Congratulations! You Survived a Day at Disney!

8 04 2024
Last Photo of the Night

There is a huge sense of accomplishment and comraderie when you inch through the crowds alongside other parents that have just survived a full day at Disneyworld.  


You are from different places (most likely had to travel, possibly on a different timezone), have various sizes of families, have different backgrounds, jobs, parenting styles, etc…..but walking alongside these other moms and dads at 930pm knowing that you all woke up early, battled the heat, hangry kids, line ups, meltdowns, way too much sugar and the inevitable sugar crash, overtiredness and overstimulation, being a packmule for bags and kids…. all you can do is make eye contact and say ‘Congratulations!  We survived a day at Disney!  Now who’s waking up early and doing it all over again tomorrow lol’.


Boarding the ferry from Disneyworld with the lights of mainstreet and the Castle twinkling behind us, I was very aware of how sticky and sweaty I felt, my feet felt every one of the 22,000 steps they carried me on and my back was definitely not happy at the 22lbs of wiggling one year old that it had to bear the weight of when my boy just needed his mama.  But I could also tangibly feel the excitement and the energy we all had when we took that ferry across to the Magic Kingdom over 12 hours prior. 

Ferryride to The Magic Kingdom!

And that made me smile and honestly made all the rest of it worth it.  Yes the kids were tired, yes we were tired, but we made some amazing memories today.  And I am so impressed with these kids pushing through to the very end of the day.  And I also made sure to say ‘I love you’ to Nathan, and most definitely gave myself a pat on the back. 


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Categories : Florida

The Scenic Route

13 03 2024

I took the train down to Seattle today. I spent most of the trip looking out the window and I thought about how many snapshots of people’s lives I witnessed.

I saw a mom outside playing in the yard with 3 kids and a dog and it made me excited for the spring weather coming to play with my kids outside. I saw what looked like a park ranger or some sort of official, walking on a wooded trail and I thought how he must be feeling walking through the woods with a view of the water – content with how enjoyable his morning was going. I saw a couple standing on the shore ofa tiny beach and a person standing on a ridge looking down at the water, and as the train rushed past them, I wondered how they got to those places and whether or not they were close enough to feel the push of air as the train passed by. We passed a field that was filled with so many white birds! And as the train passed they all took flight like a stadium crowd doing the “wave”.

I saw goats, sheep, alpacas, horses, fancy ducks, harbor seals, great blue herons in flight and perched on rocks, and just so much that I wouldn’t have seen any other way. It reminded me of the times I took the train from Toronto to Windsor and Seattle to Portland years ago and it makes me think about how different life has become since then. I enjoyed the train ride, the views, the solitude and would journal or tuck myself in for a nap. Now, when I take the train I am overcome with the overwhelming need to share this experience with my kids and it makes me smile to think about how much they would enjoy all of the things that I saw today, how many conversations these sights would inspire from Brooklyn and Lucy – which horse they would pick as their favorite, and how excited Cameron would be to stand on the seat, hands and face pressed against the window, eyes wide, taking in all the new sights.

And now I’m trying to figure out if I’m brave enough to take all 3 kids on a train ride down to Seattle by myself…..am I crazy???


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Categories : Seattle, Washington

Time Zone Bubble

6 11 2023

There is something about being in a different time zone than your regular life that makes you feel like time as stopped. Maybe not time exactly, but the day to day grind. You could say it’s vacation mode, but when you get to be out of sync from everyone else, from the regular start times, meetings, weekly activities and routines, it feels like you’re in a bubble. At least it does for me. And when I’m in this time zone bubble, the words that are lost to me the rest of the year, suddenly find their place again.

And so, once a year, I write. And I’m hopeful that one day soon the words will come to me some place other than the beach in Hawaii. (Or….maybe, it’s the universe telling me that we just need to always be on a beach in Hawaii lol).

But for now, I’m going with the flow and enjoying the view and this reprieve from writer’s block.


