Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Starting to feel the strain that comes with a busy Medical Student husband and father, I decided another day trip was in order. (Without Tanner, he just had to keep feeling the strain, poor guy) So I loaded the kiddos up and set off for Pella, Iowa and their famous Tulip Festival.

My babies were so good on the two hour drive there. I only had to pull over once to give Chet his Binkie and only had to blindly reach back and grab Mariah's "horsey" a hundred times. (slight exaggeration on my part, I am a Young after all.)

We arrived just in time for the parade. We found a nice little spot right at the beginning and had a great time! It met all of my requirements for a good parade: marching bands, horses, and a lot of smiling, waving people. Mariah was so cute waving to everyone who went by. She should have been in the parade. She would have been the sweetest Tulip Queen good ol' Pella had ever seen! Big mistake on their part.

Towards the end of the parade, Lisa, Chelsey and their ninos arrived. After the parade we walked around and tried to lose our children in the big crowd and met up with Allie and her kids. We let them run around in a grassy area and then waited in line at the famous Danish bakery. I got some delicious Danish letters and donut holes. And I even had the self-control to save some for Tanner (I was very proud of myself).

Chet is at that wonderful age where he has the most genuine smiles for pictures and Mariah is at that wonderful age where...

I love this picture! What a Cheeser! 

Mariah was really excited about this water. She cried when we left it. 

This is where Chet hung out a lot of the day. He even took a nap in there. 

It started to get a little blustery and looked like rain so I decided it was time for the Crossley crew to skedaddle before we got caught in a rainstorm. We made a bathroom pitstop on the way to the car (tiny college bathroom with a big ol' stroller; somehow I managed to get it both in and out). We made it to the car and as I put the stroller in the back it began to rain. Talk about timing!

Who needs a double stroller? Not these two! 

I was a little worried about the drive home because I was feeling a little sleepy. But Mariah decided she would be Mommy's little helper and talked the whole way home. Thats two hours of talking...can't imagine where she got that. We talked about cows and horses, lions and hippopotamuses; usual road trip talk. I only had to pull over once to give Chet his binkie and then he slept the rest of the way home.  

It was a great trip and Mariah and Chet were little angels. Thats my kind of day trip!