Quick Getaway to Seabrook in Late June

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Quick Getaway to Seabrook in Late June

This weekend, we went on a mini getaway with friends to Seabrook. It was our first time there, and we loved it. I see why it's a popular family destination! It felt safe, had many kids' activities, and was beautiful. 

If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it! Keep an eye out as I see specials and discounts on their website for bookings on holidays. Join in with a friend and make it a tradition. I’m ready do it again!

Here’s what we did for our quick getaway the last weekend of June.

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An Indoor Birthday Paradise: Ocean5

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An Indoor Birthday Paradise: Ocean5

I am here to talk about birthdays...again. It feels like my kids have back-to-back birthdays. Oh wait, they do! My younger son has an early December birthday (see post), and my older son has a birthday at the start of January. It's wild. It's hectic. We have a birthday, we have the holidays, we have another birthday. Once January rolls around, I am ready to be done. But I have to power through that last birthday. 

I need something easy but fun. And indoors because, hello, it's January. Oh, where or where can his birthday be? Oh (light bulb), Ocean5. 

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Dash Away to all the Holiday Magic

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Dash Away to all the Holiday Magic

'Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the North End, all creatures were stirring to get out of the house. It's the holiday season, and there is so much to do; the children are excited, and the parents are, too. 

It's true; December is full of seasonal activities and events. Here are a few local events to add to your holiday list:

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Fall Family Walks and Trots

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Fall Family Walks and Trots

Fall is in the air. The breeze is crisp, the leaves are turning colors, and pumpkin spice is in your coffee. What better way to embrace the fall than enjoying a cool, colorful afternoon stroll?  

Let us all get outside and have some fun! Here are some great spots to catch the fall spirit here in Tacoma. 

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All the Pumpkin Patches, Sorta

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All the Pumpkin Patches, Sorta

I love October. It's the beginning of a season full of fun things to do with your family. And by that, I mean there are a million and one pumpkin patches to visit. I'd go to a pumpkin patch each weekend if I had my dithers. Although my energy, homebody-minded family members, finances, front porch, health, and the weather sometimes make that an impossibility. 

The number of pumpkin patches is a bit overwhelming. I want to see them all, do them all, and report back to you on the best. However, I can't do it all. Yup, that's a shocker. Also, I get stuck deciding whether to have a family tradition and go to the same patch every year or try somewhere new. I'm balancing it all this year by doing a new patch with the kids on the day off (parent-teacher conference day FTW) and then going to our usual patch as a family over the weekend. If the stars align, then one more. I don't know, time will tell. 

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Pumpkins, Ghosts, and Tractors--Oh my!

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Pumpkins, Ghosts, and Tractors--Oh my!

October and the last few months of the year are my favorites. They are full of holidays and cheer and, better yet, fun activities to entertain the family. My kids love Halloween and all the excitement surrounding the holiday. What kid doesn't love candy, dressing up in costumes, rolling through leaves, and carving pumpkins?

It's prime activity season! There are often so many activities and events it can be tough to choose. Let me help and break it down into three great things to try this month.

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Squeezing into Fall: Apples!

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Squeezing into Fall: Apples!

September is a transitional month—shifting from summer to fall and from summer break to school. We're not quite fully launched into pumpkins (although you might find a pumpkin spice latte already), but we are ready to leave strawberries and watermelon behind.

Cue the apples. Apples are here to help with the transition.

Set down your lemonade, and grab a delicious cider. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are lucky to have apples locally for picking, squeezing, and playing. You can do so many fun activities with apples. Make September all about apples!

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New Moms and Where to Find Them in Tacoma

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New Moms and Where to Find Them in Tacoma

Motherhood. It’s without a doubt, the biggest, most life-changing thing that’s ever happened to me. Your world completely goes upside. You try to prepare for it, and you hear all the advice and stories from others, but there really isn’t any way to know what it’s like until you actually experience it for yourself.

