Category: family adventures

American Girl Doll, california, Disneyland, family adventures, Review, travel

American Girl Doll Store ~Los Angeles ~Review

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American girl just released their Disney Doll Collection and it was perfect timing with our trip to Disneyland. We knew we needed to plan a detour here to not only visit the flagship store but also to treat our little to some Disney Magic for her doll . She loved it all!

After checking out the whole store, she was able to narrow down her choices and pick a beautiful new Cinderella dress for her doll to wear for Disneyland ✨It was so much fun! Have you seen these sets? They are so beautiful and come with so many unique accessories. They are $55 each set and considering the quality and the accessories I feel like it’s a great deal . The dolls are $125 each but again such a great value for what you are getting!

Our little has been on her own agenda with wanting to visit all the @americangirlbrand stores when we travel and so Los Angeles ofcourse was on her list! The Los Angeles store is located in Westfield Century City and is absolutely beautiful! .The mall is in the heart of Los Angeles so grab coffee before driving there as traffic is almost always crazy. This past year we also visited the Nashville and Washington DC stores.


There are two floors ..the main floor is where the salon and shopping is . And the salon has ear piercing and hairstyles for both the girl and their doll. There is also pet pampering too!!

Check out our reel ⬇️

The second floor is the cafe where you can have brunch, lunch or our favorite Teatime❤️

Have you visited the American Girl Doll store in Los Angeles? What did you think? We would love to hear your thoughts on it so comment below ⬇️

Disneyland, family adventures, Gathered thoughts

Teacups at Disneyland

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“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I ca’n’t take more.”
“You mean you ca’n’t take less,” said the Hatter: “It’s very easy to take more than nothing.”
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One of the best rides…ever!

Family activity, family adventures, Goals, pnw

Family Adventure ~ Little Si

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We were up early to try to beat the crowds and were so thankful when we pulled in a little after 8am and there was still parking! Yay! Praise God!

The trail starts steep but then levels out for a bit where you almost think ,”where is the elevation gain? “ Oh no worries .. the last part of the hike is all elevation.

Be on the lookout for rock climbers also. We saw several sets of them ascending the rock face which was very cool.

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As you get closer to the summit you will have some rock scrambling so trekking poles are super helpful especially coming down.

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When you come to the top clearing you are met on the left side with a stunning view( top picture on this post) ! In fact it may be our favorite view even more then the summit!

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Then you climb a little more and are on the summit of Little Si. Mt.Si is behind you and the whole Snoqualmie Valley is in front of you .

Such a fun family hike! It took us about 3 hours round trip and we logged just over 4.5 miles on our Apple Watch.

Family activity, family adventures, pnw, Review

Spring Bloom at Knutson Farms

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We started our Easter Weekend by going to Knutson Farms for their Spring Bloom. It is happening now through May 5 🌷Tickets are $15 per person on the weekend and $12 during the week . It includes all the rides , games , animal barn , Easter Egg Hunt ( limited to March 29/30) , and all the fun photo ops that are throughout the farm.Check out all the fun things we did that were included in the admission ⬇️

Photo props – There are so many unique photo props scattered throughout the farm. We loved exploring and getting pics with them all especially the Jeep ❤️

Beautiful #instaworthy photo spot
Swing photo op
Duck races
Bull riding or lasso practice
Easter Bunny was visiting
Easter Egg Hunt 29/30 only

Animal Barn – Who doesn’t love visiting the animals on the farm? This is one of our family’s favorites! The sheep were super friendly, the goats were so cute fighting each other and the miniature donkeys were braying at us and showing off their teeth . The chickens were on full display and we even saw a Bob Ross imposter duck … 😂

Ready for a pic

Bob Ross imposter 😂

Cow Train & Hay Ride – These were both so fun! They also have a Grain Train you can ride that looks like mining buckets .

Games – sandboxes, jumping pillow , tricycle races , and so much more!

You can also purchase some additional items like the mining experience ⬇️ .. this was so much fun for all my littles! They all got a great assortment of gems and the whole experience was great.

Look at all those gems!!

