We travel to Phoenix’ West Valley regularly to visit family, and love to incorporate desert hikes into our days. Over the years, we’ve hiked many trails as a family, and based on our recent November visit, we have 3 HIKES at 3 LEVELS (Easy, Moderate, and Moderate/Hard) to recommend.
Edmonds, Washington Weekend Getaway: Fun Activities for the Whole Family
Located just 30 minutes north of our home in Seattle, Washington, the small waterfront city of Edmonds, Washington is a place our family ventures to frequently. A quick glance at these quick facts about Edmonds, and I bet you’ll realize why we are so drawn to visiting this special destination.
- Edmonds is situated on the Puget Sound with sweeping views of the Olympic Mountains, and several beaches to explore.
- Edmonds has a true main street design with a walkable central business district full of inviting shops, cafes, and restaurants.
- Edmonds is a ferry city! The Washington State ferry travels across the Puget Sound between Edmonds and Kingston, Washington (located on the Kitsap Peninsula).
- Edmonds has 48 parks and over 450 acres of green space!
- Edmonds is an art and cultural hub. In fact, the city is Washington’s first designated Creative District!
Sun Valley, Idaho Getaway | Family Activities in a Winter Wonderland
Soon after booking our trip to Sun Valley, Idaho, we realized we created a bit of a tradition for ourselves. Looking back at our travels, we were going on three years of heading to a winter wonderland destination in January.
January 2019: Denver/Golden Colorado
January 2020: Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah
January 2021: Sun Valley/Ketchum, Idaho
Calistoga, California Getaway: Napa Valley with Kids (Video)
Instead of exchanging traditional presents with my sister-in-law and her family, we decided to gift each other a getaway! Just after Christmas, we traveled down to northern California. After a quick afternoon, and night in the Oakland area (where they live), our two families traveled to Calistoga, in Napa Valley. The hot spring fed pools, and funky camper-van, yet still a comfortable resort, style led us to Calistoga Motor Lodge where we stayed for 2 nights.
North Carolina Family Road Trip to Raleigh, Kinston & Outer Banks: 11-Day Itinerary
Thank you to Moon Travel Guides for Sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine alone.
If you’ve been reading and following along on our YouTube channel, you know that we went on a big North Carolina road trip this past summer! There are individual posts and videos for each leg of the road trip. Our major stops (where we spent the night) were Kinston, Ocracoke Island, Duck, and Raleigh.
The trip was not just single trips, but an 11-day connected adventure! For that reason, I also wanted to have a resource that included the itinerary as a whole. Here you’ll find a daily overview with restaurant and activity suggestions. If you’d like more information on that particular stop, each individual destination is linked in the heading.
North Carolina, particularly the Outer Banks, is part of our family history. I grew up vacationing in Duck, North Carolina, and have traveled to the barrier island regularly for over 35 years! Even though we live on the opposite coast now, we set aside time yearly to visit and adventure in this special place.
Orcas Island Ferry: Part of the Travel Adventure
Life is a journey, not a destination.
This quote couldn’t be more fitting when thinking about and reminiscing about traveling by ferry to Orcas Island, Washington. Yes, there are more logistics to worry about when ferries are a part of your travel itinerary. However, the hassle of reservations, arriving early, and waiting are worth the effort!
Especially with kids, I also breathe a huge sigh of relief.
We can get out of the car!
Stretch our legs!
And of course, take in the views. No matter the weather, they are always beautiful, and you just never know what you might see.
Mount Rainier National Park with Kids: Staying at Paradise Inn (+Video)
Georgia and I got to go on a mother-daughter road trip to Mount Rainier National Park this past summer. Since Bergen and I traveled to Mount Rainier National Park together in the spring of 2018, she felt like she needed a special one on one trip too! We stayed at the newly renovated Paradise Inn. Paradise Inn opened in 1916, but it was just recently renovated and reopened for the start of the 2019 summer season.
Raleigh, North Carolina with Kids: Exploring NC’s Capital City
How many capital cities have you explored? We were able to add one more capital city to our growing list, Raleigh, thanks to our recent North Carolina road trip! Usually when traveling to the NC’s Outer Banks, we fly in and out of Raleigh, and only visit the airport. For this trip, though we set some time aside, about 24 hours, so that we could explore the city a bit.
In conjunction with our family’s annual trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks each summer, this year we decided to create more of a road trip. Rather than just visit my family’s beach cottage in Duck, North Carolina, we added stops in Kinston, NC, Ocracoke, NC, and Raleigh, NC.
