Happy Easter 2011!

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Easter was a busy day- church at 9:15 which was PACKED, a neighborhood egg hunt, friends over for an egg hunt at our house after, naps and a family easter party at Jannie and Grampa's complete with a friendly competition of course :) It was also my sister Baby Ann's 25th birthday - we missed her but were thinking of her!

We went to mass in the morning and then walked over to our neighborhood Egg Hunt in the alley across the street (it took living here for like six months before I realized none of the houses across the street have garages- they all park in an alley access between the two streets, easy for block parties for sure)

The girls were excited and Donald, Brian, Kat and I had to-go beers/mimosas so we weren't complaining either

under 5's got to go first

egg hunters

Then we had our own little egg hunt at home

Francie was way into how many she could collect

Then naps for the babes and over to Jannie and Grampa's for family fun

The Doverspikes stayed through Sunday night with us- always fun to have them!

O.D. the Little Man in the pram!

and I just have to document that although I failed to ever get all three girls in their easter dress at the same time I did have them in triplicate!! This was Francie's First Easter dress and I had the bigger sizes from Le Cirque sale :) Didn't know I'd need all three this year!

2008 - Francie!

and while we are walking down Easter's memory lane… had to repost this CREEPY BUNNY from 2009 while we were waiting for Maisie to show up a few days later! France was not a fan- would you have been?!

back to this year Jannie with Maisie and RB- Maise was a little under the weather with an ear infection - luckily she had her new quilt "blankie" Jannie made for her to snuggle under all night. She has barely let it go since! It says "Love and Stiches and Lots of Kisses" embroidered on it, love it Jannie!

John and John- kind of dressed alike but definitely not alike in the hair style department.

Heff was cold when the sun went down and grabbed a sweatshirt from the pizza oven stash- it said XL but might have been a youth XL?! :)

My Dad and Ella looking cute by the BBQ

Cousin James and UJ being silly

and this year the infamous EGG DROP contest was back! The entries were impressive this year- people are getting too good with 6 out of 10 staying intact when dropped from the 3rd floor balcony. Jerry and John were putting an entry together at the last minute… hum this one might have been a big zero.

other entries…

Francie liked Uncle James giant water balloon the best but claimed two other entries so she was sure to get a winner somewhere

Group shot- Jannie has her clipboard ready to take entries for the big drop!

Let the games begin

here they come…

Ducky and Francie entered the PWT toilet paper in solo cups with duck tape and a Kmarty bag parachute-

it worked! Francie held it up and said "AAhhhh! The egg is IN TACKED!"

spectators had to step back

Mr. Jerry Easter all decked out as usual - too bad his egg cracked!

and the finale…

in motion, and SPLAT.

time for cake- how cute is this bunny cake Kim and Ella made?! Love the laffy tacky ears

I hope both sides of our families keep up the baby-having so we always have infant seats up on the tables at parties!

"What?! I like being the baby!"

Happy Easter Breads!

More Soccer

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Francie is loving soccer! She has the 3.5-4.5 year old class first, then Maisie's class. Maisie prefers the sandbox but is getting a little more into "so-cah" every week.

listening to coach (who tells the over-involved parents to take a hike by saying "ok kids say bye-bye to your moms!" haha :)

Sisters on the playground in between practice

Maisie Moo riding her horsey

and sandbox socializing with the siblings

Easter Eve

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Aunt Kat and Uncle Donald stayed with us for a few days since they had a wedding in Saratoga so we got ready for Easter festivities on Saturday. Kat and I made a trip to the two-story Target (our fav) and had Mark, Sarah, Clara and Baby Caroline over for lunch - then dyed eggs, made cookies and got ready for a fun dinner at the Skidmore's!

Janie chillin in the ergo while we colored the eggs

and this is a horrible picture of me but I was making cookies while the girls took their afternoon naps and Kat and Donald headed out to the wedding, Heff was on a run so I packed Oliver in the ergo and held a fussy Janie to finish the cookies- Heff was laughing at me when he came home and took this picture :)

Zach and Oliver at dinner- they were best buds :)

J&Z - so great to see them back in CA- move home please!!

Janie sticking her tongue out silly girl

Hard to tell- Donald passed out after a few too many beers or Oliver Donald passed out after a few too many ounces of milk?!?

