Dreams Happen

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Saturday Night was the Dreams Happen Playhouse Auction to benefit Rebuilding Together Peninsula... as everyone knows this is the event where I met Brian FOUR years ago! The event is held every two years the first Saturday in June and a lot changes every two years as I went from not even knowing Brian in 2005, to married and pregnant at the event in 2007, and now happily drinking wine again with two kids in 2009! It is a very special night and was so much fun. We started at the VIP Event at Williams-Sonoma Home while Emmy walked Francie and Maisie around the mall then she passed off Maisie and had Francie at home for us the rest of the evening (thanks Em!) We had a lot of our friends at the event and as usual the auction was so much fun to watch and be a part of. The houses were incredible and I'd say the event was a success.

Unloading in the parking lot at the Shopping Center where the event is held

Emmy the rock star took both girls to the Peninsula Creamery for dinner and walked all around the mall while we were at the pre-party

Thanks for showing her the playstructure in McDonalds Em ;) I had managed to avoid that thing up to now!

We met back up with Em and the girls on the way into the event

and sent that Little Doo off for a night of fun with Em!

Our neighbors Ben & Sandra on a date night out

Oma, Kat & Donald getting ready for the auction

It's pretty fun to have the dinner and auction in the middle of the shopping center!

almost go time

Heff getting a gold star for being the Underwriting Chair this year

Kat & Donald... six weeks to their wedding!

Christian & I at the post-party by the band and Sprinkles cupcakes

Maisie was a good sport

What a fun night... do we really have to wait two years for the next one?!

Shoot It Daddy!

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Friday night Heff took Francie on a "Big Adventure" to Kings Mountain Archery Course to compete in an archery competition! He is brave, I know ;) Brian grew up hunting but just got into the bow & arrow kind this year... I gave him a bow for his birthday in February and he is hooked. He practices in our back yard on a 20 yard target and goes to a few ranges every once in awhile. He joined up with a group of 4 other archers and they competed on real-looking animal targets set up throughout the course. One of the guys took some pictures for me and just emailed Heff with them ;)

Heff all geared up... can you see the little "camo'ed" croc behind him!?

and the purple bow of course

When they came up to the first target Francie said "DAD! A DEER!!" followed by...
"SHOOT IT DADDY! SHOOT IT!"

She was loving it for the first half of the course... then crashed out in the backpack

Swim Dates

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Heather, her mom and cute Crason hosted us at Los Altos Country Club for a swim playdate in the babypool Thursday afternoon!

I showed up with Francie ASLEEP in the bugaboo and Maisie in her carseat... gave me some time to sit in the sun and enjoy a glass of wine before the babies woke up! It didn't take Francie long to wake up from her power-nap and jump right in.

Jasmine and Francie in their matching ruffly bathing suits

bathing beauties

Paige and Wes taking a break for a snack

Icie holding Maisie in the shade (and practicing for her new one due in two months)

Estelle snacking on Red Vines

Thursday night was the 4th anniversary of the day Heff and I met! To celebrate, we walked downtown for dinner with the girls for dinner and gelato. It took us awhile to decide where to eat but we had yummy tapas and then hit up the gelato place. Francie was dressed in a cute outfit for dinner so Heff put his North Face fleece on her to eat her CHOCOLATE (his idea, not mine) gelato. She kept saying "Sansie made a mess on daddy's jacket!" She was so worn out after a big day she fell asleep on her changing table while Heff was putting her PJ's on and cleaning her chocolate face :)

Summer Camp

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Tuesday was Francie's first day at Summer Camp! She went to Brilliant Babies for the Little Learners morning program from 9-12 and loved it. It was Farm Week so she wore her overalls and camo crocs :)

Heff took her in the morning while I finished up a few things at home, then took Maisie to Stanford Moms Group with her little friends :) We met Dad and Francie at Ann's coffee shop for a quick lunch and then swung by Dr. Cisco's office to check out Maisie's eye (had a little gunk, just needed drops) then went back to the office so I could work for 8 minutes (while parked in the loading zone, paid a few bill and said hi to the girls) and then met our friends Emily & Benji at Stanford Shopping Center to shop and check out the playhouses one last time before the big auction this weekend! Francie power-napped in her stroller while I had Maisie in my sling so I had hands free for some shopping too :) Such a busy day I didn't even have time to take pictures! But we got home and picked up dad to head over to Uncle Mark & Aunt Sarah's for dinner. Maisie and Clara are so cute together now! They hung out and swung together whie Francie was busy shooting her bow out back with Dad and checking on Mark's chickens.

stretch

Lunch with Rose

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Monday we had a girls lunch date with Rose and Lena (I'll give you one guess where we went?) Emmy came too with Francie, Maisie and me. Rose and Francie are so cute together and even more almost matching/coordinating outfits for their lunch date :) The girls got fancy straws for their kids cups and then got LOLLIPOPS for dessert. They couldn't decide who wanted pink and who wanted orange so they shared their lollis...

"I want to sit over here next to Rose please"

Rose eyeing the PINK lollipop

Sharing

All that lunching wore her out... nap-time.

Half-a-Year Birthday Party

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Sunday afternoon we went to Francie & Maisie's friend's HALF year birthday party :) Why not!? Francie had so much fun on the crazy triple water slide + pool + climbing wall bounce house!

