Mary and Heff + BABY FRANCIE!

Marla had an adorable baby boy!  Welcome to the world Jackson Powers Wright. He was born on Tuesday, July 22 at 10:30pm and weighs in at 7 pounds and 6 ounces.  Francie can't wait to meet you Baby Jackson!

Mom and Dad with their new bundle...

Very proud Auntie Em with her cute nephew (you are a lucky baby Jackson, you were born into a great family and I'm SURE Auntie Em is going to spoil you rotten :)

Uncle James remembers being here 10 months ago with his niece too! (Is that Seinfeld in the background guys?;)

Jannie even got to hold baby Jackson too! Get to knitting Jannie!!

Francie and I went down to LA for the day on Tuesday for a fun-filled day of lunching, shopping and hanging out with the girls.  My good friends Anne and Linda (who co-founded 23andMe together) had a couple of meetings in LA so Francie and I hitched a ride for the day!  23 and Me is a personal human genome service... you "Spit" (in the test kit below) and they tell you everything you ever wanted to know about your genes, ancestry and inheritance. It is a great service for families so Francie and I are helping find ways to promote the business to new moms... my favorite topic.  We had a FUN day in the LA heat with the girls and even got some "business" done too.

"Where are we going Mom?"  ... Don't worry it will be fun Francie!

Linda shows Francie the "Airplanes!" as we take off

"Call my agent. And stop taking pictures of me without paying my royalties"

 Mom and the Doodle getting ready to land in LA-LA-land

Francie LOVED Linda... who wouldn't when she gives you blackberries to slober on!

While the girls had their first meeting, Francie and I met my sister-in-law Andrea and Isabel for lunch

It was so nice of Andrea to change their plans and meet us in LA on a last minute request!

The girls seemed so excited to see each other and were crawling all over the place giving hugs

We found a baby store to do a little shopping of course

Cousin love! Francie missed her Izza-Bizza.

After lunch, Anne and Linda and I met some friends in Beverly Hills for some shopping. Francie wanted to navigate through the LA traffic for us...

"Hand over the keys Mom, I'm sick of this backseat driving thing."

Shopping for Chanel bags Fancy-Francy-Pants? 

"I like this one Mom"

Francie, seeing as you have Simonson AND Heffernan genes...  you will never be able to shop for fashionable shoes like these :)

Francie on Melrose

How could we leave LA without a little PinkBerry?

Knocked out and ready to head home

"Humm, I fall asleep in a car... and I wake up on an airplane?" 

"OOOhhh.... I like flying like this mom."

She was on the move the  whole trip home

"Come and get me!" She managed to close herself in the bathroom for a little quiet time

I brought her favorite "DOG" book of course :) Francie showed Anne her favorite parts

We were home in time to have dinner at home with Dad to celebrate our 2 year anniversary! Happy 2 years Heff :) Thanks for letting Francie and I go on an adventure today!

Francie and I had lunch the other day with my friend Dawn at one of our old favorite spots. Francie was a good girl and sat in her high chair most of lunch but when she got a little antsy I let her crawl around on the floor behind my chair while Dawn and I caught up on some gossip. A lady walked by and picked up something Francie found on the ground and put it on the table looking at me like "hello, choking hazard bad mom"  Dawn and I looked closer and it was a diamond earring with the stud broken off. It was in the walkway/dirt and had been there for awhile so we figured it was a fake "cubic zirconia" or a mall wanna be :)  We did the old test as a joke and scratched the water glass and sure enough it left a big ole scratch but we were still thinking it was an imposter. We walked over to a jewelry store to find out.... it is a REAL 2 carat diamond estimated to be worth nine thousand dollars! Francie has good taste in her choking hazards!! We did check with the restaurant to see if anyone had lost an earring and check the lost and found in the paper, so unless the rightful owner is reading this and can identify it (big and sparkly doesn't count) Heff says it has to go in her college fund but Francie told me she wants to go to Vegas and enter the World Series of Poker like her Uncle Jerry :)

Good work Francie :)

She was worn out after that!

