In 2018 we traveled in Japan for the first time. In 2025 we went again. We revisited favorite spots, discovered new places and enjoyed experiencing Tokyo and Kyoto with and through our kids, now eight years older.
Tagged: family vacation, Japan, Kyoto, Tokyo, travel
Tagged: 17th birthday, birthday, party, Penny
On August 21, 2025 I walked away from him with tears in his eyes. Within an hour, another parent sent me a video of him filming a Tik Tok with his newly made friends. That put my heart at ease although it would become heavy for the next few weeks as I adjusted to his absence.
Before he left for school we made a deal that every Sunday we would talk. That lasted for two weeks. But I’d get texts and calls throughout the week. When he was struggling I’d hear from him more, when he was thriving I could barely track him down. I adapted to the way he needed to communicate and obsessively tracked him on Life360 for my own peace of mind.
This first year went by fast and full.
Tagged: college, fraternity, freshman year, USC
Tagged: girls trip, Malibu pier, Malibu wine hike
Porto is Portugal’s second-largest city and a historic, UNESCO-listed “Invicta” (undefeated) city known as the birthplace of the nation’s name and its famous Port wine. We stayed right in the city and spent most of the two days we were there walking everywhere, in and down alleys and past charming cafes, wonderfully surprised by the colors and age of every building.
Tagged: family vacation, Porto, Portugal, Spring Break, travel
The Douro River Valley in northern Portugal is the world’s oldest demarcated wine region (since 1756) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for its dramatic, terraced vineyards along the river.
Tagged: vacation, Spring Break, Portugal, Douro Valley
With fully intact 13th century walls, Obidos passed through the hands of the Celts, Phoenicians, Romans and Moors, was given as a gift from King Dinis I to Queen Isabel in 1282 and for 550 years remained the property of Portugese queens who sponsored the construction of churches, town improvements, and a 16th-century aqueduct and by surviving the 1755 earthquake is now a storied town housing 3,100 inhabitants within it’s historic walls.
Tagged: family vacation, Obidos, Portugal, Spring Break, travel
Lisbon is the second oldest European capital and has been the capital of Portugal since 1255. Known as a town of seven hills, the windy, steep streets give way to stunning viewpoints around the city.
Tagged: family vacation, Lisbon, Portugal, Spring Break, travel
Tulum was the perfect spot to celebrate Anthony’s 50th where we could be as old and as young as we felt. 
Tagged: 50th birthday, Anthony, Mexico, travel, Tulum
Celebrating Lola’s 80th birthday brought her two kids, two children-in-law and six grandkids to Vegas. A grand reunion to celebrate a grand life.
Tagged: birthday, Las Vegas, Lola, Lola 80th birthday, Lucas, Lucas 19th birthday
Our Everyday 