Tulip Time

Last week Jim and I took the kids to the Tulip Festival in Holland, MI. It was a great time. Jim and I had been there before but it's been several years. Since Jim is half Dutch, we want to take the kids there to enjoy some of the Dutch heritage. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

We first went to the Tulip Farm and walked through all of the fields of tulips. They have all of the tulips numbered so you can order which ones you like at the very end. The problem was that I liked almost all of them! Sophia liked to "help" the tulips out that had not actual bloomed yet but peeling back the petals. James just walked along and, fearing what he might do to the tulips, we kept him away from them. At the tulip farm you can also watch wooden shoes being made. Of course Sophia made us each try on some shoes. She loves shoes.

Then we went to the hotel, got checked in, and went back out to watch the dancer. Everyday they have people dance in the street with Dutch clothing on and wooden shoes. It is fun to watch. Sophia and James really enjoyed that. Sophia still talks about the parades we saw.

The next day we got up early and went to Windmill Island. They have a windmill that is actually functional and from Holland! We took a tour inside and walked through all of the shops. Then we watched a parade, which was full of people! The neat thing about this parade was that they washed the street. Hundreds of people in Dutch clothing and wooden shoes had brooms and buckets and they cleaned the streets. They used the water in the fire hydrants. It was Wed. afternoon and it seemed like the whole town was there. The parades have themes and that parade was the marching band parade. It was very noisy.

We then decided to go the the Dutch Village. It was fun. They had some animals there and shops and parks, etc. It was a miniature version of a real Dutch village so it was pretty neat. They actually make Edam cheese and it tasted really good. By the time we finished that the kids had had enough and so we went back to the hotel and went to bed.

The last day we checked out of the hotel and went to Tunnel Island. It was nice but chilly. The children did not care though. I was surprised that Sophia didn't mind getting her feel dirty and sandy (she is on a clean feet kick right now). It was a wonderful trip and everyone had a great time!!!

I have tried to load pictures to show the fun but it seems to be taking forever tonight so I will post them later.