Tulip Time!

Ever since I heard about the tulip fields in the Skagit Valley up north of Seattle, I have wanted to visit them. Spring break was this past week and we decided to have some tulip time! On Wednesday afternoon, we drove to my parents' house in Bellevue--a perfect launch point for tulip viewing. We stayed until Saturday after lunch. Five highlights of our visit include:

1. A temple date! Jeff and I haven't been to the temple together in nearly a year, so it was a treat to leave the kids in my mom's capable hands and slip off to the temple together on Thursday morning. My parents live about 10 minutes from the Seattle Temple, so it was the easiest thing to go do a session. Whenever I go to the Seattle Temple, I always feel like such a small town girl because our little Columbia River Temple is so tiny in comparison. The whole time we were inside the temple, I was resisting the impulse to say things like "it's so BIG!" And every time I started walking down a hallway, I inevitably took the scenic route to wherever I was going because of the sheer size of the place--haha! But "taking the scenic route" is kind of what the temple is all about anyways, isn't it? 
2. The tulips! On Friday morning, we loaded up the van and set out for Mt. Vernon, WA. Jeff stayed home at my parents' house for this excursion because he was having various physical complaints ranging from allergies to a pulled muscle. It took nearly an hour and a half to get allll the way to the tulip fields up there, but much to Jay's relief, we finally arrived. The large fields of tulips were just gorgeous in all of their vibrant colors.
3. Trail runs! I love running on the soft mulchy trails at Lewis Creek Park near my parents' house. The trails are incredibly well-groomed--not your rugged mountain pathways at all, more garden-like. Rugged mountain trails have their place, but these spongy garden paths are just beautiful. Moss, ferns, and leafy trees make it ultra green and it does my desert-starved eyes so much good to spend time drinking in the lush greenery.
4. Movie time! We watched the new Star Wars movie on Thursday night--my first time seeing it, and as sick of Star Wars as I am, I have to say that I liked the movie. It was so refreshing to watch Star Wars without knowing what was going to happen! Then on Friday night, my mom and I stayed up late watching a BBC classic, North and South. There's something about watching movies together that is just FUN. 
5. Grama Meri time! (Grampa Charley was away on business) We all just love my dear mom so much. She read stacks of stories to the kids, fed us all mountains of heavenly food, took the kids to the park, provided us with quality conversation, and was an all-around supreme hostess. 

On to the tulip pictures! 

It was a risk bringing a one year old to huge fields of flowers that she couldn't pick. Somehow we survived the visit with only one leaf damaged.

 Suspicious bright sun eyes

A nice lady offered to take our picture, but it was so sunny and she was so up close to us that the full effect of the tulip fields was lost. Hah, oh well! 

On the walk back to the parking lot, I gave Jay and Rose each a turn with the camera...

 
Here are some pictures they took:

 (I couldn't resist using my phone to take pictures of them taking pictures of us because they were so funny with that big ole camera)

 On the way back to the parking lot we paused at the tulip garden. It was packed with people so we didn't stay long since Amber was getting unruly, but the patterns of flowers were amazing. The COLORS were absolutely stunning in the sunshine. 

 

Happy Spring Break! Do we have to start real life again this week?