In a series here on the blog, and on our YouTube channel, I will share the highlights of our experience! You can expect information on lodging, dining, and family friendly experiences in each location.
Exploring the Outer Banks: Duck, North Carolina with Kids
Duck, North Carolina is the third leg in our four part Eastern North Carolina! Though, the kids enjoyed all of our road trip destinations, Duck was their favorite. The reason? COUSINS! Yes, we meet up with my brother, sister, and their respective families each summer for a week or so of beach fun.
In conjunction with our family’s annual trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks each summer, this year we decided to create more of a road trip. Rather than just visit my family’s beach cottage in Duck, North Carolina, we added stops in Kinston, NC, Ocracoke, NC, and Raleigh, NC.
In a series here on the blog, and on our YouTube channel, I will share the highlights of our experience! You can expect information on lodging, dining, and family friendly experiences in each location.
Ocracoke Island, North Carolina with Kids (+Video)
Next up on our North Carolina road trip series is Ocracoke Island! I grew up going to Ocracoke for day trips from our family’s beach house in the Duck, NC. As Slaed would hear my siblings and I talk about the uniqueness and quirkiness (and beauty!) of the island, he wanted to make sure we added Ocracoke to one of our annual trips to the Outer Banks.
In conjunction with our family’s annual trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks each summer, this year we decided to create more of a road trip. Rather than just visit my family’s beach cottage in Duck, North Carolina, we added stops in Kinston, NC, Ocracoke, NC, and Raleigh, NC.
In a series here on the blog, and on our YouTube channel, I will share the highlights of our experience! You can expect information on lodging, dining, and family friendly experiences in each location.
Kinston, North Carolina with Kids (Video)
In conjunction with our family’s annual trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks each summer, we decided to create more of a road trip. Rather than just visit my family’s beach cottage in Duck, North Carolina, we added stops in Kinston, NC, Ocracoke, NC, and Raleigh, NC.
In a series here on the blog, and on our YouTube channel, I will share the highlights of our experience! You can expect information on lodging, dining, and family friendly experiences in each location.
How to Get More Creative with Family Camping Meals: Chef Corso’s MONTyBOCA
This post in written in collaboration with MONTyBOCA. Special thanks to Chef Corso for partnering with us!
For our most recent camping trip to Conconully State Park in Washington State’s Okanogan region, we partnered with a chef! No, he didn’t come along with us, and cook all of our food. That would have been a dream! But Chef Corso from MONTyBOCA put together a meal plan for us, and we tested out several recipes for him.
With MONTyBOCA, Chef Corso is on a mission to elevate the meals we enjoy outdoors. He wants us to think beyond boring oatmeal packets, and dehydrated backpacking meals. Rather, MontyBoca is inspiring us to cook real, healthy, delicious meals. Meals that fuel us while we hike, bike, camp, and generally explore the world outside.
MONTyBOCA Quick Facts
- MONTyBOCA has a library of recipes for every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert).
- All recipes are 10 ingredients or less.
- Meals are ready in 30 minutes or less.
- Recipes are filled with fresh ingredients, but also factor in weight and packing constraints.
Fernie, BC with Kids: Summer Road Trip Itinerary
Our trip to Fernie, British Columbia last summer started off a little rocky. However, we ended our 4-day adventure with a mountain of amazing memories.
I’m not just having fun with puns over here. But you have to admit, that was pretty good, right? Rocky…mountain…
In all seriousness though, we did have quite the mishap! En route to Fernie, from our annual summer visit to Hayden Lake, Idaho, we got a flat tire. We’d decided to take a the scenic route, and by pass the busier highway. The scenic (dirt) road was lovely, but was a bit bumpier than we anticipated. Halfway through the trek, we slowed down to show the kids a rabbit on side of the road.
This turned out to be our lucky rabbit, because just after we continued driving, I looked in the rear view mirror. I immediately noticed that the back tire was getting shredded to pieces! The road was so bumpy to begin with that we barely noticed the blowout. Who knows when we would have realized the tire was flat if it hadn’t been for that cute hopper? Probably would have been a much worse situation.
We were traveling a lot slower as it was on the forest road. With our doughnut installed, we crept along, and all breathed a big sigh of relief when we finally met back up with the main road. Right away, Slaed began to research tire shops, and as soon as we got settled at the resort, he raced off to go about getting the tire replaced.
Waiting in Lines at Disneyland: Thinking Putty to the Rescue
While we didn’t have to wait in very long lines on our recent trip to Disneyland, lines are inevitable at the parks. I’ll be sharing several line avoiding tips soon. Actually, Slaed will he serving up the advice since he now considers himself an expert on dodging lines at Disney!
