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.

Rub-a-Dub Dub...Sofie's in the tub!

Sofie has always loved the bath. Now that she's getting older she has made the move from baby bath to the "big girl bath". She loves the water and looks forward to her bath each night. It's cute, each night when we tell her "bath time" she repeats "ba" and walks down the hall way all the way to her bathroom and waits for the water to run.

Sofie likes when we do shampoo mohawks. Just a few months ago Nick and I were complaining that she hardly had hair. And now, it's getting long enough for little Pony tails. LOVE IT!!

Daddy bought Sofie some bath crayons. She is getting use to how they work. With a little help from me we had art time bath side a few nights ago. Our masterpiece is growing. Stay tuned for our finished product.

Catching Up

Catching up with our baby girl!

Well Easter has come and gone and we are fast approaching Mother's Day. This will be my second Mother's Day and watching Sofie grow from that adorable baby girl into a vivacious toddler. Sofie has made this experience a thrill a minute.

Earlier this month, Nick and I took Sofie to her first Native Pow-Wow. She really enjoyed watching the dances and seeing all the colorful costumes.

It was a gorgeous day and seeing these different tribes come together and show their pride was an interesting experience. This was my first Pow-Wow as well and I really enjoyed hearing the drums and experiencing the strong emotional ties that the dancers have to their costumes and the dances that they have carried over generation after generation.

Here is Sofie girl and her Pappa.

Here are some pictures of Sofie and her cousins Katie and Arianna during Easter. Sofie really enjoyed playing with the "big girls". Sofie got to color Easter eggs and play along with the big Egg hunt.




















Here is Sofie sharing her Easter eggs with her Grandpa.

It was so nice watching Sofie play with her cousins. It's amazing, I remember when my nieces were babies and now, my baby is playing with her cousins.

This past week, Nick had foot surgery and has been laid up at home for the last week. This has been hard on him but it was had it's perks... He is making a strong recovery and will be ready to chase Sofie around the house in no time!

My heart just melted seeing this. Sofie loves her Daddy time!