Sedona

To celebrate our second wedding anniversary, Sean and I returned to the place that put everything in motion...Sedona, AZ, where he proposed a little over three years ago! We spent a long weekend (Thursday through Sunday) at the Amara Resort and Spa, which is located right off the main drag of Uptown Sedona. Uptown Sedona is a lot like Old Town Scottsdale with little shops and restaurants. We even found some Christmas gifts for some people...but you'll have to wait until December to find out!
We arrived in Sedona in the early afternoon on Thursday. After a disappointing experience checking in (they lost our reservation and because of that our room wasn't ready), we walked up to the main drag and had a couple afternoon beers at the Open Range Grill and Tavern. Below there's a photo of the cloudiest Hefeweizen beer I've ever had. I thought I heard the bartender say something about how the keg was just about spent, which made me even more suspicious of my fuzzy beer. But it tasted great, so I had nothing to worry about, I guess! I've expressed this in past posts, but it's really hard to beat a cold beer in the afternoon when you're on vacation...especially when you know you have the whole vacation ahead of you! After our beers we browsed through some shops (and made some gift purchases!), then walked back down to the resort. Our room was nice, but the best part was the great bed...king sized with a super soft down comforter and cushy mattress. We also had a small balcony (that overlooked the parking lot) with a couple chairs and a small table...perfect for after dinner drinks. :-) Once we unpacked we looked for a place to have dinner. After a quick search on yelp.com for good dinner places in Sedona, we decided on the Hideway Restaurant. It wasn't far from our hotel and had an amazing view of Oak Creek (the same creek that our hotel backs up to). We sat outside on the deck, which made us feel like we were straight up from the water. We both decided on pasta and definitely had plenty of food left over to bring back to the room. After taking some time to digest, we walked back up to the shops to walk around some more and get a little ice cream dessert.
On Friday we had grand plans to take a hike, but after sleeping in we decided to scrap it and walk up to check out a breakfast spot. We ended up at the Hitching Post, and for any Sideways (movie or book) fans, it was nothing like that Hitching Post. This Hitching Post was basic diner foods with so-so service. Although our food was fine (omelet for Sean and corned beef hash and eggs for me), we realized when we got our bill that this was truly a tourist town with tourist prices. We walked around a little bit more afterwards, then headed back down to the hotel. The resort has a spa on site, so we just walked across the parking lot for our treatments. Sean got a deep tissue massage and I got the Coconut Rub and Milk Ritual Wrap. The spa was nice, but for a spa-spoiled Phoenician like myself, it was nothing compared to the Camelback Spa back home. And what better way to top off an afternoon at the spa than a dip in the hot tub? This was one of the few times during the weekend that we weren't threatened by lightening so we decided to take advantage of the clear skies. Our luxurious day continued with a nice dinner at the resort's restaurant, Hundred Rox (until recently, the Gallery on Oak Creek). We had a delicious dinner with great service and a wonderful view of the red rocks. We started with the calamari, Sean got the free range veal duet (veal scaloppini and veal sweetbreads) and I got the filet. For dessert our server treated us to free blackberry panna cotta, which was always one of my favorite treats to get at Dean and Deluca the summer I lived with Joel and Lisa in Leawood. After dinner, our stomachs extremely full, we returned to the room and sat on the balcony for a while enjoying the cool weather.
Saturday morning we were a bit more virtuous and drove out to the Coconino National Forest for a hike. Our trail head was just west of town, but involved more "back woods" driving than I expected. I have now been proven wrong in doubting a Toyota Camry's ability to drive on glorified gravel paths only traveled by Jeeps, ATVs and people on foot. Evidence of Sean's off-roading is in a photo below. Our trail was very scenic, crossing a dry river every few minutes, with red rocks towering above us. Our elevation change was only about 400 feet, so this was definitely an "easy" hike when it comes to hiking standards, but it was nice to spend the time outdoors and work off a small portion of the million calories we'd consumed by this point. After we emerged from the park we were pretty hungry for lunch. Having already dined at places we scoped out online before arriving, we decided to just keep our eyes peeled for something that looked good. Sean had to turn around and go back to a place I spotted that we whizzed by when he heard me say the name: The Red Planet Diner. Sean, self-admittedly, is a sucker for kitschy, hole-in-the-wall, dive, you name it. The decor definitely lived up to the name, with UFOs painted on the walls and several alien figurines/decorations all around. As we scanned the menu, one appetizing item stood out: a milk shake. As I looked at the price, I saw it was listed at $5, which reminded me of the movie, Pulp Fiction. In that movie, in LA, it seemed fitting to pay $5 for a milk shake. But at the Red Planet Diner in Sedona, AZ? Seemed a little out of place. Regardless, Sean ordered the chocolate milk shake and I drank close to half of it! In the afternoon we walked up the hill to get a coffee and browse around the shops some more. It was fairly cloudy and even sprinkled a little bit, so thankfully most of the shops had good overhangs and coverage from the rain. After our coffee, we got ready for dinner and headed to Tlaquepaque where we had a reservation at El Rincon, the place we had dinner the day we got engaged. We arrived about an hour before our reservation, so we stopped in for a pre-dinner drink and appetizers at Oak Creek Brewery, coincidentally enough, the place we had lunch right after Sean popped the question. The little shopping village was fairly quiet, as most of the stores were closed, but there were plenty of people still milling around taking photos. Between drinks and dinner we stopped in at a few of the galleries that were still open and took in some interesting artwork: everything from jewelry to wall installations to oil to glass. At dinner we sat outside on the Christmas light-lit patio (very similar in ambiance and feel, but on a smaller scale, to Old Town Tortilla Factory in Scottsdale) and dined on chips, salsa, chimichanga and tacos. On our last night in Sedona we spent some more time on the balcony in our room chatting about the fun things we did.
Sunday morning we left town pretty quickly, stopping at a place we'd eaten breakfast three years prior (what can I say, we're creatures of habit). Continuing the pattern of re-visiting places from the engagement trip, we stopped at Cliff Castle Casino on the way home to try our luck on the slot machines. As a couple we ended in the black, but if there is such a thing, Sean is much better at slot machines than me! It was nice to get back home by mid-day so we could do our usual weekend errands and house things, and still feel relaxed knowing work was waiting for us the next day. Brinkley, who spent the weekend with our friend Matt, was happy to see us, although I think he's happy to see any human being that will let him out of the man cave (where he stays during the day)!
Now we're back to the grind of our usual routine. However, we have a lot of things to look forward to coming up very soon! Jim and Robin are visiting for the ASU-Georgia football game in September, Sean and I just planned a trip to Seattle in November to meet up with Joel, and rumor has it Bob, Ellen, Christian (and hopefully Anna!) will be coming to Phoenix for my birthday, Thanksgiving and the ASU -UCLA football game.
The fall always brings two things that are exciting for us: ASU football and cooler temperatures!

