FAMILY TRAVELS

farms near Seattle like Suyematsu Farm on Baindbridge Island to visit in the Fall

All the farms near Seattle we want to visit in October

October 4, 2023

No to a fall bucket list this year-who needs that kind of stress? I just wanted a place to keep notes about some special farms near Seattle we might want to visit this fall. October is such a great season at farms in the Pacific Northwest as they are filled with pumpkins, corn and apples […]

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Things to bring to Seabrook on a family trip

Things to bring to Seabrook if you are going there for a trip

September 14, 2023

We finally made it to Seabrook this year and ended up making it a multigenerational trip this time just like we dreamed about when we first started visiting. My mom, dad, sister and her family rented a house, and our family rented a house and it was a great way to hang out with each […]

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Things a Seattleite might buy at Pike Place Market in Seattle (Le Panier and Ghost Alley Espresso)

Things you might only know about Seattle if you are a true Seattleite

September 8, 2023

Here’s a list to add to the stack of all the other lists that exist about this city but I heard someone (a Seattleite even!) say Pike’s Place market again recently and I couldn’t just write a post about that without sounding too angry Seattle so I thought I better write this post instead. So […]

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Seeing the Living Wall on a Tour at Climate Pledge Arena

What to expect from tours at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle

September 1, 2023

My family seems to have entered an architectural era of travel where we purposely visit towers and buildings like the Space Needle the CN tower, or maybe the Rookery in Chicago to check out the views of a city, and even in our own city, and learn a bit about the history of a place. […]

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Dalla Fonte Sicilian Tavola Box

If you love Italy, you’ll want to know about Dalla Fonte, a subscription box that will bring Italy to you

August 31, 2023

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dalla Fonte, an Italy subscription box based in Washington State that brings a bit of Italy to your home and as always the thoughts and writing in this blog are always my own. How many times do we think about special places we’ve been to and want […]

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Hedlin Family Farms a skagit valley farm stand

A Skagit Valley Farm Stand Tour you can do in a day from Seattle

August 2, 2023

This is a sponsored post for Genuine Skagit Valley to highlight their Farmstand Fresh Campaign-they have a Skagit Valley Farm Stand tour posted on their website too and we visited in late July 2023 for this farm stand tour. My family knows that if there is a farm stand on any drive we do, I […]

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nordic museum in Seattle Ballard neighborhood

Visiting the Nordic Museum in Ballard Seattle with kids (or on your own)

July 24, 2023

My kids are at the age where they’re barely considered kids anymore. At 15 years old, they definitely do not order off the kids’ menu and they no longer need to immediately stop for playgrounds when we pass them on our travels. But old habits die hard and I can’t help myself-I keep an eye […]

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seattle waterfront

Free Seattle Waterfront Shuttle for the summer

July 17, 2023

The Seattle Waterfront Shuttle is back. Here is the shuttle route for 2023 and it runs 7 days a week from 10am-8pm and approximately every 20 minutes. The shuttle season will run from July 17th 2023 to September 24 2023 and each shuttle has about 20 seats and are ADA accessible. There are two shuttle […]

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Nashville Parthenon in February 2023

When you find a life size replica Parthenon in Nashville when you least expect it

July 6, 2023

It almost felt like we conjured up a Parthenon in Nashville when we visited for midwinter break. We had just booked our trip to Greece and the kids and I had a handful of days to explore Nashville for mid-winter break while my husband was at a conference. We hadn’t done a lot of research […]

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free things to do in seattle in summer

Free things to do in Seattle in summer

June 29, 2023

Hello Summer, it feels like we’ve waited so long for you and every year you are so fleeting. Summer can also be tres expensive and I’m always looking for fun and free things to do in Seattle and close by. Seattle in summer feels pretty perfect. Free Waterfront Shuttle The Free Seattle Waterfront Shuttle is […]

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hotel room at the Conrad NYC downtown overlooking the Irish Hunger Memorial

