Another Heffernan Family Reunion at Black Butte Ranch in Oregon has come and gone! I was proud to count this as my 7th trip with the Heffernan clan. It is always a ton of fun and there are a TON of kids! This year 21 of them and the oldest was 9. It's one big, non-stop FFF event (Forced Family Fun as Aunt Kat calls it ;) But really it couldn't be an easier crowd to hang out with for a week- all of Brian's cousins/aunts/uncles are so welcoming, laid back and great to spend time with if you can find a few minutes to chat in between all the eating and drinking and watching kids play all day. Two of the four Heffernan brother's (Brian's uncles) have houses up there and the rest of the crowd rents houses nearby - commune living, my favorite! We had a great week and the girls were troopers on the 12 hour drive up and back. We miss the sun and Oregon air already but are planning festivities for 2012 of course!

Opa Bob's Super Slip and Slide was a huge hit - every year he adds more kid fun to the backyard and this was a major undertaking with a clearing and tarps for the inflatable giant. well worth it!

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Saturday Softball game is a tradition! This year the above 5 foot tall crowd played while some nice grandma's and aunts watched ALL the babies (except Oliver and Patrick who were sleeping in the car for the first half :)

and back at Opa Bob and LaLa's house the fun never ends

Poor Francie took a major tumble on her bike- there was a circle at the end of the driveway that was sloped so that the kids rode uphill hard then raced down. Francie ran into a bike after someone got off it and went over her handlebars at full speed. The helmet had paint taken off it and saved her face for sure! A few scratches and a bloody nose but she was pretty tough

Clara Marie and Maisie were inseparable all week- they are really cute little buddies together. I asked Clara to put her arm around Maisie and this was the result:

Best Buds

Ellie is such a good oldest cousin - she takes good care of all the little ones!

Dan the Camp Counselor Extraordinaire made Kiddie jello boats and adult jello shots!

more shots from around "camp." Oma and Kat made the cute "Heffernan Stampede" t-shirts this year, I love them even if Uncle Mark said the red star looked like communism.

Bob made new horseshoe pits in the backyard this year - no one threw a horseshoe but it became the site of castles and birthday cakes for MooDooDon galore

Kids Tables

And it wouldn't be a family reunion without a talent show! I got a CD of "The Best Campfire Songs Ever" to use for talent show and listening to it on the drive up I realized they were all very Christian camp songs :) So we improvised… first they were hiding in the kitchen before marching out for the show

and the entrance song "Oh When The Cousins… Go Marching In"…

Then "I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N" turned into "I am an H-E-F-F-E-R-N-A-N. and I have L-O-V-E down in my H-E-A-R-T and I will love my family OH all of them!"

and Father Abraham became… "Mother Heffernan- had many sons - many sons had MORE Heffernans. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just play right now, right arm-left arm-rigth foot-eft foot-chin up-turn around-sit down!"

Kat and I proud of our little performers

Then Uncle Dan told the kids to sit in a circle for a big surprise… (this may or may not have been a bribe for a few kids to sing louder ;)

he instructed them all to chant "We Want the WORM!"….

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And early Sunday morning Brian took Maisie on a hike up to the top of Black Butte with Ann and Dan. He said she was a trooper at 7am on the big hike "up the bigger bigger hill" she said

what a view!

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Sunday afternoon Dan organized another fun activity for the "middle generation" - Geocaching! We had GPS devices and picked our own teams. I had to be reminded no weekend warriors allowed but I knew Heff was going to be a good pick :) We had 3 hours and 31 possible geocaches. Aunt Francy offered to take JJ but I didn't think she'd make it and we couldn't risk slowing down to come back to the house so we packed her along

I took cold Coor's Lights in the stroller to bribe competitors if need be but only needed them for refreshment :)

We teamed up with Kat and Donald after the first geocache when we were on the same path for long enough not to just be on the same team

JJ was awesome the first 2 hours and 45 minutes :) she screamed the last bit as we RAN almost a mile back to the house and made it with 50 seconds to spare. It was pretty funny since I can not run to save my life - unless it's to win a competition! We covered almost 10 miles in three hours on foot (double points if you didn't use bikes!)

and the trophy goes to…

Team Kat-Donald-Mary-Brian-Janie!! With 13 of 31 geocaches we hold the illustrious family record - oh wait, this was only the first year ;) still, it was SO much fun and we are all scheming for next year's race. Thanks for organizing Dan!

Aunt Francy supplied the prizes - movie passes and CHAMPAGNE! Dan made the official trophy :)

I mean- we had to celebrate victory by drinking out of the trophy right?

Janie says "Where's mine mom?!" nevermind the hole in the trophy dripping champagne on unknowing kids who walk by… I made Kat and my husband proud by actually running during the competition- a rare site and should be kept that way :) Kat kept looking back at me trailing in the rear yelling that she was proud of me and Brian kept asking if I had shin splits yet, it was torture but I was on a mission!

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Sunday night dinner at Pat and Tricia's house!

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and Monday was pool day at Glaze Meadow- I didn't take many good swim pictures but how awesome is this kids pool?!

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The kids go back and forth between houses all day. Luckily most of them sort of back up to each other with a swing set in between - not a bad life!

Mud Tea by Francie

Getting ready for a group shot by the "river." I got Simply Colors hoods for all the kids (and sent Heff on a wild goose chase to find the delivery at the BBR post office!) but they made it Monday after a few cousins had gone home…

the rest were pretty excited about a group shot, especially Maisie

lined up

somebody saw a deer jump through the backyard - convenient for faces looking towards the camera :)

Kate and Oliver

Sarah and her beauties aka "Claraline"

Cute cousins Emmy, Ashley and Roman

More sandpit fun!

Thomas Heffernan and his Opa = TWO Thomas Heffernans!

He's so stinkin cute!

Dan, Jessica, Roman and Tillie

I'm almost FOUR Izza-Bizza

Heff, Bill and Dan drinking the geocaching winning assortment of beverages

Grant and his girlfriend Emery and cousin Kate

the other Kate and her adorable dress she found at the thrift store in Sisters when everybody went into town (reminds me of when she was two and I said I liked her jacket and she replied "Mommy got it at the Twift Sto"

Crazy little Maisie (still working on binky extraction)

More mud pies

Big girls doing their own show another night (I'm Squishing Up My Baby Bumble Bee)

I think the big laughs came on the "licking up" or "throwing up" verses

popsicles all around

One night it got cold and I borrowed LaLa's jacket for Janie and I - this was the view of my little snug bug

We love Opa

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Lunch at John and Barbara's house -

Silly Uncle Mark giving the big and bigger girls rides in Caroline's seat

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and it wouldn't be a trip to Black Butte without an afternoon at the Fish Hatchery

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and then Isabel's 4th birthday celebration! (a few days early :)

This series of Isabel getting too much attention during "Happy Birthday to You" is hilarious -watch her disappear under the table halfway through the song when all eyes were on her