What to Do if Your Child Gets the Stomach Flu in Disneyland
Hello from the happiest place on earth! We are in the midst of spring break at Disneyland, and loving every minute of it! Well, almost every minute.
Podcasts for Travel-Loving and Adventurous Parents
One of my favorite ways to pass the time when I’m doing busy work around the house, or even walking (without the kids!) is to listen to podcasts. I actually look forward to my household chores! Laundry, dishes, and dinner prep are a whole lot more enjoyable when I have an inspiring interview, lesson, or story in my ears. Podcasts are not only entertaining, but they are like a mini-education.
Want to learn how to declutter you house? There’s a podcast (or 2) for that. Want to become more organized? There’s a podcast (or 5) for that. Want to learn how to run your own business? There’s a podcast (or 10) for that!
My podcast listening tends to lean toward the parenting, travel, and outdoor realm. Just this morning after dropping Georgia off at preschool, I popped my earbuds in. I was able finish one podcast episode on budget travel tips, feeling some camaraderie with the host that planning ahead is one of the best ways to save money on travel. Thinking about our upcoming spring break travel, I then shifted gears, and started listening to a Disneyland Planning Tips episode. When I returned home from the walk, I continued listening as I finished up breakfast dishes, and began to prepare salmon cakes for dinner.
Family Travel Memories: Why I Chose to Scrapbook Our London Travels
Fun fact about me: I used to be a scrapbooking enthusiast. In my early 20s, before kids, I learned about the scrapbooking company, Creative Memories. A good friend of mine was a consultant, and I went all in. I purchased special pages, accessories, and asked for big price tag items for Christmas and birthdays. I loved it! My big project at the time was documenting my year of service with Americorps-NCCC. With four huge volunteer projects, plus travel in between, I had a lot of memories to share.
With my move to Seattle, I stopped scrapbooking with such fervor, but I still held onto all my supplies. A heavy duty bag full of paper cutting tools, stickers, and other embellishments is housed in our basement. Every once in a while I dig it out for a small project.
While it gets messy, and takes time, documenting a travel adventure or kid milestone in this way brings me so much joy. As a family, we love reminiscing and reflecting about experiences over an actual book rather than photos on the computer or phone. Plus, it’s a sweet way to share with family and friends when they come to visit.
Books created on sites like Shutterfly yield a lot less clutter. However, I often get overwhelmed with the digital possibilities. Especially considering I already spend a lot of time online with my blog, getting away from screens, and working with my hands actually more preferable.
While I was hiking with friends this past weekend, they nudged me to share more about how I created my most recent book: All about our week long trip to London in January 2018. As a gift for Slaed, I actually put it together before even sharing about our trip on the blog . Yes, I was a little behind in my blogging duties!
Whidbey Island, WA with Kids: Langley & Beyond
Most of our family travels are scheduled and planned, very far in advance. In fact, we often get teased by family and friends that we already have a full calendar before others even begin to start making plans. What can we say? We just love having travel and adventure to look forward to!
Everyone once in a while though, we get a wild hair, and will spontaneously plan a trip. This was the case over the kid’s winter break this past year. For the first time ever, we weren’t traveling over the holidays, AND we didn’t have family coming to visit. After the excitement of Christmas subsided, I think we got itchy. Slaed started researching, and found a very reasonable and adorable cottage rental with beach access. Just our style for ringing in the new year. [Read more…]
Screen-Free Airplane + Road Trip Activties for Young Kids
Who has spring break travel coming up? Whether you are taking to the skies or heading out on the road (or maybe you’re traveling by train!), I wanted to share some recent screen-free activities that our kids have enjoyed. While we are not strict on keeping travel screen-free, we do like to make intentional choices around screen time.
Balance is all we are aiming for, so having a few go-to activities on hand is extremely helpful. The possibilities are endless. Because of that, first, I plan to add to the this short list through follow-up posts. I also want to this to be more of a community effort! Have a highly engaging, easy to pack, screen-free activity idea for young kids? Please leave your idea in the comments or simply email me!
Denver’s National Western Stock Show with Kids
This past January, we helped make one of my husband Slaed’s Bucket List dreams come true. We got to attend Denver’s National Western Stock Show as a family! Since Bergen was a baby (he’s now 7.5 years), Slaed talked about taking us. He has fond memories of going as a kid, and when such a huge event happens every year in your home town, it’s a big deal!
Most folks would be planning a trip to Colorado in January around the slopes. I guess we do things a little differently. Instead of a ski getaway, our family planned our long Martin Luther King, Jr holiday weekend around cattle and horses.
