Tulip Time reflections...

The big week is over, and here are my thoughts from this years Tulip Festival:

1) I have a new sense of pride being a part of the Dutch community here in Holland, and celebrate my lineage (my mom's side is part Dutch) by dressing my first born in (yes) a Dutch costume, which apparently is a prerequisite for living here. I've given in. BUT, to defend myself.....I didn't pay a penny, or sew a stitch of it. And I'd say, our little Dutch lady was quite the show stopper. See below... :)

2) I have never succumbed to standing in the freezing cold wind to watch not one but TWO parades (until this year). I really felt like a die-hard...but was even more surprised to see half of Holland downtown watching along side me as well.


3) With all the talk of having a "Stem Festival" this year (due to the early warm weather we had a few weeks ago), I was convinced there would be no tulips left. But, there were strips of perfectly opened tulips throughout Centennial Park, which made for some fantastic photo opportunities.

Kensie and her buddy Kenyon among the glowing tulips

4) I LOVE craft shows. The Centennial Park was filled with tents and booths for the first two days of the festival. I went with no intent of buying, but every intent of researching. This year however, I bought one item. A close-up 8 x 10 photo of a beautiful asian lily in soft hues of green, pink and blue to put in Kensie's room. The selling point was that it was a taken by a 12 year old. She was adorable. Running her own tent by herself with hundreds (literally) of photos in all different sizes. I asked how long she'd been photographing, and she nonchalantly says, "4 years.". WHAT?? Yeah pretty amazing. I couldn't help but support her.


5) And lastly.....for once I was NOT annoyed by all the tourists in town. Usually I get so annoyed by the slow drivers with out of state license plates, staring down at their road maps driving with the left blinker on for miles...looking like lost puppies. But, I was so thankful that it brought an economic boost to our happy little town. We definitely could use the help.


So all in all it was a fun week. Can't wait til next year's festival...and maybe some warmer weather with it. :)

The kids loved hanging with Megan too!

I love this pic. Allison with her son Kenyon, and

Kensie looking a little apprehensive.

Birthday fun

On May 6 we celebrated two special occasions.

My dear Gregory Peter turned 27,

and our little Kensie Michelle turned 8 months...

In honor of the day, we took a "special" chair picture....

Adrenaline

Well, I did it. I completed my first 5k this morning. Thanks to a last minute sign up by Greg's cousin, Beth, I was blessed with a running partner. I know we look like sisters, but we are not even blood related. Funny huh? Anyway, we were matched pretty well the whole race. And since I've mostly trained alone, it sure was nice to have a buddy. Definitely more motivating for sure.

We both finished under 27 minutes, which was better than my goal! I'm sure there was a little help from some morning coffee as well as the adrenaline that kicks in from running with a large group. And we DID get some cheers from our hubby's on the sidelines, which always helps too.

And I have to give a shout out to my dear friend Jamie, who -- if it wasn't for her encouragement, I would have never signed up in the first place. Thanks Jamie!

So, here's to the 5k. The official kick off of Tulip Time has begun!!

Bring it on.

Block party update...

Our block party did not go so well. We did not have a SINGLE person show up. I busted my tail to clean the house ALL day, forgoing the chance to enjoy the nice weather yesterday, prepared food, and no one came. Just Greg, Kensie and I. THEN, I got a letter from the post office threatening to take me to the PIS (Postal Inspection Services) because I slipped the invites into people's mailboxes. Whoops. Who knows if anyone even got them! Anyway, I was pretty much in tears last night. Greg was sick so he went to bed early, and I just laid in bed awake for an hour...so annoyed.

I woke up this morning with this on the table. A note written by my loving, understanding hubby...

I sighed a deep breath, knowing he's right, but still feeling the heat of tears in my eyes. I also realize prayer is important BEFORE an event like this, to keep the focus off myself. I was more worried about what people thought of my clean house and what food they were going to eat. I have seen the power of prayer in the past. I hope we remember this for next time. God will bring people if you ask him.

Highs and Lows

My birthday brought some wonderful highs for the week. Beautiful flowers were brought home by my husband. I was given some very thoughtful cards and gifts, as well as a lovely brunch with some great friends.

The lows were mixed between a sick baby on my birthday, barely seeing my working husband ALL week, and recently hearing news of a friend who has breast cancer. Just when you think you hit your high in life, I am reminded there are times like this that keep me grounded. It keeps my need for God alive, knowing I can't have perfection in any circumstance.

**Kensie is MUCH better today. Her fever is gone and she is eating everything in sight. Maybe a one-day bug? Or maybe some teeth here soon...who knows. But glad she's back. **

And I know we're jumping the gun a bit, but we took some pics in front of the tulips. The Tulip Festival is not for another week, but there may not be any tulips by then. And whoever lived in this house before us LOVED tulips. So we are gladly reaping the benefits. I'm more of an interior decorator...not so much of an exterior one.

Doggie tricks

Kensie has learned a few tricks (some old and some new) including sitting, standing, and rolling over. Please observe the cuteness that follows...

...and with a little support from the couch (cheater), we have a 2 foot munchkin who looks about ready to walk...yikes! SIDE NOTE: she literally stood there for 5 minutes while I snapped pic after pic. She has NO balance whatsoever, but her legs are stiff as a board...cracks us up!

The rolling over trick has become my favorite. After only a half hour of training, she literally does it on command...see for yourself!

New news

I was never able to take a real "spring break" vacation while in high school and college. Sports always kept me tied down during that coveted week of no school and all sun.

Growing up in CA, the "cool" thing to do was go snowboarding over spring break. Everyone would come back to school with lift tickets still attached to their coats, bragging about where they went skiing that week and how many snowball fights they had. Meanwhile, here in MI everyone and their dog goes to Florida (where I STILL have never been..hint hint Greg...). After seven days in the hot sun, they return with the most glorious tans I have ever seen.

But, now that I'm out of school, who says I still can't enjoy a spring break trip?

Here are some pics of our missions trip to TN. Our church has been going to this summer Christian Camp for years, and we finally had our chance to go. We helped them do various jobs around the camp like clearing shrubs, trimming trees, cooking, stuffing envelopes, painting, shoeing horses, house-cleaning and the like. We were privileged to bring Katelyn along for the ride too (and the help :). She was a trooper, even if she did get bit by a horse! (ask her about it...)

And Kensie did amazing as well! Mommy didn't get much sleep as we had to sleep in the same room, but she faithfully took her two naps a day and slept 12 hrs at night. She even celebrated 7 months while we were there. And since I was kinda freaking out that we weren't going to have her infamous "chair picture" until 6 days AFTER we got home, we found a chair in our cabin to substitute...

the morning view from the front porch of our cabin...breathtaking!