Cracked crab dinner at the big dining room round table- Heff and I (and Jen and Zach who were so helpful with our crazy crew!) were up and down about 25 times with kids but still managed to eat a yummy dinner

Heff, Jer, Clark and my Dad

Ann, Jen, Zach and Earl - and pretty easter decorations on the table!

Francie and Maisie cheers-ing Jannie with their cocktails :)

Maisie hanging out with "Oh-vuh" her little bunny buddy

an attempt to take a picture of all four in their PJ's - not so much! Francie ran for the hills, Maisie says "all done hod-ing Janie" and Oliver and Janie are not so happy - but it was a great night!

Ryan & Eloise

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Last Saturday Jan, John, Brian and I co-hosted a cocktail party to celebrate our good friends Ryan & Eloise upcoming wedding. Ryan and I went to school together and the Connolly's have always been so good to Brian and I- hosting us for our first vacation together at their house in Desolation Sound BC and also opening their home for our rehearsal dinner! We are so excited for Ryan and Eloise and had a fun night celebrating with them and their friends.


Ann Skidmore came to help make pizzas

Michelle and her friend Alex helped with the bar and pizzas and Katsy and Ann shared Janie holding duties- a big job that night!

Cupcakes for dessert

Jannie and her girls

lots of fun friends


more pizza please!

we did the "who knows who better?" game Jodi did at Jen's wedding in New Orleans - hilarious! They were GOOD too :)

almost all of the questions were right!

crowd pleasers

Eloise, Ryan and I

The BBQ men- my dad, Heff, Ryan's dad Pat and Ryan

Francie enjoying cupcakes with her new friend- he even played War with her when she showed him the deck of cards in the tv room

Maisie loves her some "spicy soda" when she can find it

We're so happy for you Eloise and Ryan! See you in a few weeks for the big day!!

Janie's First Rodeo

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Friday night we went up to Red Bluff for the Rodeo! One of our favorite weekends in Red Bluff. We got up there Friday around 2pm - hung around the house with Opa for awhile and then went to a Fish Fry (Friday in Lent) at the Catholic School, picked up the Flynn girls and then hit the fairgrounds for Friday Night Rodeo. The girls made it through the whole thing!

First some dress up at Oma and Opa's house

Funny girl Maisie in a get-up she picked of course

Presenting Princess Francie

Janie being cute and giving lots of smiles lately!

My little buddy and godson Oliver on the tailgate- I mean how adorable is this kid!?

Proud parents Kat & Donald :)

Maisie had been taking a power nap in the truck so we made the tailgate our fish fry party with Kristie and the Flynn kids

Janie isn't so sure about all this yet

Francie found some turkey hunting decoys and was pretty happy

and then she found our big girls Madeline and Eva got to ride next to her and was besides herself - in awe of these beautiful, well-mannered ladies! (so are we :)

Cowgirl Up

Madeline reminded me that people watching is the best part of the Rodeo- this year did NOT disappoint! Especially with our we-didn't-plan-ahead bleacher seats

Dad and The Moo watching horses cross the track - "Daddy! A BA!!!"

Cowbells for cheering on the cowboys

Grandstands (hey- who wants to sit in box seats anyway? Last time we were there a bull jumped the fence and knocked people into the ring with his horns!!)

Pretty happy to watch the action

Red Bluff Rodeo - it's kind of a big deal

Maisie can't take her eyes off the bulls

Family shot after the rodeo

Heff and four of his favorite girls (could have had all six if Janie and I hadn't been taking the picture!) :)

"Where's my corndog?"

Oliver making the rounds in the Crown Royal tent after the events ended, he's a popular guy

too dark but Kat and I with our babies - what a fun night!

We would hav been back Saturday and Sunday to soak in as much bull riding-calf-roping-wld-horse-racing action as we could but we had to head back to Menlo Saturday morning to co-host a shower with Jannie and John for our friends Ryan and Eloise- back in the truck for some forced family fun in carseats!

Clara & Caroline

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We've been getting to spend lots of time with Clara Marie -especially the week the new baby was born!

Tuesday we had Clara sleep over since her parents were in the hospital with her NEW BABY SISTER! Oma was here to take care of her and Maureen, Kate, Ellie and Patrick drove down for the night so we had a big slumber party at our house

Wednesday night we were back at Mark and Sarah's for dinner - Sarah and I with the newbies (6 weeks apart and Clara/Maisie are 2 weeks apart!)

