Tuesday Night in the Neighborhood

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Katherine and Donald brought over steaks last night and took over our kitchen to make dinner for us. Donald is a rancher and knows how to BBQ a great steak! Kat made Iceberg wedge salads and we stayed up way too late drinking good wine (gifts from my bday... but we couldn't find the bottle from Mike George:) and planning our skits for the Heffernan Family Reunion already (can we sing that song in mixed company Kat?) Francie had some sweet potatoes and rice cereal... yum. The Ryan family stopped by for a visit and we all hung out in the backyard which is in the process of being redesigned/landscaped etc... our project for the next few weekends!

Mark Ryan with Willie and Anna

Donald hasn't learned yet you never give Willie your cell phone. Especially when he is wearing his sister's headband.

Dad keeping the girls entertained

Willie planning his trip to the "treasure box" in our pantry...

Looks like rain... we want the warm weather back!

Francie-Pant's "Smartie-Pants" G-Uncle Jerry

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We love our Uncle Jerry... he is 6 foot 8, lives in Orange County, has never been married (why bring in a pestering wife or annoying kids when he has us!) and has always been a prankster. He and my Uncle John (the UJ's) lived together after college until they were in their late 30's (Uncle John got married and foiled their lifelong plan) taking turns working and throwing really great parties. They would roll into town for Christmas and throw us all in the car for the infamous Dec 24 trip to Toys-R-Us for WHATEVER we wanted (under $20 of course) while all the aunts were fuming at home after spending weeks shopping for that perfect christmas present for us and the uncles look like the heros :) They would stay up with us until 4 in the morning playing with our new toys (Chemistry sets and Nintendos... more recently Poker chips and Wii) telling us stories about their crazy pranks and childhood (childhood lasting into the 30's obviously).

One of our favorite stories when Uncle Jerry wrote a letter to "Ce De Candy, inc" the makers of Smarties Candy telling the company that his little brother had eaten a whole bag of smarties that had mysterious brown dots on them and had gotten sick. If only we had that original letter! I assume he asked them for money or something....

Smarties%20Letter%20UJ.jpg

(Here is the email Uncle Jerry sent my mom this morning... hope you don't mind I'm postin git on the world wide web UJ!)
***********************

airmail%20UJ.jpg Good morning, Sibs!

I think you will enjoy the attachments. I was going through my old "stuff"
and found the infamous letter of reply from Ce De Candy, inc. that makes
Smarties candy.

This is the venerable Milton A. Honig's letter of response.Milt was a good sport.

This envelope is proof of the importance in their reply. AIR MAIL, baby ! :

I was a Junior in High School when I initiated contact with the Ce De Candy
company seeking proper recompense and consideration for my client (Freshman
brother John). Some may say that's pretty old for such shenanigans, but
then, the "funny bone" is a life long part of the skeletal system in our
family.

God LOVE you all- Brother Jerry.
**********************

Okay Uncle Jerry... now we want proof of the guy who delivered gallons of Rocky Road Ice Cream to the door when you were in junior high after you wrote to tell them there were NOT as many marshmallows per bite as they had advertised!

Rodeo Makes Headlines

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I mentioned the Rodeo was "eventful" this year... Sunday "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" Day was CRAZY! Francie and I went to the Rodeo with Katherine and Donald (after Gin Fizzes at the Forsbergs) while Heff was sighting in his new hunting rifle. It was a much nicer day, no wind, but there was a lot going on at the Fairgrounds! First, Francie witnessed her first "bar fight" when a guy poured his beer down the front of another guy walking by (they were both in there 60's or 70's) and then they of course tried to punch each other's lights out. The security guards jumped in and saved the day, happy to have something to do, and it turns out the guys were brothers waging a twenty + year battle... Kat was jostled in the crossfire and worked the guy for a few free beers, which we realized was NOT worth it when he talked our ear off for 30 minutes.

