Last month we spent 2 weeks in McCall, ID. This was our first snowbound destination and I’ll be honest – I wasn’t sure what the verdict would end up being?

Our itinerary was to spend 1 week in McCall for their Winter Carnival with some amazing friends at their family cabin and then to spend our second week (just the 5 of us) in a condo for some skiing and snowboarding at Brundage Mountain.

Taylor and I had been to McCall many times but we’d never gotten to take the kids in the winter and in fact the last time we’d been there with snow, it turns out was like 15 years ago (just typing that makes me feel really old). Plus we’d never gotten to ski at the resort before, and, oh my wow – was that a treat! So without further ado, let me share our itinerary and experiences on our winter wonderland vacation.

The McCall Winter Carnival –

If you live anywhere in the Northwest, add this to your bucket list. Winter Carnival goes on for 2 full weeks in February. We experienced the final week of it. They have a huge list of activities, and adventures to be had during winter carnival. My personal favorite part of the carnival were the ice sculptures. There were 36 in total this year and they were all over the town. We made it a scavenger hunt and set out to find as many as we could. One of the ice sculptures was even at the top of a ski lift at Brundage Resort – it was a huge train, you could even get inside the cars.

 

We also went Gold Panning which was a free activity they had available during winter carnival. All of the kids loved this and came home with little bags of jewels and gold. They were thrilled.

 

And then there was BINGO. Have I ever told you about Taylor’s love for Bingo? Oh man, he absolutely loves it – so when we saw family bingo on the docket, there was no way we weren’t going to be attendance.

On the weekends of the carnival, above the lake in the center of town they had all of these stalls of crafts, products and fair type food stalls. We, of course, had to try some of the foods.

We tried a Mac’n’Cheese drilled cheese, bought some Elk Jerky, but hands down my absolute favorite was the Bacon on a Stick guys! I tried Steak on a stick and Bacon on a Stick (cause how’s a girl to choose between those options!?!) and I have to say, Bacon-on-a-Stick won. In fact, I may be drooling right now thinking about that bacon-on-a-stick.

And then there was the grand finale, the winter carnival closed with a firework spectacular over the frozen lake.

McCall in the Winter –

I was shocked by how much there was to do. I was worried we might run out of things to do but we ended up not even getting to do all the things we wanted to do. We never got to ride the fat bikes or use the indoor pool at our condo. But we definitely didn’t have any shortage on fun.

And of course, My Father’s Place is a must for burgers and their ‘Mile-High’ shakes. 

In the center of town is the ice skating rink, Gabriella has been begging to go ice skating for forever it seems like, so that was a must. Since the rink is basically the focal point as you drive into main town, the keep it gorgeous and really well kept.

Then there were the hot springs. This had to have been one of my favorite days. We got up and headed to Brundage to ski. Left the mountain at 4pm and went directly to the Gold Fork Hot Springs. I think we have for sure found the perfect way to end a day on the slopes. My body was so grateful!

The pools go in order of heat. So the kids were able to find a sand bottomed hot spring that was perfect for them. It was big enough for them to swim in. The girls were giving each of us exfoliation treatments with the sand (I happily accepted feet, hand and arm treatments).

 

Brundage Mountain –

This was our first time skiing Brundage and it definitely will not be our last! I didn’t even know that skiing could be like this! It was amazing.

Brundage is a smaller resort which I loved! It’s called the hidden gem and I completely understand why now!

 

The runs are lined and dotted with trees making it truly feel magical and the powder was insane. We were laying fresh tracks all day every. Plus the tree lines added an extra level of fun for my boys who are a bit more adventourous than us girls are.

I’m (mama) not as die hard as the rest of the fam, although I’m working on it! So I have to admit that I loved sneaking over to the lodge for a little reading and cocoa time. Even snuck in an hour of work between runs!

So the recap: McCall and Brundage Resort were a huge hit! So much so that we want to make it an annual thing! It turns out that McCall has convinced us that we really do love winter holidays!

Sunday is easily my favorite day of the week. I love that no matter where we are in the world, we can find a place that feels like comfort. Becuase isn’t that what “home” really is? It’s that place where you feel safe, warm, and comfortable. That’s what going to church is for me, may it be in Tokyo, Dublin, Hong Kong, or Sydney.

Even on our last Sunday in Japan when we didn’t understand the language, the Spirit I felt still brought me back to that same feeling of “home.”

