Goin' to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!

/

How about you, you, you!? Heff took the girls to the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday for a full day of animal fun. We had them semi-bundled for the foggy SF weather in the morning which meant they got to break out some newly purchased but oversized fall clothes in triplicate :) The girls love dressing like Janie! Guess the matching outfits aren't going anywhere yet (yesssss). Francie insisted on taking a first aid kit in case anyone got hurt. Heff was very brave to take all three on a weekend day but he had a Bjorn and stroller with skateboards and they LOVED the special day with Dad while Mom was busy at Bumble.

The "official" zoo shots (or screenshots of them :)

JJ wondering what's going to happen next - your first trip to the ZOO MaryJane!

"Ok sounds like fun" :)

Happy girls

on the zoo playground - Francie is a machine on the monkey bars and shimmies up the pole herself

helping brush a goat- Maisie isn't that interested

thanks for the fun day Dad! Dinosaur shaped fruit drinks, hippos that open their mouth HUGE, petting zoo, carousel rides and a lollipop for the ride home were the reported highlights :)

these girls love their daddy (he was standing above me when I tried to snap a few pictures and all eyes are on him ;)

I love the kiss for JJ…

aaaaaand the binky goes right back in

Bad Blogging

/

I haven't been very good at posting anything for FIVE days! We've been working our little buns off at Bumble- yes even Heff and the girls :) They have been troopers hanging out "helping" or entertaining themselves while Heff and I fix stuff, hang stuff, set stuff up- all the last minute details that take forever... and Jannie took them for two days last week for some fun, Grampa came over to play this afternoon and Uncle Jerry came to set up all my speakers and AV stuff tonight so thanks for all the family help too! I will post pictures of Bumble soon but in the meantime here are my favorites from this past month of the little stinkers :)

Photobooth Fun

/

I never posted these funny pictures from the photobooth at James and Em's wedding - they crack me up! I love how the girls were up after a late night "nap" in the hotel room and make random appearances in these pics in their PJs :)












this might be my favorite- check out Francie trying to make a face like the big cousins :)

no wait maybe this is my favorite - Maisie is like "for the love let me go back to bed!"

and besides the fact at least 6 different people are holding JJ in the pics, she is in various stages of napping and it's like midnight- I love her "REALLY? this is the family I got? guess I'm stuck with them" expression!

Bumble

/

It's the last week of the final details getting Bumble ready to open… neighbors have been promised our Grand Opening is Labor Day Weekend so ready or not here they come! (hopefully :) I'm saving the "reveal" pictures for later but here are some sneak peeks - (do you like the suspense I'm using to try and make people actually come? :)

the tea sandwiches are being perfected

The playroom is almost ready for kids

The toys are out for test runs…

really impressive ones!

Francie is already enamored with new big girl friends (love the expression :)

We've still got a long way to go but hope to have it ready by next Friday!

LOVE

/

Three girls in pink dresses with dirty feet! and speaking of dirt...

Francie asked Brian a few questions when they were driving home from a playdate at Jannie's today... she asked:

"Was God around before the ground?"

"How big is God? Is he bigger than a giant teenager?"

"Do bullies eat healthy? Probably not, they probably eat sugar and dirt."

... interesting questions France :)

*photos by Emmy B!

Girls Gone to Red Bluff

/

The three girls and Oma out for a horsey ride... in red Bluff without me!

It's been a little crazy around here- I've been moving things into Bumble and we are almost ready to open! My brave and adventurous husband knew this is my favorite time of a new business so he took ALL THREE girls up to Red Bluff for the weekend! Janie is eating real food and will even take a formula bottle sometimes so she was packed up with her sisters- and thanks to a very good dad, and lots of doting from Oma and Aunt Maureen she rocked. I didn't know what to do with myself for the first time without a baby or being pregnant- since 2006! But I kept busy with Christian working on Bumble until 2am :)

Heff sent me this picture of JJ's early morning nap at Oma and Opa's after pureed breakfast

with their cousins in the tub- looks like fun!

and Maisie in the dress up chest Snow White she refused to take off all weekend...

Thanks Heff, Oma and Maureen!!!

August 18th

/

Happy SIX month birthday MaryJane!! and 28 months Maisie and 47 Francie ;)

I had a crazy busy day moving furniture into Bumble! Very exciting to see all that stuff in storage finally going where it is supposed to. So Emmy entertained the girls at the park and brought them to Bumble for lunch- they got to make PB&J crimped pockets with Chef Danny. Francie decided they should actually be called Ariel Seashells...

thanks for the pics and all the fun Emmy!

