FAMILY TRAVELS

Staying with kids in San Francisco and renting a car is an easy way to get around. We stayed at the Courtyard Larkspur Landing Marin County Hotel and it was a perfect base to visit San Francisco with kids

Why Marin County is a great home base if you want to visit San Francisco with kids

November 9, 2018

We’ve visited San Francisco a bunch of times and it feels like we’ve done all the downtown city things.  And while downtown San Francisco is definitely a must see, sometimes when we travel with kids we need a little more space to explore.  We like to rent a car and we like to combine city […]

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Best things to do at Seatac Airport in Seattle-where to eat, shop and get your nails done while you wait for your airplane

Best things to do when you have some hours to spend at Seatac Airport

November 7, 2018

A couple weeks ago the hubby and I went on our first without-kids airplane trip together in about 10 years.  We’ve done a bunch of close to Seattle and Vancouver staycations like a couple nights at Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler or the Salish Lodge near Seattle but this was the first time we left […]

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Kamik #freeyourplay campaign helping kids have more free play outdoors with warm winter boots

Time to put a little more free play into our days thanks to warm Kamik boots

October 19, 2018

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kamik and as always the thoughts and opinions in this expressed are my own. My 89-year old grandma came to visit us from Canada recently.  She bravely made the nearly 4 hour drive from her home to our cabin in the mountains where she […]

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Working and eating brunch at Eques Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Bellevue Washington

Brunching on a weekday at Eques in the Hyatt Regency Bellevue Washington

October 5, 2018

Why do we think weekends are the only days that are made for brunch? I spent a weekday with Missy Palacol, an amazing local photographer at the Eques restaurant in The Hyatt Regency Bellevue last week and we had a blast sampling nearly everything on the menu. It was such a dreamy way to bring […]

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chez panisse Cafe also uses Heath Ceramics and we visited because my kids read Fanny at Chez Panisse when they were small

On not breaking any of the things at Heath Ceramics Factory in Sausalito and eating lunch at Chez Panisse

October 3, 2018

We have a thing for pottery in our house and we like to visit pottery and ceramics factories.  When the kids started kindergarten, I took a senior’s pottery course at the local community center but soon realized that I’m better at buying than making pottery.  One of my favorite places to buy pottery is at […]

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mini kitchens at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort in Parksville BC makes mornings easy for families and multi-generational travelers

Revisiting Tigh Na Mara and Coombs Market in Parksville BC with friends

September 24, 2018

Are you the type of traveler who revisits the same place over and over again?  Or do you like to forge new paths every time you go on an adventure?  For my family, even though we try not to visit the same place too often there are still a few places we’ve revisited over the […]

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Hawke's Bay in New Zealand with kids and Rotorua are places to add to your New Zealand Bucket List

We almost missed Rotorua and why you need to put this place on your New Zealand Bucket List with your family

September 19, 2018

It almost seems like a dream that last year we spent 6 weeks out of our life traveling and adventuring in Australia and New Zealand with our kids.  We have busy lives in Seattle and it was difficult to think about just packing up and leaving but we didn’t want to wait until the kids […]

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Glamping at Safari West in Santa Rosa with a family of 4-inside a tent

Glamping in the closest almost-Serengeti to Seattle at Safari West in Santa Rosa

September 10, 2018

Anyone else think a private bathroom would make camping absolutely perfect? That feature alone makes glamping at Safari West a dream come true because the tents here all have their own showers and bathrooms and feel a lot like hotel rooms. But if you think waking up to giraffes and flamingos is magical and you […]

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An officially licensed NFL cake from a local bakery for a party in Seattle

Upping my quick and easy Seahawks party game plan for #Kickoff2018

September 6, 2018

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Decopac and as always the thoughts and opinions in this expressed are my own. When fall routines start up it’s hard to predict exactly what we’re going to be doing on any given day.  We have soccer and biking and all the events that […]

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Follain is a store for clean beauty at Uvillage in Seattle they also have refillable soap

A vending machine you need to know about at Uvillage Seattle along with a few fun new stores

August 30, 2018

I love Uvillage. It’s been my favorite Seattle shopping area since we moved here about 15 years ago and I still can’t help but get swept up in the excitement of all the new stores and fun shopping experiences that keep arriving! New stores and restaurants at Uvillage in Seattle seem geared to shoppers who […]