So how do we find a church building? Well, we go to Mormon.org/meetinghouse, put in our current address and find where we can go to partake of the sacrament, worship the Savior, and meet new friends.

Meeting new friends…. There is no way to express into words what this has meant for us on this trip. And, even more so, how much gratitude and awe I have for the Saints we’ve met in every branch and ward we’ve attended throughout our travels.

The Saints across The UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia… in every single country, they have left us inspired by their kindness and their thoughtfulness. I don’t know if there has been a single Sunday where we haven’t left the building we’ve met in without saying something about wanting to be more like these amazing Saints.

We are just visitors, only there for a week or two and yet each time, these Saints have taken the time to invest in us, to get to know us, and to make sure we feel welcomed and loved. I truly don’t know how we would have been able to do what we are doing without the constant knowledge that every Sunday will bring us back to another amazing group of disciples who are truly acting out their Christian values.

It seems that every time any one of us was having an especially hard time, maybe feeling a little lonely that week, or just needing a little pick me up – without exemption, someone we met at church would become the answer to our secret prayer.

Here only a few examples, but I could truly go through Sunday by Sunday and share someone, somehow who was the exact answer one of us, or often all of us were needing.

London had been our very first stop, and everything had gone wrong from the moment we stepped off the long flight and found out that our AirBnB had been canceled. We can laugh about it now, but it was still to fresh that first Sunday. We were tired, worn out, and as parents – Taylor and I were feeling especially defeated. In we walked on our very first Sunday abroad to the White Center Ward in London, we needed nurturing, healing and hope, and we needed a big dose of it. Well, these Saints over delivered, this was quite possibly one of the most spiritual church experiences of my life. The members of this little ward were so welcoming, so loving – at the end of the meetings we watched a young man open his mission call and I felt the tears slip down my cheeks as I experienced the joy this ward family was feeling for this 18-year-old young man who had chosen to give two years of his life to serve God full time in a country he’d never been to, in a language he did not yet speak. The joy was palpable.

On that same Sunday, we also met the McQueen family! What an answer to prayers Emily, Chris, and their kiddos were! Oh my gosh. We were all feeling lonely, we were overwhelmed, and we were pretty homesick. Add to that, Taylor and I  both feeling very nervous that we had just bitten off far more than we could chew.

They too were just visiting London, they’d been there about a month and this was to be their last week. I had wished it was more, but our one day together was enough to pick me back up, to help me believe I could do this crazy adventure we’d thrown ourselves into, and to feel ready for the chalenge again. We hit it off and became instant friends, it felt like we’d known them for years.

In Ireland, we attended a little branch in Sligo for 3 weeks. The area this branch covered was massive; we met in a little rented office space – the whole branch consisting of 19 people, 5 of which were us and none being children besides our own. And yet, Sunday after Sunday they welcomed us, fed us, loved us. One couple was particularly inspiring to us, they drove an hour and a half both ways to get to church each Sunday, because they lived so far away they couldn’t have the missionaries over for dinner, so instead, every Sunday they fed the entire branch in the little foyer after church. The kids absolutely loved that little branch, we all did.

In Hong Kong, we first met these amazing women at the Hong Kong temple on Saturday, then they found us on Sunday. I can’t even remember the last time any of us were hugged that many times.

In Tokyo, we were not able to find an English speaking ward so we walked into a Japanese speaking meeting prepared just to listen and let the feelings be out interpreter. But someone noticed us, found someone to translate, and they sat with us through all our meetings translating the words for us. The kids had been so nervous going into that ward, but once again they left all smiles because of the incredible Saints who had loved and taken such sweet care of them.

In Melbourne, we walked into that ward with what would seem like an impossible prayer. It was one day before Halloween, and the kiddos desperately wanted to trick or treat, the problem is – Australia doesn’t really participate all that much in trick-or-treating. It’s apparently an American thing (I never knew). At the end of our meetings, we met the incredible Moore family. They invited the kids to get to trick-or-treat at their house, decorating just for them. They continued with their service to us, inviting us to dinner, babysitting the kids so that Taylor and I could go to the temple and the kids wouldn’t have to just wait in the waiting room this time, and checking in on us and answering questions as we’ve traveled through Australia. But more than all of that, they inspired us and showed us (without even trying to or really knowing it) the type of Christians that we want to be.

This is why Sunday is my favorite day of the week.