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Categories : Hawaii

The Secret’s Out

24 01 2023

As the story of my constant need to find sea turtles while in Hawaii continues, I will admit that I have only dragged the family up to the North Shore twice. And once, I let everyone stay in the car. BUT the first time, we actually did see sea turtles swimming in the water. And as I tried to get a photo of some turtle heads popping up in the water, I asked Nathan if what I saw down the beach was a turtle….to which he responded, ‘no – that’s a rock‘. So I continued to take photos of swirling water with murky shadows, hoping that I would luck out on some rapid fire shots. Then the girls came over to me, and I tried to point out the turtles swimming in the water to them, and Lucy very nonchalantly informed me, ‘mommy – there’s a turtle right there’ and pointed to the ‘rock’ that I had asked Nathan about!!!???

So, it FINALLY happened! We/I saw a sea turtle on the beach – more on the rocks eating algae, and more his butt than his face BUT finally FINALLY after 4 years!

The next day we made a point to get out early and check out the “Secret Beach” that is down the street from our hotel. Over the weekend, we spoke with our new favorite local photographer Shane Myers, who was like, ‘you don’t know about Secret Beach?? You don’t have to go all the way up to the North Shore to see sea turtles and monk seals!’. I don’t know if he’s supposed to tell everyone about it, BUT, he is my new favorite person, and has elevated my sea turtle expectations and goals.

We’ve gone to the Secret Beach 4 times and have seen sea turtles THREE out of the four times we’ve been there! Even if there weren’t sea turtles we would have been happy since it is absolutely gorgeous. Still a protected lagoon although it gets some fun waves in there and you can see some really cool reef fish in shallow water. But on our first trip there, I was just telling the girls what types of fish I saw in the water when I looked down and there was a sea turtle swimming right beside me!! Brooklyn told me after that it was so close that she could have touched it with her foot! Exhilarating does not even describe the high of this experience. And then, once the sea turtle took a lap around the lagoon and headed out, we saw something else popping its head out of the water. It took us a minute to figure it out, but then we realized that what we were seeing was one of Hawaii’s endangered monk seals checking out the lagoon. WHAT???!!! We made sure to give the monk seal a wide berth as those little girl limbs waving in the water may have looked a little tempting. But seriously, WHAT?? 5 minutes from our hotel we are swimming with sea turtles and monk seals?

It felt like our trip had reached its peak 4 days in, so it completely surprised us when we visited a few days later with the hopes that we would see a sea turtle, to then end up having SIX sea turtles chilling with us in the lagoon for hours. They were having a late breakfast and as much as I tried to give them space, they surrounded me. A little unnerving, but oh so cool! I tried to back up to give one space, and then ended up with one right behind me. Apparently they gather around pregnant people (surprise! 6 months pregnant when we were there).

So on this 4th trip to Hawaii with the girls (yes I realize how spoiled they/we are), this is officially THE trip to beat. This is our official Sea Turtle Trip! Yes, I am extremely happy and oh so satisfied, BUT I will say that I am still holding out for the experience of coming across sea turtles resting on the sandy beach, so Sea Turtle Chronicles NOT COMPLETE!


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Categories : Hawaii, Oahu

World Views

13 11 2022

The majority of the photos I take of the girls are from behind.  I follow them around like their little photographer, taking photos of all of these moments as they navigate their world.  It wasn’t until recently that I thought about what that meant.  Since the majority of the time I/we are following them, their worldview is wide open. 

These little girls (at 5 and 4 and 3 and 2!)  are experiencing a world where they are the leaders of their journey. 

They are experiencing their world not following behind myself or Nathan, or holding hands and relying on us to make them comfortable, they are already subconsciously forming their sense of self, their independence, their confidence in their abilities to understand and navigate through life, on their own, and with their sister by their side. 

I hope they always walk with the confidence and sense of purpose that I see at age 5.  I hope that they remain confident in their place in this world with the knowledge that they will go through life with the support of their sister beside them, and the safety net of everyone who loves them behind them. 


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Categories : California, Canada, Hawaii, Lake Havasu City, Miscellaneous, Oahu, Oregon, Seattle, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Washington, West Seattle

Turtle Tales

26 12 2021

Super late post…but better late than never right?

