When I was young, my grandma and I used to play with a mini mailbox for hours. We would write each other notes and deliver them to her toy mailbox where the other person would come and collect them and read them aloud. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t read or write at the time, my grandma always translated my letters and read mine for me. The excitement and joy she got at reading each letter was matched only by my own, and these are some of my very favorite memories of her.
Parenting
Seattle: get your Santa pictures at Northgate Mall
Are you in the Seattle area? If so, you are definitely going to want to head to Northgate Mall, part of the Simon family of shopping centers, before the holiday season is over. While you’re there, find your way to their holiday display by Kay Jewelers to get your pictures taken with Santa. This year … Read more
Turn any doorway into an amazing gym for the whole family with Gym1
Rare is the present you can truly get for the *whole* family. Besides trips that cost crazy amounts of money or expensive game systems or electronics that encourage only passive play, there’s not much else that’s out there that the whole family can enjoy as a whole. On that short list is the Gym1 doorway … Read more
10 ideas for a perfect Bellevue family getaway this holiday season
We end up in Bellevue at least a few times a year and every single time we have a blast. Recently, Bellevue has welcomed quite a few new stores, restaurants, and family-friendly features that we were dying to check out, so we made a weekend of it and headed out for a Bellevue staycation to … Read more
Give the gift of history with Felicity from American Girl
It’s hard for me to picture Christmas time without American Girl. I vividly remember circling items in the American Girl catalog each year in my youth, then I remember shopping their online store with my nieces years later, and now I’m taking my own kids to the Seattle American Girl store for them to make … Read more
Meet Piper, the DIY STEM computer kit for kids
As a parent, I’m always looking for toys that aren’t *just* toys for my kids. I want toys that inspire learning, ones that will resonate with the kids, and mostly I want toys that won’t get abandoned as soon as the shiny luster wears off. Well parents, I found the holy grail of presents for … Read more
Create an heirloom piece with PicturesOnGold.com
It’s now been four years since we surprised our oldest daughter with a heart shaped locket from PicturesOnGold.com for Christmas. Since the day she opened the locket four years ago, it quickly become one of her most cherished possessions. She wears it all the time, and it is her special comfort piece she turns to when … Read more