i heart tulips

Every year, us Western Washingtonians flock up to my neck of the woods (well technically Skagit Valley, but close enough) for the annual tulip festival. April is a little bit completely crappy rainy nastiness wet-ish around these parts, but thankfully we have been having a run of good weather lately, hooray! So naturally, we went to check it out. And I got my photo on.

There are three main places to go for the tulip festival; we usually go to tulip town. They have face painting, ice cream, and tractor rides, so it's fun for the kiddos (Although we didn't get to the tractor ride this time, someone was NOT pleased, bet you can imagine who...)

 

I guess another reason I like tulip town is because they have barns. I also heart barns.

 

And flowering fruit trees. They're pretty awesome, too.

 

Lu kept lifting up my shirt to kiss my tummy....whatta cutie. A sassy one, too (See pic on right!)

 

 

 

I'm also digging the tractors.



 

This one of Lu is a little grainy, I had to crop it majorly because a tacky, pushy, tourist from a certain place that shall go unmentioned someone walked into the picture. And of course it was the only direct, at-the-camera smile I got that day.

 

Aili was pretty cooperative for me though. *Most* of the time anyway.

...Are you tulip-ed out yet???

Yeah, tulips don't actually have a smell....whatever :-)

 

Aili was really into this horse. I wanna sign her up for horsey riding lessons. She looks so big... *Sniff*

 

33 (and a half!) weeks pregnant. There is no other possible explanation for my size, other than, I am clearly having twins. I bought a spare car seat. Just in case.

 

I forgot to crop dude out of the corner. Oh well.

Aili was pretty excited for face painting. Or her "tattoo" as she calls it.

 On the drive home, where the Stilly meets the Sound, and Stanwood meets Camano.

Sooo If you're in Western Washington during tulip time (generally April, sometimes May if it's a late season) be sure to check it out. It's a prime opportunity to yell at your kids that the tulip police will take them away to jail if they pick one more flower plop your adorable babes down in front of some pretty flowers and get some nice cheesy photos :-)

lummi island

We went and spent some family time on Lummi Island this past Sunday, and surprisingly, the weather cooperated! It was gorgeous out so I took some pictures while we drove around the island. I love the San Juans :-)

Orcas island in the distance...

The beach on the west side of the island

Every time I come, I think I should be coming more often...

The view from my in law's front yard... Pretty relaxing!

The girls collecting eggs (from our coop, not Lummi). An egg or two might not have made it back inside.

With their Raggedy Anne dolls that Aunt Joanne made them

We are one lucky family, we get to visit relatives in cool places like Lummi and Central California. Hope these little girls appreciate it!

30 + yummies

Somebody turned 30 recently...

No, not her obviously. But she's pretty cute right? Her ouchie is looking a lot better, too.

                                    They made me work for it, too.

 

I got to celebrate with all these cuties too...I'm a lucky girl :-)

 

I got some pretty awesome presents too, including a 50mm fixed lens and a new tripod. So no more balancing the camera on the car. Pretty cool.

I'm loving these tulips. So far we've had red ones and these ones pop up...I can't remember if I planted any purple ones. I'm thinking I should, if I didn't already.

 

Kiddos bouncing...they had a pretty fun time.

Counting the number of candles on the cake...yes unfortunately it is true, there are 30.

My asparagus patch is thriving...yummy.

 

 

Let's end this post with a recipe, because we haven't done that for awhile...

For brekkie the other morning I made everyone strawberry stuffed french toast, which is always delightful. Any fruit will do though...pear/peach/raspberry.

Well fig might be kinda sketch. Maybe just stick with one of the above.

 

Stah-bee Stuffed French Toast

(as the little ones would say)

 

So to start, you're gonna want these ingredients:

 

Eggs, Cream Cheese (whipped or reular), Sugar, (granulated and confectioner's is optional), Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Milk, Bread, Fresh Fruit.

 

So obviously you want to use the best ingredients possible. I use our chicken's eggs, which are awesome, but any organic free range would be fine. For vanilla we use some nice clear vanilla we get from Mexico, or if the Queen is coming for breakfast, you could use a vanilla bean, see left above (split lengthwise and scoop). For Cinnamon, either grind up some from a stick or use ground. Bread needs to be good. Preferably thick sliced, preferably artisan or homemade. No freaking wonder bread ok?

 

 

 

 

So first, you want to stir up your cream cheese. Throw in some granulated sugar to taste (and, um, you'll need a lot. This is not a diet-friendly recipe, this is an occasional treat). Then throw in some more for good measure. Now add your sliced/chopped fruit and mix it all together. Once its well mixed, stash it in the freezer to get it nice and cold while you're doing your bread.

 

 

See how nice and dark yellow/orange our chickie's eggs look? Good eggs really do make a difference. Anyway, hand beat eggs, milk, vanilla (I always increase the amount of vanilla in any recipe, and dump a hefty amount in this recipe too), cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then drench your bread really good, and lay it on a medium hot skillet. Flip when golden brown.

 

Now, assembly time. Get your fruit and cream cheese mixture out of the freezer.

 

 

Slather on a good amount of the mixture on top of the piece of bread, then add another piece on top. If you're a small servings kind of person, just fold the bread in half over it.

 

 

Dust with confectioner's sugar and top with a decorative piece of fruit. And if you're reaaaallllyyy nice, serve it to the bedmate you let sleep in in bed with some coffee.

 

.....Annnnndddd, you're welcome  ;-)