Party dress

Insane waterslide-bounce house!

Taking a break for some watermelon and strawberries.. I love summer.

Sweet Cheecks found the rollercoaster ride-on

Anne and the water babies!! (or all the babies too young for the bounce house;)

Swinging with Dad in the shade

Anne & Mary with our babies

Cute little Maisie


Francie brought cowboy boots for the birthday boy!

cowboy up

Ready to head home for a nap with Dad

Family BBQ

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Friday Night we had a family BBQ and pizza oven party at my parents to celebrate my Dad's birthday (May 24) and Baby Ann's graduation from graduate school at Vanderbilt. The Kreefts and the Beldings came over from Aptos and the cousins all had a great time making fun of each other and taking crazy pictures :) Francie got to be the center of attention when Drew wasn't in the spotlight and Maisie got to meet her Cousins Claire (my goddaughter- home from Freshman year at Boston College!) and Johners (just finished his junior year at SF State) It was a late night on Menlo Oaks!

The Vandy gear was represented by Pat and Johners... and the girls in their little seer-sucker Vandy dresses ABA got them at the college bookstore!

how cute ;)

ABA and Pat on their last night of their visit :( Come back soon please?!

Francie "helping" Jannie prepare pizza toppings

Looks beautiful Jannie! (she acts like it's no big deal to get this all ready, make homemade dough all while the Little Doo is ordering her around and running around the house!)

Cousins Claire, John and Emmy teaching Francie how to dance

Uncle Rich with our neighbors Georgia and Jerry

Francie helped Dad set up an apple to show off his bow shooting skills (he just got back from a bow&arrow course on Skyline) so I dared him to shoot something ;)

Kinda looks like the apple is on her head? How good do you think you are Dad?! (My first idea was to shoot the apple off Uncle Andy's head but Mimi didn't go for it:)

Jannie making sure this is safe ;)

Bullseye? The apple of his eye? (neither really work here.. I was stretching;)

Checking out the target

and good excuse for a group photo!

www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com? outtakes....

Emmy stealing Ann's man? ;)

Sweet little Maisie

Godmother

Kreefts with Emmy and Maisie (Connor, Mimi and Claire)

Uncle Jerry takes you 1-2-3 HIGH on the swings!

Snacking on tomatoes

and hanging with Em

Can't get enough and has to drink the juice (ew goss sansie)

Here comes Drew with the ice cream sundae cups

www.creepyfamilyphotos.com! don't ask... (we were experimenting with a 1 sec shutter but still no excuse for the weirdness of this picture)

or these...

a little more normal....

and the whole crowd joins in! (first cousins... the kids of the Arnerich sisters- Jannie, Kaky and Mimi- with a husband/boy/girlfriends and babies)

Crab Dinner @ The Skidmores

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Thursday night we had a cracked crab dinner at the Skidmore's house with the whole crowd. Their backyard is such a nice place to hang out :) We didn't hit the pool this time but had fun with everybody enjoying the always delicious food and wine spread Ann and Earl put on. It was a treat to eat crab, especially with Baby Ann sitting next to me who likes to crack it but doesn't eat it! Francie ran around with their 70 pound bulldog, Randall and entertained us as usual.

Ann, Ann and Em

Heff and his littlest girl

Pretty table by the pool

Francie was entertained all night by Randall the Bulldog! Watch out... he'll "Knock-a you ova!"

the girls were wearing the darling Best&Co dresses Ann brought back from NY...

in a matching set of course!

The Heffs

Pat and Baby Ann (don't go back to Nashville yet!!!)

"AWKY!" (Pat asked Francie to do her Real Housewives of NJ 'Fabulous!' pose... she looked at hm and said "Awky!" It was hilarious!)

Em and James with Maisie

The binky is as big as her head ;)

Clark and James- in the corner with the cigars

I snuck a picture of the evidence ;)

Michelle, Jannie and Francie

Ann fixed a special little dinner for Francie

Earl and John cracking the crab

ABA, Em and Clark'a girlfriend Danielle with the little Doo (love the look she is giving her Auntie Baby Ann)

Maisie wide awake in her PJ's...

Francie PJ'ed up too- hoping she'll crash on the drive home!

Silly Uncle James chasing Randall

Time to head home! thanks Ann, Earl & Clark!

SF Giants Game

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Wednesday night while we were hanging out for our girl's overnight Daddy took Francie to her first SF Giants Game! Ann's boyfriend Pat came along with them, the Tennessee boy and sports fan's first Giants game too! Heff picked them both up at Rosewood and they took the train (and a six pack or two :) up to the stadium. They sat the first three innings in their bleacher seats then wandered around to get some food and check out the kids area. An older man talking to Francie told Heff to make sure and go to a certain office to get her first "Official Giants Game" certificate with her name on it! Around the sixth inning she was pretty spent (after a full day of swimming and the uber-excitement of riding on a train) so they headed for home.

Heff with his daddy-diaper-bag ready for another adventure with his Doo

Loving the CHOO-CHOO!!

Outside by the famous Willie Mays statue

The guys had to find her her very own Giants hat!

Dad explaining the way the game works from the bleachers

Nice work on camera duty Pat (I made him swear to take them ;)

Pat and Francie

and she's done. But got the certificate for her baby book!