I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday. It's a gorgeous Spring morning here in Seattle - birds chirping, Mount Rainier is out and the sun is shining bright. Unfortunately another round of the bad cold/cough has hit our house and Trav and I are both quite under the weather. I've been up for a few hours - couldn't sleep since I'm coughing so much. So I figured, make use of the quiet time and catch up on the blog.
It's especially relevant this morning since I just realized today is exactly one year since we arrived in Seattle! It's so crazy to think how much change we've encountered in the last 365 days - new jobs for each of us, 3 new places to live, new people and now a new baby on the way! Wow life is quite different than it was a year ago. We are so glad we took a leap of faith and moved out here, it has been quite an adventure and we love Seattle. Anyway, enough nostalgia for now...
Last weekend we were lucky enough to have some visitors! My mom and sisters were all in town for a girls weekend. It was so wonderful to see them and have all of us ladies together. I hadn't seen them since Christmas, so they hadn't seen the growing baby bump that has now appeared since the holidays : )
I took a couple of days off from work to spend time with them, which was much needed and wonderful. Thursday after their arrival Maggie, Nance and I went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It's about an hour and a half drive north of Seattle, and we picked an amazing weather day - conditions were PERFECT. Being there on a weekday was critical. Trav and I had attempted to go to the festival the weekend before, but it was so congested with traffic we couldn't even get near the tulips even after spending a few hours in line on the freeway. It was quite the tulip failure, so I was excited to be able to head back there with Mag and my Mom to get a look at those lovely flowers.
The photos don't do it justice - the colors were out of this world, especially against the rolling hill and mountainous backdrop.
After wandering around the tulip fields we went over to La Conner for a quick lunch before heading back to Seattle. There was a nice waterfront view as we were driving back to the freeway and I couldn't resist this tug boat (I have a thing for tug boats - weird I know).
Moll and Jame weren't able to join us during the day since they both had to work, but we met up with them afterwards for a beer at Fremont Brewing, a great neighborhood brewery just down the street from our place. Don't worry, that drink in my hand was a Strawberry Rhubarb Soda they brew in house and keep on tap for kids and in this case pregnant ladies - it was quite tasty and allowed me to participate in the festivities.
Friday Mag, Mom and I went island hopping and took the ferry to Whidbey Island (Moll and Jame had to work again so unfortunately it was just the three of us). None of us had been there before so it was a fun day of exploring small shops in the cute little waterfront town. We also stopped for lunch at a local cafe where I enjoyed one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever had. It had aged white cheddar, crispy bacon and was served up on cinnamon raisin bread. IT WAS DELICIOUS! A great find that I've been replicating at home. The weather wasn't as nice but we did get a few good shots near the water from the island.
We enjoyed a nice dinner Friday night at a great Mexican restaurant we love in Ballard - Senor Moose. We were all pretty sleepy so we didn't stay out very late but we did enjoy some late night games at our place before turning in for the night.
Saturday we enjoyed a day almost all together (poor Jame was sick and stayed home to rest) and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island for lunch and a bit more exploring. The weather was really beautiful on the ferry ride over to the island, but we did get caught in the rain later that day. We had another nice lunch by the water, walked around a few local shops and came back to the city for a delicious italian dinner at another one of our favorite spots - Tavolata in Belltown.
No matter how many times I take the ferry, it just never gets old. The views of Elliott Bay with downtown and the Olympic Mountains in the backdrop are quite spectacular.
Before heading off to the airport on Sunday we had a nice breakfast together in Fremont and walked around the Farmer's Market. We also strolled down by Lake Union which is where we took this lovely shot. I realized over the weekend that all the ladies in my family literally wear black almost every single day. I was the only one with any color in my wardrobe - my black rain jacket just happens to be covering up my colorful sweater in this particular photo. We must have looked like some sort of gang walking around like this together : )
I wish they all could have just stayed out here in Seattle with us, but it was so wonderful to have some quality time with my sisters and amazing Mom. I'm thankful that I have great friends and family who take the time out of their busy lives to come visit and spend time with us.
At least I will get to see them again in a few weeks when we head back to Minnesota for a baby shower! I am a few days shy of being 27 weeks pregnant now, it has gone by quickly - despite the rough first several months and current lack of a good night's sleep (I guess I should get used to that). Now if I could just get my immune system to buck up and avoid getting a bad cold/cough every 8 weeks, that would be great! It's crazy to think that in about three months we'll have a new addition to the family...we absolutely cannot wait!
We also have another round of visitors in a few weeks which we are so excited about - our other set of sisters and second mother are coming. That's right, the infamous trio - Sue, Steph and Katie Goethke, three of my favorite members of our blended "Goeth-Strom" family. We can't wait to see you!!!
I hope everyone enjoys their Saturday and has a great weekend!
Cheers,
KP
