Holiday Weekend Getaway!

In the blink of an eye we noticed that it was almost a year since we had gone to California for a visit.  Nick and I both miss the familar places of our hometowns but feel that we've made the right move to explore different cities and experience life in different places.  Whenever we go back to L.A. we love to visit all the places that are special to us.  This time Nick and I were able to share those places with Sofie. 

During this trip we stayed with our good friends Eddie and Bianca.  We loved spending time with them and just enjoying our mini vacation.  Sofie really enjoyed spending time with them as well.  It's amazing that she is getting to the point where so recognizes faces now.  Eddie and Bianca stayed with us a while back and Sofie made friends again real quick!

On our first day in we headed straight to Philippe's for a California classic French Dip sandwich.  These guys not only know how to produce top quality sandwiches but know to please a customer too!

Here is Nick enjoying the fruits of Philippe's labor!

After we were satisfied with eating sandwiches, we headed over to Hollywood to show Sofie where the stars are.  On our way we drove past one of my favorite buildings...The Disney Music Hall

We thought this was just sort of funny...driving down Cesar Chavez street in the heart of Chinatown...

Just another thing we thought was hilarious...I think at this point we were getting deliours! After driving all day with a toddler, then filling up on yummy french dips...we were all in an altered state!

And then we hit Hollywood!  Hollywood is one of those cities that is different each and every time.  This is one of my favorite and unique cities. 

Here is Nick and Sofie on Sunset standing right outside the Chinese Theater. She loved people watching and seeing all the different characters!

Seeing all the slabs of concrete in front of the theater is really special...Bianca and I were reminded of the famous episode of the I Love Lucy show...good times.

Here is Sofie and "Uncle Bert" on their way to Frank & Sons- A place Nick had to visit while in town to find some of his back issues of his favorite comic book collection, Aquaman.

While in town we were able to meet up with some friends for a nice dinner in San Pedro.  The entire time while we were driving out there Nick had a craving for scallops...he has this weird thing about not really eating seafood unless we're by an ocean??? I know, I know...weird huh! So we hit up a well know place to endulge his craving!

and here are his scallops!

After dinner we were invited to a friends house and the first thing to come out...light sabers!

We also had a chance to spend some time with my sister, brother-in-law and my two beautiful nieces!  The weather was beautiful and the day just kept getting better and better!

Standing at the top of the hill at the Korean Bell is one of my favorite places in San Pedro!

Standing there with my family made it even better!

This is a picture of my niece Arianna. 

Here is my sister and her family!  I love you guys!

Here is one of Nick's favorite things in San Pedro...the three eyed fish!

and here one of my favorite sights...

Sofie loved seeing the water and looking at the waves.

We took Sofie to the Redondo Beach Pier.  As a kid my parents would take us there every weekend.  One of my favorite things to do was get corn on the cobb. 

It was so special to see my daughter enjoy the same thing.

Here is Nick enjoying a treat too...

Here is my niece, Katie and brother-in-law Bryan trying their luck at finding a pearl...Katie was lucky because she found THREE!!!

I also tried my luck with the oysters and also hit the jackpot!  I only found two!

Here are my winnings!

Here is Sofie with her Auntie Lani and Uncle Bryan-

Sofie by the end of the day was totally DONE!

By the end of our mini vacation...we were happy to get back to Arizona...Sofie is still trying to get back on her schedule!

Thanks Eddie and Bianca for being such wondeful hosts!  We miss you guys alread!

We finally got a cleaning lady!!!

Well the time has come and Nick finally brought on some help. Our new cleaning lady is short, doesn't speak a lot of English but she's efficient and works cheap! All she asks is for a clean bed, some good food and a nice glass of milk at the end of the day... And on the plus side, Nick enjoys watching cartoons with her!

Here she is in action!

Things like this happen often, Nick and I just have to sit back and laugh. Sofie has such a personality...she is just always making us laugh!

Movin' on up!

Sofia has been going to daycare for sometime now. She has been in the "cuddelbug" room since she started. This room was specifically for babies and kids under the age of 1 1/2 years old. Sofie made some friends and the teachers in the class loved her.

Sofie only attends daycare two days a week and the other three days are spent with her Nonnie and Grandpa. We can't thank them enough for babysitting, It's such a blessing having them so close...it allows them to spend quality time with Sofie! With Sof-a-lof getting bigger and bigger, the time came when our little "cuddlebug" just got too big to be in the "baby room". So, Sofie moved on up to the "Caterpillar" room. The Caterpillar room is for toddlers, kiddos from 1 1/2 up to 2 1/2 years old.

Here is a picture of Daddy taking Sofie to her first day of school in the "big girl room"-



Last week was her first full whole week going to school. This was only temporary, Nonnie and Grandpa were out of town. Sofie LOVED the first few days of her new adventure, but by the end of the week I think she had enough.

Eventually Sofie will go full time-she's on the waiting list. Going to daycare has been such a great opportunity for Sofie. Nick and I see the advantage of having her interact with other children. Her general social skills have really developed and she has learned so many things. While she's been attending daycare, Sofie has learned to sign and communicate with us. She signs more, please, thank you, milk, all done and a few others. She's also learned to sing the melodies of the A,B,C song, twinkle, twinkle, the itsy bitsy spider and wheels on the bus. I say melodies because she is still working on the lyrics.


Being in the "Caterpillar" room, all the kids eat breakfast at the mini table. When Sofie was in the baby room they would feed the kids breakfast in high chairs. I can't believe how big she is getting. In a way, it breaks my heart that I am not able to stay at home with her, but I know that she is enjoying herself and playing with her friends. It's amazing how time whirls by and in the blink of an eye, a year passes and that baby that once was swaddled in my arms is now running, yelling and laughing!



The journey of parenthood Nick and I thought we would never experience has become the best thing we've EVER done! And Sofie is such an awesome kid with such a unique personality! She makes us laugh each and every night. WE LOVE HER SO MUCH!

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!

To all of our faithful blog readers- Sofie is getting so big and is really starting to grow into her bigger than life personality. She is demanding, mischivious and daring. She has become such a little explorer and loves to "get into things".

Sofie has been trying really to use her words and talk to us. Here is a pretty good video that Nick was able to sneak. When ever a camera is near...little hammy Sof-a-Lof never wants to cooperate.




Here is another good one-

Here is Sofie eating her first All-Beef hotdog... Needless to say, she loved it.