Tiptoe through the tulips...

They say life isn't a tiptoe through the tulips...but sometimes it ought to be.

Back in April, the kids and I did something we had been wanting to do for years, but never managed to time right. This year, we finally attended the annual tulip festival held in Woodburn, about an hours' drive from our home. Normally, it would go a bit faster, but the traffic to get through just to get there is ridiculous. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers and I had heard amazing things about this place, so I was excited. In a stroke of good luck, this year they were celebrating the 25th anniversary of this Tulip Fest. We had finally timed it perfectly!

N was fairly indifferent at the thought of spending an afternoon looking at flowers with his kid sister in tow. I tried to reassure him that this partiular "flower farm" would knock his socks off. K was just as giddy as I was though since she loves that kind of thing too. Hubby had no interest, so he opted to stay home.

So we made the drive and sat in an insanely long line of cars as we wound our way through the countryside. Once we finally arrived at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, I soon realized I should've stopped at the ATM for cash. Since it was my first time, I was naive enough to think visitors were welcome to browse for free like the little tulip farm near our home. Well, apparently you pay to park. The attendant was kind enough to let my faux pas slip by as he waived the $10 fee with a smile and a hush-hush look in his eye. I was grateful to him. After making our way through another crazy line of cars to park, we finally set out to the tulip fields.

We were soon to learn that we would be doing quite a bit of walking. It was also the first sunny day in quite awhile, which turned out to be a bittersweet blessing for the throngs of people and staff. When the muddy ground began to dry, the bugs came out of the woodwork. Everwhere you turned, you were met with a swarm of them. K struggled to deal with this, but eventually learned to ignore them. They were a nuisance to be sure, but after awhile you forgot they were there...almost.

I just have to say...this farm was ginormous! You had to truly be there to get the full scope, but my lord! The tulip fields seemingly went on forever, just like I had envisioned. There is little I love more than seeing nature in all her glory, and this spring she certainly did not disappoint! There was every color imaginable splashed across this heavenly canvas. The eye candy was enough to impress and inspire my cynical son to smile with delight. The kids wanted to just run the length of the fields and take it all in. They wanted to explore every nook and cranny of those fields. Behind the tulip fields, was also a mammoth orchard of some sort. It looked like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It was like a labyrinth of trees. Let's just say, I was a bit snaphappy that day.

What's more, back up towards the main part of the farm, were the festivities. They had a nice balance of free activities and some things you had to pay for. The food was astronomically expensive (in my opinion). I was able to get some cash in the gift shop, so I could feed the kids some lunch. Can you believe I was again naive enough to believe we'd be done in an hour with time to go out for lunch. Nope, this adventure was to continue for a couple of hours at least. I treated the kids to a corndog (they cost a whopping $4.00 a piece!). I got us a lemonade to share.

I stretched the budget a little and let the kids indulge in a few activities at the festival. Since they patiently allowed me to take endless amounts of pictures, they earned the right to a little fun. N got to climb the rock wall and K got to have a pony ride. They both rode the mechanical bull and channeled their inner urban cowboy and cowgirl. We browsed the various kiosks hocking their goods. I indulged a little too and bought some hand-embroidered dish towels and bought a couple of small tulip-themed knick knacks to spruce up my spring collection of decorations (small as it may be).

After walking around for a few hours, we all began to feel quite tired. We splurged one last time and shared an elephant ear. The sugar rush boosted our spirits and gave us just enough energy to make the trek back home. It was such a wonderful afternoon outing with my monkeys and I am so glad we finally got to go. The kids both said they couldn't wait for next year's festival. Who'd have thought you could have so much fun looking at tulips? Awesome! Check out some fo the pics for yourself...

Tulipa Chrysantha (I think)

O happy day!

Simply gorgeous dawling...

Always the charmer

K took this one, so N had to smirk

Exploring the tulip fields

Hurray for flowers!

And miles to go before I sleep...
We dubbed this the "The Robert Frost Orchard"

Bloom where you're planted.



Hamming it up

This is so fitting, these two are always racing each other.

Just slip-slidin away...

Cowgirl up!

Raging bull

From ponytails to pony rides

Always reaching new heights

Welcome to the Wooden Shoe Farm, literally

N was feeling tired, so he made himself at home.

Cute little pond by the gift shop

Trying so hard for a close up, but notice the little bug on the petal.

Tulipa humilus Violacea Black Base

Don't know the name of this purple beauty

Daffodils are like kisses of sunshine

I wish I knew more about flower names. I love this one too.

How's that for an orange-colored sky?

See what I mean about ginormous? Wow.

How'd ya like that for your backyard view?