Te Awamutu

 Saturday morning, and a family trip to Te Awamutu (where Gran's family mostly lives) was on the plan. She had set a 9 am departure time, and even with six people to run through the showers at her place (our beach house seems to have a fatal flaw -- only enough hot water for one shower), we were close to on time. We all piled into the van -- me, Justin, Gran, Grandad, Uncle Garth, Cameron,...

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Lunch, Kayaking, and Old Friends

The clock is so incredibly confusing when it changes like it has lately! Bria decided to start the day at about 4:30 am, and everyone was up and ready to head to Gran and Grandad's by 10. We had a casual day, with a few interesting adventures thrown in for good measure. Cameron and Maia decided to walk from the beach house to Gledstanes Road, but got lost along the way, and a search party was formed....

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Transpacific flight with four kids

This summer, my husband and I took our family on the dream vacation. We went to New Zealand, hubby's home country, for a two week visit around the North Island. We visited family, we went to an engagement party, and we played tourist. But first, we had to get there! Due to some crazy last minute circumstances, this meant a drive from our home in North Dakota to Los Angeles via Seattle (what...

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California Highlights

Our California coastal drive was beautiful and long! As the day wore on we needed to stop for food, so we pulled into the little town of Pacifica. We settled on what looked like a mom and pop cafe, and it turned out to be quite a surprise! The menu was Malaysian and Thai and super yummy. Everyone really enjoyed the meal and we left full, full, full. We had curry and pad thai and short ribs...

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Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

When we roadtrip, we usually try to make at least a few stops at National Parks, especially ones we have never visited before. Sometimes these little side jaunts are the most memorable parts of a trip. In fact, there are two investments our family has made that have proven to be among the most fulfilling. The first is our annual National Park pass. The second is the National Park Passport book. For...

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Portland - Powell's Books

We left Seattle this morning and were on the road again, this time south to Portland! Justin's train was due in 10 am, so we had to head out early. The drive was beautiful. Along the way we saw the capitol building in Olympia, some awesome roller coasters, and Columbia River. We got into Portland only a tad bit late and picked Justin up at Union Station (which is a really cool place in its own right). We...

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Seattle by night - limited time engagement

Once the family was well worn out from swimming, we grabbed some dinner and then went back to the hotel room. I got everyone settled and then went back into the city to meet up with a friend from high school. Plans called for starting the evening with the Underground Seattle Tour, but traffic had different plans! I got there in plenty of time, but my friend wasn't able to make it before the tour...

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Seattle by day - Pike's Place Market

On the way into Seattle today we had the unique treat of seeing the participants in the Rock & Roll Marathon. They walked, jogged, and ran in the closed down express lanes of the freeway, and we rolled down the windows to cheer them on! It was really inspiring to see the athletes. We drove around downtown to check out the tallest buildings in the city, trying to decide which would give us the...

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Seattle, Washington

Today's objective: Cameron's passport. Cameron, Jeff, Cara, and I met up at the passport office at 8 am and commenced the hours and hours of waiting. At times it was kind of nerve wracking, but by 3 pm we were in line to pick the magic book up from will call. Phew! Government bureaucracy took up the bulk of our day, but we did manage to see a few of Seattle's sights. We drove by the Space Needle...

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