Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.
When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.
This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.
All in Travel
The North Cascades are my happy place. The moment I set foot in that valley or hike through those mountains I feel calm and at peace. It is the place I look most forward to visiting year after year and the place I most often find myself day dreaming about. When Cameron mentioned he wanted to go there for his birthday this past month I was eager for the day of our trip to arrive. Unfortunately, good health has alluded us so far this year so Cameron had the privilege of celebrating his birthday instead with two "sickies".
In all my visits to San Francisco I have never visited Land's End before. From the moment I laid eyes on this place I loved it. From the fresh sea air, to the window blown trees, and the beautifully rugged landscape. I can only imagine how spectacular it was to have a swimming pool right here. If I lived in San Francisco these trails would become woven into the fabric of my life.
We are fortunate to live near hundreds of islands, but the thought has never really occurred to me to go island hopping for the day. Usually, we have a destination in mind and the ferry is the means to get there, this time we decided to try something we had never done before and go island hopping. We knew we could head to Vashon Island and then hop on over to Tacoma but we have never done so. We live so close to the Vashon Island ferry within minutes we were cruising across the water and heading toward our island adventure. No traffic, no waits, perfection on a sunny Saturday with an antsy toddler in the back seat.
When we go on a city vacations the food is always what gets us the most excited to get out of bed in the morning. The best part of traveling to a world class city like San Francisco is there are always more places we want to eat than meals in a day. Especially now that we have a perpetually hungry toddler, our city vacations go a little something like this: walk, eat, sleep, repeat.
I always appreciate hearing different point of views on parenting because usually that means I can find something which resonates with me. Traveling with kids was one of those big question marks for my husband and I. We had traveled extensively before having children and we weren't certain how it would be after having them. It wasn't until my son was 1.5 years old that we took the leap of faith and brought him on his first flight. However, in his first year and a half of life we did a lot of traveling starting when he was just shy of two months old. I remember the first time we packed the car with baby stuff and we were like. "Wow, this is a lot of stuff for one tiny person!" In that first year and a half of his life we went to the coast, the mountains, the city and everywhere in between. Although we did not fly anywhere we took him on a ton of road trips and learned loads about how to keep a baby and then eventual toddler entertained while in the car.
Up until our most recent trip to San Francisco I had spent very little time in Golden Gate Park. Now, it is pretty much the one place I want to spend all my time when I visit San Francisco. There is so much to see and do in Golden Gate Park from the De Young Museum, to the Japanese Garden, California Academy of Sciences, Stow Lake and the Old Dutch windmill to name just a few. Golden Garden Park reminds me a little bit of Central Park largely in part because they both feel like a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. As you walk throughout the park there is so much to look at and enjoy from gardens, to fountains, pathways and even an ice cream truck here or there.
When traveling with children it is important to do three things: lower your expectations for the amount of ground you can cover in one day (one big activity per day is the goal), make the earliest dinner reservations you can (usually right when they open for dinner ie. 5pm) so you can eat at trendy/fun/popular/nice places without feeling like you are crashing the party. This way you never have to wait for a meal or worse yet roam around the streets looking for a place to eat. Lastly, make certain to give your children plenty of time to run around and be free. Once you have realistic expectations for traveling as a family and they have the freedom to be kids your trip will go almost as smoothly as those pre children vacation days.
This year for Christmas we did a little something different and went on a vacation just the three of us. We had a wonderful time exploring one of our favorite cities and soaking up as much sunshine as possible. Upon arrival, we made a quick stop at the farmer's market for greenery for wreaths, Britex for ribbon and CB2 for some twinkle lights. Within a couple of hours I was able to put together a simple, yet festive environment for our stay.
Nestled amongst a mossy forest, there is cabin high up in the mountains. It is close to a few modern necessities, but with greenery out every window it feels like you are miles away from everyone else. A few stormy weekends ago, we stayed at this cabin and enjoyed an adventure filled weekend in the mountains. Most notable were the homemade treats, cozy fires and experiencing our first snow fall of the season. If you are looking for a laid back weekend where your family can relax and you can skip your list of chores and errands then this is the place.
Some days time just gets away from me. Usually, it is a bi product of having too much fun, staying up too late, and packing too much in. But this past week has been filled with doctor appointments, too many viruses, too much coughing, not enough sleeping and lots of medicine for our family. However, I am happy to report we are on the mend and grateful we survived this long Thanksgiving weekend of trying to have fun amidst feeling crummy.
I used to get a thrill out of checking things off my long holiday to do list, expertly navigating the crowd of holidays shoppers and being amongst the hustle and bustle. Nowadays, the same things which brought me joy seem to stress me out. Over the past few years I have figured out the best ways to combat my impending feelings of holiday stress while still making the most of the holiday season:
