Travel
I grew up with parents who wanted to help us experience the world. From building a log cabin in Oregon to living in London, and everything in between.
Because of this, each of the nine kids in my growing-up family inherited a travel bug. Thankfully, my husband has embraced this travel love. He has even become a fellow expert at packing light.
Oh it takes work and planning to make family travel work. But this type of exploration has woven golden threads into the tapestry of our family. It has given us “Thin Places” we cherish.
Dave and I love to show our kids the world. We have taken our kids on service trips to places like Africa, Peru and India. We also lived for a semester in China.
Dave and I also love to travel, just the two of us. Recently we got to spend our 30th anniversary in Portugal and Croatia.
It should be noted that you don’t have to go out of the country to provide experiences for your family. Some of my favorite travel experiences have been found in simple road trips. Anything that takes you on a journey to experience something new expands your mind. And strengthens family bonds.
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Our Houston Rodeo Experience – What to Do in Houston for a Weekend
Our friends from college live in Houston and invited us to join them for a weekend to experience the Houston Rodeo. What to Know…
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How to Make Family Travel Work with Kids (Real-Life Tips)
If you’ve ever wondered how to make family travel work—especially with kids, busy schedules, or a tight budget—you are not alone. I’m a huge…
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Visiting Adult Children: A Quick Trip to Palo Alto and San Francisco
There is something so magnificent to me about visiting your adult children and getting a glimpse into the life they are building. Dave and…
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The Best Day Trips from Sydney, Australia – Two City Get-Aways
While visiting Claire’s mission in Australia, we took two day trips from Sydney. Of course, there is so much to see in Australia. It…
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Visiting Sydney, Australia – Made Beloved Through an LDS Mission
I want to take you on a little visit to Sydney, Australia. The land where Claire lived and served an LDS mission for eighteen…
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Split or Trogir in Croatia? – How to Visit Both
After our three days on the Island of Hvar, we loaded up and took one last ferry to the city of Split. We had…
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The Best Way to Spend Three Days on Hvar, Croatia
Let’s go back to our 30th anniversary celebration back in June. Because I’m going to be kicking myself forever if I don’t write all…
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Two Days in Dubrovnik, Croatia – A New Favorite
Ok, so I talked about the first part of our anniversary trip. The part where we explored Portugal. Next we headed to Croatia. I…
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One Week in Croatia Guide – My New “Thin Place”
We spent one week in Croatia following our one week in Portugal to celebrate our thirtieth anniversary in June. And I want to share…
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One Week in Beautiful Portugal – Part 1 of our Anniversary Trip
When Lucy got accepted to this college prep program, Dave and I were pretty elated. For her because it seemed to be the perfect…
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One Last Visit to Iowa – A BBS Clinical Trial, and Good Friends
Dave, Lu and I left Dave’s family birthday/visitor week to head out for one last visit to Iowa. For a good doctor who is…
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Sister and Mother Earth Love – two days in Sedona
A couple weekends ago I got two days in Sedona, filled with my sisters and exuberant Mother Earth. I don’t kid about that exuberant…
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The Glory of The Bamboo Forest – A Pretty Great Hike
Ok, so I have a few stragglers from our “Christmas switch-up” I want to keep track of on here. One of the things I…
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How We Did Something Different for Christmas This Year
I mentioned before that we were going to do something different for Christmas this year. In lieu of gifts, we opted for a family…
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The Best Things to See on an Alaskan Cruise
Ok, so I explained the background of the whole Alaskan cruise to celebrate my in-laws 60th wedding anniversary yesterday, but today let’s talk about…
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A Visit to Elle & Carson’s magical land of Palo Alto
While Dave was in China last week, Lu and I took the opportunity to take a weekend to go visit Elle and Carson in…
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The Maid of the Mist and other Niagara Falls Beauty
When you map out a road trip to Palmyra, you notice that Niagara Falls is close-by. And if you have never been there before,…
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A Visit to Boston – My Old Stomping Grounds
One of my favorite parts of Boston, Trinity Church and the John Hancock Tower.
