Tulip Festival 2011

On Saturday the 9th (happy birthday, Craig!) we drove north past Everett into the Skagit Valley to see the Tulip festival. We were excited to see all the fields totally covered in beautiful tulips.



Turns out, we were a little early for most of the tulips. Whoops. There were a few brave floral souls kind enough to show a little color for us. Natalie compensated for the excitement by teaching the kids they they have their own "two lips"...




Luckily the daffodils were out and ready to be seen.




The fields were immense and impressive.




Fun was had by all.




We'll be back next year - two lips in tow ready for the tulips.

Pacific Science Center

"Thanks" to a recurring infection in Brian's eye that turns it horribly red and makes it hurt, he took some work calls from home this morning. Then, he went to the eye doctor for, maybe, the third time in his life (since he has fantastic eyes as he'll surely tell you). After he got home with some eye drops in tow, we opted to skip the kids' quiet time and head out to the Pacific Science Center.

It's so fun to go to places in Seattle with Brian because we both have childhood memories separate from one another, but we can relate to each other. It's kind of weird to realize how many hundreds of times we could have crossed paths over the years but never knew it! I'm looking forward to watching our life "replay" in heaven. :)

Thanks partly to Brian's nostalgia about the Pacific Science Center, our "getting information about a membership" turned into a 10-second decision that landed us a membership. It will be great though, because we really don't live that far from the Science Center so we can go and spend a little bit of time (like today) or a lot of time. Plus, we get 5 guest passes for the year...first come, first served! :)

The Space Needle! Wes was a little nervous about standing on the garbage can, which is why his smile looks like that.

The sun came and went, as did the wind, which made it a little chilly. The kids still had fun playing with the water ball.

We waited a while in the line for Wes to try out the water shooter. Shooting water is pretty exciting for an (almost) 4-year-old!

Here I am seeing how far I can stretch! 17.5 inches which was well above the average for a woman my age (which was 12.5 or 13 inches, I think). My dance stretchy-ness hasn't totally worn off in my "old age".

Dad was demonstrating to the kids that you can touch the starfish. Sydney did take a turn touching it but thought it was too slimy.

Unexpectedly (since it's a Wednesday), it was crazy-busy because, unbeknownst to us, it's spring break in Seattle. We had the kids hold hands so we could keep track of them. Cute! I love when they hold hands.

We went into the Center House, which is just outside the Pacific Science Center. As a kid, I loved seeing the Saltwater Taffy being made and trying the fudge. I thought the kids would enjoy it too. I think their favorite part was trying the taffy, as you can see from the picture above!

Seattle's known for slugs! The kids decided to take a ride on this one in the Center House.

When we got home, the kids played outside (since it was still sunny) and then when they got tired, Brian made them a "couch bed" to watch a show. It was a fun day for everyone!