Tursday night we drove down to Salinas for the big Salinas Rodeo to see my little buddy Joe Wallace debut in his first Mutton Busting competition! It was SO CUTE. Joe's mom and his aunts (the Mariani girls) are all good friends of mine from growing up and we love every opportunity we get to spend with their families. They have eight grandkids between the three oldest sisters and a fourth sister, Julie, has one on the way due on Francie's due date. Joe used to hang out with me some days when his Mom Nancy was working in Menlo when he was 5-10 month old... he is a special guy and always has a place in my heart :) He did SO well and was by far the youngest Mutton Buster out there! We all bundled up in the stands, enjoyed some rodeo hot dogs and beers and had a great time with the whole Mariani clan.

And he's off! Joe's 8 (almost!) Seconds

The announcer said "How old are you kid?" He looked so little out there!

Joe didn't really want to leave the spotlight after they told the crowd to "Give it up for Joe Wallace!"

Joe on the Jumbo-screen getting his blue ribbon

Francie says "GO JOE!"

Mariani sisters Julie and Nancy watch the replay in slow motion :)

Dea had hats made up for the big event... HANG ON JOE!

It was a little chilly in the stands so Dave Mariani (grandpa to 8.5!) went to get the youngest baby Maddie something warmer

The celebrity back in the stands

Showing off the pretty blue ribbon

Francie and Maddie

Whitney there to cheer on her big brother

Emelia and Nancy

Dad Jon and Baby Maddie

Sofia watching the Buckin Broncs

Francie hanging out with Dave

The girls

Emilia snuggled up under the seats in her fancy new plush leopard print blanket her dad bought to keep the girls warm :)

Blue eyed Baby Maddie

Dave, Joe, Nancy and Whitney

And heading home with Mom

Don't mess with a Mutton Buster! Good job Joe-Joe!!

Thursday we had a pizza oven party at my parents house with Georgia, Kim and the Carter triplets Danny, Drew and Dylan. They are out visiting for two weeks from Philly and it was so much fun to see how big they have gotten. They are almost 15 months old now and had never met Francie as she was born right after they moved to PA. We had fun running after three babies all afternoon and Jannie cooked up some delicious pizzas for all of us!

Jannie says "Francie we've got THREE cute boys coming over here to play!"

Danny not giving up the football

Georgia and the busy little guy Drew

"You want a piece of me?" Dylan

Francie wore her "Three Cupcake" bubble suit to meet the three little carter cupcakes :)

Danny holding hands with Francie

Georgia, Kim, the triplets and Francie hanging out with Jannie's toys on a blanket in the shade

Danny giggling on the upswing

And double duty with Andrew

Busy babies on the swing set

Kim and Danny

Virginia and Dylan (she was a big help when they were newborns too)

Francie and Danny exploring

All three boys surround and Francie bonked her head but she's tough enough to handle these big guys! :)

We walked them back home (three doors down the street) after lunch. That's a lot of baby :)

Monday we left Greenough and drove to Rock Creek for a few more days of our Montana vacation. Rock Creek is a place Heff spent LOTS of time in his bachelor days fishing. We stopped first at the "Rock Creek Mercantile" for flies and fishing tips, at the beginning of a long windy, dirt road that parallels the river for forty miles. When we walked in to the "Mercantile" (think beers, fly fishing equipment, sun flower seeds and a bunch of old men sitting around a table in the middle of the store reading newspapers and talking fishing) the owner says "Brian Heffernan... where ya been?" and then looks at me and Francie and says "Oh, I see where you've been. Busy!" Heff spent 9/11 with these guys watching the sad coverage on their little fuzzy black and white TV during his three month post-taking-the-bar-pre-starting-real-work fly fishing/camping excursion in Montana in 2001. He has been back a half a dozen times since then and Heff says it's the same guys and their families in there, running the restaurant next door and serving the coffee out front. They gave us some advice and we drove on a few more miles to a little cabin at "Elkhorn Lodge" on a big grass flat across from the river. It was the perfect little cabin for our little family and even though it wasn't "glamping" it was a lot of fun to unwind (still NO cell service anywhere), read books and explore the area (well explore for me, Heff knew it like the back of his hand) We stayed for two nights in the "Stonefly" cabin.

"Mom... this cabin is fun but where are the gourmet S'mores and the nice people who made me bacon every morning?"

Looking for trouble

"Ohh... I see sprinklers!"