Thursday morning we got to go to lunch with Oma and Clara downtown- Heff had Triple-Trouble on his hands!

and Sunday night we were all back over to their house for a yummy curry dinner - the girls were being silly as usual

Oma before she left to go home the next day with Clara and Caroline

and with all FIVE Bay Area granddaughters!

Would You Rather...

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Last Friday night Heff and I "divided and conquered" and each did a different activity overnight with the girls which we don't do very often… and boy were they different. I'll let the pics speak for themselves, but you tell me which one you would rather have participated in…

Since my good friend Christian and I have the same birthday (April 5 - in addition to both running kid businesses on the same street, going to the same high school, having a dad named John/Jack and a mom named Jan and more weird similarities!) we sometimes celebrate together but it was her 30TH this year (my boring 33rd) so we had a big bash at Rosewood for her party and Janie tagged along with me obviously.

so while we were enjoying the finer (warmer) things...

Brian, Francie and Maisie were camping in 28 degree weather! Sounds CRAZY to me but they loved it. Well, the girls loved eating hot dogs, making s'mores and getting dirty - then it got COLD in the night and while wrestling their little baby sized mummy bags Francie said

"Dad. I don't like camping. I don't think Maisie does either. Maybe next time you should go by yourself." I hear ya France.

Hot dogs and headlamps

S'Mores

Yummmmmmm (ok that part looks good, I admit it))

Crazy girls still "loving" their camping (it wasn't quite below freezing yet)

Ahh enjoying a Babe by the fire… sort of

Bedtime- at least Maisie has her pillow to cozy up with! Heff said he underestimated how much kids move around when they are sleeping- so the mummy bags didn't work out so much and both girls ended up crawling into his sleeping bag which meant he was only half way in it. Great night sleep huh!?

They got back early from camping (because WHY would you hang around somewhere when it's 28 degrees?!) and I convinced them to come to Rosewood to swim with the girls. Not an easy task but Heff knows his girls love swimming at "wose-wood!"

This picture was when we were leaving after Francie fell asleep on the path outside the room- camping then swimming = TIRED kids!

cheers to that

John B Grad Party

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My cousin John graduated from SF State and my Uncle John and Aunt Kim just moved to Aptos so they hosted a fun grad party at their new house last Saturday night. We are all proud of John for getting that diploma and loved the chance to get everyone together at John and Kim's- they hosted a great BBQ at their beautiful new house!

Jannie and her "little" brothers

Team BBQ

Emmy and the Maisie swing!

Heff and his middle baby (and sorry about my recent obsession with the pin-hole effect on my little camera - I have gotten lazy about bringing my big camera and just couldn't shake the cool effects until I had overkilled them!)

Who are these trouble makers you ask?? TOM & JERRY!! (for reals :)

The girls in the kitchen -thanks for a great party Aunt Kim!

Francie and her posey (Emmy, Ella and Kelly)

Me and my goddaughter with Janie in the sling (she has been sleeping SO much better at night but has a cranky witching hour in the evenings - sometimes calmed by the sling and sometimes by nothing... but she's still a keeper.

Kelly gives the twins a thumbs up

Guess I should have used a flash by this time in the evening- but how cute is this little landing for two mini rocking chairs?!

Cake! and a speech. Congrats Johners!

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

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How about you, you you?! Last week was a whirlwind of activity around here! I have so much to blog I don't even know where to start :) We were in San Diego Wednesday for a quick trip to the San Diego Zoo - I had all three of my girlies with some of our friends and we escaped the Bay Area rain for some San Diego sun. The Zoo was a big hit and with the help of the stroller "Sidekick" skateboards and an Ergo and Christian who came with us too- we managed to make it through the entire zoo in an afternoon.

Francie and her baby sister at lunch

We are ready to take on the ZOO!

That's how we roll

Janie helped us navigate the paths with her map

The rhinos were a big hit. They are so ugly :)

They wanted to send Dad a picture of them "kissing a snake"

nice face France

Maisie thinks she's as big as the elephants

and this was one of the days she insisted on wearing her fashionable arm band

Awww… sometimes they are such stinkers but sometimes they are so cute :)

Creative strollering

and when your massive stroller doesn't fit on the people mover- you get even more creative (it was this or trekking UP hill for a long ways..)

We'll be back "AMINALS!"

Happy Birthday Maisie!

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Our little Maisie Moo is TWO!! Happy Birthday funny girl we can't believe you are two years old. We were so excited to meet you on April 18 two years ago and can't believe how much fun and laughter you have added to our life. Here are a few things I wanted to remember about you right now- as I just put you to bed for the last time as my 1 year old… Happy Birthday MaryMarjorie.