Francie says "How many times do we watch these guys eat dirt mom?" with her god-mom who narrowly escaped a left hook :)

Future cowboys in "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" t-shirts (NFR raises $ for breast cancer research)

Francie, that is not a very All-American face

Then... A BULL JUMPED A 7 FOOT FENCE INTO THE STANDS! It was Chaos! Right after the "Wild Ride Race" where cowboys dress-up in costumes to ride the bucking broncs, they were getting the bulls lined up in the pens for the last bull riding event of the Rodeo when this bull cleared the fence and barreled through the box seats in front of the stands. People were rushing to the top of the stands, climbing over each other, hanging from the scaffolding and screaming. We had a view of it all but were luckily out of harms way. Two kids were carried out in stretchers with missing shoes and a woman got stuck between the bull and the end of the stands until the bull finally launched her over the rail with a horn under her butt! They had to stop the rodeo because all of the ambulances had to take people to the hospital. We heard 6 people were injured, but everyone seemed to be ok after some bandages. Who knew rodeo spectating could be so dangerous!?

THE BULL "Blue Steel" in the stands!!! (to the left of the telephone pole)
The local paper reported: "The bull jumped a seven-foot wall without a running start," said Levi Rosser, 28, of Marysville, one of the five pickup men on the scene. "I'm 28 years old and I have been around the Red Bluff rodeo all my life and I've never seen anything like it before. It was chaos for a while."

It made national news and was on the FoxNews.com homepage today as a top story!
FOXNEWS.COM HOME > U.S.
Bull Jumps Over Wall at Northern California Rodeo, Injuring 6

Finally got the bull out of the seats and into the arena

Looks like everyone was ok thank goodness... we were sitting in those seats on Saturday!

Francie at The Rodeo Day 2

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Saturday was an action-packed Rodeo Day! We had breakfast at Claire and Tom's house (with Bloody Mary's Aunt Kat style of course!)then headed over to the Fairgrounds to check out the vendors (aka Rodeo Shopping) and get to our seats. They have a guy skydive in with a huge American flag to land in the arena to start the day. We were sitting in the bleachers next to the chutes and it was nice and sunny out but really windy so it was a little chilly. Heff went back to the car to load up on camo jackets to keep us all warm. We stayed until the end to catch the "Wild Horse Race" where teams of three guys try to saddle and ride a wild horse that has never been saddled/bridled around the track, it is completely nuts and usually a few end up in the ER! We saw Bull Riding, Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping and all the usual Rodeo events.

Francie before the Rodeo getting psyched up

Ride um Cowgirl

You know what they say about "Wrangle Butts"...

That's right Francie, they "Drive Cowboys Nuts!"

Rodeo Time... All American ALL the time :)

Jane and Claire with the Cowboy Beverage of Choice

Mare and The Doodle with our cowgirl hats

Tipping her hat for the Pledge of Allegiance

In the stands with Dad and the crew... Francie says "These cowboys are crazy!"

I see you Francie-pants!

YUMMMM... corn dogs. I ate three of them on Saturday.

And the wind picks up... bundled up with Aunt Kat in a John Deere blankie and Camo jacket

Saturday after the Rodeo we went out to "Cow Pie Field" on Edward's Ranch for a party/camp-out with a bunch of the Red Bluff families. They know how to party! Tyler and Mary hosted everyone and made Cowboy Stew in big cast iron pots they buried underground on hot coals before Rodeo. Tyler brought a pop up camper for us to sleep in and everyone bundled when the sun went down. It was a COLD night but Heff came prepared (he knows the first time his wife is TOO cold on a camping expedition might be the last time we camp:) so we had big down sleeping bags and kept the Doodle bundled up. She slept pretty well and we had fun in the morning with everyone out in their PJs!

Cow Pie Field

Tyler bringing out one of the three pots

Mary and Tyler check the stew... looks good!

Madeline ATV'ed over from her house

Everyone eating dinner... notice Francie has her cowboy boots still on, just over her footy-pajamas!

GOOD MORNING! Francie looking around thinking "Did I really sleep in this camper!"

You did Doodle! Your first camping trip went off without a "hitch" :)

Haley and Francie in their pajamas hanging out in the morning sunshine

Hank keeping the bad guys away on his super-tricycle and pop gun

Francie's First Red Bluff Round-Up Rodeo!

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We had an eventful and jam-packed Rodeo Weekend! Heff, Francie and I drove up Friday afternoon with Aunt Kat and arrived just in time to throw on our boots and head over to the Fairgrounds.

Francie in the sky box sporting her favorite "Rodeo PJs" and boots of course. She thinks they taste as good as they look.

Watching the rodeo groupies from above

Wouldn't be a Rodeo without the Budwesier Clydesdales (or are they "paint" horses Kat?:)

Francie staying up late not to miss a minute of this!

