Catching Up

Hello!
Sorry for the radio silence on our end the last few weeks...it's been very busy out here! As you know, we moved into a new apartment two weeks ago, so we've been getting settled in and enjoying our new home. My fabulous father came to visit and helped us move and let me tell you, we could not have done it without him! 

It was a long and very HOT day, since it was during the "Seattle heat wave" we had for a solid week, but we got through it. Trav and Jimbo even managed to squeeze in a DIY project, installing a new ceiling fan to help with the heat. A few days after my Dad left we ended up ordering a portable air conditioner since we just couldn't take the heat anymore. Even though we'll only need it a few weeks out of the year here, it's been worth it! 

We are LOVING our new place. It's much larger than our last apartment and has tons of natural light with views of The Space Needle, Mt. Rainier and Puget Sound. It's nice to have a place we look forward to coming home to at the end of the day...that was not hte case before! The best part though...we can't hear our neighbors! WOO HOO! We've actually been sleeping at night and aren't listening to screaming/yelling/stomping around all day. Peach and Herb weren't quite as excited at first about the change in scenery, but they are feeling more at home now. 

A few photos from the move...

Herb hiding under the covers pretending this isn't happening...

The amazing privacy at our old apartment...the view from the walkway into our bathroom. So glad we don't live there anymore!

Who needs a moving crew when you have this guy carrying two sets of golf clubs, a ceiling fan, camping chairs, etc. all in one load. 

The gents tackling the ceiling fan project

Last weekend we enjoyed The Bite of Seattle, a food festival at Seattle Center (by the Space Needle). We ate and ate, and ate some more. It basically felt like the MN State Fair (without the kids on a leash, tie-dye families, Crocs w/ socks, mullets, etc.). Here are a few highlights from our eating adventures (includes a fried PB&J sandwich, which was surprisingly delicious).  

Fried mac n' cheese bites

A corn dog from "Mexico" at Corn Dogs of the World...included jalepeno and cheese. Yum!

Fried PB&J

Chocolate berries on a kebab 

Yes...we ate A LOT. Don't judge! We also went into the beer tent for an afternoon tasting. I stuck to several varieties of hard cider since I'm not much for beer. We made some delicious discoveries, including a pineapple cider and a grapefruit cider. So refreshing!

Trav has been doing some work travel recently and took a few great shots from his trip to Oregon. He has been onsite at a project he's working on which has been a great experience for him to see his work in the field. Here are a few photos of the area and Mt Rainier from up in the air on his flight. 

We have a lot of family and friends visiting in August and September and we are so excited to have them here and show them around our new city! Hopefully everyone is enjoying their summer as we're more than halfway through...I can't believe it's almost August already! We've officially been in Seattle just over three months, woah that went fast! 

Until next week...
Cheers!
KP

A Weekend in the Sun!

Good evening!
What a GORGEOUS weekend in Seattle it has been! Since we arrived, we have been hearing from everyone that as soon as July 4th rolls around, summer decides to show up and it's beautiful out from then on. I guess they were right, it has been hot, sunny and delightful here! I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day. 

I will admit part of my heart was back at home in MN since my family spent the day on the boat, Lotsa Ladies, out on Lake Minnetonka together. It has been a few years since the boat has been in the water so it was a bitter pill to swallow when I heard that the first cruise in several years would be without Travis and I onboard. However, it did bring me a lot of joy to know that my family was out on the teal cruiser enjoying a lovely day doing what we Engstrom folk love best...being on the water, enjoying some good tunes, cuisine and the best company around. It brought a smile to my face to imagine my favorite skipper, Captain Jimbo, back where he belongs : ) 

Trav and I enjoyed our first July 4th here in Seattle, we went on a nice 25 mile bike ride and explored the Burke Gilman Trail. The trail was extremely busy with everyone out for the holiday, but it was a nice ride by the water around Lake Union and some other parts of the city. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed our favorite trail snack (PB&J sammies). Here are a few photos from our ride:

As I have shared, we are moving into a new apartment later this week, so most of our weekend was spent packing. Oh how fun it is to pack up all your things only two and a half months after arriving in your new home. Oh well! Onto bigger and better (and quieter) things! 

One of the things that really bothered me about the move process out here was the amount of paper waste that we generated with the movers we used. Don't get me wrong, it was really nice to have a relocation company come pack you up and move it all for you, but I was disgusted by the amount of cardboard and paper that they used. This time I rented "Frogboxes" instead of using cardboard boxes...they are plastic totes that you rent for a few weeks and then return so others can use them. 

Although I love the Frogboxes, packing up your stuff in a tiny apartment while trying to live there a few more days is challenging! We are so excited for the move, especially because our favorite moving expert is coming to help us : ) My dad happened to be traveling out to Seattle for work the same week we were planning to move, so he graciously offered to help us. As many of you know, with four daughters who have done their share of moving around, he is quite the expert in moving efficiently. We can't wait to see him and are so lucky that we have such generous people in our lives who are always there for us! 

Since the weather was so phenomenal today, we were looking for an excuse to get out onto the water. Since we don't have a boat, or know anyone with a boat, we figured it was a good excuse to pretend to be tourists for the day. We decided to take the "Duck Boat Tour" around the city, which is split across land and water. It was a fun way to learn a bit more about the city, see a few places we haven't ventured to yet, and of course get out onto Lake Union. Here are a few shots from the excursion, we saw lots of cute houesboats and even a Delorean (very random). 

We finished off the day with a few hours up on the rooftop deck at our apartment. My pale MN skin needed some color (not without SPF 50 of course) and it was too nice out to be inside. Per usual, I was tortured by the departure of the cruise ships right outside our door. On a scale of 1 to 10 my desire to jump on one of these and head to Alaska is a solid 12. Needless to say, watching them pull away from the dock every weekend is just a slap in the face. However, the view isn't too bad, so I can't complain : ) 

Not too much else to report except a busy week ahead with packing and moving! Can't wait to report next weekend from our new location in Lower Queen Anne! Here are a few other random photos from the week, including Trav's favorite Seattle breakfast discovery (Brioche French Toast), some pics of Seattle Center and of course a cat or two!

Enjoy your week, we miss you all!
Cheers!
KP