FAMILY TRAVELS

Two simple star crafts you could probably make in the next 5 minutes

December 3, 2012

No grownup has any excuse for lousy snowflakes anymore. And forget just regular snowflakes. You can make star ones and they’re super easy. I just printed this out, folded and cut along the lines (okay, the cutting was a little difficult and some stars got sacrificed) and voila: instant epic snowflake! And unless you’re going […]

Wildlights! (Woodland Park Zoo)

November 29, 2012

A clear, cold night in Seattle in the fall is magical all by itself, but visiting Wildlights on a night like this is absolute perfection. Bubbly snow falls softly in some places while in others you might just get pelted by a big furry flake. (It wasn’t just toddlers and wee ones throwing these around-I […]

Thanksgiving Events I’m thankful for in Seattle

November 26, 2012

After a weekend like this, is your pie plate half empty or half full? Over here, we’re thankful for a weekend of good food, loved ones, a little bit of shopping and total holiday spirit-we are oh so lucky in Seattle that we have such fun and festive things this time of year. I used […]

We Love our city! (Seattle with kids)

November 22, 2012

There are signs all over our city that Christmas is coming soon in Seattle. We took the bus downtown the other evening and watched a bucket truck setting up the Christmas tree in front of Westlake Center. The Macys’ star is all set to glow soon too. We popped in at Nordstroms’ to give a […]

A little bit of peace practically anywhere you travel

November 20, 2012

No matter where you travel with kids, there always seems to be a Costco (Walmart, Target, Sam’s club, random grocery store) nearby. After a day of tantrums or in the case of kids not dealing with time-change a couple of samples and a ride around in a cart can make a new place seem familiar […]

Gearing up to ski

November 19, 2012

We’re gearing up for ski season. The boys have their new ski helmets (they’re on sale at REI this week!) and we’re all ready to get up to the mountain. This winter is the first time we’re actually going to embrace total snow and learn to ski: in the past we’ve just headed up to […]

All Soccer, All the time

November 16, 2012

You know you’re a good soccer mom when you’re in Spanish class and the teacher asks what number 11 is and your too-young-to-be-cheeky kid says: “ZAKUANI.” (who by the way DOES wear numero once if you don’t know your Sounders Roster.) Any sunny day we get, the guys want to be at the field playing […]

visiting the sloth sanctuary where you can see sloths with kids in costa rica

Sloth hugging and some of my favorite things in Costa Rica

November 9, 2012

The hubby and I finally sat down to look at the last half of our Costa Rica trip (from AUGUST!) and I fell in love all over again. Looking back at this trip, I think it is still one of the trips I will remember for my lifetime and it’s one I’ll always think about […]

Vegas with kids isn’t so bad

November 2, 2012

This is how the idea began to percolate. Weather in Seattle in mid-September was nice but not swim-outside nice and we wanted to go somewhere like that but only for a few days and not fly really far. We also didn’t want to spend a ton but wanted to stay in a nice hotel with […]

Sharks out of Water

October 30, 2012

This year the guys are getting a lot of use out of their costumes and it’s not even Halloween yet. The sharks checked out a sneak peek of the Woodland Park Zoo’s Wildlights, something we totally want to do this winter! They also trick or treated the Seattle Waterfront. (This pic was taken right after […]

Always check your rental car BEFORE you get in

October 24, 2012

Why is the hubby outside the car in the pouring rain? He actually has the waterproof camera in hand and he’s thoroughly checking every inch of our rental car and snapping pictures of things that don’t look brand new. This is the routine we have EVERYTIME we rent. Yes, you have all those papers to […]

Pumpkin Bash at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle with kids

Pumpkin Bash: Woodland Park Zoo

October 23, 2012

You’d look like this too if you were a pumpkin in a jaguar enclosure. We love the Pumpkin Bash event at the Woodland Park Zoo every year and we stopped by last rainy weekend to see what’s in store this year. The guys loved the jack-o-lanterns everywhere. And we caught a couple animals enjoying […]

Portland Adventures with Grandma

October 21, 2012

Sometime in the last little while, the hubby went out of town for work and I was lucky enough that my mom came down to babysit ME. With grandma in tow, we decided to go on a little adventure with the guys and Portland became the destination. Thank goodness for GPS. (When I was in college, […]

Lunchdate at Dahlia Lounge (Seattle Restaurant Week!)

October 20, 2012

Next week is round 2 of restaurant week in Seattle and I do hope you get a chance to check it out if you’re anywhere near Seattle from October 21-25. We managed to slip in a yummy lunch at oh so swank Dahlia Lounge this week. I’m not sure if they’d swoon over being touted […]

Homemade goo solves everything with kids

One of those afternoons where goo solves everything

October 18, 2012

The other day was one of those afternoons where we were all sleepy but not sleepy enough to nap. (Well, one of us was, but that would leave Thing 1 and Thing 2 to their own antics….) We had glued eyeballs on our ghost rocks and the guys began to eye other things in the […]

Haunting Season and a recipe for Candy Corn

October 17, 2012

Last year we were super sad we were away for Halloween, so this year we are savoring every little ghosty moment we can. We can’t get enough of Ghosts in the House, a book we picked up at Powells Books on the weekend. It has such a cute story that I’m so glad my guys […]

Yucky Things you Find in Hotel Rooms

October 16, 2012

Traveling with kids we’ve stayed in nicer places than we did before we had kids: no more hostels or little dives that we drive up to in the middle of the night thinking we just need a place to sleep. We try to stay as safe, clean and easy as possible when we go away […]

Dinosaur Ridge (Denver, CO)

October 11, 2012

The boys really love this book Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs even though it has surprisingly scary looking pictures but I think it’s because my guys are true Seattle-ites who just like to put a pirate on anything to make it a little cooler. (What could be cooler than pirate dinosaurs???!!) But I tried […]

Thankful pie

October 9, 2012

Some mornings start out with a sunrise drum-salute that thankfully goes awry. (thank you rock and roll gods….I’m so glad to put this drum to rest.) So we ended our concert early and made pie instead. We made our crust and put it in the fridge to chill for a while. (PS. that class I […]

Big Eraser (Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle) has a twin

October 5, 2012

Thank you artsy Seattle for cultivating my guys’ appreciation for sculptures. We can’t drive past this piece in the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park without both of them yelling “BIG ERASER!!!” at the top of their lungs. Imagine their delight when they found out the Big Eraser has a twin. Yes, a twin. We found it […]