A two hour trek...

We are having one of those days.

One of those super, duper fantastic, lovely days.

And today's fabulousness comes off an extra fantastic weekend.

Wow! You can tell I got some sun this weekend. Why do I get freckles in my thirties but not when I was a kid. You know, the time in your life when freckles are considered cute?

The girls and I are watching Pocahontas with a big bowl of buttery popcorn.

The kind of popcorn you pop in pan not in a bag. Something about the pan kind seems more natural, more homey.

Our day started outside riding bikes, drawing hop-scotches, blowing bubbles.

Until, that is, the dark clouds rolled in, announcing their presence with big claps of thunder.

So we wait indoors for the skies to clear.

The house smells great with the doors and windows wide open.

It smells like rain and buttered popcorn and relaxation.

All these flowers may have you wondering... Are they from your yard, Sarah?

Why yes, they are...in my dreams.

I've tried to plant tulip bulbs but the darn, ugly moles keep snacking on them. 

Either that or they simply die like most of the other flowers I try to plant!

Remember that surprise I mentioned a couple of posts ago?

The one Matt had planned?

Well, it was a doozy. A super fun surprise.

All four of us climbed into the mom-mobile Saturday morning and began our trek south.

I had no idea where we were going. We stopped for a small break in the town of Victor.

I hopped out of the van and looked directly into the eyes of a man in the car next to us... and then I proceeded into the convenience store.

I should have looked a little closer because that man was my dad!

Being completely unprepared for spying someone I might know, I just walked on by.

At that point everyone kind of laughed at me...including myself. 

Then all of us piled back into the mini-van and continued our journey to our final destination: Pella for their Tulip Time Festival.

We spent the entire day outside.

Playing in the Kids Corner, watching the Dutch parade, oogling over the gorgeous tulips and buildings and enjoying way, way, way too many delicious treats.

Some of the best treats included Dutch ring balogna on a stick,homemade ice cream, and of course, Dutch letters! Oh, the Dutch letters. Unbelievably good!

My eyes couldn't believe the architecture in this town. Beautiful buildings. Attention paid to each and every detail of their design. Even the neighborhoods were beautiful. The town seems to take such pride in everything there!

By the end of our time everyone, and I mean everyone, was wiped out.

What a fun day! Exploring new places with loved ones.

And we can now cross the Tulip Time Festival off our list of Iowa places to visit.

It was great investment of a day.

A huge thanks to Matt for organizing the day.

I think I caught myself a good husband!