A Mouse Lived in a Windmill in old Amsterdam!

Do you know the song about the mouse that lived in a windmill?
I loved it as a child and can't help but think of it when I see tulips...

Monday was a fabulous, sunny day, so we planned to end our work day a couple of hours earlier than usual, so that we could enjoy the Wooden-Shoe Tulip Festival.  It turned out to be a wonderful time to go.  After hearing reports of how busy it had been over the weekend, not only did we pay half the price for going during the week, but it wasn't too busy either.

The field was spectacular and as colourful as it always is.  It seems impossible to pick a favourite variety since they are all amazing in their own way.  I have to admit if I planted some in our garden I would have to buy the mixed variety, so that I could enjoy a little bit of everything.

 

 

 

Daddy and his girl!

 

I love this tulip, everything about it is simply stunning.

 

 

 

Me and my girl! 

 

 

Amelia was excited to find out that although most of the vendors were closed, the Pony ride was open, she used her own $5 for her ride and was even able to select which horse she wanted.  Grandpa Rawe this picture is for you! 

 

 

 

She absolutely loved the "duckie race" as it was called and actually did a great job of pumping the water into the chute, something she had found difficult in years past. 

On our way out, she stepped into the giant clogs for one last photo, those sure are big shoes to fill.

 

So I guess that is that for another year!
After looking at all of the photo's are you surprised to hear that tulips are my favourite flower?

We ended our fun Family Home Evening at The Home Place, in Silverton, one of grandpa Rawe's favourite Oregon pizza places.

It truly was the perfect family outing!

Forever Blowing Bubbles!

The weather has been fabulous this weekend, in the 70's yesterday and I believe we may have even hit the 80's today.  After a little quiet time, Amelia was excited to finally be able to use the bubble gun that Auntie Heidi had bought for her when we visited Texas.  She headed into the garden and the fun began.  She loved dancing around and ended up using up the entire bottle of bubbles.

Of course, never wanting to miss a thing, I had my camera handy so that I could share a part of our day with you.

 

 

 

She loved stomping on each bubble as they fell to the ground.

 

Bubbles are such a serious business.

 

Thank you Auntie Heidi for such a fun gift, Amelia loves it...
Now all I have to do is remember to buy more bubbles.

Easter Fun!

I love Easter, for me, it's a time that represents new beginnings, a new season that brings colour to the world.  It's a time to embrace traditions, new and old, American and English.  But most importantly of all a time to think about my Savior and how my life has been blessed by what he did for me.

Easter Sunday was beautiful and sunny, so after church, and a nap, Amelia checked outside in the garden to see if the Easter Bunny had been, to her delight, she saw that he had, she quickly put on her boots, grabbed her basket and ran into the garden to collect the colourful eggs...by the way, the red dress was a beautiful handmade gift bought for Amelia by my boss, Darren, which he brought back from Cozumel, Mexico just a couple of weeks ago.  This is the third year that he has brought a dress back for her, they are always so beautiful and unusual. I'm very blessed to work with someone who is so thoughtful and takes such good care of my girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Amelia had collected all of the eggs she could find, she searched for an Easter basket, she found it in the front garden, behind the maple tree.  The Easter Bunny had put her English Chocolate Egg in her basket along with a few fun gifts including the movie "Hop" (complete with bunny ears), some Disney Princess rings, and stick on earrings, an apron to wear when she bakes, a book, a colorful windmill and a chocolate bunny from him.  She's such a lucky girl.

She played outside with a couple of the neighbour girls for a while, and I was very proud of her when she offered to give Gracie a Disney ring and even let her choose which one, although she didn't end up keeping it, I was proud of my little girl for being so willing to share.  There were lot of excited screams heard when the girls found about eight ladybirds all snuggled together in our lawn.

After playing, it was time to have dinner, since we had the traditional ham last week, we had Tri-tip with Yorkshire puddings, carrots, and roast potatoes and of course gravy..yum!

The fun continued when we coloured eggs.  Amelia had been looking forward to this all day long.  It was fun for all the family, and I had very pretty hard boiled eggs to take to work for my snack that week.  

 

 

 

 

 

It was such a great day!

Puppies, Pink Petals and a Pretty Girl

This past March, Oregon set a new record for rainfall of 7.73 inches, the previous record had been standing since 1957. So, you can imagine that my friend Traci and I were worried when we saw the pink buds beginning to explode on the trees, with no sign of any sunshine in the forecast for the near future. It was becoming apparent that our annual tradition of taking pics with my Amelia and her pups, Kant and Echo, surrounded by cherry blossoms just may not come to fruition this year. Happily, as you can see from these pics we were blessed on Monday, when the sun came out to play. It was a glorious morning and Amelia was very excited when I picked her up at daycare to spend a couple of hours with us at the Capitol Mall park. This really is a great tradition that I look forward to every year.

Of course, these are just a few of the many photo's that I took, and I have more that I may have to share next time, that showcase the beauty of nature in Oregon at this wonderful time of year. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them.

Echo had puppies late last year, so they, Eris and True, along with Hannah (Traci's mum's new pup) got to join in the fun too. The more the merrier!

So I just have say, when I first saw the photo below, I was shocked, my little girl doesn't look quite so little anymore...wow!

What a beautiful day, Oregon may have a fair bit of rain, but it really is a gorgeous place to live!