I was working in the corporate world, commuting on a bus, going out to dinner on Saturday nights, staying up on Netflix binges. Then, boom: we had a baby. I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, and life hasn’t been the same since. Honestly, it was such a challenging transition in my life. There were smiles, for sure, but there were definitely tears. The thing that helped me the most was talking to other moms and making friends.

As a new mom, it’s hard to know where to turn to meet other moms and make friends. I get shy and uncertain in new environments where I don’t know anyone. I get nervous texting and calling people. I often re-think every word I say to every person. So how did I do it, you ask, here’s some ways!

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Summer Camp at Snapology

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Summer Camp at Snapology

Summer is around the corner. Today the sun's rays are shining, and I am starting to feel that summer excitement. I do love the low-key nature of summer without the morning hustle. Yet, I sometimes need a break in the summer: enter summer camp.

We have a few camps lined up: the First Presbyterian VBS (Vacation Bible School), Camp McCullough, and finally, two Snapology camps. That's it. We need some time for Raising Tacoma activities, too. Wink wink.

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Snow Tubing at Snoqualmie Summit

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Snow Tubing at Snoqualmie Summit

What kid doesn’t love some time in the snow?! You know what’s even better? When you can slide down it super fast. At least, my boy’s opinion…and frankly, I love myself a good thrill down the hill as well. It makes for a fantastic family outing.

In the past, we’ve gone to Hyak for sledding. Here’s my post about our adventures there. It’s a great option if you’re looking to do something a bit more frugally. This time, we went for the more premium experience at the Summit at Snoqualmie.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already got some inside to our tubing adventures. Here’s the highlight for your viewing pleasure. However, you might not be an Instagramer, and that’s cool. Let’s talk about it here on the blog.

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What do to with Tacoma Holiday Visitors

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What do to with Tacoma Holiday Visitors

I'm picturing this: you're all sitting in the living room looking at your phones with the kids poking you, saying they are bored.

That's a sign to put your phone in your pocket, grab a jacket, and scramble to your car to get out! But, the big question: what to do? It's tough! Sometimes it's hard to know what to do because you might have a range of ages visiting for the holidays. Maybe a grandparent that can't go for long walks or a young singleton that is up for more adventure. Here are some ideas that can help guide you this season.

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2022 Fall Bucket List

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2022 Fall Bucket List

Fall is coming up and is official on September 22nd. We’re preparing to bring in the window A/C units and break-out the pumpkin recipes. Of course, we’re also ready to grab all the pumpkin lattes out there in town. My husband proposed get a new pumpkin latte every Friday. Ha!

Fall is my favorite season. The flavors, the colors, the smell, and even the weather is usually pretty great—yup, sweater weather! Do you love this season? Either way, this bucket list will get you in the fall spirit. See the download button below to get your own PDF.

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Oregon Coast Getaway

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Oregon Coast Getaway

Our Seaside Trip this June was celebrating so many things in my family. Mainly, we celebrated my parent's 50th anniversary. While their anniversary is in November, summer was the best time to get the whole family together. Getting the family together was their number one priority for celebrating. We also celebrated my 40th birthday, father's day, and my sister and BIL's anniversary. We were a big group of six adults and two kids. We had a great time together!

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Choose Your Summer Adventure: Raising Tacoma Style 2022

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Choose Your Summer Adventure: Raising Tacoma Style 2022

In typical Heather style, I had a summer bucket list going. Then the list kept growing and growing. When I tried to put together a cute one-page summer bucket list, it didn’t fit. Oops!

Yup, I tend to do that. There was a time when I had to share my list with my husband at the beginning of the weekend with all the things I wanted to get done listed (and guys, this was pre-kids). He would go through and cross off things because I always…ALWAYS…made it too long and ambitious. No human being could possibly get it all done and stay sane.

Instead of crossing things off on this mega summer list, I decided to share it all and have you “choose your own summer bucket list adventure!” Pick a few things from each section to design a summer bucket list catered to your family and kids. Some of these you can piece together to make one totally awesome day…in my over ambitious mind. ;) Perfect, right?!

