For Mother's and Father's Day this year, in lieu of gifts, we opted to take my parents out to explore Seattle. They've always wanted to do the typical touristy things, but both hate the traffic and the crowds and don't really know where to go or how to get there. Enter Davey and Jessica. And Yelp. We took them to a few of our favorite places (the Starbucks Roastery and Ivar's Salmon House) and also found some new things to do (and eat) too. I don't think we could've picked a more beautiful ... Read More
Lake Day
We had to opportunity to get out on the lake this weekend and it was so fun! My parents own property out in Yelm in an HOA that's more of a little city in itself. It has hiking trails and an outdoor pool and a little grocery store. But the best part are these private lakes where you can't go more than 5mph in a boat. Which makes for perfect water for paddle boarding or kayaking. Since the weather has been so hot lately, the water was super warm. So when you fall off your paddle board, ... Read More
4th of July Traditions
I think I used to be one of those people who frowned on doing the same thing over and over again. I liked surprises and going-with-the-flow. Making spur-of-the-moment plans and then changing them because something better came along. But then I had kids. And I became an over-controlling mother, who now LOVES scheduled spontaneity and predictable, repetitive get-togethers. Or, as I like to call them, "traditions". :) So, we had our traditional 4th of July: watched Lone Survivor in the ... Read More
Panorama Point
Checked another item off our Summer Bucket List today: a hike on Mt. Rainier! There are several incredible trails on Mt. Rainier, and we needed some help narrowing down what to do, so I downloaded an app called The Outbound which helps you find local hiking spots. I love the app for the sheer fact that you can filter your searches for pet-friendly hikes, child-friendly hikes, good photography spots, etc. I was able to read other hikers reviews and tips and those came in super handy. ... Read More
Family Time in Fremont
It's officially summer here in the PNW and our family has but 1 goal: take advantage of Washington. People come here to vacation from all over the world and being that we get the opportunity to actually LIVE here, I figured it was time to see some of the sights in our own backyard. Earlier this year I made of list of to-do's. Everything from mountain hikes, to shopping downtown, to trying new foods, to tours of the underground, to road trips to the ocean. The probability of us actually ... Read More