Category: The Seattle Times

We are strangely obsessed with presidents, so it was such a thrill to visit Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. (Monticello is a bit further out — next time!)

Impossibly cute pandas!! I am rarely one to buy souvenirs (hey kids, the TRIP is your present) so they were stunned when I whipped out two panda stuffies at the National Zoo in front of the panda enclosure. (Pre-purchased at Ikea, $3.99. )

Showing the kids our nation’s capital was a bucket list item delayed 2 years by you-know-what. But SO worth it. These boys ranked D.C. above Disneyland. I am the kind of person who researches everything to death, and I condensed the tips I learned about how to make the most of a trip to D.C.…

Visual evidence that I did something fun — WITHOUT KIDS! Ten days of school left, time is running out for interruption-free mom dates.

We had a blast checking out Remlinger Farms on opening weekend. I wrote about what’s new and different this year for ParentMap here.

Paul is 7! May our birthday boy have a year full of joy and pandas.

The last of this year’s cherry blossoms…

Snacks from Taiwan to Indiana to Seattle!

Chemistry lesson: Combining compounds, a solid and a liquid to make a gas. Never gets old. We also swirled sugar cubes in water at three temperatures (room temp, icy and microwaved) to see which one would dissolve the sugar fastest.

Remember complaining about having to cover press conferences? Yeah, don’t take that life for granted. It has now been almost two DECADES (!!?) since my last press conference and it was strangely soothing to go to one today. The stars aligned perfectly: A. I happened to have my gear with me. B. The presser took…