Rodeo Cowboys

View from the chutes

Sorry Francie, your Dad ain't gonna let you watch from that close EVER! (I remember this girl from the Rodeo last year riding her horse all over with a baby in a front carrier Baby Bjorn... looks like she has graduated to the backpack this year!)

OUCH

Francie getting lots of love from Jamie "You-better-feed-that-baby" George and Katherine G.

Buffalo side show (they came with the famous "One-Armed Bandit")

Mary and Jamie watching the bulls

Francie with Aunt Kat and Donald post Rodeo (when the party really begins!)

Francie is jealous... she wants my ghetto-fabulous camo hat bedazzled with a princess crown. (Kat and I got matching ones at Bull Sale last month... people keep asking us if they are Juicy or from Neimans:)

Hanging out in the "Crown Royal tent" with Kat and some friends from college

"Dad's not sharing his cocktails Mom." (Classic Francie Face! The string lights from the tent look a little like antlers Doodle :)

The Heff's with a random cowboy passing by... haha :)

MORE Rodeo pics from Day Two and Day Three to come!

Francie Hanging Out with Dad

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Francie loves to hang out with her Dad on the couch. He reads her stories, plays with her toys and makes silly noises and songs (mostly making fun of Mom). Just a few pictures while I was playing with the settings on my camera... LOTS of Rodeo pictures to post as soon as we get home from Red Bluff tonight!

"Dad, come on... tip the beer just a little bit for me."

"Haha, PLEASE... if I laugh for you?!"

Playing with Tickle-Me-Cookie-Monster... "Me so funny!"

Dad loves to snuggle in that neck and soak in her baby smell :)

7 Months... a little early

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Tonight Heff and I were putting Francie's PJ's on her and couldn't help but let her play around on our bed naked to take some pictures! I think I took 5 month pictures on the bed with just a onesie on so we'll call these her "7 month pictures" even though she still has two more days to be six months old! (I always tell Heff not to round up her age so he doesn't cheat her of the last days to be a little girl!) She was a barrel of laughs and launching herself all over the bed. Gone are the days of just running into the other room with a baby on the bed. She is SO close to crawling and moves herself where she wants to go by lurching forward from a sitting position to her hands and knees and then reaching for things (no knee movement yet) or rolling over and over. She's a busy about-to-be-7-month-old!

Me trying to take her picture lying on my lap :)

Didn't go so well...

Gotta check a naked baby's weight! Is that the "Willows Neighborhood" gang sign she's flashing? Francie what have they been teaching you at playdates?!

Francie's Lunchdate at the Park

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We met Kelli, Landry and some of their friends from Stanford Business School at Burgess Park Tuesday for a fun lunchdate. The babies played on the grass while we snacked and watched them entertain us. Francie was the oldest baby, the others were 4-5 months, so she was showing off her new "moving and shakin skills"!

Jannie dressed Francie this morning in her seersucker romper :)

Landry was taking a nap in the shade with mom for awhile

Furrowed brow Francie

Little Miss Landry can furrow that brow even better than you can Francie!

Kelli and Landry

Mare and Francie

Francie refused to smile for the camera for the rest of the day after I pointed out the baby-zit on her chin to her new friends

When Mom & Dad Are Away, Jannie & Emmy Will Play

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Jannie, Grandpa, Emmy and Uncle Jerry watched Francie for a few hours last night while I had a neighborhood meeting about the "Willows Cocktail Party" we are hosting at our house in May (love having 12 women on a committee for a party with +/-60 guests:) and Heff was finishing up some work at home. Jannie and Emmy "Geddes" put this little card together for Heff and I when they brought Francie home... pretty close to this one they had already! Thanks for watching the doodle :)

Teething?... Real Cowboys Use Beef Jerky

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Lindsey and Isaac hung out with Francie and I, Margaret and Ronan Monday while the boys were hunting... We did the rounds in Red Bluff and went to visit the Flynn's ranch to see my horses and the miniatures, went to Crossroads Feed Store for some shopping (yes they have more than just chicken feed!) and had lunch with the hunters at "2 Buds BBQ" after their day on the ranch. Thankfully, they weren't cleaning a big disgusting pig all afternoon as they didn't shoot one :) The guy at the BBQ place saw three babies under a year old an immediately whips out beef jerky strips for them. I mean... doesn't this happen at most restaurants? He scraped the pepper off this beef jerky with his not-very-clean-fingernail and said "Gnaw on it a little Mom, then give it to those kids and you won't be able to get it away from them." Really? Salty meat. Why wouldn't they want to give it up. And yes all three of us stuck the dirty, peppered, beef jerky in our kids mouths. Now THAT was good for their immune systems! But we had a great time with Chad and Lindsey in Red Bluff and are counting them in for Rodeo weekend next year.

