Tulip Festival

Back in early April we took the kids to a tulip farm for a day of "fun." By some fluke, The Sun Was Shining, and we weren't quite sure what to do about that:


The blinding light!

So Pa asked Zig if he could take his picture by the tulips. And in a great Eeyore impersonation, Ziggy eventually stopped his fit and said, "Oooooo-kaaaaaay. Iiiiii guesssss soooooo."



And here he is, looking pensive, and not like the herd of elephants that he and Campers were attempting to imitate as they ran up and down the rows of flowers:


Campers was doing his best to look natural:


And after the troops had seen more tulips than they could shake a stick at, they got a chance to bounce around in an inflatable race track:


They also held tight to one another as they waited in line for their turn on the Big Slide. You might notice the Batman Shirt. I tried my best to get the boys in matching shirts, but alas. Batman prevailed. I guess he wanted to see the tulips, too.


And here's the slide:


And a nice picture of a tulip.


We came home with a memory card full of pictures and sunburn on our skin. And a desire to go see the tulip fields again in ooohhhhh...about another ten years.

Mount Tabor, Part Deux

Pa has the camera today, so I thought I'd tide you over with some more shots from our climb of Mount Tabor. Enjoy!

Mount Tabor

So there's this extinct volcano in town, that sits right within the city boundaries, no less. And if there's a volcano, we have to climb it. To The Top. All the fat cells in my thighs were in total and complete shock at being put to use pushing seventy pounds of kids and a stroller up a Very Big Hill.

But then we saw the "shortcut," which involved me carrying the Scratching Squidging Sweetie up about 1800 steps. (But at least they weren't narrow, or varying heights, like the How Could We Ever Forget The Great Wall Of China.)

The Squidging Scratcher was delighted when she could add Hair Puller to her routine:

And now, with these next two pictures, it will be Readily Apparent who was behind the camera, and it wasn't me.

That Sister Susie, she really does want to walk. She just hasn't informed her body of that yet.

Oh, and isn't this-a-lovely, couldn't resist, had to post one of Pa's Good Shots:

It was so good for our souls to be in the park for a couple of hours today. All three kids got a chance to run around and pick up sticks and leaves and get grass stains just trying to be Superman.

And after we climbed up the volcano, Ziggy and Sister Susie got a Super Fast ride back down with the Ma, because it was more work to slow 70 pounds of stroller than to just 'go with the flow.' So they were delighted, and the passersby were entertained by the Crazy Running Ma and her Two Squealing Babes, zooming in a Not Even Close To Being A Jogging Stroller.

Yay for Mount Tabor. And contrary to Campers' fears, the volcano did not erupt while we were on it. I'd call that a Good Day, any day.

Rapidos!

Had fun playing at Mount Tabor today. Here the boys are, making their Ma seasick just watching them go around, and around, and around.

I was so proud of my boys as they played together so well, and Campers did such a great job of making sure that the merry-go-round was going slow enough for Ziggy to get on without getting hurt. I mean really, it does a mother's heart good to see them living in unity.

Now at home, well, that is a much different story. But we don't need to get into the Weapons Of Mass Destruction that they choose to use on one another; no, I'll save that for another day.

While I listened to the bunch of kids on the merry-go-round (not all shown in this picture), it sure was neat to hear all the languages being spoken. English, Russian, Spanish. I had to smile when Campers was the "runner" and the girl sitting on top hollered out "Rapidos!!" (fast!) And even though the kids couldn't understand one another, they still had a great time. Playground Talk equals "Fun" in any language. It was a beautiful thing, and a beautiful day to boot.

Pa took lots of scenic, lovely pictures, but yer all just gonna have to wait for him to get them posted on his blog. He is One Incredibly Talented Photographer, and I wouldn't want to steal his thunder. Nor could I do his pictures justice. Although, it would be nice if he could do a regular photoshop-liposuction each time I appear 'in film.' Well, that's something for him to aspire to.

Prickly Pine Cones

More Pacific Northwest novelties--pine cones lying all along the city streets. Kids had to pick these up too, but quickly threw them down again as they were prickly.

This is one of the few items that didn't get hauled home to be put on top of the dining room table. Or the living room floor. Or stuck in the van. Those boys like their Nature Stuff.

The Falling Leaves...Right In The Roadway

We found some Holy Honkin' Tree Leaves out on our walk today. Of course, the kids had to run right out and capture them in the [VERY QUIET AND TRAFFIC-LESS] street.

The Falling Leaves...Drift By My Window

So here's what the "falling leaves" look like in our region. Kind of a nice change. Pine needles galore. And you probably notice the ground is wet. Stands to reason.

There's Just Something Kinda Nice About This

Welcome! This is at the local community center.

Aren't the trees pretty??