Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Spring in Oregon blooms thousands of tulips at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn (about an hour drive from us). My friend Andrea (former co-worker and now stay-at-home mom) invited us to go with her and her kids. She lives on the east side of Portland so we jump at the chance to get together with them since it's not very often.

It's been so rainy this spring but we happened to pick the one very sunny and warm day we've had all year. I didn't even think of sunscreen! We all ended up with pink cheeks after soaking up the much missed sun for hours.

One of the favorite things to do is the duck races. There are hand operated water pumps like those used in the pioneer days to pump water. The water comes up and runs down gutters to the trough at the other end. The kids put little rubber ducks in the gutters and off they go! Harrison didn't want to race, just hold all the ducks. He was having a hard time pumping with a dozen ducks in his arms.




James' favorite is the cow train ride. For $2 you get to bump and ride around the tulip fields in cow shaped cars behind a tractor. Harrison was scared to go so he sat by Wyatt and I and waited for everyone to get back. I don't know what happened to make him so timid about rides and things. He wouldn't even climb the stairs on the playground slide.



We took a free tram ride out to the tulip fields. Again Harrison didn't want to get on so I had to basically take him kicking and crying and hold him on my lap while we rode. Once we got going he was fine. When we got there the kids were doing great until they found the one big mud puddle in the whole place and would not stay away. I brought extra pants for them all but was still reluctant to let them just run free.

After 3 hours we could tell the kids were at their end. They played on the toys, rode the train, tried not to pick the flowers, and had a fun picnic lunch. Can you believe I was actually relieved to be in the car and out of the hot sun?! Here I've been wishing it would come out for months!

Happy Birthday!

April 5th, Tuesday, 32nd Birthday.
With my birthday being on a weekday there really wasn't much excitement. It was mom duty as usual with getting kids up and fed and running James to preschool. I decided to take time on my hair and dress up a little to feel more "festive." Then Harrison, Wyatt, and I went to Kohl's to get out and do something. I ended up shopping for my sister's birthday present on my birthday, go figure!

It was a long afternoon keeping kids entertained inside since it is STILL raining. Then our family went to dinner at Chevy's with some friends. They have the best salsa and kids eat free on Tuesday. However, Wyatt decided to be super fussy right when our food came so I ended up standing and walking trying to get him pacified. He really needed to be at home in bed but I finally got him to at least let me sit down. Not much of a fun time eating out with kids sometimes. I did get my ice-cream and birthday sombrero!



On Wednesday it felt more like my birthday. I wore my fabulous new sweater I bought for myself and my awesome visiting teachers took me to lunch at Panera. I had a friend lined up to watch my older boys but when I went to drop them off she insisted on leaving Wyatt. What a birthday treat to eat lunch with only adults and not have to keep getting up to fetch drinks, get more yogurt, find a spoon, and whatever else kids come up with right when you sit down to eat.

I thought we'd just skip the whole birthday cake thing since I really didn't need more treats and we got home late on my birthday. Then James asked when we were going to blow out the candles. I really didn't want cake so I suggested apple crisp (one of my all-time favorite desserts) and then James said how about apples on the sticks in caramel. Brilliant idea- caramel apples! A fun treat in a small quantity but still involves fruit! We had a lot fun decorating them and trying to get the candles in. James insisted on putting one big white meltie on each as the robots eye. Apparently they are iRobot caramel apples. (?) Who am I to question the creativity of my 4 yr old!

Manzanita Beach Trip

I've had a lot of requests to keep this blog going now that we're home from our big trip. I was reluctant just at the thought of how much time it would take. However, recently a friend pointed out the journal and family history value of this time investment and I was persuaded.

This past weekend we were invited by our friends to stay at their family beach house in Manzanita here on the Oregon coast. We totally jumped at the chance to get away from our mundane routine and spend time with some really fun people.

The dads weren't able to take time off work so the moms and kids drove out Thursday afternoon and had a grand time gabbing and letting the kids play. Then the men joined us on Friday night for a fun bon fire and smores. The crazy thing was how incredibly nice the weather was! It was sunny with hardly any wind. We're talking March on the Oregon coast--that never happens!! It's hard to get no wind even in summer months. The boys played on the beach for hours digging and running and just loving being outdoors. We've been cooped up inside the entire winter and now it's been such a wet spring that we haven't really played outside yet this year.

The boys were so tired each night that we got the kids in bed easily and then stayed up late playing games and just talking. It's just so nice to get away once in awhile. To step away from the daily grind and just enjoy being a family and having fun.