It’s funny because I thought the lesson we’d take from church abroad would be commitment. And it was but not in the way I’d thought. I was expecting that we would become more aware of how blessed we are to have church buildings only minutes from where we live and cars that get us there each Sunday, and while we are all grateful for that – I don’t know if any of us have ever missed the convenience. We have taken busses, and tubes, walked miles and ever ordered Ubers to get to church, but all of the efforts have only made Sunday’s sweeter. It gives us time to ponder, talk and share what we’ve learned, how we’re feeling. Most of all it gives us time to talk about the amazing people we meet each week.

The real lesson hasn’t been about a commitment to get to church, it’s about a commitment to live the Saviors admonition to love. Over and over as a family we have talked about the lessons we have learned from the incredible Saints we’ve met through our journeys. They have truly been the strength to our nest and the comfort we have needed many times over.

If you would like to know more about The Church of Jesus Christ, you’ll find all kind of answers HERE. Or, we’d love to chat with you personally! Please never hesitate to reach out to us.

You have two major theme parks to choose from in Hong Kong. The first is Ocean Park, which is Hong Kong’s own theme park boasting an aquarium, water show with dolphins, animals, and rides. The second option is Hong Kong Disneyland. We had the hardest time deciding which one to go to. Our minds were actually made up to go to Disney, (being from the states we have a ridiculous love for Disneyland in California), but after recommendations continued to come in for Ocean Park we decided to spend our one day for an amusement park, where the locals recommended.

You will definitely want to plan a full day for the park! It’s divided into an upper and lower section. The upper has most of the rides and the cold weather animal exhibits and the lower has the aquarium, more animals, and the water show.
The thing about Ocean Park is that you can’t go in comparing it to Disneyland, which I’ll admit is exactly what we did. We are use to the parades, the light show, and just that DL magic, and in that respect, Ocean Park will disappoint (I guess that should have been more obvious to us. As I type this, it’s really obvious). But Ocean Park has plenty that you couldn’t experience at DL. with tons of its own fun to be had. Seeing the Red Panda, the panda bears, the penguins and the water show were definite highlights for us. I’ll go through each section of the park and share the best of and what we could have missed.

One important thing to note is that they offer a fast pass of sorts called a FasTrack. After a very long line to get up to the upper half of the parkGondola Gondala and another long line for the first ride we waited for, we decided to  splurge on the FasTrack. Our thinking was that we only had the one day and we wanted to see as much as we could. Well, we never had any long waits after that, plus the FasTrack only works 7 times and that’s the end of it, plus it’s only for certain attractions. Well, it turned out Paysen wasn’t tall enough for almost any of them. I don’t think there were even 7 options he was eligible for. So we would NOT recommend investing in the FasTrack unless it’s a really crazy day and you buy it first thing. Had we had it for those first two things, it may have felt more worth it.

The Rides
Ocean Park has 7 to 8 real Thrill Rides (I’d say for the true thrill enthusiast there are 3). Our family happens to full of true thrill enthusiasts, especially our youngest, Paysen. This turned out to be problematic because he just hasn’t quite made the height for those rides yet. So if your kiddos are ride seekers and around 7 to 9 they may be stuck sitting out on a lot of the rides. As I remember Adi (11)  was able to go on all of them, Ella (10) got to ride most of them but poor Paysen (8) didn’t make it on many of the rides at all, especially because a couple of the rides he was tall enough for happened to be in renovation at the time.

The Animals

This is where Ocean Park really stands out! It was an amazing experience to see the red panda feeding (make sure you check your schedule so you don’t miss it!) We also loved the playful penguins and we couldn’t get over the cuteness of the arctic foxes. Getting to see some of the incredible animals of Asia was a definite treat!

Ocean Wonder Water Show  (3 Showtimes Daily)

The Water Show was a highlight! Watching the dolphins and seals do their tricks was so much fun. Make sure you don’t come too late because the gates to get closed. Paysen and I went to save seats while Tay and the girls rode on another ride P wasn’t tall enough for and they almost didn’t make it in at all.

The Grand Aquarium 
The Aquarium wasn’t anything spectacular but it was still beautiful and it was fun having so many different elements to the day.

Symbio! Water Show (7pm Nightly) 

This is maybe where we made the biggest mistake comparing the Ocean Park Water show to Disneyland. Not a fair comparison. This is not their grand finale to the day in the same way that Disney’s nightly shows are. It was pretty and the fire component was really fun but this is just a little part of the day. The real show stopper w as The Ocean Wonder Show with the Dolphins.

To see how we spent our full week in Hong Kong, click here.