Kristie taking time out to entertain us with her flock of ponies (Thanks Kristie!)

Stanley the Mini

Lindsey with Francie-pants

Ronan checking out the horsey

Lindsey and Isaac (woke up from his nap just in time to play with the ponies)

The babies on Stanley

Francie's turn on Stanley

Isaac's first horsey ride

He loved it obviously :)

Babies in The Bluff

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Francie got to play with her playgroup buddy Isaac in Red Bluff! Our friends the Hutchinsons came up to Red Bluff Sunday and Monday so Chad and Heff could get some hunting in (more turkeys and pigs). Lindsey is from Louisiana and fit right in:) We had the Flynn's all over for dinner at Claire and Tom's house Sunday night and BBQ'ed up some tri-tip. As usual Claire had a great spread for all to enjoy. The weather was perfect and we kept the babies entertained with the goats until the Flynn kids came to take over!

Francie and Isaac playing on the spa

The girls out in the warm, windy night kicking back

Heff and "Hutch" with Isaac at the BBQ (yup, they have one in Red Bluff too:)

Aunt Kat was a trooper and stayed on for dinner even though she had to be back in the Bay Area to report to Room 1 Kindergarten at 7am the next morning

Girls and their cocktails! Francie tried a sippy-cup

Madeline was such a great helper with Francie! She took care of her all night and even though Francie has a little of the "stranger anxiety" going she fell right into Madeline's arms and never left.

Francie's god-family... God-mother Kat, "God-sister" Madeline and Kat's God-son Ronan. Does that make Francie and Ronan God-siblings once removed or something?

Eva!

Madeline and Francie-pants

Pretty in Pink... look at those cute girls :)

Cathleen's Pavlova got rave reviews

Francie in the Playhouse

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Francie had so much fun playing in the new playhouse in Red Bluff that Oma and Nana bought this week AND put together themselves! It had a lot of pieces with a kitchen inside, planter boxes, a little patio and even it's own mailbox. Francie is learning to pull herself up on things now and loves to hang out on this little trellis just her size.

"Yeah I'm a big girl.. I sit on this little bench all by myself."

Laughing at Dad making faces and singing silly songs

Francie's turn to be silly.. can't do anything without a few raspberries

Yum, wood feels good on those gums (no teeth yet)

Furrowed-brow Francie-pants

Why so sad Francie? Oh... there's a smile :)

Dad and Opa watching Francie-Doodle

Playing with cousin Ronan

Opa makes sure Francie is safe and Francie LOVES making faces at her Opa!

Francie waving hi from the house just their size

Having fun with Mom in the playhouse

Rodeo Kick-Off Chili Cook-Off

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We are up in Red Bluff this weekend so Heff can get some turkey and pig hunting in, but the festivities for Rodeo started this weekend (the big Rodeo event is next weekend) so we kept ourselves entertained while the boys were shooting guns. Yesterday Claire, Cathleen, Kat, Francie and I went to the Chili Cook-off and Fair downtown Red Bluff to check out the vendors and try lots of chili. You got a "Chili Tasking Kit" with a little cup, plastic spoon and a red ticket to vote for your favorite, then went around to all the booths trying their versions of chili. We voted for the Firemen's chili in the "People's Chioce" category, it was spicy and YUMMY. Kat and I found the beer bus so we were happy. There were lots of homemade things for sale like "Soy Candles by Jan" (anyone see "The Office" last Thursday... I'm not kidding!), jams, jellies, kids aprons and all kinds of stuff. Francie went home with her very own pink John Deere floor quilt

The Twins... dressed almost alike as usual

Kat and I trying to be like them in our "twin" ghetto-fabulous bedazzled camo hats

Francie went on a Pony Ride with her Oma...

She took the phrase "Hold on to your hat!" literally.

"Where's my polo mallet?"

Can't wait to see the Crazy Horse Race at Rodeo next weekend!