Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

"For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2: 11-12

This weekend I went to a baptism for a friend of mine out here in the PNW. The day was really special to me -- to celebrate the sweet spiritual life of one precious baby and to share that time with a special friend of mine and her sweet family -- they were all sentimental moments that reminded me of the day Brooks was baptized at my home church and celebrating the start to his walk with Christ...not to mention my responsibility to raise him to know Him. In the Priest's sermon he compared baptism to a 10 million dollar bill; not very useful for a trip to Starbucks or treating a group of friends to dinner -- but break that bill into smaller ones, and you've got yourself a lot of gifts to share with the world! Just like being baptized. What good is it if we do nothing with it? Being baptized is something to share daily with those around us -- with acts of kindness and gifts of our love, through Christ. I just loved that analogy.

Now, what does all of this have to do with my tulip festival outing? Here's my church-to-tulip fields segue :) ...the symbolism behind the spring blooms. There is a lot of hard work, preparation, and patience that go into the 'final product' of a tulip field. But with those commitments comes a promise of the fruits of our labor. The newness God promises after a baptism and the fresh beginning He offers when we ask for forgiveness -- these are what I live for...what get me through those dreary seasons where the bloom seems so far our of site. These tulip fields out here are too beautiful for words or even the attempt of a snapshot in a photo, but they remind me that "the rain is over, and the flowers appear on the earth."

Take all of that as you will.... :)


So back to our trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival! I just had a spontaneous moment one morning when I woke up and thought 'why not?' Remember when I went up to the Skagit Valley tulips with friends a few year back? Well, now that we live a little further south I wanted to check out the tulips I'd seen amazing pictures of down in Oregon. I honestly was just expecting the fields of colorful tulips, but when we pulled up there was so much more! I love it when a little trip turns into so much more than you expected. I had such a genuinely fun, sweet time with B going through the rows of tulips. They even had a kid area with bungee/harness jumping, pony rides, slides, food, and more! The festival goes until May 1st, so any WA friends y'all should definitely make the trip down. (It's way better than Skagit in my opinion).

I think this is a pretty photo heavy post, y'all...so, #sorrynotsorry! :) There was just so much to see, do, and capture.
Quick side note: These pics are not super imposed or saturated in color....the colors are actually that gorgeous and vivid! ...and B is actually that delicious. ;)

^^^ He had SO much fun running through the tulip rows. There are signs everywhere that strongly suggest state admirers not to pick the flowers. I deterred him at first, but there may have been a tulip or two plucked by tiny hands (shh, don't judge).

^^^ That's a good day of play right there :)

^^^ This was a BUMPY tractor ride through the tulip fields they had for the kids. B was a little unsure at first but was laughing and loving it after the first few bumps. :)

^^^ To say that he loved the pony ride would be a major understatement!! He kept cracking up and saying 'moo' -- I love this kid!

^^^ Such a ham!

^^^ Ma! Let go! I gotta ride!

Disheveled hair, exhausted and so so happy. I've LOVED this time I've gotten with just B and me while Geoff has been gone. There have been so many sweet moments that really fill my heart...and totally make up for the mommy failure moments, temporary single mom life, and screaming toddler tantrums. He's like my little tiny human BFF -- I love his spirit and carefree disposition on life.

Geoff gets home in less than a week! Can't wait for family adventures to begin! We're hittin' the ground running with a special weekend trip away the first weekend he's back! ....you know they'll be a post on it. ;) Aside from going home, we've never had a family over night trip since we've lived here. I think it's about time we make that happen.

Have a great week!

Thanks for reading...