TRAVEL

Homesick pictures after a weekend away

January 21, 2014

We travel a lot but sometimes even an exciting weekend away leaves me a little homesick and by the end of the trip I just want to get home and unwind in my own house before the week starts. On the drive home, I start thinking about the laundry I need to fold, the lunches […]

24 hours of snow at the Suncadia Resort in Washington State

January 17, 2014

We are so snow starved in Seattle right now. Ever since that icy cold week a few months back where we were teased with just a little hint of snow in our yard (and yes, I let the kids go out even though it was SUPER early!) we haven’t got ANYTHING. So when I heard […]

Oahu Shopping late on a Monday (planning for a trip to Oahu with kids)

January 14, 2014

I’m often asked about how I book my travel plans. It usually starts with some kind of interest our family has in a place combined with the kids’ and hubby’s vacation schedules. Sometimes, I get a place in my head because of some animal adventure I’ve heard about, or a farm tour I’m curious about […]

Trying to get a shot of the Seattle Great Wheel with kids in tow

January 13, 2014

I’m trying to steel up my courage to ride the Great Wheel sometime this new year. I had it on my summer bucket list but managed to avoid it along with Great Wolf Lodge which I hope we never have to go to. And then I developed an irrational fear of elevators that I desperately […]

Something fun in front of Seattle REI

January 12, 2014

So dare I say REI is growing on me? This is the hubby’s favorite store in all of Seattle. It’s probably the only catalog he hasn’t used paper karma (an amazing app that gets rid of junk mail!!) on and if he could go daily, he probably would. And ever since they had a members’ […]

Snowshoeing in Whistler for the first time with kids (Callaghan Valley, British Columbia)

January 10, 2014

All Christmas the hubby and I talked about how we were so excited to go to Whistler for the first time with kids and how we hadn’t been in 6 years, but as we were walked through the village we both got some weird deja vu feelings and then realized we’ve actually been here before. […]

Cookbook Cleanse for the New Year

January 8, 2014

I went on a bit of a buying frenzy last year with my cookbooks when the kids started school. I was excited to make home-made dinners and I guess I thought HAVING a ton of books would make me cook more but then it made me realize that I needed more cooking tools: more pans, […]

Sketches of Seattle and a good place to stop if you’re trying to figure out what to see (Mohai, Seattle)

January 5, 2014

The other night the hubby and I went for date night at the Mohai‘s Member Night featuring the Drawn to Seattle Seattle Sketcher Exhibit. (We pretty much ran out of the house screaming DATE-NIGHT!!!!!!! the minute my parents arrived but here we look rather civilized, I thought.) I’ve seen Gabriel Campanario’s work before in the […]

Family-friendly Christmas Activities in Vancouver

January 4, 2014

I’m going through my photo roll and it feels like I’ve blinked and weeks have magically flown by. We’ve spent a lot of time in Vancouver, BC in the past few months and though we didn’t really plan on doing too many festive things this year, we definitely have some fun Christmas activities in Vancouver […]

Five Delightful Vancouver Eats with Kids in Tow

January 2, 2014

Whenever we head to Vancouver, we have some regular stops but we’re always trying to expand our food repertoire. We spent a good week up in Vancouver for Christmas Break and while we had a lot of family events to eat at, we had some fun eating around Vancouver too. The first place is a […]

Ice skating party or why I heart experience gifts (Minoru Arenas, Richmond, BC)

December 29, 2013

I think I gave myself the best present this Christmas. A skating party with people I love. And in the blur of all the Christmas shopping and merriment it was nice to just step into a winter wonderland and whirl around a rink with friends and family. I barely saw my kids because they wouldn’t […]

Some of our Favorite Holiday things in Seattle

December 15, 2013

This festive season we’re trying to fit in as many fun Christmas activities in Seattle as we can. We began our holiday countdown with the Macy’s parade. I remember trying to wheel these guys around when they were just a few months old so that they could ‘see’ the parade. This time they stood for […]

An inspiring visit at the Gates Foundation Visitor Center (Seattle, WA)

December 12, 2013

I had been meaning to go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor’s Center forever, but I kept putting it off. I think it was a little too intimidating, like I was preparing for a visit to Mr. Gates’ house or something. What would I wear? What would we do? What if we were […]

Chilly Monday Shopping Wishes

December 9, 2013

We have been on snowflake watch all morning and though we’ve seen a bunch of puffy clouds hanging in the chilly air we haven’t even had one teeny flake yet. I’ve been putting off today’s run because I’m so freezing cold. Hopefully some new running attire might help. I love my Athleta pants I bought […]

Santa then and Santa now

December 5, 2013

When the kids were about one year old we were in Phoenix in December and noticed there was no line at the Santa at the mall so we hurriedly bought some Christmas sweaters and excitedly waited for our visit. Unfortunately the boys were not as thrilled as we were and this was our souvenir: Now […]

Happy Day-AFTER Thanksgiving at Carkeek Park

November 29, 2013

I can’t tell you how many years Black Friday has been the big deal for me. A day where you wake up early and SHOP all day??? Now that is my kind of holiday. And of course, I’m still shopping all my favorites (Some awesome deals are happening at Anthropologie, Gingiber’s etsy site, Snapbox -where […]

A great almost-kid-cafe and an experience gift idea (Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA)

November 26, 2013

I am always amazed at how few kids we see at our local art museum, the Seattle Art Museum (SAM)_. Kids under 12 are always free with a grown-up and there is a neat little place to play on the 3rd floor. (I wish they had pictures of the art screened on the tv in […]

Pre-Black Friday CyberMonday and an elevator preparedness checklist

November 25, 2013

Before you go and start panicking that you set your alarm too late, don’t worry yet, because it’s still not Thanksgiving. I keep getting all these pre-Black Friday sales in my inbox and I have to constantly check today’s actual date to make sure we haven’t missed Thanksgiving this year by accident because of all […]

family holiday activiites in vancouver at the capilano suspension bridge

A cliff-hanger of a birthday in Vancouver (Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver, BC)

November 20, 2013

Maybe the story shouldn’t start with the cliffhanger. But, I was oh so proud. This is what everyone with a fear of heights should do to celebrate just being alive. We weren’t supposed to be up in Vancouver for my birthday, but one thing led to another and here I was in my hometown. We […]

Christmas ideas on a Monday still faraway from Christmas

November 18, 2013

The moment my birthday ends the hubby is allowed to play Christmas music beginning the Christmas madness in my house and I love it. I love all the cheer. And I totally LOVE the shopping. Except this year we’re looking for Christmas ideas that are more experience than gifts. It was inspired by something I did with […]