Never in my life did I imagine I would get to experience Hong Kong. It’s one of those places that I thought you only went to if you had business there or you were a super secret spy operative chasing down the bad guy or … that’s actually about it. I wasn’t sure why else you would have a reason to get to go.

That being said, it’s probably pretty obvious that Hong Kong was a complete surprise addition to our destination list! We had been trying to figure out where to go for September… Trying and trying, and nothing felt right. Finally, we stumbled on a killer flight deal that went from Seattle to Hong Kong to Tokyo. And that was it. We decided to go home to Seattle for a few weeks and then hit the road again, this time changing direction and heading to Asia!

I’m so so happy we did! Hong Kong is an incredible and awe-inspiring metropolis (as I always imagined it). But it turns out that it’s so much more than that! It is an incredibly family friendly destination that I will never again see as just for the executive traveler.

Above everything else, I couldn’t believe how SAFE we felt in Hong Kong. Also, the language barrier wasn’t much of a barrier at all. Most locals spoke English, or at least enough to help us out. And the kind and polite nature of our non-native confusion was overwhelming!

We only had 5 days in Hong Kong before we headed on to Japan so we wanted to make the absolute most of it! We decided that instead of our normal go-to of AirBnB we would stay at a hotel. We knew with our short stay we wouldn’t be grocery shopping and cooking in plus we really wanted the conveniences of a hotel who could help us through our adventures.

We chose the Dorsett Hotel – Wanchai because we heard it was extremely family friendly and it was! They left treats in the drawers for the kids, a basket of books for them to read which were chosen based on their age, goody bags, it was amazing! The kids were in heaven!

The view from our room.

A little treat was waiting for the kids when they started looking through every single drawer and cupboard – as they always do!

So I shared that one of the big reasons we chose Dorsett Hotel was for its family friendly reviews, and it did not disappoint. One of our favorite touches was the book basket that the hotel provides for all their younger guests, the basket is filled with age appropriate books for your kiddos. The kids loved it, and how awesome is this adorable little reading nook in The Ocean Park Suite!

 

With only 5 days in Hong Kong, we tried to have a bit of a plan ahead of time (we are terrible planners for the most part) for how we wanted to spend our days. So what is there to do in Hong Kong for a family – tons! You won’t be running out of things to do. There is, of course, the incredible culture of China.

DAY 1: Big Buddha & Caple Car Ride

I actually had to pull this image from Google (source) because thy day we went Buddha was completely enveloped in fog. But even despite that, we still enjoyed the day! There are a couple of choices on how to get up to the Big Buddha, both of which will culminate in front of the steps. There’s no avoiding the steps, and you shouldn’t – it’s right of passage.
We opted to take the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car up to the monetary and Big Buddha statue and then we took a bus back down. The view from the cable car was amazing! What was funny for us was that when we left it was completely clear skies, and for the first 1/2 of our ride, we had breathtaking views, but the further up we climbed, the more the clouds came into view. By the time we got to the top, we could barely see a passing cable car the fog was so thick.

Even despite the fog, I’m still so happy that we made this part of our itinerary. Besides, the fog almost adds to the ambiance. 🙂 

DAY 2: The Markets, Exploring the City, and the Water Show

We arrived as the vendors were setting up their stalls and spent the day exploring the marketplaces of Hong Kong. There are several, each with different purposes. We explored the flower market, the food market (of course).

Each night at 8 pm, there is a 13 minute light show off Victoria Harbor called, ‘A Symphony of Lights’ – it’s something I worked really hard to see. I’ll be honest, the photography on the tourist sights makes it feel like a must see, in reality, none of us were particularly overwhelmed but the light display itself but it was still beautiful seeing the city at night and I would absolutely recommend taking in the view!

Day 3:  Ocean Park Amusement Park

This is definitley an all day event. I think I’ll give Ocean Park it’s very own review post. But for now I’ll share that this was day 3 in Hong Kong for us. is Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s very own amusement park. We went back and forth on if we would spend our one theme park day at Disneyland HK or Ocean Park. The consensus from locals was that Ocean Park was the way to go, so we followed their advice. The park was great but if your kiddos are ride seekers and around 7 to 9 they may be stuck sitting out on a lot of the rides. As I remember Adi (11)  was able to go on all of them, Ella (10) got to ride most of them but poor Paysen (8) didn’t make it on many of the rides at all.