*You don't get mad very often EXCEPT when I ask how old you are and you say "Eight." and I say "No you are still ONE." and hold up my finger. You yell "NO EIGHT!!!" and squeeze my finger and make a really mad face - it's hilarious :)

*You weigh 25 pounds and are tall for your age (ie I need to measure you) You have little chicken legs and no bum- still in those size 2/3 newborn diapers. You are pretty close to potty-training but we're just not there yet- still surviving with two in diapers.

*You love to eat meat "ha-dog!" is your dinner request of choice but you'll eat any kind of meat cut up small (Dad is always worried about the choking hazard of course) and you also love fruit, crackers and applesauce in those mash up things. You aren't so into sweets and sugar like your sister but you love a good lollipop now and then.

*You are still working on talking-so-people-can-understand-you thing. You sure do get your point across and you have lots and lots of words but your parents and Ga-Ga (Francie) might be the only ones who understand them all. You talk in full sentences and use your funny expressions so we get what you're saying- don't worry :) You are very fond of NO and MINE (and not even a terrible two yet - oh my!)

*You are stubborn and strong willed. Man I bet you are going to give us a run for our money when you are a teenager Maisie! Let's hope by saying that I can un-jinx you out of it or something. You live up to your nickname Crazy Maisie and boy are you funny!!

*You share well with your sisters. Sometimes Francie has to work pretty hard and practice her patience to convince you to share but you usually comply and like to make big sis happy.

*You are very curious and inquisitive. You love animals (mostly horses which you call "Bas" for some reason and dogs and cows and farm animals. But when we have asked what you wanted for your birthday you have said "A Bunny!" for you and a bunny to give to your sister. You want to name them Hearty and Sher-mom like Oma's horses. You love getting dirty, helping dad with his truck or the Troopy (your fav) and you might end up being dad's hunting and camping wing-man, at least that what he is calling.

*You still take a BaBe (bottle) when you are tired. You drink Whole Milk (as your sitter says "the D kind and then when you turn 2 you get the 2 Percent kind)" and if the bottle flows out too much (from your biting!) you say "yucky momma- it's broke." and make me find a new top, little stinker. We're kicking the habit though you big two year old so bye-bye Babe!

*You are also still pacifier addict although you only get it in bed or in the car on long drives (or when you are so tired and so ready to get home and get in bed mom can't listen to the whining anymore and you get it to plug your crying :) Janie takes the same kind of pacifier of course (even though we tried every other kind) but you are good about not taking hers.

*You think you are a fashionista and are more demanding and concerned with your outfits even than Francie is at 3.5. You wore this polka dot baby-leg as an "arm-a band" for 2 days straight and always have to pick your own shoes and PJs. Matching outfits might be out the window because of your opinions before anyone else! But actually you love to dress like Francie and if I buy you something (like a "Sharkie" onesie) just for you you say "Where's Gagas??" and refuse to wear it unless Francie has a matching one.

*You still LOVE your bed, pillows, comforter, dolls, binky, etc. We finally lowered the railing on your crib after you started climbing out about three months ago. You sleep with the room totally dark and the door closed and sometimes you put yourself to bed for naps (you disappear, close the door behind you, climb in bed under your covers, turn on your monkey music machine, find your binky and it's good night Maisie!) You nap 2-3 hours every afternoon. You usually go to bed around 9:30-10pm and sleep in the morning until 9-9:30am, sometimes longer! We hear you in there with your monkey music on but we wait for you to come out on your own (or else we face the wrath of wrong-side-of-the-crib-Maisie) So basically you love to sleep :) I love you for that.

*You are a GREAT big sister. I was worried you wouldn't like a new baby taking your position but you have been a model big sis since the minute Janie was born. You always say "I see Janie?! I hold Janie?! I tickle Janie?!" and you show her toys and tickle her cheeks or tell her what every part of her body/face are (sorry out the pokes to the eyes Janie) Janie is lucky to have you as a big sister to look up to!

*We love you Maisie. Almost every day your dad and I look at each other and say "How is she so darn cute?" or we talk about how funny you are. We can't wait to see the person you become and are enjoying every minute of having you in our life.

HAPPY TWO YEARS to our little MaryMarjorie!!!

Guess Who Learned to Ride a Bike!

