few places (which might have been a mistake, but eh, whatever).The big thing I wish I would have gotten better photos of was when we finally took Ezra to see some live music! By some fluke, after our farm visit he napped until 5, which meant we could keep him up a little later than usual on a Friday night (rarity!). So we hauled him down to the lake to watch Koo Koo Kangaroo perform, and it was a blast. But since it was completely unplanned, I didn't bring my camera. D'oh!However, I think there are plenty of fun farm images to make up for it. Enjoy!
And lastly, Nyberg was here on Sunday when the kid woke up from his nap and he wanted her to read him a book. I die of the cuteness.
These weeks... they are far too short in the summertime. The beaches are fantastic, the dog walks are amazing and the time with friends is never enough.We made some pretty great memories again this week. And trust me, when I think back to this winter? All I can do is be grateful for our health and being well enough to get out and do so much. Enjoy the photos.
Ezra and I had a visit to my friend Leah's this week to spend some time with her little boy (above) and, of course, Diggs (below).
Ezra is flat out SMITTEN with this dog. It is beyond adorable.
We met up with our friends Tom and Lora this weekend as well and had breakfast and beach time over at Lake Harriet. They brought the donuts and we brought the sand toys. That Aurora (in the background) is always wearing the cutest stuff.
Also, the rec department was teaching their sailing lessons out on the lake that morning, and it was super fun to watch.
Is that Aurora adorable or WHAT?
Then Ezra started the hilarious game of throwing buckets of lake water at mom while I tried to dodge them. Look at the glee on his face. I managed to stay dry, but while refilling his bucket, the kid fell right into the drink and since we forgot backup clothes (bad parents) he had to ride home in the stroller in only a diaper. Being as he fell fast asleep, I don't think he minded a bit.
Here he is pre-nap noshing on a donut hole, enjoying the breeze.
When Ezra wakes up after his nap in a good mood, he loves to scream and jump on the bed like some sort of crib warrior. Here it is in full effect.
Oh yeah. That's fun.
Jamie snapped this shot of us making art on the sidewalk this weekend.
And I absolutley adore this photo of Ezra sitting with Magda in her corner of the yard. That right there? Those are my kids.
This weekend was one of discovery around town. On Friday, Nyberg and I took Ezra to a local nature center (it was a bazillion degrees out), where we ate a delicious take-out lunch and watched the outside bee hives and nature from the air-conditioned room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. Yeah. I'm a wimp in the heat. (One of the many reasons Miami was no good for me.)
Besides the bees, Ezra loved watching the squirrels steal food from the bird feeders. Also, you can see here how successful he was with a blueberry smoothie in a regular cup and straw. Answer? Not very.
After watching the nature outside, we went to the playroom to discover dress-up wings, puppet theaters, books, puzzles and aquariums filled with turtles, frogs and snakes. Of course he wanted the yellow wings.
This was taken on the way back to the car. That smile melts my heart.
Later that weekend, we all went to check out the new Vikings Stadium (which I'll show more of tomorrow). These are my boys seeing the field for the first time. No, we are not Vikings fans. But since our tax dollars were used to build this thing, we thought we should at least see it in person.
This is the outside of it, in case you are unfamiliar. Hideous, in my opinion. However, I will say that the inside is filled with lots of gorgeous light since there are so many windows. I will also say that I fear for the many birds who will meet their maker by flying into said glass.
Besides the field, the kid's favorite part might have been riding on the escalators.
Oh, and the windows that looked out on the light rail tracks. As we all know, trains are very important to this one.
After the stadium, we walked over to the Guthrie. The falls in the Mississippi were super fast that day!
Here Ez is waiting for the elevator. I don't know why, but he looks like such a big kid to me here.
We went up to the Amber Room to explore, and Ezra loved the window that looks down at the ground far below. Jamie and I are far too wimpy to play around on that glass, so I loved this photo of him tentatively testing the floor.
And, you know, I just love shots like these.
And as we left, Ez insisted on riding the escalator on his own (not being carried). So here he is.
Oh, don't worry. We didn't head back to the North Shore so quick (sadly), but I forgot I had taken these photos on the day we left last week! I found them in my camera, and I added them onto this week's post.These were taken from a picnic we had on our way back home. It was also the place where we taught Ezra the game of "throw the rocks in the lake." He was quite pleased. Also? Lots of rocks to choose from...
I just loved these seagulls and how they were sitting along the shore.
And I might make this my desktop image.
My boys.
This weekend, we took the kid back to the zoo. It had been a few months, and the weather was nice. He was enamored with the splash pad there, and next time we'll bring the swimsuit for more play time.
And once again, he loved getting up close to the leopards.
Today he saw grizzly bears, black bears, sea otters, leopards, tigers, caribou, camels, horses, penguins, wild boar, prairie dogs, foxes, coyotes, turtles and wolves (to name a few). If you ask him his favorite part of going to the zoo, he will tell you honestly. It was the "yellow popcorn!" Kids.