JJ :) Happy 6 months big girl!

Parallel Pics

/

Uhh- third kid and I haven't been so good at the daily or parallel pictures like I did for the first two- guess that's par for the course! (ok I just tried to catch up after I posted this- missed a Bumbo picture at 4 months, might have to cheat a 5-almost-6-monther of JJ in it tomorrow!) I think they all look so different and their quirky little personalities really show through in the pictures...

Here is one- all of them at 4/5 months old:

Francie ~ rearing to go and chomping at the bit/hand, always contemplating something (love the drool France)

Maisie ~ just kinda sitting back, taking it all in with a smirk (nothing has changed)
From

Janie ~ happy girl with a big smile ('the dragon' hardly even comes out any more!)

one more time...

the big girls when they were little girls- hard to believe this was two years ago!
\

You are a big girl too MaryJane


Bumbling Along

/

Lots happening every day at Bumble! We are getting soo close to opening and it's really exciting to see it all coming together. I have never had to be this patient for anything in my entire life ;) We filled the sandbox in the front yard today, kids-safe silica-free sand pretty much makes you feel like you are on an island in the bahamas. The girls played in it for 2 hours then crashed for 4 hour naps. Mission accomplished. Here are some sneak peek pictures… better ones in the next few days as all the finishing touches come together!

Janie at a beer tasting last week… Heff poured this one I take no fault.

Beers to try from Santa Cruz Brewery and a few options from Southern Wine and Spirits including gluten free ale

The hexagon sand pit ready for sand before they filled it. now to keep the cats away...

freshly finished hardwood floors (original to the 100+ year old house) and stained a pretty color grey thanks to Christian and Jan saving the day while I was in Oregon- plus our last minute striping of the front porch!

checking on the progress

Kelsey and Lindsay the new Playroom Teachers putting together lots of fun stuff (ie IKEA furniture) for the Playroom in our temporary office

Who wants to play? (the girls 'practiced' art projects this morning in here ;)

this is where we work all day waiting to finish construction. the UPS man keeps saying "your gonna put ALL THIS in that little cottage??" don't doubt it!

empty kitchen ready for cooking. and health department inspection!

bar area

and coffee mugs waiting for the Four Barrel espresso machines

unpacking

the only "non-ugly" diaper changer in the whole world (yes we searched it) installed in the ADA bathroom

JJ sleeping on the job

adult patio coming together

it's still got a lot to do before we can call it a restaurant but when I look back from THIS...

to THIS! it's crazy to see how far it's come. See you soon for a glass of champagne at the bar!

Little Doll

/

The girls play with Janie like she is their doll- she puts up with it but isn't always so thrilled. I think Janie's face in most of these pics speaks for itself:

Big sister Francie- yesterday she was singing a song she made up to Janie about what she wanted to be when she grows up. It went:

"You can be a teacher,
you could be a policeman,
you could be a roller coaster owner too.
But you can't be God. Or a tree,
cuz no one can be God or a Tree." :)

you are a good sport JJ!

One Shot Molly!

/
Our good friend Molly Coogan made her music video dream happen on KickStarter! (remember I posted this post about helping her out??) Well she just released the awesome final video- a continuous "one shot" uncut masterpiece :) she wrote the song and did such an amazing job on every little detail, I love having this one stuck in my head over Bubble Guppies theme song any day! You rock Molly Anne Coogan! (give her a Like on FB:)

It Could Be - Official Music Video in One Shot from Molly Anne Coogan on Vimeo.

Aptos Beach Week

/

After Black Butte Heffernan Reunion we have in the past few years gone straight to Aptos (or Tahoe before that) for a Simonson family vacation/reunion with my family and my Dad's brother Bill and his family. My mom found a great house to rent that has tons of rooms and beds (bunk beds built into every room with a queen too!) and we had it reserved again this year. Everyone was packed up and heading for the beach the first Friday in August until... my Uncle Bill got there first and called my mom to tell her there were people in our house. It turns out the house had been double booked!! They scrambled to find us a "replacement" house but it wasn't as big for our crowd. We tried to make it work (my cousin Jim, his wife Erin and baby Mick slept in a "closet" off the room we slept in!) We still had fun but it was a big mess and kind of ruined everyone's relaxing week at the beach. Next year- back to Tahoe!

