A Girls Weekend

Good morning!
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

Trav's Birthday in San Francisco

Good evening!
Getting caught up again on the blog, this week I found a few minutes to round up the photos from our trip to San Francisco in mid January. I surprised Trav with a weekend getaway for his birthday, told him to pack his bags but didn't reveal the destination until we got to the airport. It was a fun surprise and a great weekend to getaway and spend some time together after a busy holiday season. 

We had a very busy weekend, taking advantage of many great recommendations from one of my pals at zulily who used to live in San Fran. We pretty much ate our way through the city with a few other notable stops - Ghirardelli Square The Ferry Building, Alcatraz, North Beach, Chinatown, The Painted Ladies, Haight Ashbury and The Golden Gate Bridge to name a few. We got a lot of exercise in, walking nearly everywhere (with a few short Uber rides as well). 

Alcatraz was our favorite stop, although a total tourist trap, it was completely worth it. We spent a few hours walking around the grounds and took the audio tour, which was really well done. We both really enjoyed it, highly recommended. 

Here are a few photos from the weekend: 

A mandatory stop at In & Out once we arrived

We walked down to the water and Ghirardelli Square - mainly to walk off our In & Out...

Saturday Morning we walked over to The Ferry Building for breakfast at the farmer's market. A lovely shot of the Bay Bridge on a foggy early morning. 

After breakfast we went over to the cruise terminal to grab the boat over to Alcatraz. The photos don't do it justice, what a neat place. 

The recreation yard

One of the isolation cells - total darkness with that door closed. 

A standard cell - it's even smaller than it look sin the photo

 A view of the city from the island

Trav "taking care of business" on the alcatraz cell toilets

After Alcatraz we went over to North Beach for a stop at Golden Boy Pizza. This was a delicious lunch and definitely worth the wait to get inside. 

After lunch we went over to Chinatown. As you can see the window displays were quite interesting. Quite the variety of poultry in this one...

From Chinatown we stopped by the streetcar museum and then took the streetcar back down to the hotel. It was a gorgeous day and it provided some great views of the city, what a fun way to get around! 

Before dinner we stopped by Alamo Square to watch the sunset and take a peek at the Painted Ladies. 

As you can see I was excited to be there...just had to take this cheesy tourist photo. 

Trav tried a different approach to his "jump"...I think he was going for the superman approach but it didn't quite work out as planned. 

Sunday morning we got up early before flying home to explore near the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a misty and foggy morning but we still got a few good shots of the bridge before saying goodbye to San Francisco. 

In addition to the weekend getaway, we did celebrate on Trav's actual birthday with a nice dinner with Jamie out at a BBQ restaurant in the Ballard neighborhood. We had walked by it many times and wanted to try it, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity! We got the "cowboy killer" dinner and split it among the group. It was basically a giant plate of assorted smoked meats and some yummy sides. Overall it was a success! 

Finally, I just had to post a photo of the birthday card Jamie got Travis since it was such a keeper. I mean, come on...Justin Beaver!?!?

Well that's all I've got tonight. Trying to get better about getting back in the habit of posting, at least once a month! February has been pretty uneventful so far, particularly because I had a nasty cold/cough combo for several weeks and have been quite a hermit while trying to kick it. The weather though has been great in Seattle, so we have been trying to get outside and at least walk around the neighborhood when we can. We've also been cooking a lot at home and enjoying our new patio furniture and bonfire table! It's so nice to be able to hang out outside during "winter." If you consider 50+ degrees in February to be winter...sharp contrast to what we're used to! 

Other than that not much to share, approaching the 19 week mark with Baby Peterson and happy to report the nausea has finally improved. Phew! It's hard to believe we're nearly half way there already! CRAZY...but so exciting : ) 

Have a great week! 
Cheers,
KP

A Memorable Holiday Season

Happy Friday evening everyone!
I am catching up on the blog after a VERY LONG hiatus, I know we haven't posted anything in months! Before January is over, I figured I better recap the last few months of 2014 into one post to close out the year. 

Dialing things back to Thanksgiving...yes, Thanksgiving. All the way back in November (man I'm behind!). My sister Maggie came to visit for Thanksgiving this year which was great since it was our first big holiday here away from the family. Jamie and I did our best to re-create the Engstrom family holiday menu, even taking a stab at making my dad's gravy and stuffing. For those of you who have tasted it, know that this is no small task. 

