The Next Adventure

Brian and I would like to thank our friendly followers, loyal customers and our friends who helped us grow our shops and restaurants in Downtown Los Altos. We are very proud of these businesses we created from big ideas and the help of our creative employees. We have sold the businesses and look forward to seeing DTLA continue to prosper.

As for the Heffernan family and The H&H Company, we look forward to finding the next adventure in small business. Our newest endeavor is running a cattle ranch in Siskiyou County, Sharps Gulch Ranch, that will focus on sustainable, family-farmed foods. There is a lot of hard work ahead and we look forward to this new journey and implementing our vision. We love new adventures and seeing where they take us.

We hope you’ll stay tuned!

-Mary and Brian Heffernan
The H&H Company

FOLLOW US AT THE H&H COMPANY AND AT SHARPS GULCH RANCH

Road Trip, Ranch Bound

We left Friday afternoon for a quick weekend trip ranch bound!

Tiny the Monkey  - the girls are all pretty good travelers on long car rides but this one asks for "nacks, nacks!" (Snacks) allll day long 

we stopped at Aunt Kat and Uncle Donald's for a BBQ to celebrate Lauren's 2nd birthday with some of the Heff cousins. Always fun. 

happy birthday Lauren!

it was a great stop to break up the trip and always fun when cousins are involved - another pet lizard was captured and subsequently lost a tail. Rough crowd!

Easter on The Ranch

We spent Easter Sunday on the ranch together with just our little family - a rare event coming from big families on both sides! We had intended to go to Easter mass in Fort Jones - even stopped by Saturday to check the time at the adorable little church in town! - but after a late night at the neighbors the girls were all sound asleep at 9am and seemed ambitious to get up, fed, dressed and have pleasant church goers ;)

but the Easter bunny still found us!

and then we had an egg hunt up behind the house

my Ukrainian egg attempts. Not winning any awards here ;)

the girls found them and hid them all again 

JJ in her finest Easter ranch wardrobe

her curls are the best after she actually has a shampoo ;)

and this kid made fast friends with a pet Lizard - carrying it around everywhere and insisted on bringing it home in a Tupperware habitat with straws for air holes. #sorrylizard

and there were many lizard shows. JJ was Francie's loyal assistant (just don't ask her to hold the lizard)

I love my view from the cozy couch in this little cabin :) happy Easter!

and another reason to celebrate - the end of Lent means Heff and I can drink our road trip Diet Cokes again, woohoo! ;)

Black Butte Family Reunion 2013

We had a blast in Black Butte Oregon with allll the Heffs! Recap by iPhone photos...

First day walk to the fields for Olympics Field Day

competitors ready!

team purple (Tess was a huge help ;)

and after Olympics - a group swim! 7 uncles and 26 kids in the pool

and talent show preparations - I was so proud of the big girls who took the lead and practiced by themselves all week

Tess my little Kangaroo and I checking on their progress one night :)

and Saturday Annual In-laws versus Out-laws softball game!

Opa Bob has a slide/bounce house he sets up between the houses - somehow after 4 years it's still standing

Ticket to Ride with Oma

Sweet Maggie was such a big help with Tess and by the end of the week Tess was jumping in her arms!

Dinner Sunday night at Pat and Tricia's cabin on the golf course - lots of family pic opportunities! Here are Oma and Opa with all 15 grandkids. Love all the expressions on this shot!

after dinner golf course play (sorry to the sand pit)

Talent show 2013!! The kids were so good! We had joke tellers, songs, card tricks, musical instrument playing, poems and a surprise skit by the adults too :)

iPhone family photo! (most of the BBR pics this year were iPhone - I am just going to own in and admit I am much preferring these lesser quality but REAL LIFE shots!! My big camera comes out occasionally, but I love what I can capture with my pocket cam :)

Tuesday morning horseback ride. DAD took them! what a guy

General store ice cream pop and chips stop

and then an afternoon trip into Bend to check out a barnwood supplier for The Alley - JJ approved (what is this pose)

lunch at Worthy Brewery - my cute husband! (kids were running around roughshot on the grass - it was a very relaxing family lunch!)

Wednesday Dad took these stinkers fishing!

fiesty one! love their faces

cleaning the fish at home

Craig and Andrea made a cool puppet show theater and did a show for the kids - they were into it

sleepy baby heading home - with toys piled on her by big sis

Drive to Black Butte

We had another succesful Family Reunion in Black Butter Oregon the last week in July! We left Los Altos Thursday afternoon and drove up to Red Bluff to meet the crowd at thehalf way point for an overnight - then took off on I-5 headed to Oregon early the next morning! 12 hours on the road total -but half of the famly vacation is the forced family fun in the car!

sleepy JJ in the truck - only time we really get to talk without her noisy chatter!

pit stop diaper change

overnight in Red Bluff with cousins... 2/3 the way there!

Dad spoils them with gas station burritos and corn dogs for breakfast. ummmmmm.

ordering Makery stuff on my drive - these awesome 3fish prints we sell now - very fitting these are the states we have!

arrival!