Opa would be proud of her fascination with water and water pumps :)

Silly girl

Dirty knees and a drooling "O" face :)

We went to dinner at the "HOME COOK'N" little old restaurant back by the Mercantile. Francie was SOO worn out she was falling asleep in Heff's arms (not even on his shoulder, like face planting forward with her head bobbing!) So we pulled the carseat out of the truck so she could sleep through dinner.

Knocked out under the table. We missed her presence but... it was peaceful. :)

We went back to the cabin for a head to head Scrabble game (I WON by four points:) and read our books. Francie slept with us since they didn't really have cribs on hand here and I joined Francie in bed after awhile but Heff was up in the living room reading for a little longer. SOMEHOW she woke up without making a sound and I didn't notice her moving, saw Dad in the other room where the light was on and high-tailed it out of bed over to see her dad. It was dark in the room so he didn't see her either and she crawled STRAIGHT OFF THE BED! Heff and I JUMPED up at the thud and she was screaming her head off right away... we checked for broken parts or bumps and bruises but she seemed ok. It scared us but she recovered!

She was wide awake and full of pep the next day when we went back to lunch at the same restaurant

"Did you tell them I fell off the bed mom?"

After lunch we played outside on the swingset and in the old covered wagon

It was a little cloudy and rained for a few minutes Tuesday morning so we took advantage of a morning of doing NOTHING but reading and playing with Francie in the cabin before we put on some warmer clothes and came over here for lunch (I love those days:)

"Let me outta here or my mom my get some crazy idea in her head and make me have a Pioneer Party for my 12th birthday." (Jannie... did you ever think that birthday party would result in endless teasing by my siblings and sister-in-law still to this day!)

A teepee

After lunch we went for a two hour drive all the way down the creek and saw some cute little cabins, fishing lodges and lots of trailers :) It was beautiful and fairly untouched country. I got some mom time after lunch and Dad took Francie on a hike on the river. They crossed this bridge which made me a little nervous!

Francie was obsessed with this fish on the entrance sign and we visited it a few times a day

Wednesday morning we packed up to head home. Francie and I out in front of our cabin the "Stonefly"

Staying out of trouble momentarily while Dad packs up

You can't the Montana out of the girl... in her JORTS!

Dad ready to go home with beers for the road! (Just kidding.... we gave the last of our cooler contents to the nice guy who managed the cabins but you CAN get to go cups from restaurants in Montana)

Hopefully we'll be back here again Francie!

We stopped at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation n Missoula before our 3:15pm flight

She pretty much had the "OOO" face looking at all these huge elk the ENTIRE time we were in the museum

ELK, more ELK and BEARS... OH MY!

"It's not playing with me like Ollie does Mom :("

Francie checking out some of the highest rated Elk in history

Monday we woke up early to get the most of our last day in camp. I was picking out a "morning outfit" (in case you haven't already figured out... she goes through a few outfits everyday) and found some sticks and leaves in the top drawer of the dresser. I had been finding sticks in with her clothes but figured Francie had been throwing things in when the drawers were open and hadn't thought twice. THIS time I realized she couldn't reach the to drawer and looked over at Heff like "Did you put this stuff in here?" He looked over and said... "That's a rat's nest." EWWWW. I HATE rats. Heff investigates, pulls a few drawers out and a PACK RAT jumps out at us!!! I grabbed Francie out of the crib and ran out of the tent. (so much for the "g" in glamping huh!?) Heff tears the cabin apart trying to get this little critter out and all of the staff were in our tent with brooms and boxes trying to round it up and get it out. At one point I saw it sticking it's little nose out from under the bed and to give it some credit, it was an outdoorsy type, squirrely looking thing, not like a sewer rat but still.... EW. SO even though we are late to breakfast and supposed to check out in a few hours I have to wash ALL of Francie's clothes!!

Francie's face after she saw the pack rat!

Naked girl playing in the river while Mom washes every article of clothing she has on the trip :)

Nothing like a naked baby butt sitting in the mud

Look at her cute dirt hand prints on her bum!

Dad splashing with the doodle

A view of our tent from the river

Francie thought this rafting boat was funny going by with a big pirate flag

Francie chilling in her high chair while we pack up the tent (no small task, you saw my bags)

We made it in time for granola pancakes and goat cheese omelets... The camp "butler" took us aside to apologize but said "I probably shouldn't say this, but if this had to happen I'm glad it happened to you guys!" What can you do... we were out in the "wild wilderness" :)

Leaving our little tent behind for the next adventure :)

We stopped back up at the main lodge for lunch on our way out and Francie couldn't believe her luck... Imogen and Jasper were there too!