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It wouldn’t be a trip to Hawaii if I didn’t drag my family to the North Shore to look for Sea Turtles. 

This time, they were on to me though – I had to bribe them with the possibility of finding seashell treasures (for Brooklyn), the probably of fresh fruit from the fruits stands (for Lucy) and a convenient stop to the North Shore Macadamia Nut Company Farm Stand for treats for us and souvenirs to take home with us (for Nathan). 

And then I had to find clever ways to convince them to go back up there, two more times! 

But, patience pays off, and we did indeed find Sea Turtles! 

We lucked out by seeing one lone sea turtle at Hale’iwa Ali’I Beach Park – and that find felt amazing – as we watched surfers tackle the waves, and this little turtle peek its head out of the water. 

Our other sitings may have included the sketchy side of the road parking, waking the girls up from their car nap, and scampering across a busy road….BUT, there were so many people on the beach!  The whole scene just SCREAMED ‘there are sea turtles here!!!!’.  I feel like we just missed seeing them on the beach, but when we watched the water, I swear there were like 20 sea turtles swimming around.  For some reason, they didn’t hear my coaxing, ‘come on sea turtle, come on back to shore – don’t you want to take a little nap in the sun?’  This also led to the question, where do sea turtles sleep at night?  Turns out the answer is that they mostly sleep on the surface of the water in a ‘floating’ state.

I honestly could have stayed out on that beach all day watching the turtles and seeing if they were going to come back to the beach.  But the two little 4 year olds (and if I’m honest, Nathan too), had about a 20 minute time limit before they were telling me, ‘I know mommy!  I saw them already!  You already showed them to me’.  To which I wanted to say, ‘but don’t you want to keep watching to see what they’re going to do, to see if they come to the beach, to see if my dream of seeing sea turtles on the beach is about to come true????’.  The answer to this question, without me even saying it aloud, was a unanimous NO. 

And so, we saw Sea Turtles swimming in the water in Hawaii.  And with the help of a zoom lens and the magnifying tool in our editing software, we could really see them after the fact. 

But, I do warn my family, don’t be surprised if you all get dragged up to the North Shore again on some other trip, because these Sea Turtles Tales are not over!!


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Categories : Hawaii

To Pack or Not to Pack

11 05 2021

As we approach the halfway mark on our family trip to Hawaii, I am realizing that everything that I painstakingly decided to pack for our trip, wasn’t just about sunscreen, swimsuits and what/how many shoes to pack. When I packed for this trip, I was imaging the type of trip we would be having and the experiences that I hoped to have on this trip.

For instance, I packed myself two magazines, a book and my journal. I imagined lazy afternoons at the beach flipping through magazines that I never had time to read at home, uninterrupted time to delve into a book I bought specifically to enjoy on this trip, and time to myself to self-reflect. I mean, I’m not saying that I haven’t had time to myself, BUT, hahahaha. The reality is that I haven’t cracked open my journal, I’ve read a couple of intermittent chapters in my book (which with mom brain, means I don’t really remember what I’ve read), and I have in fact finished one magazine in a week’s time. The reality is that when we’ve been at the beach, I’ve been spending time in the water with my girls as they experience the excitement of the water and the waves, and the magic of water wings and their own buoyancy.

My intention for this trip was to finally make use of the water wings I packed, since they have been packed on several trips in the past and have never made it past prancing in front of the mirror in the hotel room. And this imagined vacation experience has come true! We have spent more than half of our trip at the beach and in the water (we have yet to step foot into a pool). The waves are calling to the girls, and for someone who has never been that comfortable in the water, I couldn’t be happier. I see how proud Lucy is when she walks right into the water without hesitation, trusting in her water wings, and starts paddling off into the waves. (I also see the looks of concern of the people around us, when they see a four year old, paddling around by themselves without seeing us watching close by). I am in awe at Brooklyn’s comfort level and fearlessness as she frolics in the surf, pretending to be a mermaid and twists and turns as she lets the pull of the waves toss her around and has figured out the instinctual pull of the water as she rides the waves onto the beach. In fact, yesterday, the girls gave us step by step instructions on how to swim and paddle and how to ride the waves.

