Mothers Day Tulip Festival

Adam and our friend Roland finally got to work together again after almost 2 years! They had an overnight in Ottawa just the day before Mothers Day, so Katrina and I packed up the kids and headed West to meet them for the overnight. We arrived early in the afternoon and headed straight downtown to partake in the Tulip Festival activities.

Sarah, Calli, Marin and Gus

After a quick popsicle to cool them off, the kids were eager to have a ride on the Merry-Go-Round.

Marin hasn't been on any ride like this before, so I wasn't sure how she would be, but she loved it and giggled the whole time!

We wandered through the International Pavilion and just as we were about to immerse ourselves, we found out that they were closing in 5 minutes!! How disappointing. Outside the tent, we found a whole row of these giant hand-painted tulips lining the walkway!

Different groups and individuals had painted them and it was really cool to see how varied the designs were. Callil loved this one the best.

On our way out of the park, we stopped to see what the crowd was so excited about. This German guy was putting on quite a show. The girls loved seeing him up on the unicycle, juggling fire sticks and swords!

There is Marin, in the white hat, sitting beside some kid....watching the show.

Sure enough, Sarah discovered a funky caterpillar in the outhouse! She insisted on showing the other 3 kids and so...there you have it.
As we started our walk to find somewhere to eat, Calli and Gus grabbed hands and walked down the street, having a regular conversation. They seemed completely oblivious to the attention they were getting.

The following day, after a fantastic Mothers Day brunch somewhere in the Byward Market, we headed back to the Tulip Festival to show the guys what they'd missed out on the day before. We wandered through the International Pavilion, which was now open and immersed ourselves in the displays that each country had put up. Again, it was interesting to see the different ideas that each country had for our perusal.

Marin got a little boost to check out the dancers doing a traditional native dance. I cannot remember the country they were representing. I must have had too much sun!! Sorry!

The girls found a water fountain in the park and took turns filling their little bellies with some fresh, cold water.

I think we'll try and go again next year and see some more of the flowers. I looked on the website before we left, but we didn't manage to walk along the flower route while we were there this time. Next year!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Okay, I just saw the second photo of the girls standing side-by-side, As I scroll down your blog posts. I guess Calli has a bit on Marin... they still grow fast!

M-J

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