Author: Terumi
Staying two nights at the Westin Grand Frankfurt on a Five night trip to Germany
June 10, 2024How do you choose where you go on a trip and where you want to stay? Our five night trip to Germany from Seattle was planned based on a school schedule, a football game and the ability to use airline miles to book the trip as well as Frankfurt having a nonstop flight from Seattle. […]
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The time I took my teenage son to Frankfurt Germany by myself
June 7, 2024Ever since our twins were babies we’ve tried to do as much together as a family as we can. My husband had just started as an attending at a busy hospital when our guys were born and after years of residency and med school it now meant even more call, more presentations, and more responsibilities […]
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A shave ice in Haleiwa on Oahu’s North Shore where you can even eat the bowl
June 4, 2024There are many things our family looks forward to when going to Hawaii and one thing is definitely the food. We’ve visited various Hawaiian islands over the years (especially Hawaii Island) and each island has specific treats we like to have in each place but shave ice is one thing we have on all our […]
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The top 3 cheapest flight destinations from Seattle this summer (according to Kayak)
May 24, 2024I get so many emails about our city it’s hard not to get overwhelmed or keep up. But one from Kayak really caught my eye this morning and I thought it would be something we all would want to know about Seattle especially because so many of us here love to travel. Any guesses where […]
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Books and puzzles for mom for Mother’s Day
May 6, 2024What to buy mom for Mother’s Day? I feel like throughout the year I see a zillion things that would be perfect for my mom, or aunts or special women in my life and then the week gets here and I usually I panic and start searching for something more ‘perfect’. But what really is […]
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Flying Condor airlines from Seattle to Frankfurt nonstop for the first time
May 2, 2024If you’ve been following along on Instagram, I’ve talked a lot about how my twin boys started high school this year at different schools and have had different holidays for the first time. So this year we had different spring breaks and one of them went to see stars in Tucson with his dad who […]
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What I wish I asked Robinne Lee about the Idea of you
I feel like I become a nervous fifth grader when I go to interview someone on Zoom. I’d much rather chat it out with someone over coffee than wait my turn as maybe the 4th spot of 7 people who get to ask a question in a press round table through my screen. Will the […]
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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, 2024Disney’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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A stay at the Paradox Hotel Vancouver with the best unexpected breakfast at Urban Fare
April 18, 2024I 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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Deep Sky in IMAX and another movie you might want to see if you have a teen who loves space too
April 15, 2024Sometimes 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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Where to eat yummy Japanese food in Vancouver BC
April 6, 2024My 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 the musical at the Paramount in Seattle a parent review
April 3, 2024I 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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Hotel Alt Montreal is a great hotel if you go on a trip with one of your besties and their family
April 1, 2024Funny 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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A spring tea at Cafe Flora and maybe more afternoon tea for Seattle?
March 28, 2024My 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 BC
March 25, 2024I 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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The best zoos we’ve visited in the United States and beyond
March 14, 2024Learning 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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Two nights at the British Colonial Nassau in the Bahamas because of a non-stop flight from Seattle
March 9, 2024There 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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How we L’Eggo with Eggo and win at mornings with Eggo Homestyle Waffles
March 7, 2024This 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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Things to do near soccer fields in Washington State for Seattle Soccer families
February 24, 2024For 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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Seattle to Bahamas – a nonstop flight to Nassau I wish we had when my kids were small
February 23, 2024Sunny 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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