The first night we were supposed to celebrate my cousin Joey's 30th but had to move it to Saturday night- yummy cookie cake from Aunt Tere!

Big helpers (and yes that's Maddie, our babysitter and Emmy's new roommate- by default that means you join in on the family fun!)

Uncle James taught Maisie the finer points on cigars

Uncle Bill - still smilin!

All of our Aptos relatives came over to BBQ- Francie lead everyone in a show of course. What nice 11-14 year old boys to oblige

James and Jimmy (both James Simonson's born 9 days apart!) went to the hobby shop. Jimmy's wife Erin said to bring her back a treat and this is what he came up with. A box of fake mustaches.

Just ask Aunt Tere and Jannie how they feel about getting ripped off on the beach house deal - not happy!

and then Uncle James further corrupted the girls teaching them how to build and shoot rockets!

he let his goddaughter decorate the rocket

and herself

Auntie Em and Francie waiting for the launch

parachutes don't do much good over the ocean- say goodbye to this rocket!

Corn Cob

/

Another reason Janie girl has turned a corner and is a new baby lately... she eats real food! She LOVES to eat. The other girls weren't so interested and didn't start until 6+ months but Janie was grabbing for my food early and started solids a few weeks ago.

"Hummm what is this thing?"

Going for it

"Can I really chew on this deliciousness of butter and corn?"

kicking her feet and waving her arms

Happy little eater!

and we were at a birthday party in the park when Janie was gnawing on her corn- Bed head Maisie went for pizza :)

Summer Shots

/

Just catching up with some random pictures from my phone or ones that hadn't seen the light of a usb port yet. Nothing very exciting but some fun from the past two weeks!

Maisie and I at a Superhero birthday party we all went to one Saturday- it was back to back birthday morning and lots of friends to catch up with.

They had the Superheros spray Silly String all over the villain, he acted like it held him down like a web. Genius!

Maisie was not a fan. And yes she is wearing Janie's dress and Francie's tutu.

Candy makes it all better

They've never had so much fun getting dressed for a party. Francie went as Mini the Superhero.

Heff and JJ girl. She went as superhero sleepytime of course - or I was super lazy and didn't change her out of her PJs

Maisie brought her a lollipop from the pinata. She was all over it- and then it was all over her.

Heff and the girls helped move Uncle Jerry into his new apartment one night (see the mattress and vespa in the back?!) Jerry is working at Driscoll Strawberries for an internship while he finishes up business school at Santa Clara but since Driscoll is in Watsonville he moved to the beach- the girls asked if they could sleep over :)

The love affair with the Minnie outfit continues (although as she gets close to the big FOURin the 2T outfit- Miickey, Dora and Diego are being quickly forgotten for PRINCESSES and FAIRIES. Why is that the law of four year old girls??

Maisie teaching JJ the crib is cool

I got to see my college roommates Heather and Jessica! my college friends all live far away and it's sad I never get to see them but always fun and just like old times when we do (we missed Kristin and Missy too!) Heather has three kids too and I hand't seen her since my wedding when her oldest was 4 months old. Jess is getting married in December and sends the best Christmas cards in history (anyone see our card wall this year? you know the one with the borrowed kid at Sears Portrait studio!)

and while I was visiting my girlfriends Heff took the big girls to the Los Altos Art & Wine Festival… think they had fun?

This one he sent me said "you can't tell but Maise is terrified" but she told me all about it like it was the coolest thing in the world :)

and back to this set up because these girls are nuts! Janie looking like "really?"

Night with Cousins

/

Tuesday night we went up to SF to a Giants night game with all of my second cousins on my mom's side . My cousin Michael Drew organized it and got a block of tickets if we had more than 25 people. He did a great job bringing everyone together for a fun night! I don't get to see all of these cousins (my mom's dad's sister Mary had six daughters and they all have kids my age and now grandkids!) who live pretty close so it was fun to get together, we need to do it more often!

J says "what's up?"

Francie with her cousins Katelyn and Emma- she was pretty excited to hang out with them

They were so cute in their Giants gear!

We made it until the 8th inning- Jannie and Grampa made their way out with us before the crowds left. and the Giants won! (I think- when we were leaving I told the girls the other team was the Padres and Heff goes "uhh, or the PIRATES." Guess I was watching kids instead of the game!