Canada Ice Fishing

We had an awesome adventure to Banff Canada the first week in March! We had some airline miles to burn and a free week so we scouted around and picked Banff (ok I admit I it wasn't the poolside pina colada trip I was imagining - but my husband won) We invited Oma, Jannie and Grampa to join us - four kids, ten adults hands = real vacation! I have so many pictures so breaking it up - here are the photos from our full day of ice fishing out on a frozen lake in Calgary - quite the adventure!

plane ride was pretty easy, less than 3 hours! But on a small plane with 2 and 2 seats on each side so we were all spread out. It took us about 45 minutes to print our boarding passes and get an infant pass too. Turns out it causes some problems when 5 of 9 travelers are named MarySomething Heffernan! Don't even get me started on customs...

we started out the drive from Calgary airport to Banff with two Suburbans for all of us and all of our gear. We took JJ and Tess - the grandparent mobile had the big girls

Backree on the other sled

what a tourist

some of the scenery

We drove out about an hour to go ice fishing! The girls were so excited. I had been cooped up in the hotel the first two days while the crowd took the big girls skiing but Tess and I decided to brave the cold and adventure out for some fun. I was so proud of Jannie and her willingness to do this crazy stuff with the girls too! (Not that she hasn't always been adventurous- but the great outdoors Heffernan style is pushing it!)

Grampa and JJ - ready to rock the long trail down to the lake. Looks just like pictures of holding me and my siblings bundled up in the snow - except in color ;)

trekking

Jannie and Grampa - the guide taught us to say WHISKEY when we smile! :)

the girls and the bait hitching a ride

Brian and Oma - the expert fishers!

I swear Tess is in there somewhere

OUT in the middle of a frozen lake. Took me a bit to get used to this...

we found our ice hut

the lone boys

and the girls inside the hut - don't worry the ice holes were only 6 inches wide

we let the girls and the grandmas fish for while in the hut - it was a little crowded!

here fishy fishy

Dad didn't last long without a fishing pole in his hand

Tess says "what the heck are we doing out here mom? the hotel was so warm!"

FIRST FISH! Didn't take long!

purty. JJ was not a fan

Grampa warmed up Tiny so I could have a turn (didn't catch anything, I never do!)

Jannie didn't either - we are not the fisherwomen I guess. Left that to Oma and Heff and Grampa!

but we made sure grampa got a turn - just like the old days on the Lake Tahoe pier!

the girls ventured off to make a fresh hole in the ice with the guide

Happy girls

very happy dad

they have the patience I don't

Jannie is bundled up in that ice hut with a heater and JJ - smart girls!

Tess and I just kept busy taking selfies of ourselves and watching the fishing. She's thrilled ;)

hot chocolate break while dad mans the pole

Maisie back for more action

Jannie and her girls

Maisie was so proud of the "rainbow" she made in the snow

and snow angels

OMA caught this fish - Jannie held it for a photo and when I Instagramed this pic she got all the fish-catching credit - just to set the record straight Jannie wants to make sure everyone knows this was Oma's fish!

yum yum

not giving up - she wanted to stay there all day

so pretty

lunch time!

Family photo

and that's a wrap - back to the hotel for afternoon cocktails!!!

Christmas in Red Bluff 2012

As per usual - Christmas in Red Bluff was craziness! 15 cousins, 12 girls/3 boys, 13 of them 5 years old and under! We all stay under the same roof at Oma's house and it's just all kids all the time. And lots of really good food, lots of cocktails and beers and lots of fun. We also had a big birthday bash for Oma and Nana's 65th bday at Kat & Donald's new house on the 28th. We are so lucky to have such a big, crazy family - especially to celebrate holidays like these!

4 babies in 4 months

off on a river walk

Maureen's latest sidekick - baby Molly

Heff and JJ ready to explore

cousins looking for flat rocks

Izza and Francie on the island

big girls

JJ throwing rocks then wiping her dirty hands on Dad

Brian and a bunch of babies

overkill on my 1960's polaroid filter?! :)

Kat, Me and Maureen with our baby girls - more filter overkill.

not much love for the group photo request

big girls smile for me

heading back to the caravan of cars

carrying big rocks - Francie and I had a little life lesson work on the walk back. She claimed the rock was too heavy and kept cermoniuosly and dramatically dropping it. I told her "we do hard things" (thanks LIFE blog) and we talked about this each of the 23 times she dropped it. It was a long walk.

Tehama county is pretty even in it's dry, barren state

Family photo (thanks Andrea)

pick up tailgate cheese sticks

and another dinner feeding 30+

new additions get plates this year

crazy kids

love that stare down OD!

15 cousins

cute babies! all look like their dads

big sisters and little sisters

dinner at Kat & Donald's cute house for the twin's 65th birthday bash

We left the other 11 kids at Oma and Opa's with 3 babysitters and 4 extra large pizzas :) the babies were along for the ride

count um. 9 months oldest to 4 months youngest

Sidecars and a whole lotta binkies

great toasts to the birthday girls

a few pies

and after cake and Happy Birthday - Heff and I were off on a running start to grab the kids, pack up, drive 4 hours home, un-pack, re-pack and get on a 7am flight for our next adventure!!

Adventures with Dad

Brian has taken the girls on a few fun adventures lately while I get to snuggle Tess at home! Two weeks ago they went on a day trip (5am in the car!) to Greenfield and Paso Robles to pick up a new BBQ for our new house and a trip to the gun store. Totally normal things to do with Dad right? ;)

JJ making sure she likes the one we got

three rag-a-muffins in the gun store

taxidermy - just like the zoo. only different

Francie wants a job ;)

and I have to login to Heff's account to get these pics but they also went up to Red Bluff for a weekend while Heff fished with his buddies and the girls played at Oma's - nice catch dad!