Some very exciting news- several weeks ago our local Home Owners Association held an open election for board member chair positions. Nick thought it would be a great idea to submit his application to consideration. We submitted his application- posted a notice in our HOA website and tried to spread the word in the community to get as many votes for Nick... Well we had the official meeting

and... after the ballots were counted

H E W O N!!!!

Here is Nick and his victorious photo right after the Board Member election meeting. YEA!!


Nick is hoping to be appointed as the HOA treasurer and be able to really steer our HOA into the right direction and get our community some much needed amenities.

Way to go sweetie!! We're proud of you!

Early fishing-

Nick invited us to go along with him on an early morning fishing outing. Living in the Desert, you can't really have a true "fishing experience"...so the next best thing! This is just about 30 min from our house and it's on a wildlife preserve. The surrounding is beautiful and filled with all types of wildlife.


Nick enjoys coming here and just relaxing! He did not catch anything but it's really just about getting out- We arrived about 6:30 and it was already in the triple digits!

While Nick did his fishing thing, Sofie and I played and fed the ducks. Sofie is now able to recognize the animals...it is SO cute to hear her say "DUCK" she says it with such excitement.

This little girl makes me laugh. She is getting so big, it seems like just yesterday we were at this very park taking our first "prego" pictures.

Sofia is so interested in animals and noises right now. She mimics the animals and loves to hear them.

As we pass by local farms she'll shout out "moo" when she sees a cow and now "quack" for ducks.

Well, he is Nick giving us the final verdict on the fishing trip... no bites? maybe next time.

As we were leaving to go home at 7:30- here is the temp. UNBELIEVABLE!

1st Annual Mata Luau!

This summer was the 1st Annual Mata Luau. We had so much fun! My Mom and Dad opened their home and hosted a luau. All of our family and friends came out and had a blast!

The sun was out in full force last weekend. I think the high was a whopping 115 degrees... and that was in the shade. The food was great and the dancers were FANTASTIC! Here are some great pictures of the festivities.





















Here is my Dad with some of the female dancers. The girls were able to get him on the stage and "shake it". It was great seeing my Dad have so much fun! GOOD TIMES!



And at sunset, we watched a fantastic Fire dancer. He was great...it brought back memories of being in Hawaii.

Living in Arizona, Nick and I have really become acclimated to this weather. Sofie on the other hand, thinks it's H-O-T!! It's too cute, every time we get into the car and put her into her car seat she whispers to me- "momma, HOTTTT".

I have a feeling that summer is just starting to hit it's peak- We can't wait for our little California getaway coming up. We are planning on taking Sofie back to the beach and getting her out of the "hellish" heat!

Our 4th of July festivities

This was Sofia's second 4th of July celebration. The weather is fabulous for sitting poolside. The last time we checked it was a sweltering 110 degrees. Some of our good friends drove all the way out to Queen Creek for a much needed visit. The plan was to have no plans. Our main goal was to just stay cool and enjoy the weekend.

Here is Sofie doing her best to keep hydrated.

We headed over to my mom and dad's house. My dad made some of his AMAZING carne asada tacos and my mom worked her magic with her beans and rice. The margaritas were flowing and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

Sofia loves the water. She's not big on the floaty toys, she prefers to swooshed about and tossed in the air. She's becoming such a little dare devil. Here she is playing peek-a-boo with Eddie and Bianca.

At the end of the weekend we had such a great time with good friends and family. Can't get better than that!