Tulip Time

We had such a great time this past weekend!  My whole family came to visit!!  :D

A couple months ago, a lady stopped by our house to welcome us to the neighborhood.  She brought a whole bunch of coupons and flyers from area businesses and such for us.  One of the flyers she brought advertised the annual tulip festival in Pella, IA.  I had never heard of it before, but anything 'tulip' makes me think of Jessica (tulips are her favorite flowers)!  So, I mentioned it to Mom and she thought it sounded like fun!  We worked out the details, and it turned out that JaJuKa and Julie would be able to come that weekend too!  

Julie drove to Cedar Rapids after work Friday afternoon, and then she hitched a ride with JaJuKa over here that night.  We put Kaden to bed pretty much right away...he had already fallen asleep in the car, so he was really tired!  Then, Julia, Julie, and I went through the 'haul' Julia had brought over from a couple of her friends in Cedar Rapids.  From one friend, there was a garbage bag full of maternity clothes and another garbage bag full of little girl clothes (ranging in size from 0-18 months or so, I think!).  Then, another of Julia's friends had sent a bag of maternity clothes for me to borrow!  I was so thankful, especially for the maternity clothes, as my wardrobe has recently seemed very sparse!

Saturday morning, Mom & Jess drove down from MN, and then all of us girls (plus Kaden) drove to Pella (Jason & Jordan stayed home to do manly things).  I have to admit I really had no idea what to expect at the Tulip Festival...and I was shocked at how many people were there!!!  Granted, we had gorgeous weather for it, and we did choose to go on a Saturday (the festival actually ran Thursday-Saturday).  Nonetheless, I was a little surprised when we neared the Pella exit to find a line of cars backed up onto the interstate trying to get into Pella!  With a little patience and not too much trouble, we managed to get into the town and find ourselves a parking lot that boasted a shuttle that could take us to where the action was.

Pella turned out to be such a cute little town!  They have done an amazing job making their town look beautiful with not only the flowers, but also a pretty canal, a quaint old windmill, and cute and colorful storefronts (among other things).  

The windmill (I just wished they hadn't put the flags around it!  They made it look cheesy!)  We didn't take the tour because the line was extremely long...maybe next time!

The tulips were absolutely gorgeous!

Such vibrant colors!

The cute storefronts

The first item on our agenda was to find some food.  We were all starving!!  We followed our noses till we found a vendor who was selling pork burgers.  They were DELICIOUS!!  Then, we headed back to the main square to find a spot to watch the parade (they have parades every day during the festival, one in the afternoon and one after dark).  On our way, we stopped and bought a 'dutch letter' to split amongst us because we'd heard they're really good (and they were!).  We found a place to watch the parade, and while Mom & I guarded our spot, the other girls went exploring.  They took lots of pictures of the tulips and the old restored cars and tractors, but I won't take up the space to post them here.  ;)  However, one picture from their adventures did catch my eye....

Apparently Julie was making friends!  ;)

Mom & I somehow managed to wear the same color every day this weekend!  Here we are with Kaden!

The parade turned out to be so good!  It was really long...about an hour and a half...but they had lots of neat floats, a few marching bands (which sounded great!), and nearly everyone in the parade was dressed up in their traditional Dutch costumes!  We kept joking about how Pella liked to show off their babies...there was a segment of the parade where hundreds of people walked by with their babies, most of which were in old-fashioned baby carriages and, of course, dressed up in their Dutch costumes.  

Julie & I watching the parade

After the parade, we walked the streets and browsed in some of the shops.  We found a shop that sold wooden shoes and took a picture trying them on (somehow I never got a copy of that picture, though!).  

Before heading back home, we snapped a bunch of pictures by the tulips.  Here are a few of them!

Julia with her Kaden-boy

Me playing with Kaden

He's SO cute, isn't he?!

All of us girls

It was such a fun day!  We really enjoyed the beautiful weather, quaint atmosphere, and gorgeous flowers. (Not to mention the wonderful, fattening food!  When I went to my appointment at the midwives' on Monday, I fully expected to have gained an insane amount of weight from my weekend of naughtiness; but apparently we walked enough to offset the calories because I had only gained a pound and a half over the last two weeks!  Phew!)  We drove home, sunburnt and tired, to two hungry boys.  The evening was spent making a big meal of grilled chicken (thanks to Jordan's expertise) and fettucine alfredo with breadsticks, and just enjoying each other's company.  I love when my family is together!!