Hi friends! This is one of those weeks where I couldn’t be happier for the weekend to be here. This week has been full of a stream of workers coming in and out due to a broken AC (downstairs only, thankfully) AND a roof leak. AND I injured my foot. AND KJ had some opening events at his new preschool this week.
Remember when we moved in and immediately got the roof redone to avoid problems during monsoon season? Well, that didn’t work out, but luckily, the roofing company has been receptive and willing to work with us.
Meanwhile, KJ eased into his new school this week with orientation and Meet the Teacher days. Oh, and I’ve been limping around on my foot which decided plantar fascitis was now going to be a thing for me. Luckily it’s manageable in my shoes in orthotics, but still, it’s not great. So, no workouts or walks, which means I’m getting antsy.
So, ya, it’s Margarita time this weekend! Ha, ha, And at least last weekend was good! We took the kids to Flagstaff to visit my Aunt and Uncle before the school year started (aka before there is a 50% chance at any given time the kids will be sick). I think first and foremost. The kids were just so happy to go outside during the day. They spent 99% of their time playing outside.
One of the few inside moments was watching the resident squirrel have a meal.
We did a decent amount of exploring this time as well!
Deer Farm – Williams AZ
The deer farm was hilarious. I’ll keep the videos of them eating KJ and Mr. Hungry’s shirts forever. Like super aggressive goats ha ha
I would describe the whole thing as a glorified petting zoo, super cool, but a petting zoo none of the less. There are lots of deer and other random exotic and nonexotic animals like reindeer, peacocks, zonkeys (not a typo), monkeys, and more! I liked that the price was much more reasonable than Bearizona but was also far less of a professional zoo-type experience. When looking at pricing, consider the feed cups, which are $6-9 each.
After the Deer Farm, we drove into Williams, ate at a small cafe, and then played on a playground before heading home. Looking forward to exploring more of Williams in the future! It’s not like it has a million things to do, but they have a few little gems!
Viola’s Nursery
My aunt took us to Viola’s to get ladybugs for KJ, who is quite the bug guy this summer. They had a 750 ladybug cup we bought and then took them back to my Aunt’s to release in the vegetable garden. He spent hours “helping” them get back to the plants, recapturing some of them, only to rerelease them.
Flagstaff Farmers Market
Before we left Sunday, my Aunt took us to the Flagstaff Farmers Market. We ate breakfast (burritos and pastries) from the food trucks and then walked around. They had so many goodies!
I bought some fresh Sonoran chickpea pasta and a fresh baguette which we ate Sunday night when we got home! I made a freehand scampi (meaning I didn’t follow a recipe, just kept adding and tasting until it was “right”). Luckily, we had frozen Butcher Box shrimp in the freezer and asparagus that was mostly good from the previous week to eat!
I sprinkled mine with red chili flakes!
El Tapatio & Food
And, of course, it wouldn’t be Flagstaff without us hitting up our favorite Mexican food spot! Whenever we go up, my Aunt and Uncle encourage us to go out for date nights, so this time we went to Mexican food at El Tapatio one night and a movie another night (saw bullet train, which was good!)
One night my Uncle cooked pork chops with balsamic Brussel sprouts, and another night, we had burgers (KJs favorite.) Sadly I didn’t get any pictures, but you know dinner with kids is always chaotic, especially when they are overtired from traveling and playing hard all day!
That’s it for now! I hear the baby on the monitor, so we will keep this a week and travel recap (instead of a full Friday Favorites). Now that the AC is finally fixed downstairs and my foot is walkable, hoping to get some recipes out to you next week that we’ve been enjoying!!! Have a wonderful weekend! I have a department meeting at the college I teach at, the first one in person since 2019!
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Friday Flashback
40 Healthy Kid-Friendly Recipes
[…] friends! A couple of weekends ago, my aunt got a HUGE thing of dill for $3 at the Farmer’s Market in Flagstaff. She filled a quart-size sandwich bag of fresh dill to take home with […]