Summer (apparently I only post at the change of the seasons)

Hi everyone!
I promise I have a good excuse for going so long without a post: Sean and I haven't had a weekend to ourselves in our house together since April. Sean traveled extensively for work, family and friends, and our schedules barely overlapped during the month of May. But now we're back in Phoenix, back to our usual routine, and I have some time to finally catch everyone up!
Unfortunately, the end of April was a very sad time for my family, as my grandmother, Lucille, passed away. The bright side of it all was that I got to spend several days in Minnesota with my family, many of whom I hadn't seen since Christmas. The service was lovely. As cliched as it sounds, times like this really showcase how caring and thoughtful friends and family can be.
May was a very busy month for Sean, in particular. He spent a weekend in Vegas to celebrate a high school friend's bachelor party, another weekend in KC for Katie's law school graduation, and another few days in Detroit representing his law firm at the Ford headquarters. We finally met up with each other a couple days before Katie's wedding in KC.
I made the trip up early, about a week before the wedding, to attend an old co-worker's wedding, then stayed the rest of the week to live up to my matron of honor duties in helping the bride (and the bride's family) prepare for the big day. This included very important tasks such as dining and shopping in Lawrence, afternoon naps and grilling out for dinner. :-)
Katie and Adam's wedding was so much fun! Katie looked gorgeous, of course, and it was so fun to see family and friends! I could have done without the 85 percent humidity, but I guess that's the "it's a dry heat" Phoenician in me talking. I put some of my favorite photos (also some courtesy of Uncle Doug) below.
Our May was so crazy that we're looking forward to a quieter summer coming up. This will not, unfortunately, include watching ASU in the College World Series since they got bounced in the Super Regional on Monday night. I think I logged close to 9 hours of baseball watching this past weekend...do I get a medal or something? But all kidding aside, it has been fun going to the games all season. I'm definitely looking forward to next year (and the delicious soft pretzels!).
That's about it for us. If anyone has any interest in visiting us this summer, just let us know! The New York Times listed Scottsdale in its 31 Places to Go This Summer! Also, football season
isn't far off, either, so if you'd like to catch a game at Sun Devil Stadium, we'd love to host you...just give us some notice!