I will say the food actually turned out pretty darn good. Travis and Mag both gave it their stamp of approval and said it tasted just like home, so Jamie and I passed this culinary test with flying colors. This was our first turkey, so we did have to get some over the phone advice from Jimbo on how to prep the bird. The best part of the conversation was him telling me to "reach in and pull out the neck"...you can see below what I found in there and how enthused I was. I was the only one brave enough to dive in and blindly shove my hand in there not knowing what I'd find. 

The turkey did turn out great though! It was fun to have a low key Thanksgiving where we could all just lay around, cook, enjoy a good meal and watch a movie in our comfy clothes. Although we did miss our big family gathering with all the relatives, it was a nice way to spend our first little holiday together in Seattle. 

While Mag was here we also got a few other activities in (besides eating). We even ran a 5K race, which happened to take place on the one day of the year that it actually snowed in Seattle. It was quite cold but we had a good time anyway. We also stopped by Snoqualmie Falls for a view of the waterfall and then went on a hike at Little Si. 

 Moving onto December...we went back to the Twin Cities to spend Christmas with our families at home. We were able to spend half the week with Trav's Mom and Step Dad, and the second half of the week with my parents. It was so nice to see the fam and spend a few relaxing days back at home away from work. Christmas was filled with lots of fun. As you can see below things got a little nutty at my parents' house Christmas Eve with a unicorn head appearance (that is my Aunt Mary by the way, my lovely God-Mother, wearing it oh so well). 

On Christmas Day it was fun to give my mom a fun surprise gift - all of us kids got Nance a ticket out to Seattle for a girls trip in April. We like to get creative with our gift presentation, so I put together a series of "Nancy Does Seattle" photos for her enjoyment. Here's one of my favorites...

Although that was a fun gift to give, I think our favorite part about going home for Christmas was that we were able to tell both of our families that next year at Christmas time, we'll be hanging another stocking up by the fireplace!

Yup, we're having a little Peterson, due in July : ) 

Yes, this little blob is all ours! Looks just like Trav don't you think? 

Today I had a doctor appointment and got to hear the little heart beat thumping away, a very nice sound to hear! We are 14 weeks in, and I will say I'm happy to be into the second trimester. I am hoping that I'll get some relief from the "morning sickness." You'll notice I put it in quotes, because anyone who's been pregnant knows that the term simply isn't accurate in the least. Clearly a man must have coined this term, because for me it has been 24/7 all day sickness, morning is just a portion of it. Anti-nausea medication has provided a little relief at least making the bus ride to work more tolerable (let your imagination run wild with Seattle city bus smells, sounds, movements...getting nauseous just thinking about it). 

Clearly it will all be worth it! Part of the equation has just been the timing - being in the first trimester of pregnancy during the holiday season. The craziest time of year at work with long days and lots of stress. We also decided to add another layer of crazy to all of this, by moving (AGAIN) in December. We moved into a townhome in a great neighborhood just north of Downtown Seattle. Now we are closer to Jamie (walking distance) and we LOVE our neighborhood. Overall it's a better fit for us and feels cozy like home. It will be a great place to bring a baby home to! 

So anyway, now that we've caught up on Thanksgiving, Christmas, moving, (oh and the baby thing), that should about wrap it up! Here are a few other random photos just for fun from the last few months:

The kitties enjoying one last head poke on the stairway in our old apartment before the move.

Herb testing out the closet and hiding in a drawer in the new place (since it hadn't quite felt like home yet the first few days). 

 Oh and I just couldn't resist to throw these two on the blog...these are my sister Molly's pups. Frankie (left) and Maybe (right). They stole the show Christmas Eve with the fam and it was so fun to see them : ) 

Trav enjoying some time with Engstrom family cat (and king of the house) - Murphy. This is a rarely seen image of his "tender" side that he only lets a few people see when he's not biting : ) He was getting his snuggle on with Trav. 

 We couldn't be more excited for 2015 and all of the excitement yet to come (especially once food becomes enjoyable again). We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have kicked off your new year with a bang! I'll try to get better about posting more regularly again, now that we've settled into our new place (third one in 9 months), aren't traveling or working crazy hours. Until next time...(hopefully by then I'll be able to stay awake past 9:00 without falling asleep on the couch). 

Cheers!
KP