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Summer Travel- How We Love to Pack Light
Summer time often leads to summer travel. Whether it’s a road trip, traveling to a family reunion or a long-awaited trip to Europe, Dave…
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“If ye Lack Wisdom, Ask of God” – Church History and a concert that Made My Heart Full
I’m starting in the middle of our New England Tour rather than at the beginning. Because it’s Sunday today, and there was a concert…
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Wrap-up of Lucy’s Summer Job on Blakely Island
Phew! This summer is just whizzing by like nobody’s business! We’re over half way through and boy, do I have a lot I want…
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The Best things to do in Vancouver!
Let’s talk about the best things to do in Vancouver, because we just had the chance to go there for our anniversary. It was…
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the power of family and Māori culture in New Zealand
In my posts about New Zealand I promised to come back to talk about the power of Maori culture in New Zealand. Because what…
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High Adventure things to do in New Zealand
When you think of New Zealand what do you think of? Before I visited there, my visions of New Zealand, for whatever reason, were…
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the Magic of the New Zealand Redwoods
IT’S MY MOM’S BIRTHDAY TODAY. Which happens to be Earth Day, too. Which is very fitting for my mother. The giver of life. The…
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What we did on the South Island of New Zealand
I really thought I could get this all in one blog post, but alas, I ran out of time yesterday. The first part of…
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How we visited both New Zealand Islands in Ten Days
Back in March we skipped a whole day flying twenty hours ahead to a land filled with emerald green hills, no trash, umbrella ferns…
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One Day in Brussels, Belgium
Dave and I spent one day in Brussels, Belgium as a layover with Paul and Angela en route home from Sierra Leone. We arrived…
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MLK weekend in California & Lucy’s solo flight
We headed to California for MLK weekend. Dave and I left a day early for some doctor appointments (that ended up being cancelled which…
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The best things to do in Sierra Leone, Africa
Ok, so I introduced Sierra Leone last week. But I only barely touched on what we did there. And oh how I want to…
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how two families found light in the “wilderness” — Sierra Leone
I’ve been thinking lately about how we each, individually, find ourselves in our own personal wildernesses. Over and over again. Are you with me?…
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how to make the most of three days in rome!
Before all these details fade from my memory forever, let’s talk about how to make the most of three days in Rome. Because in…
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A great way to see rome — a vespa tour
This was perhaps one of the most exciting thing for the girls on this section of this trip. A great way to see Rome…
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A visit to the Rome Temple
Tomorrow I’m working to wrap up documenting the tail-end of our MFMP trip. The part where we visited ROME. I kind of dropped the…
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visiting NYC with a child with special needs
Let’s talk about Lucy’s experience in NYC this time around. Because NYC with a child with special needs is different from the NYC we’re…
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My new favorites in New York City
We only had a few days in NYC this time around, and our goal was to just enjoy. Squeezing in a bazillion things doesn’t…
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two couples Living the dream in the heart of New York City
I want to tell a quick story about two couples living the dream in the heart of New York City. Ok, it’s not really…
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People and places I love in Utah
While in Utah for Fall break we made our way around I tell you! Thankfully for everyone else’s sake I just wasn’t left to…
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A bit of a Fall foliage obsession
I have a bit of a fall foliage obsession. Every year near the end of September I start feeling this wild yearning to get…
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Exploring the ruins of Pompeii with the best guide!
One of the most fascinating parts of our trip was exploring the ruins of Pompeii with the best guide. Yow. We weren’t going to…
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A quick Guide to hiking “the Path of the Gods”
While in the Almalfi Coast we got to hike. My favorite. Here’s a quick guide to hiking the Path of the Gods.
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The best way to explore the Amalfi Coast: in a boat
While staying on the coast of Italy, we were introduced to the best way to explore the Amalfi Coast: in a boat. Here’s the…
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Two splendid Days on the Amalfi Coast!
After we left Florence, we had two splendid days on the Amalfi Coast. Oh boy, this was a huge bucket-list place to see for…
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One day immersed in the art and wonder of Florence
We had one day immersed in the art and wonder of Florence. Elle was our “guide” and led us to all things beautiful.