Other random things that were packed: Nathan was adamant that he wanted to bring our small egg frying pan, with visions of making egg sandwiches for breakfast. I packed a bag of chia seeds and two small containers to make fruit and yogurt chia seed parfaits for breakfast. Happy to report back, that breakfast sandwiches and chia seed yogurt parfaits have in fact been eaten for breakfasts!

I packed my runners and a travel yoga mat with the hope that I would go for walks/runs and continue on with my streak of workouts on my workout app. Super surprised and impressed, that YES, I have in fact gone on a few runs this trip, and found some time to do some sort of workout on my app every day of our trip. Proud of my dedication, but I do acknowledge that in part it has to do with my obsessiveness to keep my streak alive.

And so, as we round the bend on our trip, and I realize that we have worn our bathing suits 3 times over, and have yet to wear half of the clothes that I packed, I’m taking a moment to reflect, to appreciate what our family trip has become, to enjoy the memories that we are creating, to be grateful that we can spend this time together as a family, and to kind of laugh at myself for what I thought this trip would be.


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Categories : Hawaii, Oahu

This Year…

30 12 2020

As the year comes to an end I’m left with very mixed emotions.  It’s December 30thand I haven’t written a post since last November.  Actually, I haven’t written anything since last year.  I think back to celebrating the first moments of the year 2020, sipping glasses of champagne with family, sharing hugs and kisses and laughter and the excitement for what a new decade could bring.  

I think about traveling to Boise, ID in February to see friends right before the world came to a halt. Although just a long weekend trip, and what we thought would be the first trip of many in 2020, this became our big trip of the year and maybe the most important because of what it symbolized. Friendship. Family. Community. A commitment to keep and strengthen long distance relationships.  It was our last trip not touched with the uncertainty and hesitation to give/receive hugs, to have our kids play together, to go out and have a beer.  To live with the same innocence that we thought only children had.  

So thinking about all of this makes me sad.  And honestly, I’m not quite ready to look at the world with silver linings and super optimism, because this year has been a tough one to wrap one’s head around.  It has been a year of loss and grief, uncertainty and anxiousness, heartbreak and many other emotions that I can’t express. Not being able to receive hugs when you’re hurting or give someone a hug when they are hurting is an almost physical pain.  And that part breaks my heart; that we haven’t been able to give and receive comfort in a way that is the most natural to us.  

But, although there has been lost friends, lost family, and lost babies; there has also been new babies and new friends and a strengthening bond between spouses and family.  Friendships have been tested and strengthened this year and although it makes me tear up at the things we’ve all had to deal with without the physical presence and comfort from each other, it does make me happy to know that I have these amazing friends who are there to celebrate the happy moments and also listen through the tears.

This year has brought me a new community, a new home and a new sense of home.  It has brought me sweet moments with my girls and comfort in knowing that they are versatile and can adapt to changing environments.  It has brought me the knowledge that Nathan and I will always push each other, and our company, forward.  

This year has humbled me. 

It has brought me a feeling of vulnerability and the realization of how much we have and how lucky we are (which also brings about a bit of fear to know how much we have to lose…but I’m going to try not to think about that). 

The year 2020 began with bubbles and laughter and lightness.  It is ending on a heavy note, with a lot of reflection and a focus on being present.  My hope for 2021 is that it shows me the opposite.  A mixed emotion, heavy start and a light ending full of laughter and bubbles.  I don’t know how we get from here to there, but I want to think that it’s possible and that we’re all starting this year holding onto someone and the appreciation of the small things that bring happiness: the smell of fresh baked bread, the sound of your cat purring in your face, the feeling of peace watching your child sleep, the joy when you realize your favourite Christmas movie is on Disney+, the sense of relief when you wake up and realize you still have 2 hrs to sleep until your alarm (OR the realization that you slept the entire night without waking up until your alarm!).  Today, at this moment, I find happiness in knowing that I found my writing voice again, at the very end of the year, I experienced that tangible feeling I get when inspiration hits and a post writes itself.    


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Categories : Washington

ummm…should we or shouldn’t we?