When the "big kids" aren't even making her laugh anymore... it's time to go :)

"Which direction are we going now??"

We had a delicious dinner Sunday night at River Camp and got to talk to the other families... a nice family from LA with two pre-teenage boys, a couple from Oregon who were in the tent next to us (and said when they arrived they thought "Oh, a baby who will wake us up at night" but when we left said "Oh we love this baby!"), a family from the UK with CUTE little kids, a newleywed couple and some girls on a "girls week out" vacation. The staff were really nice too and made for a memorable trip.

Mom and Francie loving the glamping life

"Jasper" Francie's boyfriend at camp :) This family was from London but living in Massachusetts and were returning visitors to Paws Up. This kid was SO adorable... just imagine that face with a funny four-year-old UK accent!! (think "Charlie bit me!" video!)

Jasper giving Francie LOTS of hugs while big sister (equally adorable with her cute UK accent!) "Imogen" helps Francie stand up

Jasper wanted Francie to wear his cowboy hat:)

He had lots of lovin' for Francie-pants! (Heff was watching closely:)

Our last dinner at River Camp... the food was amazing, so was this peanut butter truffle pie dessert ;)

Francie agrees... she polished off this drumstick (kidding of course, Dad ate most of it:)

Francie loves the big kids! Imogen and Francie

Jasper again... keeping us very entertained!

"Can we bring them home with us Mom?"

Sunday we set out on a family adventure to Ovando, Montana (about 20 miles north but an hour trip on dirt roads from Paws Up Ranch) to go fly fishing. Heff and I went fly fishing on our honeymoon and again last summer together so why not take Francie while we are here right! Heff strapped her in the "Sherpani" backpack (a gift from all my "yellow house" college roommates, thanks girls!) and we set out hiking up the river with our waders and gear.

"You mean I get to go try this fishing thing too?! Would Grandpa an Opa think this is safe?"

"I want you to catch FOUR FISH Dad."

Francie and Dad crossing the river (it looks deeper than it was, I promise we were safe)

Mom gives it her best shot... I mean cast

FISH ON!

This takes talent... big fish on the line, baby on the back and no net (it didn't really go with Francie's outfit) Let's see if Dad can pull this off...

Good work Daddy!

Francie notices a "fish out of water" and makes her "What does a fishy say" pucker noises!

Bye-bye fishy. catch and release...

"You mean dad just let my first fish swim away!? WHAT?" (I don't get it either, if I catch a fish I want to keep it!)

We hiked back to the truck and Francie konked out

while Heff and I devoured our much-earned sandwhiches for lunch on the tailgate

Leaving Ovando to head back to "Glamp"!

We woke up Saturday morning, crawled out of our heated down comforter beds and bundled up in the cold Montana morning for our gourmet breakfast in the River Camp mini-lodge.

Francie in her sweatsuit and Uggs at Breakfast (getting a little small for those big Simo-Heff feet!) ABA.... can you find the next size up please? :)

Dad getting his coffee fix... this was the River Camp dining area and that is our "camping chef" making omlettes and Huckleberry French Toast. I know, this is SO cheating!

"Mom... Where did Dad go?"

Heff got some time on the river to fly-fish Saturday after breakfast so Francie and I went to the "Cow Poke Corral" to check out the baby goats, cows and bunny rabbits the kids got to pet and bottle feed.

She got a little frustrated when they kept nibbling her fingers... who can blame the goats? Her chubby little fingers look just like their pellets!

Francie got to play in the sand with the big kids for awhile.... they were constructing "the world" making little sand continents with flags and lots of water moats in between.

"If that mother of mine isn't looking I can climb right in there and get these white jeans filthy dirty in no time...."

Francie-Do with her mom waving bye-bye to the goats

Steady on the rocks... ready for lunch

Francie and I had lunch on the grass at the main Lodge. I realized one of the perks of having a baby who can eat real food... you get to order stuff off the kids menu and eat most of it yourself! (Their chicken fingers were so much better than my fancy BLT:)