Destinations Archives - Page 5 of 10

Where we were: Boston, Massachusetts

This winter, I got invited on a luxurious-sounding press trip to a winery in California, alone with my husband where we could relax and unwind from our hectic life. And, I almost went.

But, instead we packed up the kiddos and their million pounds of gear and hopped on a cross country flight to Boston. Once in Boston, we did without a fancy hotel and we crashed in the living room of a cousin who clearly didn’t know what he was getting into offering 5 people a place to stay and disrupt his life. Once we fully shook up their house and their lives, we then went all day long with four kids on very few hours of sleep trying to cram in all the sights, sounds, and history of the city together. And, honestly, it was the perfect choice for us.

You see, we’re kind of warrior travelers. We do overnight flights with infants, long international jaunts with layovers, and we do packed days and short nights. It’s just the way we travel, and it’s now how our kids are used to seeing the world.

Visit The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes in Seattle

Remember earlier this year when I was raving about the Seattle Rep production of Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem? Well, I'm back raving about Sherlock Holmes in Seattle, only this time the fun was across the Center, past the fountain, in the shadow of the Space Needle at the Pacific Science Center. The new Pacific Science Center’s The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes brings the legendary Sherlock Holmes to life, showing backstory of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the history of those Sherlock was modeled after. You will be transported to the Victorian time of Sherlock Holmes to learn about the science, technology, and methodology of the time while solving a mystery created just for this exhibit.

10+ tips for road trips with young kids

In the past 8 years, my children have visited 6 different countries, 3 continents, and countless towns and cities in the United States and abroad. We’ve traveled by train, plane, boat, and car, and at this point our kids can pretty objectively be referred to as seasoned travelers. Recently, we’ve been doing a lot of road tripping, and while it’s nice to not have to plan for airlines, train stations, and long waits before departures, trips in the car with young kids have their own set of challenges. Over the years I’ve learned that these challenges can be minimized by how I pack, prepare, and execute a road trip with baby, and we’ve gotten our system down to a science thanks to Huggies at Costco.

Marriott Hotels partners with TED to inspire new perspectives

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about curiosity. With an into-anything-and-everything toddler, an active little boy, and an 8 year old who thinks she has the whole world figured out, I unfortunately spend a huge amount of my time discouraging their natural curiosity. But, even while having serious discussions with them about why moving a 10+ lb. dollhouse up bunkbed ladders with jump ropes by yourself is a bad idea, suggesting that they not dig up my garden just to see what’s below, or even by answering their 300th question of the hour, I do love that they are so busy being curious about everything, and I hope that never changes. It’s this curiosity that will keep them wanting to “science” the things that they find in our backyard and beyond. It’s this curiosity that will keep them seeking answers to the questions that seem unanswerable and always asking “what if…?” It’s this curiosity that will encourage them to read so they can learn about worlds that are near, far, and make believe. And, it’s this curiosity that will fuel their love of travel and challenge them to visit as much of the world as they possibly can.

Since travel and curiosity go together hand-in-hand, it only makes sense that Marriott Hotels is exploring the theme of curiosity in their recent partnership with TED, the non-profit devoted to ideas worth spreading. If you love listening to and watching TED Talks as much as I do, you’re probably as excited as I am. This relationship will be a whole new way to experience TED – with creatively curated TED Talks, blogs, and original quotes available to hotel guests worldwide.

Cruising in luxury with the Mazda CX-9

You zoom zoom? We zoom zoomed this past month in a fancy-schmancy new Mazda CX-9 crossover SUV with seating for 7. After reading about and hearing from friends for so long how fun and engaging Mazdas are to drive, we had high expectations, and the CX-9 didn’t disappoint. It was quiet, big {but not too big}, and powerful enough that it was super fun to cruise in, whether it was around town or on long trips. Here’s what we learned from our week of zoom zooming in luxury:

Darigold Farmalicious tour at Coldstream Farms in Deming, WA

It’s just after noon on a beautiful August day and I’m traipsing through countryside, photographing cows, taking in the beautiful scenery, enjoying the company of some of my favorite local bloggers, and feeling at one with nature in so many ways. Thanks to Darigold, I’m getting my first real introduction to farm life while learning about the innermost workings of a family-run dairy farm at Coldstream Farms in Deming, Washington, and honestly, it’s just a lot more nature than I’m used to. But, in some ways it oddly feels like home. Anyone who knows me is laughing really hard because no one has ever mistaken me for someone who was cut out for farming. Urban farming even sometimes seems like too much work for me, so when you add in the fact that I’m notoriously squeamish and I prefer to not get dirty, it is abundantly clear that farm life was really never in the cards for me.

20+ kid-friendly activities in Olympic National Park {and 20+ tips to make the most of your stay}

Can you believe that I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest almost my entire life, yet I had never been to Olympic National Park? We travel a lot as a family, but somehow the National Park just hadn’t made it on our radar until earlier this year when our oldest got excited about rain forests and we realized how overdue we were for a trip to ONP.

For this past Father’s Day weekend, we decided to do a somewhat last-minute trip to the peninsula so we could explore the Olympic National Park as a family and finally see what we’ve been missing. It turns out we’ve been missing a lot.

For one, there are actually 4 parks in one in Olympic National Park. From glacier-covered peaks, gorgeous lakes, miles and miles of Pacific Ocean beaches, old growth forests, waterfalls, hot springs, and ancient rain forests, there truly is something for everyone.

21+ things to do with kids in Olympic National Park

Find the perfect gift for Dad from Cloud 9 Living – from helicopters and fighter pilots to wine tastings and golf {$20 off code}

At this point in my life, I’m pretty hard to shop for. While I love getting new things just like everyone else, I just don’t actually need much anymore. I’m not hard on my clothes, I’m not growing out of anything, and I haven’t picked up any new hobbies so I don’t have many gear … Read more

100+ tips and tricks for doing Walt Disney World with babies and toddlers

Taking a baby or toddler to Disney World? You are definitely going to want to read this first! Our ultimate guide to Disney World with baby and toddler includes 100+ tips to make the most of your Disney World trip with young kids.

Where we were: Disney World for #DisneySMMC

This last week was pure magic. We just got home from 9 days in heaven and now I'm enjoying all of our amazing memories we made during our week at Walt Disney World. It had been over 16 years since hubby and I visited Disney World, and to say we were overdue is definitely an understatement.

This is us in Disney World back in 1999 with my two sisters {I'm second from the left, hubby is on right}. We were BABIES!