TRAVEL

unique seattle souvenir

A Seattle chocolate that helps you be a sharer (Jcoco chocolates, Bellevue, WA)

August 20, 2015

The older I get and the more I hang around my sweet kids, the more it’s starting to rub off on me: Mommy can we help the animals? Mommy why do some people have no homes and not enough to eat? Mommy, isn’t that recycling and food waste-NOT GARBAGE!!!!  Fix it mommy. Mommy, Mommy!  MOMMMMY!!!! […]

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Tesla trip from Seattle to Whistler stopping at Squamish supercharger

Our favorite place to stop and re-charge on our way up to Whistler just got better

August 13, 2015

As long as I can remember we’ve stopped at Squamish on the way to Whistler.  When I was younger it meant that we’d get an Egg McMuffin and coffee in the early morning on the way to a day of skiing from Vancouver.  And then Tim Horton’s came along and we started stopping there for […]

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take out pizza from Ballroom in Fremont

The biggest pizza in all our land (Ballroom Fremont, Seattle)

July 30, 2015

We have a bit of a pizza obsession in our house and we’ve never been to Italy.  Hopefully next year we remedy this with a trip to the place that probably should have been our motherland. We are thankful that Seattle has no shortage of pizza.  We regularly frequent Tutta Bella and love Tom Douglas’s […]

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eating out with kids in seattle

Not just another pretty landmark (Space Needle, Seattle)

July 24, 2015

It’s starting to become a tradition that every year on their birthday my guys decide that the SkyCity restaurant at the Space Needle is where they want their birthday feast.  Of course they love this place because I’m terrified of it. (Ahh…karma.)  Yes, it’s a fabulous beacon that helps me easily find Seattle Center and […]

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short hikes near Seattle with kids

A family friendly hike that’s a no-brainer if you have a 4×4 but still doable if you don’t (Mirror Lake, Snoqualmie Pass, WA)

July 16, 2015

A few weeks ago when we had the use of a decked-out Toyota 4-Runner the hubby reminisced about camping and hiking trips from bygone days when we used to borrow his aunt’s 4-runner and explore.  He found a hike in Snoqualmie Pass where we’ve been hanging out a lot lately and it seemed pretty kid-friendly […]

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best playgrounds in the northwest and seattle center for kids

A very pinterest-worthy and maybe the best playground in Seattle so far (Artists at Play, Seattle Center)

July 13, 2015

I always read these lists of best playgrounds in the world and there are never any west coast, North American playgrounds in them.  Maybe people think we get too much rain here? Or maybe we keep our parks a secret.  But lately we’ve had endless sunny skies and we’ve been outdoors all the time and […]

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KOA camping in Astoria with a Toyota Four Runner and staying in a deluxe KOA camping cabin

Just the best parts of camping at the Astoria Koa (Oregon with kids)

July 6, 2015

I do not love camping.  I like fires, trees, hiking in the woods and camp food but I could definitely take or leave the sleeping in the tent part.  I like a little more than nylon or mesh between me and the great outdoors.  My family on the other hand loves anything outside and they […]

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Seattle family rides

Another Seattle family ride: Gasworks Park to University Village

July 2, 2015

Call us multi-taskers, but my kids have set me to the task of visiting 50 different parks this summer and they also want to bike ride so we decided to bike from Gas Works Park to some new-to-us park on the Burke-Gilman Trail a few miles past Uvillage. But it was hot.  I was grouchy.  […]

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northwest parks to visit with kids

50 Northwest Parks in Summer

June 26, 2015

My guys want to visit 50 northwest parks this summer and I thought this was a really fun goal.  At first we pondered if we could go to the same park 50 times or if all the parks had to be in Seattle but we soon decided that we would only count different parks but […]

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If Mickey invites you to Portland, you can get there and back from Seattle in a day

June 24, 2015

Last month I received something truly fabulous in my inbox when I was invited to the Disney Social Media Moms on the Road in Portland.  I was totally honored to be considered for the event and of course I wanted to go and see what this magical conference would be all about. My hubby was […]

