Author: Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout's mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
Disney's Aladdin the musical in Seattle

Something very cool and inclusive about Disney’s Aladdin the Musical in Seattle and I hope we see more of this kind of thing

April 25, 2024

Disney’s Aladdin the musical opened last night in Seattle and it’s only here for a very short time and I’ve heard from a few people that it’s really difficult to get tickets right now. I was invited to go for opening night and the theatre was the most bustling I’ve seen it in a while. […]

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view from balcony at the Paradox Hotel Vancouver BC

A stay at the Paradox Hotel Vancouver with the best unexpected breakfast at Urban Fare

April 18, 2024

I booked the Paradox Hotel for our family during the holidays. I used Expedia ( a site I often use because of its easy cancellations and good hotel deals) but saw recently on the actual Paradox Hotel website they have a Washington Residents’ rate. (I often google “Washington residents rate” for Vancouver hotels and they […]

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space from the Kitt Peak Telescope in Tucson dark sky area

Deep Sky in IMAX and another movie you might want to see if you have a teen who loves space too

April 15, 2024

Sometimes I wonder if 8 years old is around the time you discover who you really are and what you love, and I remember it being one of my favorite years with our twin boys. It’s also around the time I think one of our guys really got into everything airplane and space, so much […]

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inari sushi at Motonobu Udon a place to eat Japanese food in Vancouver BC

Where to eat yummy Japanese food in Vancouver BC

April 6, 2024

My heart still lives in my Bachan and Jichan’s kitchen in Vancouver on Friday nights where I could be content forever devouring heaping bowls of rice, nimono, little plates of fish and pickles, and drinking tea with the grownups until way past other kids’ bedtimes. When I go home to visit now, I’m lucky that […]

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Beetlejuice on Broadway in Seattle

Beetlejuice on Broadway the musical at the Paramount in Seattle a parent review

April 3, 2024

I brought my fifteen year old son with me to the media night for Beetlejuice on Broadway in Seattle the other night. We came from an intense soccer game, and a busy day of work and literally slid into our seats minutes before the musical started. And then I realized it is all about death. […]

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montreal trip with kids at Hotel Alt Montreal

Hotel Alt Montreal is a great hotel if you go on a trip with one of your besties and their family

April 1, 2024

Funny that it’s almost summer and I’m just getting to this post now. And I wish we had time to do a trip like this for summer too as we’ve also been to Disneyland, Vancouver Island and a bunch of other places together over the years but now all of our kids are involved in […]

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spring afternoon tea at Cafe Flora in Seattle

A spring tea at Cafe Flora and maybe more afternoon tea for Seattle?

March 28, 2024

My family loves afternoon tea. Maybe our gateway tea was the high tea up in Vancouver at Secret Garden Tea Company (isn’t the name magical too?). And over the years we’ve even traveled for tea around the world, like one in the smallest house in Amsterdam, and of course the famous Empress tea in Victoria. […]

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Greenheart TreeWalk at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver

Greenheart TreeWalk at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC

March 25, 2024

I recently tried to explain to someone about the Greenheart TreeWalk and realized I never wrote this one up for the blog. If you are visiting Vancouver and you’re in the University of British Columbia (UBC) area around April to October, this is such a great place to visit. And maybe if you miss out […]

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Woodland park zoo is one of the best zoos we've visited in the United States you can see brown bears swimming up close

The best zoos we’ve visited in the United States and beyond

March 14, 2024

Learning about animals has always been a big part of our travels and we’ve planned many of our trips around adventures to see animals especially when the kids were little. We live near Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle which I truly believe is one of the best zoos in the United States and I think […]

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British Colonial Nassau a hotel that is over 100 years old in the Bahamas

Two nights at the British Colonial Nassau in the Bahamas because of a non-stop flight from Seattle

March 9, 2024

There used to be days when we would have to get paper airline tickets fedexed by a travel agent and trips needed to be planned months in advance. Nowadays, we can often even cancel our flights hours before a trip. We can book whole itineraries in minutes. And while this is not totally how our […]

