9/12.
Yeah, I’m a bit late on this! Outside of wedding planning (which has been the norm these days), September was mostly spent getting Krissy settled in here in Flagstaff. Ryan spent most of the month out on fire assignments with the crew, so it was a lot of time for me and Krissy to hang out.
We spent a sunny weekend at Flagstaff’s Art in the Park festival, which I go to annually. It’s a lot of the same artists, but it’s also a lot of fun.
We also went to the county fair. Krissy tried funnel cake for the first time, and we rode a ton of the carnival rides… which, somehow, ended up costing me like $200? It’s been a while since I’ve been to a fair. My friend Claire won some awards for her gardening, and we enjoyed some flamenco performances too.
Krissy also had her first (of hopefully several) visits to Grand Canyon National Park. I waited until Ryan had a break between assignments to take her. The four of us took a quick weekend afternoon trip, but are hoping to go back soon(ish) for some actual hiking.
Afterward, another first – Mexican food! We took her to La Fonda’s in Flagstaff so she could try a few different dishes. She loved all of it, even if it was “a little spicy.”
Krissy and I also entertained ourselves with a paddle boarding trip out in Winslow while Ryan was on a fire assignment. While Krissy’s been kayaking before, stand-up paddling was new for her. She loved it, and we timed it out well with a killer sunset at the end of our trip.
We followed that paddle boarding trip up with dinner at Relic Road in Winslow.
I also went to my first parent open house at Krissy’s high school. I got to meet all her teachers, learn about her current English class reading (“Tuesdays with Morrie”), see her digital photography class projects, learn about her interior design class schedule and see her upcoming basketball uniforms.
After taking a bit of a book club hiatus during fire season, I went to my friend Jenni’s house to discuss “The Berry Pickers,” which (luckily) I’d already read. Yuri made these sweet gin cocktails, which were delicious.
Trivia at Wanderlust! This one was themed around politics, government and elections. I didn’t participate since I was just stopping in for a beer and to say hi to my friend Katie, who was hosting, but it was still fun to learn a bit more about local politics.
Claire got me and Krissy this adorable glittery cake, which had (groundbreaking) FROSTING ON THE BOTTOM. Genius.
We’ve had some pretty wild weather here in Flagstaff due to the El Niño patterns, which has resulted in some pretty intense rainbows. I swear this one was so vibrant it was close to being the first triple rainbow I’d ever seen.
And, finally, a selfie during Ryan’s first weekend home meeting Kristina.