Savoring the Season with Spring Bucketlist: 2019 Edition
I’m hopping in early with our SPRING BUCKLET LIST, because we are ready! We are ready to say goodbye to snow, and ice, and cold. We are ready to welcome a little color back into our landscape, and can’t wait for the temperatures to warm up…just a bit!
I want to challenge you to do the same. However you feel about the upcoming season change, jot down a quick list of special things you want to do with your family to celebrate spring. I love how this exercise helps with intentionality, and allows us to prioritize our most treasured and valued family activities.
If you aren’t familiar with our seasonal bucket lists, here’s the scoop: Each season, we create a list of about 10 fun adventures or projects that are specific to the season.
We dig through our favorite nature books, think about our favorite happenings of that particular season, and look at our calendars to gather the best things that nature has for us. To learn more, check out our spring, summer, fall & winter bucket lists of past years.
Here’s our 2019 Spring Bucket List in no particular order!
London, England with Young Children: 6-day Itinerary
It was a warm summer July day when Slaed and I made the big decision to visit London, England with the kids. A sale got our attention initially. Norwegian Air was advertising amazing deals for their new nonstop flights from Seattle to London, and the internet was a buzz.
I thought what an opportunity for our family! The kids had yet to visit Europe, and London would be a fantastic starting point. Slaed was a little skeptical. What about the flight duration? The jet lag? And of course, when will we actually go…and what about school?
Sitting across from each other with cold drinks in hand, those worries could quickly be reasoned away. We went with the signs the universe was throwing out to us, took a leap of faith, and booked that trip. Looking at the dates available with the flight sale, and our travel calendar at the time, we chose to utilize the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Going in January meant we’d likely have rainy weather, but the weather would be the same if we stayed home, so we figured, let’s travel!
We traveled to London, England in January 2018. Our kids were 6 years and 3 years. Just as we had anticipated (but hoped wouldn’t actually happen, of course) the flight from Seattle to London was rough. Despite all the tricks we had up our sleeves, the kids just could not settle into sleep. Our youngest, in fact, fought “bedtime” no matter how hard we tried, until she finally passed out in the ergo on my back as we exited the plane and headed to passport control.
Frustrating? Yes. Completely devastating though? Absolutely not! We’d arrived, and we had a whole week to explore LONDON. A brand-new city to each of us. In true “Wild Tales of…” fashion, we covered a lot of ground. Here’s what we were able to get to in a nutshell:
London, England with Kids
Bainbridge Island, Washington with Kids: Mother-Daughter Day Trip
This year instead of our usual early spring whole family visit to Arizona, we opted to split up. Slaed and Bergen jetted off to the Peoria area for Mariner’s Spring Training, and to spend time with Gramma (Slaed’s mom). Georgia and I held down the fort back in Seattle, and enjoyed some local adventures.
One of the our highlights was a day trip to Bainbridge Island, Washington. In case you aren’t familiar with this local gem, Bainbridge Island is just across Elliott Bay from downtown Seattle. A beautiful picturesque ferry ride gets you there in about 30 minutes. Donuts optional.
Kauai with Kids: 7-day Itinerary
We traveled back to Kauai this past fall for our biannual trip to the Hawaiian Islands! Yes, for the past 10 years we’ve made it our family tradition to travel to the Aloha State every 2 years. Here’s a quick recap:
- Maui 2008: Slaed and I got engaged, and started this whole tradition!
- Big Island 2010: Stayed in the Kona area.
- Kauai 2012: Bergen’s first time to the island at 15-months old.
- Oahu 2014: Bergen 3-years old, and I was about 6 months pregnant with Georgia.
- Maui 2016: Bergen 5-years old, Georgia almost 2-years old. First time repeating an island!
- Kauai 2018: Bergen 7-years old, Georgia almost 4-years old.
Visiting Kauai’s Na ‘Āina Kai Botanical Gardens and Sculpture Park with Kids
As nature enthusiasts, we seek out experiences where we can enjoy the outdoors as a family. We also particularly love it when we can combine learning about the flora and fauna of an area with a little bit of culture. When planning our recent trip to Kauai (visited November 2018), we learned about Na ‘Āina Kai Botanical Gardens and Sculpture Park through The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook.
Knowing about the beauty and history of the garden and property, we knew it was just the type of outing our active family would enjoy. Yes, of course there were many plans of pool enjoyment and beach adventures. However, it’s nice to balance out the water side fun with unique opportunities to learn about the island on a deeper level.
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