TRAVEL

A train you want to visit just so you can eat pineapple and see hungry fish (Dole Pineapple Express , Oahu)

February 25, 2014

This is a train we’ve done over and over again, just like we’ve heard a zillion versions of Ka’a Ahi Kahului (Hawaiian Train Song) since we first rode the Dole Pineapple Express. (PS. THAT song is about another ride-able Hawaiian train, the Sugar Cane Train on Maui, and our family’s favorite version of the song […]

Bishop Museum and a yummy lunch nearby (Oahu with Kids)

February 23, 2014

I didn’t realize there could be such a thing as too much sun, beach and pool, but on vacation my kids literally wake up as soon as the sun rises and they could spend the whole day in the sun and in the water until it gets dark. I thought a good way to make […]

High Tea with kids (Urban Tea Merchant, Vancouver, BC)

February 22, 2014

There are so many lovely bakeries and restaurants in Vancouver, but for her birthday, I wanted to take my mom for high tea and I had the kids in tow. I was surprised at how many places offer a high tea with kids: the Fairmont Vancouver Hotel has an intriguing sounding Bubble Gum tea, and […]

Lillikoi, Malasadas, Coco Puffs, Shave ice and Pie (Oahu with kids)

February 18, 2014

Who am I kidding with that Lillikoi in the title? Our travels are usually full of food adventures of the bakery and dessert kind and while we did stop at a lovely roadside fruit stand near the Turtle Bay Resort (recommended by the Gypsy Guide app I bought that had a running commentary/tour of the […]

Wheel-y Awesome Find on a Monday

How have I never seen this before? And how has the hubby not seen it and tried to buy one yet? For the longest time in college, my husband commuted by scooter and then he finally joined the Seattle bike commuter ranks last year. But this? I saw this on our drive to Costco this […]

Saved the best for Last (Paradise Bay Resort, Kailua, Oahu)

February 16, 2014

We just got back from a trip with the kids to Oahu and it was such a welcome bit of paradise in all the cold we’ve had in the last little while. We usually don’t spend more than three nights in one place so we’ve stayed at three places over the course of this trip […]

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2014

I’m hoping wherever you are you are having a wonderful, warm and happy “love love love” day. (That’s what my boys still call this day in our house. The whole concept of Valentine’s Day is a little more difficult to explain. Hearts are easy) Today I’m totally thankful for friends and family and thankful I get […]

Exploring Imagine Children’s Museum on a chilly afternoon (Everett, WA)

February 12, 2014

All a kid needs is sunshine, water and air or something like that right? I love that the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett has all of these things. We went the other afternoon using half-price reciprocal benefits from the Kidsquest Museum in Bellevue (Another great kids’ museum! the reciprocal benefits come with the family deluxe membership […]

Wing Luke Museum and a pasta lunch (Seattle, WA)

February 11, 2014

Thanks to our lovely Mohai membership we’ve been visiting a bunch of local museums lately that we’ve never stopped into before. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to, but with kids sometimes we only have a short time to visit a place and it gets expensive doing that when you pay full-price. This time the […]

Seattle Post-game shopping on a Monday

February 3, 2014

Although yesterday was an epic sports battle for our beloved football team, this morning is a true test for me. Did I manage to get a goldentote order? (The site broke!) Did I get my lulu lemon run entry? (YES!!!!!!) And am I going to get the Seattle Seahawk Superbowl champion shirts? Probably not. But […]

Olive-it all at Stoneburner and our favorite Ballard bakery (Seattle, WA)

January 31, 2014

Maybe you’re groaning at the title, but I couldn’t help myself. The hubby and I snuck out for a lunchdate and ended up at Stoneburner in Ballard for the first time and we tried this amazing olive appetizer that was cheesy, oozy and delicious. And we loved them. All of them. Stonburner is such a […]

Easy Homemade Valentines Love bugs that are not candy

January 29, 2014

For some reason I remember collecting these cute little love bugs when I was little but I don’t think I ever made them. So this is one of the Valentines I decided that the guys and I would make for their school friends this year (while I still get to make those kinds of decisions […]

I washed my face with oil and I liked it

A couple weeks ago a friend at my kids’ gym class passed me a sample kit from a Seattle-based skincare company called Kari Gran. “I LOVE this stuff!” she said. “Have you heard of cleansing oils?” Yes, yes, I have. They’re in all of my magazines lately, and I was definitely skeptical. I have combination […]

giant donuts at george's bakery in north bend

When your sandwich comes with surprise pie at George’s Bakery (North Bend, Washington)

January 27, 2014

Perhaps this was the most delicious meal of the weekend: We stopped in North Bend for lunch on the way to Snoqualmie Pass; once again we were on a quest for snow. I remembered that George’s bakery does the cookies for our favorite Seattle Christmas tree farm, Christmas Creek and I saw that the restaurant […]

A nice day being a Stay-at-Home mom

January 25, 2014

A couple months ago, I got some really traumatic news that my high school’s time capsule was being dug up about 20 years prematurely because they are in the process of re-building the school. In the time capsule a couple hundred students in my class (including me!) had written letters to ourselves in the future […]

stanely cup model at bc sports hall of fame

Getting Olympic Ready at the BC Sports Hall Of Fame (Vancouver, BC)

January 23, 2014

Oh do you remember these guys? We had so much fun with the kids during their first Winter Olympics and we were so lucky it happened in Vancouver! I remember taking them to the Richmond Oval and parading them around with someone’s torch and just taking in all the excitement of the Olympic Spirit. It […]

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 […]