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Predator Ridge Resort in Vernon BC is a great road trip by Tesla from Seattle for an outdoor family vacation

I’m already making my summer plans for next year thanks to Predator Ridge Resort in Vernon

August 16, 2018

Summers are for the Pacific Northwest and we do our best to explore this area as much as possible from June until the days get darker and the snow starts falling in the mountains. When there is a good chance of sunshine, there is so much nature here to see!  And from Seattle, if we’re not […]

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kids learn to cook while you shop at Uvillage in Seattle at Froglegs Culinary Academy

An awesome way to shop at UVillage while your kids learn to cook at Frog Legs Culinary Academy

August 6, 2018

“Auntie Tee, remember what we made with Mrs. Froglegs?” my 3-year-old nephew asked me the day after we took an evening cooking class at FrogLegs Culinary Academy at Uvillage.  “Yes, homemade Tortillas.  And salsa.  Did you have a fun time?”  And yes, he did.  We all did when we made and ate some yummy food […]

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Howler's Peak is a hit with kids-make sure to check your height and wear closed toe shoes

Let’s Talk a Little on Why you might want to go to Great Wolf Lodge sooner than I did

July 30, 2018

My kids have bugged me for years to go to Great Wolf Lodge and for years and years I have ignored them and made other plans. Our family tends to like outdoor things and nature-ish things and Great Wolf Lodge seemed like it would be the kind of chaotic, kid-filled place I would surely need […]

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tips for camping with kids at Golden Ears Provincial Park

Ps there really isn’t any WiFi in the wilderness (camping at Golden Ears park)

July 29, 2018

I didn’t really believe there would be no internet on our recent camping trip. We live in an era where it seems that you can find anybody hiding almost anywhere in the world. I can shop while I’m at a baseball game. An internet void is almost incomprehensible. But no, if you are looking to […]

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places to eat in Florence with kids on a family trip to Italy

Lovely things we will remember forever from our family trip to Italy

July 18, 2018

Have you noticed that when you get back from a trip everything that you did kind of blurs in your head so that when people ask you what was the best thing you did on your adventures, it’s impossible to remember?  I was looking on Google Maps the other day because someone asked about a […]

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Perfect beach front paradise in Pacific City Oregon at the new Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa a fantastic Oregon Coast getaway for families seeking the perfect pacific northwest weekend trip

Can we talk about all the windows at Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa in Pacific City Oregon?

July 2, 2018

A few weeks ago, my family had an incredible opportunity to stay at the Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa in Pacific City Oregon.  I have to admit when I first read about the hotel, I thought it was in Cannon Beach, another city we love to visit with our kids on the Oregon Coast, because […]

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A Seattle family of four makes a Pacific Northwest Summer Bucket List for 2018

Pacific Northwest Summer Bucket List for 2018

June 27, 2018

If you live in Seattle or anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest for that matter, what do you do in summer when the kids get out of school?  Do you plan for big vacations?  Do you stick around town?  We usually tend to stay in Seattle in the summer and we like to make a […]

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how to become a blogger in Seattle, find out how to start a blog and maybe even make money blogging too

How to become a blogger in Seattle?

June 18, 2018

I’ve been asked this question a ton lately and I thought I better address it somewhere so I can at least send this link out as a response. And this is usually the first of two questions I get asked because right after I get asked “How do you become a blogger?” I get asked […]

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eating Tree Top Apple Sauce on the top of a sand dune on a road trip to Pacific City on the Oregon Coast with kids

Snacks in the sky and on the road with Tree Top Apple Sauce

June 13, 2018

Family trips are more than just booking an accommodation somewhere that is not your home and magically arriving there instantly.  The journey often starts way before the trip begins and with kids so much of the journey depends on the snacks that we bring.  One of my kids’ favorite snacks are apple sauce pouches- they’ve […]

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Visting Kittyhawk from Seattle with kids to see where the Wright brothers first flew in a replica of their airplane

How to get to Kittyhawk from Seattle with kids to learn about where the Wright brothers flew for the first time

June 6, 2018

As with most things in my life before becoming a mom of boys, I cared as little about airplanes as I did about garbage trucks, diggers, bulldozers, buses and UPS delivery vehicles. But my guys have been enthralled with airplanes and everything travel since their first hotel stay at the Westin Grand Vancouver when they […]

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