Another extra you can add on is the the U Pick tulips ⬇️ We all enjoyed picking out just the right ones to take home , and loved learning after the flower dies we can save the bulb to replant 🌷


Oh and can we add the Coffee Cart drinks were amazing! We ordered a few drinks …Berry Bloom Italian sodas and an Iced Lavender Haze ☕️ The lavender haze was so good!! The drinks were also at great price points .

Another #instaworthy photo spot but also a great place to catch up with friends

They have a reward card to earn a free drink .. yay!

Lots of Food Options – and affordably priced!


There is also a super cute store and flower shop . There are all kinds of gift options inside .. cards, gardening, candles , stationery and lots more. We enjoyed picking out some flowers for friends we are meeting this weekend 🌷

Video clip of the adorable store


There is something here for everyone! I was surprised how long we stayed enjoying all of the fun..over 3 hours! This is definitely something you want to add to your plans.It is a great way to support Local Farms in your area❤️

Here is a fun reel of our day at the Spring Bloom ⬇️

family adventures, Georgia, history, travel

Atlanta Historic Swan Mansion sets stage for Hunger Games movie set

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Any Hunger Games fans? Did you know that you could visit the actual mansion President Snow lives in ? The 13,000 sq ft Swan House was built in 1928 and is located in Atlanta Ga in the Buckhead neighborhood and it does not disappoint!
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This beautiful home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also the setting of President Snows house in the Hunger Games Franchise. The Capitol Ball was filmed here as well as scenes of President Snows office which took place in the green room . Oh and guess what! It’s full of history so honestly it’s a win win.

A little history ➡️ The Swan House was designed by architect Phillip Shutze for Edward and Emily Inman. It’s called the Swan House because of Emily’s love of the beautiful birds, and because there is a swan motif that runs throughout the home. Another cool tidbit is it still includes much of the Inman’s original furniture. The house was completed in December of 1928.
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While you’re visiting the Swan House, you can also check out another filming site of the Hunger Games: The Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The interior and elevators served as the tributes’ quarters in the film. The futuristic-looking hotel was designed in 1985 by John Portman.

family adventures, history, Mt.Rainier National Park, pnw

Stevens – Van Trump Historical Monument

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“Our Secret Rainier”by Mountaineers Gene Yore and Mickey Eisenberg refer to these harder to find memorials and plaques of those that have added to the history of Mt. Rainier.
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The Stevens – Van Trump Historical Monument is one of these. It is located on the Skyline Loop Trail by the Mazama Ridge. It is made in the form of a bench so that climbers can sit and reflect on the climbers of past summit push.

This was a welcome site as we descended the Skyline Loop Trail .

faith, family adventures, Gathered thoughts, Goals

Coffee Break & Update

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Coffee break! It has been a season of adventure for me personally as well as my family which means my social media had to take a back seat .. and honestly I’m ok with that! I want to live life full of adventure and experiences to live them and share them but not to do it for the sharing.

Ok so for some updates on what’s happening in our lives and what content you can expect to see.

First of all, we still love traveling and have several trips to still be posted once I get them fully edited with cost breakdowns. I love to see the actual cost of family trips and the value of what you get so that’s important to us to share. In our years of traveling we have not seen enough of those!

We still love Disney .. but God has shown us there are so many beautiful places to see and learn about so we have started broadening our itineraries 🌎

We are still homeschooling and I am teaching at a Coop so lots of content of what I have done or will be doing is in the drafts . Just to note, as we head into this new school year we will have a Senior.. be still my heart!

A new adventure brewing.. this last year I was inspired to climb a mountain.. not just any mountain .. Mt. Everest . Let me just say that this is an adventure in Gods hands that I am learning to trust and show up for. I am completely ok if God only takes me to the base camp or if he takes this from me but for now I am feeling lead to train for it and trust him. Side note, I am not a mountaineer and or have never had any training .. I grew up in Texas so enough said😜oh and this is a 10 year plan 🏔️

In January, a dear friend , accepted my request to train and work toward learning how to climb elevation. She has the skill and knowledge to hike any mountain 🏔️ and I’m so thankful for her knowledge and skill and that God blessed me with her. She encourages and challenges me.

