FAMILY TRAVELS

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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Hazel Mountain Chocolate Factory an Irish Chocolate factory and cafe you can visit

Three Irish chocolate shops with factories you can visit

January 10, 2023

Our family has been interested in chocolate factories ever since the Theo Chocolate factory opened in our Seattle neighborhood ages ago and we learned about the bean-to-bar process. Since then our kids have been to Costa Rica to see chocolate, and visiting chocolate factories have been a big part of our family holidays. Most recently […]

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herkimer coffee Seattle in January

Things to do in Seattle in January

December 30, 2022

I just found out we don’t have to jump right into January for Seattle Schools-the Monday falls right after New Year’s so we get until Tuesday to start the year. So will this be the theme of our 2023 year? Can we actually ease into something in our city for once? Will we slowly sip […]

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Sean's bar the oldest bar in Ireland in Althlone midway between the Cliffs of Moher and Dublin

All about Sean’s Bar, the oldest pub in Ireland and maybe even the world

December 28, 2022

Old time Irish pubs remind me of Starbucks in the Pacific Northwest, like where my dad has his Grande Americano every morning with a crew he’s somehow gathered over days that have become years and maybe even decades. I don’t know how we even started looking for the oldest pub in Ireland on our five […]

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Orla Kiely quote at the Epic Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin

If you have Irish heritage and have a chance to visit Dublin make sure you go to the Epic Irish Emigration Museum

December 22, 2022

There are many things to do in Dublin and we found out that you can probably do them all if you really want to even if you are only in Ireland for 5 days but you can also choose just to do a few and take your time and even go to Butlers for hot […]

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kids at blue lagoon in iceland have to wear bright orange inflatables

Schengen countries and why you need to know about them if you travel with your family from the USA

December 19, 2022

I love to dream about all the places we’re going to go and often spend my free time looking up flights on Expedia. But we have had a passport mishap before where we found out our kids’ passports had expired just days before we left on a trip so we’ve been very careful about how […]

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Ireland travel 5 days from Seattle to Dublin with teenagers

Is 5 days enough time for a family to visit Ireland with a direct flight from Seattle to Dublin?

December 18, 2022

Yes, travel is about bucket lists and places we dream about. But it’s also about budget too. So when we booked our Ireland trip from Seattle we were actually dreaming about going to Japan. We found that tickets for Japan were on the spendy side and we only had 5 days (with teenagers who have […]

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Lomi home composter in delivery box from Kelowna to Seattle

My Lomi home composter Journey

December 7, 2022

This post contains affiliate links as I have partnered with the Lomi home composter to try this out and as always the opinions on this blog are my own. Have you heard of Lomi? Today my Lomi home composter arrived and I’m so excited to try it out. This machine comes from my home province […]

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direct flights from Seattle including Hawaii Airport for family travel

Finding all the places that have nonstop flights from Seattle at Seatac airport now that we travel with teenagers

October 3, 2022

The hardest part about travel now that we travel with teenagers is that we don’t have all the time and flexibility we used to have when they were younger because of school and sports. One of the main ways we choose the places we go to is by if they have nonstop flights from Seattle. […]

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seattle in October

Things to do in Seattle in October

September 28, 2022

Suddenly it’s October isn’t it? I was just reminiscing about our October last year where we started the month with a last minute trip to Disneyland (October was a great time to go by the way-we pretty much did it all in one day)and escaped a bit of the smoke we had. This year there […]

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