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the best way to see London Highlights
Our first stop on our MFMP trip was London since we were picking up our girl Claire from her study abroad. We were so…
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A mother/daughter art “treasure hunt” in Italy – our first “MFMP”
Our first “MFMP” trip is in the books. A Mother/daughter art “treasure hunt” in Italy. What is that, you may ask? Well, I have…
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Claire wraps up her adventures on study abroad
Welp, Claire has officially wrapped up her adventures on study abroad, and she is glowing from all that she’s learned and experienced. I don’t…
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How to make the most of one Day in Santorini
We had one day to visit one of the top places on my bucket list. Here’s how to make the most of one day…
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The best things to do in Ephesus, Turkey
In my original Greek Islands cruise post I promised to come back to write up the best things to do to in Ephesus, Turkey.…
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the best way to see those magnificent Greek Islands
I’ve had a map of Athens pasted up in my closet for as long as I can remember. I have been hoping to somehow…
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A Quick Guide to One Day in Mykonos
We had one day to explore the Island of Mykonos. Here’s what we did.
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The best way to spend Five days in Thailand!
Thailand is so filled up with beauty and goodness it’s hard to narrow down what to do. This is what we did with our…
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A Quick 15-hour Layover in Taiwan
Dave and Max both spent two years as missionaries in Taiwan, so we loved having a 15-hour layover there to explore.
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a celebration of some new skills in Newport
Welp, we have a new paddle boarder in the family. I’m not sure if I wrote about this or not, but the last time…
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indoctrinating kids with NYC love
It’s funny how parents pass down things they love and don’t love, little and big. For example, I think every one of my kids…
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A Tiny Village, the Famous MACHU PICCHU, and Life-Changing Surgeries
This is “PERU part 2.” “Part 1” is back HERE, and the intro to all this hoopla is back HERE. And I know I…
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Alpacas, eye screenings, and hiking a portion of the famous Inca Trail in Peru
The intro to this post (along with two backstories), is in the last post back HERE. We all fell in love with Peru. The…
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An introduction to six quick days in Peru (with two backstories)
As I packed up my hiking backpack early that morning my hands wouldn’t stop shaking with excitement. Because THIS was our next stop: Those…
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a pretty great way to celebrate some graduates
Lake Powell just might be Dave and my favorite spot. I mean, I don’t know that there’s much better than being cradled in those…
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a little unscheduled skip up to ski in Utah
The weather reports in Utah were too good (so much snow!) so we decided we better pack up and head to those mountains that…
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warm Christmas vibes leading up to the big day
We had an opportunity to skip off to Cancun with Dave’s siblings for a few days leading up to Christmas. So took it! We…
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a volleyball recruiting trip to NYC
At the end of October I got to go on a volleyball recruiting trip with this girl to NYC. It was a little bit…
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A visit to experience the beauty of the South
A short sum-up: life was crazy, then I wrapped everything up and headed to South Carolina, so anxious to meet up with all those…
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how to see some mighty beauty from above and below in Switzerland
Ok, so here’s the wrap-up of our trip with our married kids to Europe (links to the other parts at the end of this…
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The grandeur of the Swiss Alps with my Swiss family
My brother is one of my favorite people. Well, I have five brothers, and they’re all my favorites for all kinds of different reasons,…
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two days in the Italian Dolomites
(Continued from back our “Arrival in Venice” post back HERE.) Ok I’ve been trying to figure out how in the world to try to…
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A little introduction to a grand adventure — Venice
You know how sometimes a plan fails miserably, and other times things just seem to somehow fall into place against all odds? We got…
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Claire’s summer adventure
I had a long conversation with Claire over the weekend. Time zones are tricky and internet isn’t all that great these days for some…
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some summer adventures
I am feeling my dear mother’s pain with summer schedule coordination this summer. Phew! She is always coordinating and situating and trying to figure…
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One Day in Arches National Park
…and some of Canyonlands too! (Canyonlands neighbors Arches and it’s pretty do-able to visit both in a day, which I completely recommend, especially if…
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a little bit of Iceland eye-candy for the weekend
My friend had the opportunity to go to Iceland recently. Looking through her breathtaking pictures made me want to relive some of our own…
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Costa Rica a different world ago
I am working hard to catch up on life over here. And on the documenting of it. I’m working on my “March little things”…
