FAMILY TRAVELS

Visitor Owls at Woodland Park Zoo and our first zoo visit of the New Year

January 12, 2015

Is it just me or is it also difficult for you to drag your family out of the house on a lazy Sunday afternoon?  I needed to get some fresh air so I told my kids we would either go for a hike in the woods or an ‘urban hike’ at the zoo and if […]

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A trip to Tacoma that will need a revisit (Tacoma Museum of Glass, Washington)

January 6, 2015

When I get an adventure in my head it’s hard to convince me otherwise, and for some reason I decided our last day of the winter break needed to happen outside of Seattle.  I’ve really been wanting to see the eagles that are up near the Nooksack River in Bellingham ever since the kids had […]

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An easy place to stop with kids between Seattle and Vancouver BC (Bellingham, WA)

January 5, 2015

I’ve always found Bellingham to be a great stop between Seattle and Vancouver, but it’s even more perfect now that I’ve figured out that the Whatcom Museum has free admission if you have a MOHAI family plus membership.  (Oh, how I love my MOHAI membership and make sure you get the family plus if you […]

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New Year’s frozen adventuring in Mercer Slough (Bellevue, Washington)

January 2, 2015

I hope 2015 will be the year of adventure.  From becoming an aunt for the first time, and having trips to Tofino and California cemented in stone, and knowing the cabin will be finished sometime this year, we know there’s going to be no shortage of excitement around here for sure. So we started the […]

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When your family gets sick while traveling for Christmas

December 29, 2014

So before this sounds too dramatic and cruel, we weren’t horribly sick while traveling for Chrismtas and we weren’t terribly far from home when we were traveling-Vancouver BC, our hometown is only a 3 hour drive from Seattle where we live-but I remember joking with friends over drinks a few nights before Christmas about being […]

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christmas in seattle

Letting go a little so we can catch some Christmas Magic

December 22, 2014

The thing I’m learning about Christmas, is that it sneaks up on me even when I’m not ready. So this year, I’m just going to take it as it comes. And even if we don’t get everything done perfectly or if we miss out on some things, it will be okay. It will have to. […]

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Something 2014 to bring into the New Year (Classpass, Seattle)

December 17, 2014

I’ve been known to complain about exercising and I definitely prefer sloth.  But I’ve been trying out Classpass since my birthday and it hasn’t been horrible.  I actually even signed up as a real customer after my free trial expired.  The nice thing about this pass is it’s a commitment that’s non-committal so it’s perfect […]

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A splurge and a steal at Canada Place and some other neat things with kids in Vancouver at Christmastime

December 13, 2014

The other weekend, the hubby had to work in Vancouver and I got to tag along with the kids.  So while he went into work bright and early, we woke up leisurely, had an easy breakfast in our room of cereal and milk (this was first breakfast-I had bigger plans for 2nd breakfast) and got […]

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family travel richmond bc

The only thing an aunt-to-be needs to buy on a Monday

December 9, 2014

Rewind me back to when my twin baby boys were born and I’d definitely be doing everything I could to find a deal to buy the city mini select stroller if only it had been invented at the time. It’s the perfect combination of our two favorite strollers in one: the city mini double which was […]

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storytime on stage at wildlights

Wildlights 2014 (Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA)

December 3, 2014

Wildlights at Woodland Park Zoo might be a newer light show in Seattle-it’s only on its third year-but we’ve been going since it started and it has become one of our family’s favorite Seattle holiday traditions.  The other night when we visited, the sky was bright and clear and there was still a dusting of […]

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The awesomest park in the world is 3 hours away from Seattle (Terra Nova Rural Park, Richmond, BC)

November 21, 2014

Hopefully this got your attention if you like visiting parks with kids because this one is totally worth it.  We’ve been to many parks around the world and we sometimes travel just to see playgrounds like this one in Copenhagen that I saw on pinterest, or this one in Japan in a monkey forest and […]

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Why I’ll be visiting Science World a lot more this year (Vancouver, British Columbia)

November 15, 2014

Yes, science museums are a good thing for kids.  They help with STEM building (a word that’s super trendy in kid education lately that just means Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  I had to look it up because I thought it meant brain surgery or rocket science or something way more revolutionary, but really it […]

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Finding Fall at Gold Creek Pond (A great hike for kids near Snoqualmie Pass)

November 5, 2014

Everywhere in Seattle the leaves are putting on the best show they can and I’m trying to snap as many pictures of my kids as possible because it is just too beautiful to stop and one day they probably won’t want me taking so many pictures any more.  I’ve also decided that because of this […]

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the fremont troll is a must see with kids in seattle

The Fremont Troll and where we eat nearby (Fremont, Seattle)

October 29, 2014

The other day we were heading out for a simple dinner (we often eat at Tutta Bella with the kids and if we get there before 6pm it’s happy hour and dinner is even more awesome) when we decided to take a little detour up Troll street to say hello to our favorite Seattle neighborhood […]

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Apparently there are a million fixtures out there (A cabin-building update)

October 22, 2014

I think that I’ve reached the point in the cabin project where I wish it was more like buying a dress because we’re starting to ACTUALLY pick out fixtures (like sinks, faucets and shower parts) and that’s where what I dream about and what I really can afford or need becomes a reality.  In dress […]

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corn mazes with kids near seattle

Sorry to be corny but there’s something a-maze-ing at The Farm at Swan’s Trail (near Seattle, Wa)

October 16, 2014

Last year we went to the Farm at Swan’s trail because I saw it in my instagram feed and it looked like the most idyllic place ever to pick apples.  And then this year a friend and her family wanted us to go because she knew they had the most amazing corn maze.  Now things […]

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A loaf of bread I often think about from Iceland (Bergsson Mathis, Reykjavik, Iceland)

October 3, 2014

The other day I bought a loaf of my favorite Seattle bread, a dense and delicious potato loaf at Dahlia Bakery. “Best bread in Seattle,” I espoused to the lady at the store helping me. “Totally.” She replied. And these weren’t just pleasantries. This bread needs to be admired. (So do the pastries. Oh the […]

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Getting away from it all with our family on the Olympic Peninsula (Kalaloch Lodge, Washington)

September 26, 2014

Every September, the whirlwind of real life catches us up to us after dreamy, long summer days playing at the beach. We get trapped in a spiral of school and sports, lessons and work and I start to feel spectacularly stuck. And this year with the cabin-building project and the kids starting kindergarten, we have […]

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The Britannia mine museum and a bakery that is worth a long drive

September 17, 2014

I can’t deny that most trips we go on as a family are triggered by a bakery, store or a coffee shop; it’s always some delightful little place I’ve seen and have to visit because time as I know it has threatened to stop until I figure out how to get myself there as soon […]

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Island living and our best summer memories (Valdes Island, British Columbia)

September 12, 2014

Do you ever wonder how your life would be completely different if you didn’t meet certain people? I know without my brother-in-law we would definitely have had a void-he’s always teaching us new things about the outdoors and exploring. And he’s always trying to get me to push my nature boundaries to help me be […]

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