A Conrad New York downtown Review from a Seattle family who has also stayed at the Midtown location

June 28, 2023

Last year, our then twin-thirteen-year-olds went on their first ever away trip with school to Washington DC and New York and being a little bit overprotective and because it was still kind of during the new covid times my husband and I flew out to meet them. We booked the Conrad Midtown Manhattan with our […]

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Guinness Storehouse in Dublin Ireland on a really rainy November day

When your kids choose the Guinness Storehouse over seeing the book of Kells in Ireland and you really don’t blame them

June 15, 2023

I don’t know about you but sometimes when we travel we get a bit museumed out. We can only see so many things in a short period of time before all the sites start to overwhelm our brains. So when we were on a 5 day trip to Ireland I gave my kids the choice […]

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youth ride public transit for free in Washington state and Seattle with ORCA card

All about how youth ride buses, ferries and light rail for free in Seattle with the ORCA card

June 9, 2023

I recently worked on an instagram campaign with King Country metro where I learned that Washington State is the first state in the USA where youth can ride free until their 19th birthday. Since late 2022, thanks to Move Ahead Washington which is a statewide transportation funding package, transit is free for riders 18 and […]

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nashville hot chicken

A Nashville hot chicken tour with my twin teenagers for mid-winter break

May 31, 2023

Timing and life doesn’t always give you what you want, and my husband had a work conference during our mid-winter break in Nashville. Nashville?!! My twin teenagers were not the most enthusiastic about this trip. Being from Seattle, February usually has us dreaming of somewhere warm like Hawaii. And mid-winter break can be a longer […]

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nashville zoo has maybe the best bathroom in the world

The best bathroom in the world is at the Nashville Zoo

April 8, 2023

Try to find a better bathroom, I dare you. The best bathroom in the world is arguably the one at the Nashville Zoo. My teenagers and I stopped by the Nashville zoo on a recent trip to the area and it was a cold and chilly day so we even ended up with a “cold […]

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Seattle mariners stadium in the stadium district one of our cool Seattle neighborhoods

Things to do in Seattle in April

April 3, 2023

If April showers bring May flowers what might snow showers in April bring? (And let’s hope it’s only sun showers in Seattle from now on) April is such a great time to be in Seattle with all the flowers showing off, baseball season beginning and a little lull in the city just before the first […]

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Ireland coffee at bean hive cafe in Dublin

Places to stay in Dublin if you travel to Ireland with teenagers

March 3, 2023

I used to think that the twin baby stage was the hardest stage of family travel but traveling now with teenagers is challenging all my prior beliefs. We love how our guys can pack and carry their own things, help plan the trip and they are way better at waiting and dealing with unplanned things […]

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designing motherhood exhibit at the Gates Discovery Center

Designing Motherhood at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle

February 28, 2023

We have until the end of December 2023 to see the Designing Motherhood exhibit that just opened at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle and we all really need to see it. This powerful exhibit examines birth and pregnancy and our own relationship with the subject-we are all products of birth after-all. What to […]

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The Friends Experience in Seattle at Pacific Place Mall

The Friends’ Experience Seattle: yes, the one where it actually comes to our city.

January 30, 2023

Did you ever watch Friends (and did you know it was almost called six of one)? The Friend’s Experience has come to Seattle and it’s a lot cooler than I imagined (I liked the show but I wasn’t obsessed and I bet I’ve missed some episodes) and it’s something I’d go back to again now […]

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Asean Streat Food Hall Hainanese Chicken Rice

Asean Streat in Westlake Center: a unique place to eat in downtown Seattle

January 17, 2023

We have been needing a food hall like this in Seattle forever and thank goodness Asean Streat has manifested itself in the heart of our downtown. Westlake Center is such a perfect spot in the center of our city, attached to Climate Pledge Arena and Seattle Center with the Monorail. But it’s been a bit […]

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