Take a look - share what you want to do! Or ping me for a summer adventure together…I’m game!

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Ultimate Indoor Nerf: Gotcha Arena

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Ultimate Indoor Nerf: Gotcha Arena

I’m going to whisper a word in your ear: nerf. Did your kid hear it? Because I think my kid heard, he is in the other room. I kid…but nerf is like the real-deal big kid thing - they love it. So imagine the thrill of nerf plus a huge arena where the imagination can run free. Yup, that’s Gotcha Arena.

While I enjoy a good game, I thought Gotcha would make the perfect dad and son fun day out. They invited two other dad and son friends, and it was game on. They had a total blast. In fact, they went a few weeks ago, and all the boys (and dads, haha) are still talking about it and want to go back. They had a blast. My son is planning his next birthday there, which is over six months away. Needless to say, this place is a great time. Let me tell you all about it!

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Cruising Through LeMay Car Museum

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Cruising Through LeMay Car Museum

When it comes to the LeMay Car Museum, have you asked yourself these questions…

  • I wonder if my kid is old enough for the LeMay Car Museum?

  • I am not much of a fan of cars. Will I like the LeMay Car Museum?

  • Is it worth a visit to the LeMay Car Museum?

  • What is inside the LeMay Car Museum besides just cars?

I sure did. I don't know why I was so unsure about it. I worried my toddler would want to touch all the cars, and some museum employee would come up to me and say, "excuse me, ma'am, your child is touching everything; you need to leave. We'll escort you out."

Then one blustery day, while my in-laws were visiting, we didn't know what to do with the poor weather, so we just went for it. If we didn't like it, eh, no big deal. And guess what: we all loved it!!

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The 411 on Tacoma Playgrounds

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The 411 on Tacoma Playgrounds

Playgrounds! Every parent’s go-to when we’re not sure what to do. Nine times out of ten your kids will enjoy it. Not to mention, a fabulous way to get the wiggles out and promote a good nap time or bedtime. But we all know some playgrounds are superior to other playgrounds. Parents have preferences. Kids have preferences. Luckily, there is no shortage of playgrounds in the area, so we always have a somewhere to go.

Someday I hope to have a post about each park on this list with an in-depth look at what’s there and tons of photos. Until then, I thought I’d give the quick 411 on each park (Does anyone really use 411 anymore? Did that just age me?).

If I missed something that you think is important to acknowledge, please write a comment. I will be trying to keep this post current, so I’ll make periodic updates to it and can include anything you guys want added.

Lastly, we live in North Tacoma with a 2-year-old and 5-year-old, so some of these parks we frequent more because they are just closer to home and better for my kids ages. So all that said, let’s dig in.

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Port Angeles Getaway

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Port Angeles Getaway

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that we went on a little trip to Port Angeles in March with our two boys (ages 2 years old and 5 years old). We had a lovely trip and so I wanted to share our adventures with you. If you’ve been to Port Angeles, please share in the comments any awesome experiences you’ve had there!

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A Morning Adventure in Vashon

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A Morning Adventure in Vashon

I’m a do-er. I love to do things. With kids it became harder to do things since we have to navigate around naps, bring a car load of things everywhere, and basically get them to leave the house without (too much) whining. Not to mention my obsessive need to keep to a schedule. However, we still manage to get out and do things as a family. Sadly, 2020 had to come bring the coronavirus which crushed all our plans and ability to do much. It’s been a challenging time, in many ways.

Anyway, I get this itch every few months to get out to do something bigger. Last summer we managed to get out to the Washington coast, but by the beginning of October I was itching to do something again. The answer was: Vashon! It’s close to home and yet feels like a big adventure. We went for a full morning and returned in home to catch a late nap for the little guy. It was the perfect day.

Here’s what we did for our Vashon morning adventure (note: we visited October 17, 2020):

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