Tip Toeing in the Tulips - Throwback Thursday

Springtime in Oregon means a trip to the tulip fields for our family.  I shared footage of our trip in last week's Week In The Life vlog (WITL 56), but thought I'd share some more pictures from this year - and last year!  When I look back at our annual tulip pictures I see more than just flowers and smiles.  I can see everything we were feeling as a family at that moment.

Last year we went a little earlier in the season because we wanted to bring Christopher's parents out to the fields while they were visiting from Minnesota.  In this picture William is just 10 days old, which means I'm 10 days postpartum - and I look haggard.  I was exhausted, and I've got some impressive sleep deprivation wrinkles.  We had just begun the process of transitioning to a family of four, and the growing pains were tough for everyone.  Hannah was so excited to have the attention of 4 adults including 2 grandparents that were doting on her, and was so proud to wear her big sister backpack she'd received at the hospital the week before.  It was windy that day and in my rush to pack for our first family outing with TWO kids, I forgot a coat for myself.  I was cold and could barely walk the fields, but wanted to badly to sit that aside and savor this day with both of my children.

Thankfully this year we hit the fields on a gorgeous sunny April day with fields fully in bloom, two kids excited to run around a farm, and everyone got 8+ hours of sleep the night before.  William had no interest in looking at the camera and seemed to attract every ounce of dust and dirt in a 5 foot radius of him.  He even managed to fall into the only mud puddle we saw that day.  He was caked in dirt by the end of the day and enjoyed every second of it.  

Hannah really hated posing for pictures.  The sun was too bright for this Northwest girl, and she would rather roam up and down the rows looking for broken flowers because she knew she wasn't allowed to pick any (farm rules).  Every time she saw someone that worked at the farm she explained that she didn't pick them, she found them, and she was going to take them home and keep them forever.

Chris and I had a wonderful day watching the kids explore.  I love this picture of us, and the picture of Hannah below turned out so cute!

 

Each year I take a picture of Hannah in the wooden shoes, and this year William joined her!  

It's amazing the difference a year makes.

For our first vacation as a family back in 2011, we went to San Diego with a 10 month old Hannah.  In the middle of Balboa Park, Chris took pictures of me throwing Hannah up in the air.  She loved it.

Just like his big sister, William laughed hysterically after every toss and I was able to capture some great shots of 12 month old William in the tulip fields.

I love the perspective of this shot.  He was so happy!

Watch the video below to see more of the beautiful flowers at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon. (Video Link)