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Eggo Homestyle Waffles with blueberries and yogurt

How we L’Eggo with Eggo and win at mornings with Eggo Homestyle Waffles

March 7, 2024

This post is sponsored by The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA). All opinions are my own. For more inspiration during #FrozenFoodMonth, be sure to check out delicious ideas from NFRA at EasyHomeMeals.com #MFFM2024 Mornings are a juggle in my family and I’m sure yours are too. Like how do we all get out the door and to […]

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soccer fields in Washington state

Things to do near soccer fields in Washington State for Seattle Soccer families

February 24, 2024

For all of you parents like us who are living in that hour and a half window of soccer practice and also that 30 minute warm up before games, our lives don’t have to be just soccer. I’ve made it a habit of finding quick coffee shops and interesting places near as many of the […]

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out the window coming home on a direct flight on a trip from Seattle to Bahamas from Alaska Air

Seattle to Bahamas – a nonstop flight to Nassau I wish we had when my kids were small

February 23, 2024

Sunny places in winter is what gets many of us Seattleites through the long dark season. And once you get into the school age zone, these trips often get squished into holiday breaks where you find everyone you know in the city on the same flight to Hawaii. That’s why my ears perked up at […]

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real simple weekend La Jolla

A mom and me Real Simple Weekend trip to La Jolla and now I’ll love that magazine forever

February 12, 2024

“Why am I crying again?” I hear someone behind me whisper as all of us are in a room listening to yet another inspiring and tear-jerking panel of speakers at the Real Simple Weekend conference in La Jolla. I don’t know if I should really call it a conference or maybe it was more of […]

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shop kidpik clothing for 2T-16

Have you ever shopped Kidpik? They have a big sale this week

February 11, 2024

I received products to try from Kidpik and as always the opinions in this blog post are my own. I don’t think Kidpik was around when my kids were little but I’ve seen it pop up in my instagram feed lately so I know the name and maybe you do too. I thought they were […]

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Broadway in Seattle at the Paramount

All the Musicals coming for the 2024/2025 season with Broadway in Seattle

February 8, 2024

The other morning at pottery class I heard a song that I heard in Ain’t too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations which was our favorite musical last season. And then I got a message in my inbox that the 2024/2025 Broadway in Seattle season was just announced and there are so many […]

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How Seattle locals shop in Pike Place Market

Where do Seattle locals shop in Pike Place Market?

February 7, 2024

I recently posted stories on my instagram during a morning adventure at Pike Place Market with a friend and had a lot of messages about where we went so I thought I’d write them up here. I know a lot of tourists wonder if we Seattleites really go to Pike Place Market. Many of us […]

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London from Seattle for Thanksgiving to see the holiday lights

Yes, three nights can be a long enough in London from Seattle for Thanksgiving

February 3, 2024

We have entered the stage in our life where time or lack of it totally dictates our lives. With two busy teenagers at two different schools we only have a few holidays that actually match up and maybe this is you too. Recently we had the Thanksgiving weekend to work with and literally only that […]

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Domes Zeen Chania by Marriott on Crete family bungalow with teenagers

Marriott Domes Zeen Chania is a fantastic family hotel on Crete in Greece

February 1, 2024

As long as you can find the entrance, the Domes Zeen Chania on Crete in Greece is a fabulous place to stay. I think everyone we saw there was with a family, we even spotted a family wearing a Seattle shirt (and to my family’s horror, I asked, and they were not from Seattle, a […]

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Westin Whistler during winter holidays

Westin Whistler vs the Fairmont Whistler for a skiing vacation with kids

January 22, 2024

First of all, I need to clarify that I currently travel with teenagers. We are a family of four and our twin boys are 15. We also often travel with our Yorkie Poo (and our pup was welcome at both hotels but we did not bring him when we went to the Westin Whistler). We […]

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