10 11 2019

Today we had a lot of magical moments that took place after I thought we had one of those epic fail moments on vacation when you realized you probably made a bad vacation decision…

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Waimea Falls Park

This morning would make the 3rd time I have convinced Nathan and the girls that we should go to Laniakai Beach to look for sea turtles.  We went twice last year, and this year I was convinced that things would be different, and that I wasn’t just dragging along 2 toddlers across a busy street, onto sand that was hard to get a steady footing on, to be almost hit by oncoming crashing waves.  Today…we would see SEA TURTLES!  This mantra carried us through all morning, it got us in the car by 8AM, and it got us back in the car after breakfast.

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But alas, NO sea turtles…again.  The lifeguards actually apologized and said that usually they are out….but not today.

Last year, we carried two scared and crying girls back to the car, but this time the girls wanted to take their shoes off so they could have their toes in the sand (their words, not mine).

And so we ended up enjoying our time at the beach, despite not seeing sea turtles, and got the sweetest photos.

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We had decided that today was going to be the day that we packed in a road trip type day and drive the North Shore and then down the windward side of the island, seeing key landmarks like the Crouching Lion and Chinaman’s Hat rock formations, the Banzai Pipeline, enjoy the grounds at Turtle Bay Resort.  Well, the girls fell asleep, so we skipped Turtle Bay, breezed past the Banzai Pipeline after I took a quick look, and the rock formations…well, they’re really just rock formations.

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We contemplated stopping at Kualoa Ranch for lunch, but after parking looked busy decided to move on…..but I hadn’t given much thought as to what would be after that.  It was either fast food…or Honey’s…..

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We found ourselves driving down this intensely green jungle-like road on our way to ‘Honey’s Restaurant’, supposedly a restaurant on the Koolau Golf course.   We drove through a gate that said First Methodist Church, and I thought I saw another sign about a golf course, but I didn’t know if it was a gate, or another road….(turns out it was a gate with a bunch of chickens, roosters and cats hanging out at it, which is also weird).

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Finally we can upon a building amidst these towering green cliffs, and it was the weirdest feeling….like, is this right?  Did we/I make the right decision?  There are no people around, are we sure we’re in the right place?  We walked into this quiet and empty building, walked down the stairs (still no people), into what appeared to be a restaurant, and saw a sign to seat ourselves.  Finally we saw some people (two tables).  So, yes – we were indeed at a restaurant, but what were we getting ourselves into.

Turns out we stumbled upon this perfect, quiet, empty, amazing setting to have lunch.  The girls fed fish at a koi pond, walked over this picturesque bridge and were these two little spots of red and blue amidst a sea of green.  It was so surprising and unexpected.  But it was enough for us to stay awhile, get out the big camera and go a little crazy with the pictures.

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Loving the random memories and photo ops that we are finding here…


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Categories : Hawaii, Oahu

To Sink or Swim

6 11 2019

I grew up on an island, 10 minutes from the beach, and never officially learned how to swim.  And although I have since gone snorkeling (with a life vest), gone scuba diving (and landed on the bottom of the ocean), and fallen off of a sailboat (while still in the marina), I have never really found myself very comfortable in the water.  I wish I did.  But my preference is to keep myself in water that I can touch the ground in and never open my eyes underwater.

And so, I do my very best not to extend my water discomfort to my two girls who are just discovering what water is all about.

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Today I pushed down my own fears as I watched in awe as they body surfed in the oncoming waves in the shallows of our beach cove and shrieked with glee when the waves splashed them in the face, spun them around in a circle and did not care one bit that they were my babies who have practically no beach/water experience.  They pushed me way beyond my comfort zone, and I had to fight back the urge to rush to their rescue and save them from the waves, while also being uncomfortable with how the waves were pushing and pulling me.

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Luckily, Nathan is comfortable in the water, and just kept telling them to keep their heads up, always watch the oncoming waves, that when one wave goes out, another one is coming in, and to spit out the water.

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All in all, today I found myself unbelievable impressed and inspired by my girls.


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Categories : Hawaii, Oahu

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