Seattle!!!!

Our first priority was to go to the REI flagship store and pick up the BOB stroller we ordered. It was a must for getting around in downtown Seattle! I absolutely adore it. Doesn't walking around R.E.I. make you feel like being totally active and going mountain climbing, biking, hiking, camping, kayaking etc?
 

This is the view from our balcony of Puget Sound. It is beautiful.
 

This is the view from our balcony of the Seattle Art Museum.
 

This is the view from our balcony of the garden that separates two of the buildings in our complex, ours and the southwest tower. I am definitely looking forward to picnics down there. If only they had a swingset. Unfortunately, I haven't seen ANY other children in our building except for the other intern family from BYU, our friends, the Christensens.
 


There is so much more to tell about our first few days in Seattle. We loved going to the Seattle First Ward. It's in a beautiful neighborhood and everyone seems super nice, of course. It is kind of sad when they ask you if you are new and you say you're an intern and their face drops, "so you'll be leaving at the end of the summer, then?". Hopefully we'll be back.

Elly and I went to the Library yesterday just in time for Toddler Story Time. It was great, but we missed our friends from Provo (who we usually go with) and the two hilarious BYU undergrads who run the story time at the Provo Library. Most of the children at the Downtown Seattle Library were there with their nannies or with a day care facility. There were about 20 kids there compared with the 100 that come in Provo!

I made our first meal in our new apartment on Sunday (spaghetti, nothing fancy). It was a success, but I do miss a bunch of things about being in my own kitchen. When you leave for the summer, you forget about spices. I didn't bring any with me, and I now I have to figure out which are the most important to buy for the summer, because I can't buy all new spices...they are expensive! The little "markets" around downtown don't have very good selections of groceries, so I'll have to plan grocery trips better while I'm here. I definitely took for granted being able to jump in the car and pop over to one of the four big grocery stores within half a mile from my house in Provo. There isn't a Walmart for miles and miles! Oh how I miss Walmart...never thought I'd say that.

Today, I headed down to the waterfront to walk/jog a little. It was amazing to jog along this beautiful trail called the Elliot Bay Trail and look out over the water to the mountains in the distance. On the way back to our apartment, Elly and I stopped at Pike's Place Market to look at all the offerings and pick up some yummy doughnuts. The market has all these amazing vendors with all sorts of goodies. My favorites include fresh produce, handmade jewelry, and of course tons of fresh flowers! If I had unlimited money I would have fresh flowers in my house every week. They are beautiful! You can get a whole bunch for about $10 at the Market.

Other than that, we are enjoying playing around in the apartment and exploring the city. We are really enjoying it so far. Brandon is also exploring the best way to get to work and back, and he's enjoying hanging out at Microsoft every day.

Come and see us in Seattle, we'll be here until August and we have an extra bed!

ps, if you want to win a new BOB stroller, click here.