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a day in the life of Wisconsin doctor visits
Ok, really “two days” in the life, but from the time we leave to the time we get back it really is close to…
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the Maasai Mara–a safari, part 2
Laikipia grew smaller and smaller as we took off in our tiny airplane on the grass landing strip. We landed in the Maasai Mara,…
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Laikipia–a safari, part 1
I better get my act together and write about our adventures in Kenya this past summer now that I finally have this blog format…
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the beauty of clean water, tribal names and goodbye — Uganda part 3
We spent one of our mornings in Uganda teaching safe water/health and hygiene in the shade of a big tree in a little village…
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a day in the life in Uganda, and a daring repelling adventure — Uganda part 2
One of the favorite people we met in Uganda was our driver, Isma. He has so much light in his face, and it was…
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building and teaching — Uganda part 1
As a preface, this really isn’t “part 1” since I already wrote about Uganda HERE and HERE, but this is the first part of…
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adventure along the River Nile
There were lots of crazy parts of this trip. Trying to teach a whole slew of attentive students on the fly, all seated with wide,…
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Africa: Shifting Up Our Boggle Game
This summer we packed up our kids and took them on a two-week adventure in Africa. One week in Uganda to help build a…
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thoughts late on a Monday afternoon…and the tradition of Coronado for the 4th
I am sitting here basking on the memories of all the hoopla surrounding celebrating the 4th of July. That is a good holiday in…
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from one desert to the next…one day in DUBAI
We took an opportunity to spend a one-day layover in Dubai en route to Africa. As he was negotiating the logistical operations of our…
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Taiwan — the end of Max’s island and a “double day” on to Elle’s
After our lunch with Max’s wonderful mission presidents, and a visit to their home and the mission office (last post), we took a LONG…
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two days in BANFF
Last week Dave, Elle and I lucked out and got to spend a couple days in one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever…
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a quick trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats
Growing up much of my life in Salt Lake City, the Bonneville Salt Flats have always kind of fascinated me. They are the remnants…
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art with art lovers at the SFMOMA
Growing up my mother nourished us with art (post about that back HERE). Art in music and art in paintings, art in literature, and…
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Lake Powell 2016
There’s a big chunk of my heart sitting over at Lake Powell. Dave’s too. We adore that gorgeous spot probably more than any other…
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California coast road trip — part 2, the end
Warning: There are a lot of pictures in this post. And a large percentage of them are jellyfish. And part of the story is…
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coast of California — part 1 (including Hearst Castle)
For years I’ve been dreaming of driving the coast of California. So much beauty there! It’s been beckoning me to come explore. I’ve always…
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California road trip — the beginning
This summer we spent a big chunk of time in California. When you live in the desert you’ll do anything to try to beat…
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Grace’s masterpiece video covering our Iceland adventures…
…right here: iceland from grace pothier on Vimeo. Made me tear up as I watched it again just now. I’ll be forever grateful for…
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Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss and Jokulsarlon…try pronouncing those suckers! (Iceland part 2)
Our second (and last) day in Iceland was spent visiting two waterfalls and driving for hours on end to get to the glacier lagoon.…
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Iceland – The Golden Triangle
Back in June, we took an Iceland Golden Circle family trip en route back from Europe. When you fly Iceland Air you can have…
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tributes to our time in Paris and London from Grace
Ok, here are two more of Grace’s videos.Makes me want to pack my bags and head right back on over to those magical places.…
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the best nine-year-old traveler and the tail-end of London
Let’s talk about our favorite stops with kids in London. But first, see this girl right here? And see where she is pointing?…
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Grace’s video on Switzerland
Grace has whipped up a few videos from our Europe trip. You know when something helps you remember something precious, it becomes even more…
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the Queen’s birthday, an interesting bike parade, and a whole lotta girls
As I mentioned before, we lucked out and got to be in London right smack dab in the middle of the Queen’s 90th birthday…
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London tea party with Charity
Ok, we didn’t actually do a tea party, although that was an option in my sister’s grand itinerary. We just didn’t quite have enough…
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Versailles and a whole slew of amazing art (the tail-end of Paris)
Welp, we somehow set ourselves up for an incredible art tour in Paris. And we fit it all into ONE DAY! We knew we…