Spring

I know I made promises of posting in a timelier fashion, but I purposely delayed this entry in the hopes I had a KU national championship to talk about...and I do! But more about that later...
The first weekend in March we had a wonderful visit from the O'Haras: Jim, Robin and Katie. They flew early on Friday morning and Sean was the assigned host as I was at a work event all day (an ethics forum tailored specifically to nonprofit professionals...something tells me Sean and Co. had a more exciting day than me). However, my day also included a celebration dinner recognizing a $5 million investment in my Center (renamed the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Innovation--try saying that 5 times fast), so that was exciting. After my dinner I was able to join everyone for a late dinner at Tarbell's (one of our favorites). Although not extremely hungry, I was able to save a little room for their delicious Scotch Beef and amazing bread pudding. Everyone had a long day, whether working an event or flying in from KC, so we all poured into our beds right after dinner. On Saturday, Katie, Robin and I spent the day at the Camelback Spa while Sean and Jim golfed. That's one of the wonderful things about having out-of-town guests: Sean and I get to treat ourselves to a little mini-vacation too! That evening we caught an ASU baseball game where we watched the then #1-ranked (and undefeated!) Sun Devils handily beat UMass. The weather was perfect and it was hard to complain about such a beautiful evening watching baseball and snacking on hot dogs, pretzels and peanuts! Photos are below. On Sunday, we took advantage of Jim and Robin's stay at the Camelback and lounged by the pool most of the day. After enjoying lots of sun, water and drinks, we made our way to the Pink Pony Steakhouse, a favorite of Jim's. Our weekend was already coming to an end! Nevertheless, we were still able to grab a quick breakfast on Monday morning with everyone at the Camelback before Sean and I headed to work and the O'Haras made their way back to Kansas City.
March is one of my favorite months for a number of reasons. Since moving to Phoenix, the gorgeous weather (75 degrees and sunny? I'll take it!) has been added to the list...but the main reason is men's NCAA basketball. I'm not ashamed to admit that I get completely wrapped up in March Madness. I head up my office pool, I watch the games online when I can't get them on TV and I get completely bummed out every year when KU loses. But this year, as you know, was different! We cheered on the Jayhawks every game and hosted friends at our house to witness the madness. I'm pretty sure we've reached our beer, pizza and snacks quota for the year after watching KU on their road to the national championship! We're still buzzing with happiness and excitement over the title! Photos of our celebration are below. Another bonus of this year's tournament was that Sean and I got great tickets to the West Regional Final in Phoenix! We got to see the WVU-Xavier, W. KY-UCLA and Xavier-UCLA games from the 8th row (Sean is modeling the location of our seats in a photo below). We also had our first celebrity close encounter with AZ Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart and singer Nick Lachey. The back of Leinart's head is featured in the photos below (apologies for the low-quality, but digital point and shoot cameras can only do so much!)...before we saw them in their seats, we actually found ourselves following them through the concourse at halftime when we got a snack. Leinart's a big guy!
Now that March is over and April is practically half over, we're counting down the days until we leave for Kansas City. Sean has a fun bachelor party weekend planned with some KC friends in Vegas at the beginning of May and I'm surprisingly busy with work events in May, so we are definitely staying busy. Sean's able to get up to watch Katie graduate from KU Law on May 18th and I'll be able to spend a whole week in KC prior to Katie's wedding, as I'm attending a wedding there on the 24th...then serving as maid of honor (I guess "matron" is the correct term, but I don't feel like a matron!) in Katie's wedding on the 31st. I'd like to think Brinkley will miss us during this time, but with our friends house/dog-sitting while we're out of town, he won't miss a beat. As long as he has his food, lots of petting and a warm bed to sleep in, he'll be fine. :-)
Well, I guess that's about it from down here in the desert. We'll see many of you in May!