Rides are not all Ocean Park has to offer, though. They also have the animal component including the penguins, panda bear, dolphins, the red panda (this was a highlight for Adi!), and make sure you don’t miss the arctic foxes; it would be easy to do. And then there is The Aquarium as well.

Ocean Park has it’s own water show, which we were really looking forward to. I’ll be honest, it was okay but it doesn’t compare to California Adventures World of Color Show or the Disney parades. This was probably the most epic moment of the show – the fire element was a really fun addition to the show.

The reality of playing hard all day long! 🙂 Mom becomes the ultimate pillow as we take the subway ride back to the hotel. We don’t look it, but I promise we are happy – just worn out and ready for our beds.

Day 4 – The LDS Hong Kong Temple

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, temples are an incredibly sacred and special place for us! They are dotted all over the earth with 1565 temples in operation today. It’s a dream for me to make it every single one – I think I’m on 17 temples so far so we have a long, long way to go. But it’s a fun dream!

With that dream and because temples are a place of peace and comfort for us, we’ve made a point to get to every temple we can throughout our travels. Getting to spend time in the Hong Kong temple was incredibly special and probably my favorite day spend here.

The kids are not quite old enough to go into the temple, Adi will actually get to start going when she turns 12 in December. So for now, they have to wait. They have been absolutely amazing about this! AMAZING! They sit in the waiting rooms of each temple with books and magazines and quietly sit, patiently waiting while we go inside.

 

Day 5 – Heading to Tokyo, Japan

It’s time for the next leg of our adventure and that means it’s another travel day! But I felt like I should share that the Hong Kong airport is amazing! Isn’t that so funny, but it really is! Even though this airport is absolutely massive !! it’s laid out so well that we had no problems navigating our way through. With plenty of signage and always an English option we were able to get everywhere we needed to go including their massive food court area for some lunch before we boarded our ANA flight for Tokyo. Which by the way is the absolute best airline we’ve ever flown!

I didn’t step foot onto a college campus until I was around a Senior in high-school. In part, this made me terrified of college (there were definitley other factors at play too). It just seemed so daunting, in fact so much so that I couldn’t imagine myself ever going to college. I wondered silently (to embarrassed to actually ask anyone), ‘how did it work, would I know where to go, what to do, how to get food’… I was so sure I would starve, never find my way to a class, and who knows what else that it wasn’t until after I was married and had moved onto the BYU-Hawaii campus (for Taylor’s education) that I finally got the courage to enroll myself in college.

All of that leads me to why it’s so important to me that my kiddos walk the grounds of as many universities as I can show them, and it’s something that I absolutely love to do now as well! Before Trinity College, Harvard was my favorite campus I’ve ever explored… Now I think we have a tie.

Trinity College is most famous (as a tourist spot) for the Book of Kells, but just walking the grounds, taking a campus tour and seeing that magnificent library (which comes at the end of the Book of Kells self guided tour) is an incredible experience even without the magnificent Book of Kells.

We almost missed Trinity College all together. It’s hidden in the heart of the city, you don’t even know you’re there except that the little dot on your Google Maps is telling you that you are. You walk around, confused, sure that you should be able to see something if it’s really right here, and then you turn the corner and find the one entrance…

The large gates draw you in and walk you through the incredible ancient stone wall that has protected this incredible sanctuary of learning for hundreds of years, and you can’t help but be in awe.

Our main reason for coming to Trinity College was actually not the Book of Kells but rather the library. This was how I convinced the kiddos it would be fun… I only had to say those two magic words, “Harry Potter” and they were in!  You see, I’d read that the library is what you would imagine the Hogwarts Library to be like, and with some serious Harry Potter fans in our family, it became a must see.

We were not disappointed! The library is an absolute wonder! It’s history begins with the school’s opening in 1592, but it truly started in grandeur in the 1660’s when it got some large collections including the Book of Kells. The library’s collection is massive with over 6 million volumes amongst it’s shelves, making it the biggest library in Ireland, and I’m going to say the most awe inspiring library in the world! I can’t imagine how anyone wouldn’t be inspired to learn, grow, and achieve within these walls.

TRAVEL TIPS: Trinity College is hard to spot, so don’t be afraid to ask a local to point you in the right direction. There is admission to see the Book of Kells and Library exhibits (€30 for our family of 5), and there typically is a bit of a queue to get inside – so if it’s a hot day, have water on hand. If you’re not on a tight budget and you love learning the history behind what you’re seeing, the walking tours looked awesome. And from what I was able to ease drop in on – they sounded great too!

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