"I'm not doing a hike with the word 'misery' in the trail name!" I said to Bryce as I carried our 20-pound baby on my back. We had just crossed the footbridge over the river at Smith Rock State Park and the trail sign in front of us was for Misery Ridge Trail. There were… Continue reading Baby’s first canyon hike
"What was that?" he shouted. "Something just brushed up against my elbow!" "Ohhh, I think that was my hair!" I shouted back to our friend amongst the loud crowd. "Just like we haven't been to a game in more than two years, I also haven't gotten a hair cut in more than two years!" Despite… Continue reading Our first 90 minutes out
Salty air. Sunday sun. Waves crashing. Dogs barking. Kids laughing. Small dead crabs strewn about. Deep green seaweed scattered about. Barnacle-covered rocks. White sea foam. Her first beach walk at low tide. Well, "walk." She's not walking on her own quite yet.
Up until last week, 75 percent of our family had never been to the Skagit Valley tulip fields. Bryce had seen the tulips from afar while driving by but had never actually been to the fields in his +15 years of living in Seattle. Seeing that baby is well, a baby, and our dog had… Continue reading Yellow, red, pink and purple
When we received the save-the-date in 2021, we were hopeful we'd be able to attend our friends' March wedding reception. All events would be outdoors. Our baby would (fingers crossed) be vaccinated by then! (I know, I know ... you're eyerolling at how naïve I was!) Before the news broke that more research would be… Continue reading Fun while it lasted
Scroll, scroll, stop. Tap, read. Sigh. Scroll, scroll, stop. Click, read. Sigh. Cry. Maybe repeat. Maybe go on a walk. Maybe take action. Maybe no maybes. OK.
The weather forecast for last Saturday was supposed to be "good." For Pacific Northwesterners, this means no rain. We decided to take full advantage of this by driving 60 miles north of Seattle to Camano Island. (Baby's first time on an island, check!) While Camano Island is technically an island, you don't have to go… Continue reading Always take advantage of good weather
Today is Lunar New Year. I feel like in the last few years, Lunar New Year has become really hip among corporations and businesses. No matter the product, they have their Lunar New Year sales and promotions. Even my local newspaper has a "Happy Lunar New Year" banner at the top of their website with… Continue reading Happy Lunar New Year! … to those who celebrate …
Every New Year's Day, my mom would make osechi ryori, traditional Japanese New Year foods. Actually, I need to correct myself. She'd be cooking all day and night before New Year's Day. If we weren't home in Seattle, then we'd have an even more elaborate osechi in Japan with my baa-ba (grandma). In recent years… Continue reading Flower carrots, sleep deprivation and memories
Sometimes I see the notifications comes into my email that I gained a new blog follower. "Oh, that's nice," I think to myself. Nice that someone out there is interested to subscribe to a blog that has been dormant for 12 months. How did this even happen? There are a few factors. The first half… Continue reading The last 12 months
otter travel more 