Keukenhof

Tulip season is ripe and upon us, in this beautiful country of Holland.  Having a special visitor in town, Brant's sister, Amber, gave us an even bigger reason to make it out to see them this early in tulip season.  We made our first (of several) day trips out to experience and see the glorious "Dutch flower" yesterday, and it was a trek well worth it.

Keukenhof was our destination of choice, and will forever remain our recommendation!  We were floored by the beauty, the sweeping colors, the variety of designs, gardens and arrangements, giving us more than a flavor of the world-famous "Holland tulips."

You are about to see way too many pictures of beautiful flowers and adorable children.  You've been warned.

The theme for the park this year is, in fact, "Holland."

Two sweeties.  They adored the tulips and would bound from one flower to the next, anxious to determine what each color smelled like - "purple smells like grapes; white smells like vanilla; pink smells like strawberry."  I get it!

You can see all the greenery in the background of this picture - a tale of what's to come in just a short amount of time.

I'm a girl who loves the classics.

It was such a child-friendly park, with many trails to discover, including some that went over streams of water.

Maddie was drawn to finding the paths with stepping stones that went across water.

These were Brant's favorite type.

He was so much better behaved on this outing, compared to our last a few weeks ago to Madurodam.  (Yes.  Even this face is capable of wreaking just a bit of havoc!)

Maddie wanted to take a picture where we were making "silly faces."   She was pleased. :)

Brant and Amber, with the daffodil and tulip fields in the distance.

The kids loved the "Nijntje" park - Geoffrey was stoked there was actually a big statue waiting for him!

And Maddie worked on her climbing skills - this girl does not shy away from navigating the ropes.

Selfie - cause, well, sometimes you want to be in a picture, and the best way to get it done is to do it yourself!

Speaking of girls who just want to be in a picture!

She made me stop, patch after patch after patch of different colored tulips, just to get her picture taken...

I am sparing you and only including a few examples!

Inside one of the flower showrooms.  The smell was absolutely glorious.

This was a very happy moment for all of us - and by all, I mean everyone who was within earshot of this little man before he finally gave in to sleep. :)

They all look so perfect.

Caught in the act of having fun.

She tests my patience, but not a day goes by where I don't count my blessings that I am this darling girl's mama.

Yes, we did this, too.

The kids came home with two wooden tulips as a souvenir.  They think these things are pretty awesome - amazing.

Tulips - we've been waiting all year to see this.

Oh, the places we have traveled to this year!

Auntie Amber, Geoffrey and Maddie

These two were pretty excited about sitting in a bathtub again (remember - we do not have a tub here, so this really is a big deal).

I wonder how many photos we now have of Maddie in over-sized wooden shoes...

Can't wait to see what all of this looks like in full bloom!

I loved the countless combinations of various flowers throughout the park.

Again, I point out that they were drawn to the water.  There is significance to this fact...

Another set of stepping stones for Maddie to take on.  This girl and navigating courses - it's becoming her thing, or so we thought.

Cute group photo.
And then, before we even knew what happened, Maddie misjudged her distance and stepped straight into the water!  The water was up to her mouth just as Brant scooped her up and pulled her out.  I didn't get a picture of her in the water, but I was quick to pull it back out again.  The trick was being the "concerned mother" on the shore that all the onlookers were watching vs. the "mother-who-wanted-to-snap-pictures-while-holding-back-laughter!"

Once she was out, it was discovered that her shoe had gone missing.  She couldn't decide what was more upsetting - being all wet or missing her shoe!

It was pretty traumatic for her!  (And we had attracted quite the crowd on the bank of the water by this point.)

Maddie's hero, coming to the rescue.  Looks like yoga has paid off just a bit!

It took a couple of minutes, but Brant retrieved the shoe from the mud and all was well.  He even received a round of applause from the crowd.

Poor thing.

But lucky for us, the first aid station was just around the corner, where I was able to give Maddie a cleansing shower, they put her clothes in a dryer, and she scored some new clothes to wear (and later keep) in the meantime!  She was one very happy girl!  Apparently, this happens all the time, which is why they had a shower, dryer and a big tub full of brand new clothes (tags still attached), for her to choose from.

New outfit!  Score!

What a lovely, and unexpectedly eventful day we had!  We can't wait to come again in a few weeks and see how much more is in bloom.