In January , we made a plan and have been going strong ! Guess what! Other ladies have joined us ❤️So you can expect to start to see these adventures soon.

I’m excited to get back to sharing our adventures with you all ❤️

family adventures, travel

Carlsbad Beach 🏄

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Carlsbad beach is simply breathtaking 🌊

The view captured there was absolutely amazing!

There were surfers 🏄 riding the waves as the sun was setting which was so fun to watch.

The ocean was captivating as the tide started to move in and we couldn’t help but get caught by it as it came in. Such a beautiful moment ❤️ I wish we would have had a whole day here just to enjoy it .

family adventures, Review, travel

Family Tour of the USS MIDWAY

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One of our first places on our must see list in SanDiego,Ca was the Uss Midway . The Naval Aircraft carrier is bigger then life and is located in downtown San Diego at the Navy pier.

Finding parking was not the easiest . The parking in the Uss Midway parking lot is small but very affordable ( around 10$ a day) but hard to find. Thankfully we were able to drive around the block and find an open lot to park. The cost was around 30$ for the day .

Once parked, we looked for a Starbucks to grab coffee since it was almost Tea Time . Thankfully, right on our walking path to the pier there was a Starbucks . Yay!

The walk on the waterfront is beautiful! Just walking to the Uss Midway was a treat. It felt like a warm summer day at Christmas 🎄

The cost of the Uss Midway for our family of 5 was around 115$. More then we would normally pay for a Museum but now that we have done it .. we would do it again. It was well worth the money. Just to note ..active Military and law enforcement/ firefighters are free admission ….love this!

Upon boarding the ship, you are offered an audio device to wear around your neck or to use your own device. This allows you to hear more hands on experiences as well as sounds to bring the displays alive .

Once you walk into the ship , it is a visual overload. There is so much to see! Not quite sure where to start, we did the typical right to left plan.

One of the displays that we really enjoyed upon entering was being able to hear the biography of different heroes of the Midway.

One of our favorite finds was the used bookstore hidden behind a display. There were so many unique books in here! There were used and new books and some that can only be found there so it was so hard to choose!

We then climbed stairs to explore ( you will climb LOTS of stairs) . There was something to see everywhere we went. Amazing! Even our littles were so engaged in all the displays . Something about walking through a living history museum like the Uss Midway that is so exciting . Just being there makes it all come to life!

There were so many interactive displays that our whole family was able to try . So cool!!

We then headed to pick up our Uss Midway junior pilot activity sheet for the littles to earn their pilot wings. Kelly was great in helping us get started! Tip: This should be your first stop when you enter ship.

Another thing we loved about the Midway was most of the crew were volunteers! There were so many that had served in the Navy on other ships or in some way that just taking the time to thank them for the service and hear little tidbits of what they experienced was so much more then any history book could offer. Priceless❤️

We then headed to the flight deck to do the island tour and oh my was it amazing! Definitely want to experience this if you are going to visit.

The boss and mini chairs were fun to get pics in❤️

There is so much history here as you tour. You can’t help but learn a little while having fun.

On the flight deck there were so many helicopters and planes that we were able to walk in or sit in. The littles enjoyed being able to look at their own pace and explore.

Embracing Peace ~The Kissing Statue

This was a replica of the famous Life magazine photograph in 1945 . It is quite stunning to see in person❤️

It was fun to see the NCIS room on the Uss Midway. It’s one of our favorite shows to watch the reruns of so that was pretty cool.

Our time on the Midway was Amazing! If you are in San Diego then it’s a must on your adventure plans .

family adventures, Review, travel, Universal

Gringotts Bank Notes

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Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn,

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

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Thankfully , you can get your very own Gringotts bank notes by exchanging your muggle money in increments of 10$ or 20$ at the Gringotts Bank @unistudios . You can use the bank notes throughout the parks or keep them as souvenirs .

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Did you know , The motto of Gringotts Wizarding Bank was Fortius Quo Fidelius, a Latin phrase that meant “Strength through loyalty”?