Life should be made up of weekends!

After last weekend's insane organizing festival (baby clothes are finally packed and put away, the master bedroom now has a vanity!, and my sewing stash has a proper place to hide) we decided to do something fun this weekend.

We headed back up to Stow Lake on Saturday and rented a surrey (even though we promised Ezra a boat ride...I'm not sure I'm ready to let him out on a paddle boat just yet). He didn't seem to mind too much though!

He was CRAZY excited to get a helmet (which was a total surprise! I thought for sure he'd reject it.) He kept tapping the thick plastic strapped to his noggin and exclaiming "Eza has a helmet on!" Apparently helmets are cool. =) Harvey came along for the adventure, much to the enjoyment of the people we passed on the sidewalk.

The ride was a BLAST....well...going downhill was a blast!

HA!

But the single speed gears on the bikes just weren't cut out for the massive hills in the park. We decided it was easier to just get out and push the whole rig to the top of the hills and then coast down.

Ezra kept a protective arm around his helmet-less buddy, and squealed "WEEEEEEE! AGAIN, AGAIN!" as we coasted down the hills. =)

The sign on the back of our little contraption made me giggle.

It's a good thing no one WAS following us or they never would have found the place!

We ended up a bit lost.

HA!

Thanks to Talin's innate sense of direction though, we were able to find our way back.

It was hard work but LOTS of fun!

Of course no trip to the lake is complete without a run down the dock...

for as much as this boy hates to swim, he sure likes to look into the depths of this murky green lake and giggle!

After we'd walked around for a bit, we stopped at a bridge.

Talin lifted Ezra up to the concrete railing so that he could look down at the ducks below. While they were gazing out at the lake I happened to notice something scampering quickly towards us. At first it looked like a bird....

...then it got closer and it looked like a squirrel...

...but as it kept coming I realized...IT'S A RAT!!

As I yelled out "TAAAAAAAALIN!" he happened to catch sight of the greasy little intruder as well, and yanked Ezra's hands off the railing as fast as he could...

...but not fast enough apparently!

Here's Ezra recounting the tale of the "just tiny" rat feet he felt running across his fingers.....blargh!
I love how distracted he is by EVERYTHING while telling us this story! HA!

On Sunday, Ezra spent the ENTIRE 2 hours in nursery...WITHOUT one of us in there with him!! OHHHH YAY!! It was wonderful to sit and enjoy Sunday School next to Talin!

For the first time in like 3 months, Talin was able to go to priesthood.

Oh happy, happy day!

He came away from his "big kid" experience with a fist full of Jelly Belly's, and so many stories his mouth couldn't move fast enough to tell them!

He told us about playing with his friends, learning a lesson about Jesus, and running and running and running.

I am so proud of him! =)

Not being big football watchers, we decided to take advantage of the Super Bowl crowds staying home and trekked our way out to an unusually un-crowded Half Moon Bay beach.

We were even lucky enough to snag a parking place in the main parking lot...which NEVER happens!!

The beach was absolutely GORGEOUS!!

We still needed sweaters as the sun began to set, but the giant waves and the fresh ocean breezes were wonderful to just sit and enjoy!

Ezra waisted no time getting out his football....

...trucks, shovels, and his new beach bucket from Aunt Jill and Aunt Diane.

Oh how he loves to dig in the sand!

We ventured down to play "chase" with the waves ( His fear of the ocean seems to be a thing of the past).

After a particularly big wave rolled in, however, he decided it was time for a snack and high tailed it out of there.

We watched seagulls and noshed cheddar bunnies and dried apricots.

Daddy was feeling sneaky and instigated a game of hide and seek...

...which made Ezra laugh so hard I was worried he was going to throw up!

HA!

Of course I was feeling a little left out of the snuggle fun...so Ezra quickly came over and gave me a kiss...

...but all too soon he felt smothered by my undying need to squish his pooshy cheeks up against mine!

He scampered away to inspect the dunes, which led to a series of pictures that I think I'm going to frame and put in our bedroom.

Climbing....

...enjoying...

...coming down...

...oh no...losing balance...

...tumbling!

...getting back up...

HA HA HA!

Ka Boom!

At least he got back up with a smile. =)

I thought that series of photos was my favorite of the day...until this happened....

The look of sheer joy on his face seriously melts my heart!

As the sun set we walked down to the edge of the beach, nestled into a family hug, and watched the sky change colors.

Ezra, on my hip, put an arm around each of us and quietly...contentedly...said,

"family".

Even know it makes me a little teary when I think about that moment.

There is truly no greater joy in this world then the love of a family!