Tulip Time

Well, Tulip Time has come and gone, and I suddenly realized I didn't say much about it. The tulips were perfectly timed this year (a true miracle), the weather was beautiful, Elinore really liked watching the Dutch Dancers (she wanted to join them), Jen ate too many corn dogs, and Kevin ate too many elephant ears (but we loved every minute of all that junk food). We are grateful the festival only lasts one week. We splurge and then wait a whole year til it comes around again!
The first photo is of Elinore and Kevin watching the big parade. There were lots of marching bands, floats, dancers, horses, cars, and even a fire truck. Elinore seemed to enjoy the whole thing, amazing since it was almost 2 hours long. The rest of the photos are from Veldheer's Tulip Farm. Rows and rows and rows of tulips. It was really pretty and quite a feat to keep Elinore from trampling any of them. There is a fine for each tulip you damage-something like $100/tulip.
Yes, this is actually a tulip. Isn't it beautiful!!

Perhaps Elinore's Sweetest Moment

Our house gets a lot of sun streaming in the windows in the morning. Lately Elinore has taken to proclaiming, "Catch Sunshine" and running into it with her hands cupped trying to grab it. That is one of those things I hope I never forget.

Nen

We just finished a week of having my dear friend Nen stay with us. We had the most wonderful time. We went to Meijer Gardens, Windmill Island, the beach, saw Loreena McKennitt in Kalamazoo, knitted until we ran out of yarn, ate fondue... Elinore loved having the extra attention, playing with a real cell phone (who knows how many pictures she took), and waking Nen up each morning with a "wake up, Nen!"

After our drive to and from the concert I realized how few people I have in my life who are willing to lose all inhibitions and just have hilarious amounts of fun. We laughed hysterically, sang at the tops of our lungs, knitted while we watched movies,... It was so much fun. I feel like something inside of my awoke that has been lying dormant for several years. It was great. I was sad to say good-bye. I don't know if I just don't have many people around me that are like that,...or if Nen is such a rarity. There really is no one like her.

Nen, I wish you loads of adventure, good food, and good company in Greece. Maybe if you're there long enough I'll be able to come visit. Blessings on your trip.

A Little More Artsy

Daffodils

A few weeks ago, we spent the weekend in Chicago with my parents and my sister Caitlyn. We've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to post. Here are some photos from the weekend. We went to Morton Arboretum to see the daffodils.

Jen and Caity having some sister bonding.