A late start to 2008

Yes, if you've done the math you'll notice that I haven't posted anything new in about three months. My initial goal was to post at least once a month, so while I've fallen behind on that front, hopefully I can redeem myself by providing a nice catch-up post!
The holidays definitely sneaked up on us with many a holiday party and wrapping things up before heading up to Rochester for Christmas. This was our Minnesota year (off to Kansas at the end of this year) and we were fortunate to have all the kids (although me being the youngest at 25, I think my parents are the only ones who call us the kids anymore), grandkids and my parents under one roof on Christmas day. Although pretty chilly, it was nice to have a white Christmas and a few days off from work to just enjoy the company of family and kick back and relax. I took quite a few photos from the week, so I chose some of my favorites to share below.
After returning to Phoenix from the North Country, Sean and I got up early the next day and drove out to San Diego to watch ASU take on Texas in the Holiday Bowl. As a Christmas gift to ourselves we stayed at our favorite hotel, the Hotel Del Coronado, where we honeymooned in 2006. The friends we usually tailgate with for ASU home games, the Steinbergs, were also staying at the Del and we all attended the ASU Alumni Assoc. tailgate together before the game. Even though ASU ended up losing the game, our mini-vacation in San Diego was still a blast. The beach on Coronado Island is beautiful no matter what the temperature is! I was still able to take numerous sunset photos (apparently I can't help myself)! We ate at our favorite restaurants and continued the holiday relaxation before making the trip back to Phoenix right before the New Year.
January and February have seemed to fly by, with a few keep-us-on-our-toes moments sprinkled around. In the middle of the night, sometime early January, we were awakened by our beeping microwave. Sean, being the dutiful man of the house, got up and checked out the noise to find water leaking from the cabinet above the microwave, onto the microwave, and pooled in a saucepan we'd left on the stove top. Thanks to the dumb luck of our frying microwave and strategically placed saucepan, we were able to turn the water off and get a plumber out to our house in the morning. However, our luck ran out there, as we were told we had so many leaks in our 50 year old pipes that we should get the entire house re-piped. In fact, some of the leaks had repaired themselves over time because the water in here Phoenix is so hard (I don't even want to think about what the water is doing to my skin!). So, Sean and I had an early lesson on what savings accounts are there for, and can now boast, "Complete re-pipe in 2008!" on our spec sheet when we go to sell the house.
In February the Super Bowl came to town, so it was fun to read the paper every day and see what celebrities had been spotted at what restaurants, etc. Many of the pre-Super Bowl parties took place in Old Town Scottsdale, which is only a couple miles north of our house. Some girlfriends and I went to the LL Cool J party and concert, which was really fun! The best part was the free admission (courtesy of one of my girlfriends who knew the event director), but it was also fun to do our own celebrity sightings. Alfonso Ribeiro, better known as Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV show, danced on stage at one point and we also saw Joey Fatone of the band NSync. My point-and-shoot digital camera's flash didn't quite reach the distance to make these photos crystal clear, but take a look below...I did my best! The Phoenix metro area had a busy beginning of February because the FBR Open, a fun golf tournament, concluded on Super Bowl Sunday. Sean was able to go out a couple days during the week, and then our friends invited us to join them on Saturday (the largest attendance day with over 160,000 people). The total attendance for the week was over half a million!
As all of you know, Sean's birthday is on Valentine's Day, so as if our December trip wasn't enough, we treated ourselves to another San Diego stay at the Hotel Del Coronado. It was a bit warmer this time and we spent all our time just walking on the beach, sipping drinks in the lounge and visiting our favorite restaurants and a couple new ones. When we were there in December we discovered the dog beach park, which is really fun to walk to and watch the dogs run into the ocean after frisbees and toys. Brinkley is pretty dainty and tends to avoid water, so we don't think he'd like it much...which is probably better because we don't want to know what kind of mess those dogs make in their owners' cars and/or homes afterwards!
Now February is over and it's on to March! Sean and I are both busy with work, as usual, but enjoy our free time on the weekends. Just last night we had dinner with some of Sean's old neighbors and family friends, Bill and Connie Carrison. They were in town for work and Sean was able to take an afternoon to golf with Bill and then we joined them downtown last night for dinner at Kincaid's (a steak and seafood restaurant - delicious!). It was fun to catch up with some Kansas City folks...and the best part was that the weather was so nice we ate outside! And speaking of visitors, Jim, Robin and Katie will be flying down on Friday for a weekend stay full of golf, spa visits, baseball and catching up! We saw Jim and Robin over Thanksgiving when they were here last, but we haven't seen Katie since last spring! We're looking forward to catching up and hearing all about wedding plans, graduation, and all the other exciting stuff happening in the next few months! Rumor has it she's in the inspection process of buying a house, so perhaps that will be a done deal by the time they arrive!
Not much else going on here. Just cheering on KU basketball and looking forward to the NCAA tournament at the end of the month...we have tickets to the Phoenix regional!
Look for an update in a few weeks...I hope!

