It was such a beautiful weekend – the weather is cooling off a bit (not enough, though…how am I going to get Christmas card pictures when it’s still 80 degrees? I have long-sleeved shirts and sweaters for the boys. Argh!) so we spent a lot of time outside. Even George, also known as Mr Sunshine. (Not really.)

We went to a birthday party on Saturday in our neighborhood. There was a petting zoo set up, but the boys wanted nothing to do with the animals. I don’t know why they’re so scared of animals. Maybe because we did such a good job instilling a fear of Stinky into them? (Rightly so – she can be mean! But she’s actually quite gentle with the boys. But still. Better safe than sorry.) Anyway, all of the animals were small and tame. There were even pony rides, but again…no. Not happening.

Lil’ Sebastian! (for you Parks & Rec fans)

Fortunately, it was at a park, so there was plenty for them to do. Like fight over some old ride-on toys. And crash into each other.

Best party banner EVER.

Tiny goats are SCARY!

Seriously, this goat was three weeks old. TERRIFYING!

I was really excited about Sunday’s plans. We are lucky to live close to the ferry that crosses the Mississippi River and takes you right to the base of Canal Street, where you can catch a streetcar all the way to City Park. Considering how obsessed the boys are with trains (and how much they love the picture I painted for them last week), I figured they’d have a blast on the streetcar.

On the ferry:

On the streetcar:

I brought a picnic lunch to eat at the park, but I didn’t think the transportation issue all the way through. Turns out the streetcar lets you off at the front of the very very large park. It’s not too bad for adults, but getting three year olds to cross a gigantic lawn to the playground was a challenge. I just told them to RUN!

George and I decided we’d rather have burgers than the Nutella sandwiches I packed, so we let the boys eat all of those while we had a hot meal. Yum. The boys played on the playground for a bit, then we kind of wandered around the park a little while we waited for the next streetcar.

We reversed our journey and stopped at the pub on the way home so I could guzzle a beer while the boys giggled at Uncle Mark’s fart jokes.

And that’s about it! Exhausting, but fun weekend.