where to hear manoa dna

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 […]

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Rainy Shopping on what should be a snowy Monday and a new direction for next year

February 24, 2014

There was a little piece of me that was hoping for snow today instead of liquid sunshine, but at least the warmer weather means that we’ll be able to start planting outside soon.  I’ve been successful with my old food garden-you can grow all sorts of vegetable tops-except I can’t get avocado seeds to grow […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Something in my amazon feed that just made my day

February 9, 2014

Thank you amazon.  Yes, I totally need a run parachute. Obviously you know that I’ve been searching running shoes and other running things, so naturally you might think this is something I definitely need.  But you have not seen my running outfits, and they are garish enough without a giant parachute flying behind me.  And […]

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Because it is super chilly outside and you just finished that big carton of yogurt

February 7, 2014

I have been dying to make these ice blocks with my guys forever. I found a couple of spoiled yogurt cartons in the fridge (I don’t know why, but even if it’s a day BEFORE the expiry date, I get a little freaked out.) and I needed to find a non-wasteful use for them and […]

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A whole lot of grief on Feb 6

I used to think that after years of missing someone the pain of missing them would just go away.  Or maybe if I got grown up enough, somehow I’d learn to deal with sad things and maybe they wouldn’t hurt anymore. But the more I grow up I realize that life’s not like that. And […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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kari gran cleansing oli sample set

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 […]

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Giving in to peer pressure is okay sometimes, right?

January 28, 2014

I totally want these bubble glass lights my friend just put in her house. They don’t match anything I have-I would probably need  to build a whole new bathroom just for them, but I can’t Stop. Thinking. About. Them. And I’ve seen this Nate Berkus for Target tray pinned quite a bit, and it might […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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