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belize with kids

A perfect resort and some nearby adventures (Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge, Belize with kids)

June 16, 2015

Before kids, when the hubby and I traveled, where we stayed wasn’t totally important. We cared about location, price and cleanliness but everything else was a bonus and if something didn’t work out we could always figure out something that could make do. But now with kids, I pour hours into our itineraries-sometimes where we […]

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Alta Lake at Rainbow Park in Whistler in Summer

A run, a beach and stops along the way to Whistler with kids (Rainbow Park, Whistler, BC)

June 14, 2015

The North Face Whistler run is becoming a bit of a family tradition; this is the 2nd time we’ve headed up north to run the 10km and the kid’ run and hang out with friends and once again we had a wonderful time. This time we stayed at the Sundial hotel, and it was perfectly […]

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belize travel with kids

A remote Belize island without remotes is perfect for a family’s soul (South Water Caye with kids)

June 6, 2015

“Are you sure this is the place?” our driver asked as he pulled up to a somewhat dilapidated dock in Dangriga, Belize.  And the hubby looked at me and I looked at him and we both knew that we actually weren’t sure and we had two kids and a whole bunch of suitcases and three […]

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where to pick strawberries near Seattle

A U-pick strawberry patch that’s not too far from Seattle (Al Duris Strawberry Farm, Kent, WA)

June 5, 2015

(PS. the Duris Strawberry farm in Kent just opened for U-Pick for the 2022 season June 15.) I was not supposed to go strawberry picking.  I am picking out cabinets for our cabin and with all the end of school things I didn’t realize kindergarteners do, it was not high on my priority list.  But, […]

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Moore coffee in seattle has the best latte art

Upping the bar even more for coffee art in Seattle (Moore Coffee, Seattle)

May 20, 2015

My kids are so jealous of a breakfast my husband and I had without them.   We figured out that one of my guys is really into coffee art on our past trip to Dallas and it’s made us seek out pretty coffees in Seattle too just to see how he reacts.  I’ve been dying to […]

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name tag from seattle bloggers

A little local love on a Monday (Seattle shopping)

May 18, 2015

Oh Monday.  How do you get here so fast and why is Friday SO. FAR. AWAY???!!! That’s why Monday is a day I usually shop and share my favorite new finds. So there is a fabulous new Golden Tote-like company called Emerald Cuff that was created by some fashionable moms in Seattle and if you’ve […]

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Belize Zoo with kids on a tour with Sharon Matola

A little Tease of our Trip to Belize (Belize with kids)

May 15, 2015

In the next few weeks you’ll be hearing a lot about our recent trip to Belize with kids.  It was a really eye-opening trip and I’m thankful for all the trip-planning help we had before we went.  And I can’t wait to tell you more. We stayed at the Belize Zoo’s Tropical Education Center and […]

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cruise ship in seattle

Imagining we’re cruising to Alaska for the first time (with Holland America in Seattle)

May 13, 2015

Every summer in Seattle we see the shiny white cruise ships sail into their berths at the pier and I always wonder what it might be like to get on one, cast off and drift away to Alaska.  Our family is curious to know if we’re cruisers: I am a free-spirit and the hubby likes […]

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and there is ample parking near this playground in Vancouver BC

When a bakery you love now has a park next door! (Beaucoup Bakery, Vancouver BC)

May 11, 2015

Oh my goodness.  I love Beaucoup http://www.beaucoupbakery.com/bakery but it is so close to my favorite place in the world-GRANVILLE ISLAND-we’d often pass it by because Granville Island is a lot more kid-friendly to sit and stop.  But not anymore. Hello perfect playground. (And it’s right across the street!!) The kids can alternate getting out their energy […]

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Sticks and Swings at Stanley Park (Vancouver with Kids)

April 15, 2015

We hang out in Vancouver often since it is only about three hours north of Seattle and while it’s a city totally full of neat activities and food, some of our most glorious days have been made from simple and impromptu stops in the beautiful parks that are all over this city and its suburbs. […]

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