trip-planning

Walking to the Nemo Museum in Amsterdam

Finding Nemo: where to stay to visit the Nemo Science museum with kids In Amsterdam

March 17, 2017

Raise your hands if your kids are early risers!  If you go to Amsterdam with kids and visit the Nemo Science museum, this is one more place where getting there early might just be the best thing ever. And actually if you have kids who are early risers, a hotel nearby the Nemo Science museum that […]

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Burgos fondue in vancouver

My Vancouver with Kids list-where to eat, what to do and where to stay.

February 27, 2017

This Vancouver Canada with kids list is long overdue!  I get asked about Vancouver family travel at least once a week and I always type up an email or facebook message to the requester and then forget to write this list for my blog.  There are so many things to do in Vancouver and because […]

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National Football Museum in England

National Football Museum (Manchester, England)

October 28, 2016

As a teenager when I dreamed of my future trip to Europe, the National Football Museum was not on my list of places I wanted to see.  I wouldn’t have known that football in England means soccer in the USA and I probably wouldn’t have cared about soccer here either. Fastforward to my real life; my […]

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Sunflowers at singapore's Changi airport-this Singapore airport has so many things for families to see and do

Why Changi airport in Singapore is best for families

September 10, 2016

Heaven forbid that any of us ever get stuck in an airport when we’re traveling with kids. Do you remember that movie where Tom Hanks go stuck in one?  This used to be my biggest nightmare when I traveled with two babies in tow-how would we ever survive? And thankfully it only happened a few […]

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Summer in Seattle at Moss Bay Boating

When Tuesday is a little scary for a mom of twins on a Monday

September 6, 2016

I slipped and called my duo ‘babies’ at a wedding the other night.  But my twins really aren’t that little anymore and I can’t believe it.  My giant 8-year-old babies are starting school again in a few hours and I’m totally going to miss them.   Apparently this year my guys will be in different classes for […]

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Glass exhibit outside the Museum of glass in Tacoma

The time I drove a Ferrari in Tacoma

September 3, 2016

A few months ago, the family and I visited Tacoma for a weekend and had a fantastic time.  Although this city is only about an hour’s drive from Seattle there is so much to do that a weekend’s visit there felt like a perfect northwest ‘Staycation’ holiday. We really enjoyed visiting the Tacoma Art Museum […]

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Best playground for kids in Hakone japan

A Pinterest Playground I traveled thousands of miles to see that is no more (Hakone Open Air Museum, Japan)

August 12, 2016

This past year has been a whirlwind of travel and the trips I’ve planned have been done in more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants fashion where we only a pick a few must-sees in an area and then let the rest of the trip happen somewhat organically.  I’ve noticed this works well for travel with my family […]

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Rumpl blanket review

The summer travels of our new favorite blanket

July 6, 2016

As a blogger, I’m always on the hunt for fun new products and it makes my life a zillion times easier when something fabulous literally ends up in my lap.  Enter the Rumpl blanket, a downy soft sleeping-bag-like blanket I was sent to review. At first I imagined it would be the perfect cabin blanket […]

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Gifts and books that can inspire little travelers

March 2, 2016

My guys have loved travel since our first trips up to see family in Vancouver when they were teeny tiny babies.  Because Vancouver is about a three-hour drive from Seattle, it meant a van-load full of stuff and drives conveniently timed between naps.  Back then our travel needs were totally different than they are now […]

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hello kitty Seattle at the MoPop museum in Seattle

EMP Seattle, Hello Kitty and should we go to Puroland?

January 20, 2016

How I managed to miss the Hello Kitty Food Truck in Seattle bewilders me but I know I’ll get my Hello Kitty fix in Tokyo later this year.  I am excited though to have my favorite little cat in OUR city and the exhibit at the Experience Music Project or what we Seattleites call the […]

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homemade gluten-free peanut butter cake

When you stop to ponder your AAA membership, how safe Canada is and what this all means for family travel on a Monday

December 15, 2015

I met a few angels this weekend on my drive to Vancouver.  What started out as a mission to celebrate my grandpa’s 91st and my sister’s 30-ish birthday made for a bit of a disaster. My car almost broke down on a big bridge in Vancouver, but thankfully crawled and spluttered a little farther and […]

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Ritzvill Washington Supercharger for Tesla

Where you charge in Vancouver when there is no supercharger

October 8, 2015

Ok Vancouver, you really need a supercharger.  If you’ve been reading a while, we’ve owned our electric car for a few months now and I can’t believe how much fun it’s been to use on our road trips.  Now all we need to find is a place where we can get a good charge up […]

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What does Boulder Beach at Silverwood look like

Surviving the BIG coaster for the first time (Silverwood Theme Park, Idaho)

July 11, 2015

“You guys are headed to Silverwood today? Us too!” some big kids in the breakfast lineup at our hotel asked when they heard my husband and kids talking about our trip to Silverwood Theme Park.  You’re going to have the BEST time!!!”  And then they went on to tell us that they had visited when […]

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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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A spoonful of sugar in bucketlisting form helps the Last Day of School Eve not sting so much

June 16, 2015

We watched Mary Poppins at school today, my guys told me while we after-school snacked. So of course I took the opportunity to screech sing my rendition of “A Spoonful of Sugar” at the top of my lungs. Why are those kids taking medicine?  Are they sick?  Why doesn’t it taste good? And how does […]

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belize with kids

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

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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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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animal travel experiences that kids won't forget

We’ve been licked by a jaguar and now we love them even more (an inspiring visit to the Belize Zoo with kids)

May 28, 2015

We are so lucky these days to have the world at our fingertips when we plan for our travels.  We can buy tickets, research places and send emails across the world late at night without even leaving our homes and I am so thankful for the travel blogging community and how amazing and responsive people […]

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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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