Happy holidays!

Well, it's getting to be that season...Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we need to get ready for Christmas! As is standard with the holidays, were we lucky to have a lot of family visit! Joel, Lisa, Celia, Tatum and Andrew were down for Thanksgiving week, staying with Lisa's family. On Lisa's birthday we all got together for dinner, enjoying a delicious meal prepared by Dave and Evelyn, ending in a wonderful homemade German chocolate cake! It was so great to see all the kids...they're getting so big! The day was easy to celebrate...Lisa's birthday and another KU football win!
We were so excited to have both sets of parents down to visit for the holiday weekend. Jim and Robin arrived the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, leaving Friday and Bob and Ellen arrived on Friday, leaving this past Tuesday. The flight schedules worked out well because Bob and Ellen arrived around noon and Jim and Robin didn't depart until the evening. We were all able to meet up for lunch!
When Jim and Robin arrived on Tuesday morning the first stop they made was to check out our new house. After giving Brinkley some attention they went to Frank Lloyd Wright's home, Taliesin West. They gave the tour rave reviews when we all met downtown for lunch (I had to work that day). That evening we took them to one of our favorite restaurants, Durant's, which I've mentioned in this blog before.
On Wednesday Sean and Jim tackled Troon North Golf Club while Robin kept Brinkley company and I tied up some loose ends at work. At noon, I took Robin to one of my favorite wine bars, Postino, where we snacked on bruschetta, sandwiches and soup. Since we were in the same parking lot, we stopped by La Grande Orange where we bought some cranberry sauce and delicious Tammie Coe cupcakes. After a filling lunch we walked some of the calories off by shopping around Fashion Square, then met the guys back at home before leaving for dinner at Old Town Tortilla Factory. It was a little chilly (for Arizona, at least), but the patio lit up with white lights made the atmosphere worth the lower temperatures. Plus, there's something so great about eating dinner al fresco in November. :-)
Thursday was the big day for Sean and me as we cooked our very first Thanksgiving dinner. The menu: turkey with sage butter and bacon-wrapped skin, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, mixed greens with pancetta and dijon vinigarette, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream (see photos below). Joel even stopped by to say hello and check on our cooking. The day was absolutely beautiful...sunny and about 80 degrees...so we couldn't resist eating outside. Again, what could be better than eating Thanksgiving dinner outside with your sunglasses on? After Robin and Jim were kind enough to clean up, we had just enough time to digest our meal and continue the day at Sun Devil Stadium to tailgate before the ASU-USC game. We enjoyed our pumpkin pie with our usual tailgate-mates, Lon and Dina, but were also joined by their son and Sean's friend, Brian (photo of Sean and Brian below). Even though the game ended in an ASU loss, we were still able to enjoy the holiday with family! We even had our own celebrity halftime entertainment: Little Richard (see photo below)!
On Friday my parents arrived, and after a quick tour of the house we all had lunch together at Four Peaks Brewery. It's appearing to become our go-to lunch location for when a member of the Cox family is in town! The six of us (photo below) enjoyed a filling lunch while enjoying some great beer and keeping our eyes on the other college football games going on. We then took a quick trip over to the ASU main campus to re-tread Sean's old stomping grounds before Jim and Robin left to catch their flight back to Kansas. Friday evening we popped Caddyshack into the DVD player while I cooked dinner: salmon with sauteed spinach and herb cheese spread, all wrapped in phyllo, with a repeat appearance of the mixed greens and dijon vinegarette from the day before and tortellini with alfredo sauce.
Saturday was another full day. We started at the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix, one of the largest museums in the country that's dedicated to Native American arts and culture. We spent over two hours there and we still didn't make it to every exhibit. One particular exhibit that I found interesting was the boarding school exhibit. They had information on a campus I was familiar with: Haskell Indian Nations University, located in Lawrence, Kansas. Once a boarding school, it is now a college that only admits students with Native American heritage. Our next stop was Old Town Scottsdale where we ate lunch at one of our usual haunts, Cafe Carumba, and took a short walk around the area to search for an area rug for my parents' front entry. No trip to the Old West would be complete without a drink at a cowboy bar, and our choice was the Rusty Spur, which has also been the choice of celebrities like Sean Connery and Vince Vaughn! Saturday night was the big KU-Missouri football game, so we joined what seemed like all the other Jayhawks in the valley at Upper Deck, a KU-favorite bar in Old Town Scottsdale. It appears the football gods were not smiling on Sean and me, as KU lost.
Sunday was a great day because I got to celebrate my birthday with my parents, which I don't think has happened in quite a few years! My mom must have been doing me a favor because it was my birthday, because she went to the mall with me to meet a friend and shop around a little bit! If any of you know my mom well, you know that she is NOT a shopper...but she was this day! Sean and my dad hopped over to one of Sean's favorite bars, Giligin's, to watch the Vikings game while my mom and I were at the mall. In the afternoon we were invited to one of my dad's colleague's homes for a drink and a viewing of his prize-winning Arabian horses! The home was absolutely beautiful (breathtaking, really), and the horses were amazing. I haven't seen a horse up close in a while, and to be able to see such gorgeous horses was just so cool! We viewed five horses, and the last one was Magnum Chall, who is a US, Canadian and Brazilian national champion stallion, and who also loves carrots, I might add! :-) Afterwards we celebrated my birthday with dinner at Tarbell's, which is now becoming one of my favorite special-occasion dining options. We managed to restrain ourselves to only sorbet for dessert, but a take-home order of their famous bread pudding.
Monday started the work week again for Sean and me, so while we slaved away at the office, my parents enjoyed a fun lunch with Dave and Evelyn and an extended visit walking around Old Town Scottsdale. When Sean and I returned home from work we all got a drink at the Coach House, the oldest bar in Scottsdale, then enjoyed dinner at the Pink Pony Steakhouse, a Jim and Robin favorite, and now a Bob and Ellen favorite!
Tuesday morning was an early one for my parents, as they had a 7:30 a.m. flight back to Minnesota.
All in all we had a great visit with everyone over the week!
We are now looking forward to the busy holiday season to continue...work slowing a bit (My two-day conference with over 300 attendees went great!), holiday parties, a trip to Minnesota, and hopefully trip(s) to see our team(s) play in a bowl!
Happy happy holidays!