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We had a big cleaning out the garage project this morning after church and Heff pulled down the two-wheel bike we gave the girls for Christmas (a garage sale find) Heff ran along next to Francie the first time and then all of the sudden she was off and biking like a big girl! She is very proud of herself and takes the helmet/safety issue very seriously :)

AFter riding up and down our sidewalk and the side street and doing laps at Shoup Park all afternoon Francie begged to bring her bike to Mark and Sarah's house Snday night when we went over for dinner. They live on a great street for bike riding so I got a video… (the bike might need a bit of WD-40 and how annoying do I sound?!)

Welcome Baby Caroline!

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Mark and Sarah welcomed a baby girl yesterday!! Clara Marie is now a big sister to Caroline Jean Heffernan. She arrived 12 days early and Sarah was a champ with a pretty quick and easy labor - they are already home and had us over for dinner tonight! (Thanks to Oma's yummy cooking) That makes the Heffernan grandchild total 8 girls and 3 boys (9 of the 11 are age three and younger) with one more on the way for Craig and Andrea due at the end of July. The baby madness continues :) We are thrilled to have another Bay Area GIRL cousin of course!!

Clara getting some special time with her mom- who looks fantastic for having a baby half a day before this!

Caroline is a BEAUTY - long dark eyelashes (even though by comparison Clara's were crazy long), pretty eyebrows already! and everyone says you look like your daddy

here was Mark's baby picture Oma dug up -I'd say so!

and even taking after her dad and uncles at 12 hours old?! ;)

Caroline has a pretty cute bib sis to look up to!

Oma kept my big girls in the waiting room while I took Clara and my camera in to meet the baby :) Francie was a little miffed she couldn't pass as a sibling and sneak in but go to meet the baby later tonight :)

Big Bright Bubbles

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The other day we had some fun with bubbles all morning - the sun and spring weather are making me want to dress the girls in BRIGHT colors and Emmy likes to layer them in skirts, leggings and a few shirts- makes for interesting outfits most days and we can't even blame the kids! :)

Maisie and a huge bubble

Trying to make more bubbles while nursing = not easy

HUGE bubbles for popping (I tried to convince them to appreciate the beauty of these huge bubbles I worked so hard to make but no luck - they just wanted to pop them as fast as they could)

Emmy and Janie Girl

Bright, bubble making machines



Art projects and snacks as bright as our clothes today :)

A fun day says Maisie!

My Birthday

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I had a great birthday! Turning 33 was a relaxing easy day thanks to my family...

We started with soccer practice in the morning

Soccer girls (Maisie's shirt is more like a dress on her :)

Francie pratices her "Free kicks" and "traps" all day at home - Emmy taught her some moves

This was the first day of practice and Francie loved it… Maisie kind of watched form the sidelines but I bet she'll get in the action next week. As you can see Francie is a little tall/old for the crowd so I switched her to the 3.5-4 year old class for next week that meets right before this 2-3 year old class. Thought I could sneak them both in the same activity but I think Francie will have more fun with some big kids.

hanging out in the baseball dug-out after practice

Then we walked back downtown for frozen yogurt/Dora popsicles and then lunch (backwards I know- it was a birthday-day :) Maisie was so tired from soccer and still not feeling 100% after her shots so she fell asleep in the Ergo I brought for Janie - it worked! Emmy was with us all morning but had to leave before lunch so I had my stroller-ergo-skateboarding girls by myself walking downtown until we found Jannie

and Janie snoozed away in the bassinet

We had a nice lunch outside in the sun with Jannie and Ann Skidmore at Casa Lupe. Yum and margaritas to "cheers" not being pregnant on my birthday for once!

The girls managed to steal both Jannie's and my iPhone to play on the steps for awhile… whatever keeps um happy while lunching :)

After nice long naps at home we had a late dinner at Il Fornaio with my parents, Ann Skidmore, and my brothers James and Jerry at 8pm. The girls were great and I got lots of funny cards and the hilarious "Awkward Family Photos" BOOK from Jerry- we were all cracking up at the pics and then he said "oh yeah and check your iPhone" for the awkward BOW family picture from the last post he made - we were dying laughing!

ANd my favorite present from Heff- he caught me up on our family tradition anniversary bracelets and added a new twist, a little diamond for every year we have a baby! He found them with a little help from my sister from Barney's - I was pretty shocked to see a Barney's box from my husband! I LOVE them and the special tradition behind them- thanks Heff!!!