But at least we were successful in wearing him out. This was as we pulled up to the house after our trip.
Later this weekend, we played in the "pool" outside. Ezra's new favorite game is pouring water on us (or anyone, really). So now he fills a cup and then chases you around the yard laughing and screaming. It's a blast.
And lastly, Ezra's grandmother sent him a Thomas the Train toy that makes its own steam (cool to the touch). That occupied several hours this weekend, and we were told that the train also deserves a spot at the dinner table. Ahem. So there it sat, at the other end, where it could not be played with, but was part of the family.
OK kids, this is a big post. Lots of nature shots (probably more of the scenery than the kid). But I hope it's worth it!We went up to the North Shore of Lake Superior last weekend, and we just... took it all in. We played games, took walks, watched trains, watched freighters coming in and out of dock, watched birds, collected rocks, sat by campfires and ate s'mores. It was just what the doctor ordered. Here are the photos.Day one:
Day two started with sunrise at 5:24 am. No, Ezra wasn't up. But I wanted to watch it.
Then it got super foggy!
"Bye-bye boat!" "Loud boat!"
Day three was spent outside playing. I left my camera at the cabin for most of it because I knew I was going to photograph the stars that night and because playing with bubbles and yard games is hard when you are carrying a camera.
Um, those are bugs. Amazingly, they didn't bother us (much).
See all the camp fires along the shore? I love that.No star photos for you now -- I'll do another post on that next week. But I did finally see the milky way, and it was wonderful.For your internet shares today, I have some doozies!+ 
Wow. You guys, we are coming off the best vacation. It was... glorious. I just, I cannot tell you how much we needed this and how much fun it was and how I have spent the day "working" and researching future vacations because I want to do more of this again and again and again (hopefully not jinxing myself there).I'm breaking this week's family update into 2 posts because I have a LOT of photos, and it's just too much for one day. I hope you don't tire of the kid, and I'm sorry if you do, but I'll be back with non-kid stuff next week, I promise!Before heading up north last weekend, we met up with several friends in Osceola, WI to take the "Pizza Train." This is a refurbished train from the early 1900s that has dining cars set up where families can eat pizza and brownies while riding along the St. Croix River (that's the river that separates Minnesota from Wisconsin, for all you out-of-towners). It's a lovely route and the train itself is so interesting and fun, and we had a blast. Photos from the trip are below -- please enjoy. And please take your kids on 
This is after lunch, before we really began exploring the train.
This was shot from the bridge that goes over the river.
At one point the train stops, and the engine detaches and then zooms by to the other end of the train to re-attach (to pull us back where we came from). Ezra and I were standing by the open car door (it had railings) waiting for the engine to pass. It was getting close -- and loud -- and Ezra was, shall we say, a little nervous. This is him asking me to pick him up. Don't worry -- I did.
Here we are with Eero watching the scenery go by.
And our friend Jaime and her family joined us as well! I love how happy mom and daughter are in this photo.
Eero had this amazing train whistle that he brought and that Ezra coveted. We bought him one at the gift shop after, and that thing has already gotten a TON of use.
One of the cars was the old post office car where passengers could mail post cards and letters. It was so cool to see how that all worked!
Another photo of the Chizbachers.
And the ever-adorable Petersens!
And after we got off the train, Eero and Ezra (and Eric) climbed up into this stationary caboose. I love the boys so happy up top!I'll be back tomorrow with images from the North Shore!For your internet shares of the day:+ 
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 
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.
What a weekend! It all started on Friday when Nyberg and I took Ezra on his first train ("ChooChoo") ride on the light rail to St. Paul. Not only was he thrilled to be on an actual train, but he was even more thrilled that it was YELLOW (his very favorite color right now). Plus, we went to 
Amazingly, Ezra didn't want in the pool. He was far too enamored with this claw that another boy brought over. We might want to pick one of those up...
Here is Fitz jumping into the pool!
And Dez! Having two little boys called Dez and Ez in the same yard is not confusing at all.
And here is Winnie trying out the squirt gun we use on Magda to keep her in line. That was a big hit.
This is baby Jules! Almost 4 mos. old already!
And here we have 
Fitz was terrified of dogs when he arrived. This was right before he left. Good job, Magda.
And later that day, we played with Legos. And Ez seems a bit sad that he doesn't fit into the container any more. Seriously, look at how long those legs are.However, the biggest event of the weekend was not (on purpose) captured by the camera. You guys, MY KID PEED IN A POTTY! Ok, only once. And it was likely a fluke. But whatever! That was one less diaper for me! We were very excited over here.And I know there weren't many pix of the kid this week. I'll do better next week, I promise. Because you know what? THREE DAY WEEKEND, WOOT! Not that I'm excited or anything.