Home sweet home!

Our big news for this post is that we are proud homeowners! We closed on the house last month and have been living in the new house for about a week now! We spent a lot of evenings after work shuttling car loads of belongings to the new house, so once we moved all the furniture in, most of the unpacking had already been done....we are completely settled in now! See all the photos below!
October was a fairly hectic month with Sean working in New Hampshire for a trial, closing on the house, and packing for the move, but we still managed to entertain my brother Christian for a weekend visit! Christian flew in on Friday at noon, which worked out well since Sean's flight from New Hampshire came in about an hour before! I picked up the two guys, then we headed to Four Peaks Brewery for lunch. Sean and I love their beer, and their food is great, too. We thought Christian would enjoy trying something local. After lunch Christian accompanied us to our title paper signing, then we headed downtown for the Diamondbacks-Rockies NLCS game. Sean had been up since midnight Phoenix time and was pretty tired, especially considering the Diamondbacks' less than impressive performance. We headed out during the 6th inning, only to find out the next morning that the game lasted extra innings...but still resulting in a Rockies win. Saturday was spent watching lots of college football on TV, then heading to Sun Devil Stadium to tailgate with our friends Lon and Dina and attend the ASU-Washington game. Our friend, Jeff, also joined us. The Sun Devils pulled out a win, contributing to what is now an 8-0 record! Sunday morning brought me to the airport two times in one morning: Sean at 6 a.m. back to NH and Christian at 10 a.m. back to Minnesota. I think Christian had a fun--and quick, event-packed--weekend, and we definitely enjoyed seeing him and hosting him in Phoenix. We're looking forward to the next time he can come down, hopefully for a longer, more relaxing trip!
And now for the long overdue photos!
The house (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 bonus/den that we're calling Sean's "man cave"):




















































































































































Also, here's a photo of us from Halloween. I was Dr. Christina Yang from the TV show Grey's Anatomy and Sean was a snowbird (AZ retiree).
















And here's a photo of Christian and me at the Diamondbacks game.